DAY 73 - BOLSENA to MONTEFIASCONE - 2 July 2026

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It thunderstormed from 1am to breakfast time, and the weather app only gave us a small window before it stormed again. We scoffed down our breakfast and headed out into a refreshing breeze that would have taken our hats off, if they weren't tied down.

It was uphill - of course - but the surface was good, asphalt or gravel. We set a fast pace, not quite a being-pulled-along-by-a-border-collie pace but faster than a general road walking pace. The track was muddy in places and we saw footprints, surmising there were walkers ahead of us. We did see one behind us too.

We forded a couple of streams, walked beside olive groves and vineyards and enjoyed glimpses of the lake below our track. We entered a forest where our friends Russell and Rhonda had told us all the picnic tables in Italy were to be found, and they weren't wrong! Unfortunately we didn't have time to sit at one of them or any of the others we found on the track as we were racing to beat the storm.

Further on we came across sheep with bells. We didn't linger here because in Italy sheep are normally guarded by big white dogs who regard passers-by as the enemy.  Fortunately we passed without being bailed up.

Next we came across a field of goats. Some of them looked a bit different and we later found out that they were alpine goats.  They didn't look as if they needed guarding, they had big horns that they could use for defence.

We climbed the final hill, pausing to get a stamp at the 100km to Rome mark. It's actually more than 100km by the Via Francigena, but it's nice to have the stamp anyway!

We also took photos with the pilgrim statue outside the Basilica of San Flaviano where Bishop Defuk is buried. Bishop Defuk was travelling to Rome but got sidetracked by the excellent wine here (Est! Est! Est!), and drank himself to death. We sampled the wine tonight - in moderation.

We dropped our bags at our accommodation and headed straight up to the gardens around the Rocca dei Papi, for fabulous views of the countryside. We had a tuna and salad piadina on the way back to our hotel. The predicted severe thunderstorm did not arrive.

Leaving Bolsena this morning
Setting a cracking pace on the way out of Bolsena
Another fine day's walking on the Via Francigena, with occasional glimpses of Lake Bolsena 
A water crossing with actual water - haven't seen one of those for a while
All of those picnic tables that were missing when we could have used them . . .
Via Francigena approaching Montefiascone 
Some more of the Via Francigena approaching Montefiascone 
Montefiascone from the  Via Francigena - just on the top of that hill
A bit more of the Via Francigena as we approached Montefiascone 
Just before entering the town - views of Lake Bolsena on one side and Montefiascone on the other
100km from Rome. If you take the highway. More like 130 if you go by the Via Francigena. 
Montefiascone 
Montefiascone 
Montefiascone - views from the top of the hill
Back into town for a piadina lunch
Much later, out for dinner. The modern version of Est! Est! Est! was OK.
After dinner, we caught the sunset over Lake Bolsena . . . 
. . . and rounded out the day with a bit of gelato
Bits and pieces
Birds
Day 73 - Map

Day:                               73
Distance:                      17.47 km
Walking time:               3 hrs 31 mins
Elevation gain:             565 metres
Cumulative distance:  1490.24 km

Comments

  1. Anonymous2 July 2026 at 23:25

    Haha, so many picnic tables! Another day under the belt. Always good to miss a thunderstorm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barkers3 July 2026 at 05:46

      So many tables and no time to use them! We consoled ourselves that there were probably mozzies there anyway...

      Delete
  2. VLN3 July 2026 at 00:56

    Re 100km mark - all distance signage are a guide, in my experience

    ReplyDelete

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