Via Francigena Day 15: Detouring around Dogs

by | Apr 26, 2025 | Italy, Trail Journals, Via Francigena | 0 comments

Friday, April 25, 2025

  • Start: Sutri, Italy
  • End: Campagrano di Roma
  • Distance walked: 32.2 km (18.9 miles) 
  • Cumulative distance: 386.1 km (239.8 miles)

Day 15 of the Via Francigena was all about detours. The morning began with a surprise when I ran into Ronald (the Dutch pilgrim whom I’d last seen in Siena). My shorter mileage days to avoid Rome and the Pope’s funeral tomorrow allowed him to catch me. Since I wasn’t aiming to arrive in Rome until Sunday, I decided to follow a slightly longer alternate route my guidebook recommended. Unfortunately, this detour required a second (self-made) detour when I ran into trouble: two large (90-pound) farm dogs wouldn’t let me pass. My third detour of the day was into Parco valle del Treja – a large park with a bunch of waterfalls, which was surprisingly busy because today was Liberation Day (a national holiday) in Italy.

Leaving Sutri, I was completely ensconced in fog
The morning took me past lots of pastures filled with horses.
Eventually, the fog burned off as I walked south toward Rome between fields and farms
Unfortunately, I had to detour an extra 2 km onto the side of the busy Via Cassia when I reached a farm, where two large (90+ pound) dogs came running toward me, barking ferociously, and refusing to let me pass on the dirt road.
When I finally rejoined the route, it took me past the Golf Nazionale golf course
Unfortunately, there was still some roadwalking left (but at least there was a path this time around)
And the route was fairly scenic
Today’s real highlight though was my detour into this park, which was surprisingly busy – though I later realized it was probably because today is a national holiday in Italy (ILiberation Day)
The park followed the river where I was greeted with so many cascading waterfalls
More waterfalls
One of my favorite parts of this little detour was walking across this floating pontoon bridge
When I finally arrived in Campagrano di Roma, the celebration was in full swing. But it felt less like an annual festival and more like a giant street fair with cheap DVDs and clothing for sale.
The biggest surprise, though, came when we checked into the parish-run osptiale, because they separated all the pilgrims by gender, much to Catherine and Andreas’ surprise.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • I didn’t expect to see Ronald again after we parted ways in Siena. He was taking a “zero day” there, and I just assumed I would remain a day ahead of him. However, my efforts to slow my pace and get to Rome after the Pope’s funeral let him catch me one more time.
  • Today’s detour into the waterfall park was a fantastic surprise. The route was a lovely shaded respite from the sun, and the number of cascades was surprisingly impressive.

CHALLENGES

  • I didn’t expect to have my route blocked today by the two large, aggressive dogs. And there really wasn’t any place to box around them. All the nearby fields were either fenced or flooded and muddy from the spring rains. So I had to backtrack to the highway and walk on an overgrown grassy shoulder that felt incredibly unsafe as cars whizzed by me.
  • Campagrano di Roma was one of my least favorite stops on the Via Francigena. When I saw the street festival, I expected something akin to the many festivals I’d attended in Spain. But this one seemed to be filled with stalls of cheap DVDs and inexpensive clothing. It had more of a swap meet vibe than a celebration.

<< VF Day 14
VF Day 16 >>

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *