DAY 12 - MOTINA to CITERNA

A short road walk was followed by a stretch on a track through the fields, admiring the mountains in the distance and the flowers and crops up close.

Our path climbed to Anghiari, one of the "most beautiful villages in Italy". There was an artisan fair on, which meant that there were pop up shops selling local products, including alpaca, leather, metal and fibre goods as well as a lunch of Tuscan specialities such as antipasto plates and grilled meats.

We had a coffee and croissant breakfast in a beautiful garden overlooking the city walls. A bridal party joined us, with an uncooperative toddler who didn't want his photograph taken. Fortified, we spent the next couple of hours wandering the streets and taking photographs. We had a chat to a master craftsman who made amazing inlaid wood pieces, and he kindly explained the process to us.

We had a salad lunch before heading out along another track through the fields. At times we joined with the Via di Francesco - St Francis is known to have visited many of these places. A river crossing gave our feet a wake up before the last climb of the day.

Citerna is another 'most beautiful village', and we found plenty to admire, especially the covered walkways in the town walls. We had dinner in a restaurant set into these walls. We've discovered that Italian restaurants are quite happy to let patrons share courses. This allows us to try more - tonight some pasta stuffed with potato and anchovy, tagliatelle with sausage and mushrooms, cod with polenta and artichokes.