Galleno to Radicofani - Weather- overcast all day, strong winds, rain and fog late - High 64, Low 56, On Route 11.48 miles, Total Distance 12.07 miles, 28,305 steps

To Date; OR - 138.81, TD - 163.5

Ground Hogs Morning?

This morning feels surprising like yesterday morning. Up at 6:00. Got a bus to Galleno to catch at 7:29. Pick up our breakfast at the front desk. Yep. All the same. But, my pack is full once again and I did have to tape up Sally’s feet this morning. That was different. And we rode the bus about 1/2 a mile further south today to the Galleno Sud bus stop. 

    We have ten miles in front of us today, and about 1780’ of gain. We get to walk up this beautiful valley today and gain the ridge at its southern edge at the town of Radicofani.  Somehow, walking this route, with all its history, makes walking roads and highways all day interesting. Popes walked this route. Michelangelo walked this route. Lorenzo Medici (Lorenzo the Great) walked this route. Along with thousands of others over the millennia. They didn’t have to contend with noisy cars or foot numbing blacktop, but they had their own brand of annoyances. Snow on the higher passes (almost non existent now). Feuding families. Bands of armies. Bandits. Speaking of bandits, there used to be a group at Radicofani lead by Ghino di Tacco that robbed everyone coming through, but then invited his victims to his home for a big meal. He was particularly known for robbing the people of the papel state of Rome, and thereby became a hero in Siena, Rome’s enemy to the north. Radicofani is on the ridge between these two regions of Italy. There is a square named after him in the town. 

     Our first half mile was on the narrow shoulder of a busy highway. We soon dropped on to a grassy farm road, little used so the tread was full of short clipped grass. The morning dew was heavy on the blades, threatening to soak our feet. I broke a leafy branch off a tree and swept the grass in front of me, knocking off 90% of the water, keeping our feet dry. 

     The rest of the day was on old paved roads little used or gravel drives. The sun started the day shining through a thin layer of high clouds with fog below. As the day progressed and we climbed higher the wind brought in rain clouds that obscured the sun. As we approached the top of the ridge where Radicofani sits the wind picked up to 30 mph and the rain started to slam into us sideways. We intrepid travelers donned our rain gear in the shelter of a tree and climbed the final two miles up to the ridge top town, the rain water now turning the dirt farm roads into sloppy streams of mud. Luckily we are on the front side of the rain so the water and mud wasn’t deep enough to spill over the rubber soles of our shoes and wet our feet. 

    The last quarter mile was on pavement up into the town. This town clings to the mountain top. We stopped in the first small piazza to get our bearings and map our route to our accommodations. As we consulted my phone a man opened a second story window facing the piazza and in broken English asked what we were looking for. We told him and he directed us down the Main Street in town, Via Del Roma to the next piazza. 

    We found it and just as described by our land lord, the key was in the outer door, waiting for us. We entered, stripped off our rain gear and shoes and to our surprise found we were pretty dry. Our apartment is a two bedroom with a kitchen and bathroom. 

    We rested for half an hour, then headed out to see the Della Robbio sculptures in the church just across the square. It was dark inside and I had to get a headlamp to see the sculptures. Next, we headed out into the darkening afternoon to get groceries from the A&O store down below. As we walked through the square we saw a familiar face, a man we had seen in San d’Orcia two nights ago and then on our walk yesterday. We chatted for a few moments. He said he would come by our apartment with wine after their 7:30 dinner. We said great. 

     The wind was still whipping through the town, but the rain had let up. We had awaited until after 4:30 to make the sure the store was open for its evening hours. It wasn’t a Sunday or a Monday when most  stores are closed. But, it was closed. Sign on the door says closed Wednesday afternoon. Really? We have food enough to get us through the evening but an few items would be nice. As we walked back up the Via Roma we found a pizzaria open and bought two squares of pizza. Closer to our piazza we found a panel truck selling produce out of the back. We bought enough for stir fry tomorrow night.  

    After our dinner we were writing and reading. About 8:30 a knock was heard at our door. It was our friend plus the two others that were walking with him. We welcomed them in and were soon seated around the table trying to communicate. Thank goodness for translation apps. But, more importantly, if we are going to keep coming to Italy, we need to learn Italian. We learned that Silvio has been developing a Camino down by his native Naples. He showed me an app that has all the camino’s in Italy. There are hundreds!!

    They left about 9:15. It was so fun to entertain them tonight. They were so kind and so interested in America. Nickola’s sister has lived in Florida for the past 50 years. He called her so we could talk to her. He has not been to the US in 20 years, but his sister was here for 6 weeks this summer. All three had an overreaching awe in America and we were the representatives of the country they held in respect. It was an amazing event. 

Our route started on the highway

Campagnione up on the hill above San Bagni Filipo

Magnificent Tuscan countryside

Typical walking surface today for many miles. See the weather starting to deteriorate

Had to ford the river. Luckily the water was way down

Climbing up to Radico

Road a bit wet and muddy

Walking in the wind and rain when well clothed is so fun

Radicofani

One of the Della Robbio sculptures in the church

Silvio, Nicola and Annamarie in our apartment for wine and talk. They were walking the Via Francigena, too

Day Twenty One - Walking Day Seventeen - Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Galleno to Bagno Vignoni - Weather- overcast all day, threatening rain - High 64, Low 48, On Route 8.21 miles, Total Distance 9.17 miles, 22,307 steps

To Date; OR - 127.33, TD - 151.49

    We made our plans for today based on the weather predictions of a few days ago. Over an inch of rain was forecast. If we walked from Bagno Vignoni to Galleno in that weather chances were very high we would be quite wet upon arrival. The only lodging in Galleno was unheated hostels. Not good for drying out and warming up. To compensate, we decided to book two nights in comfy, heated and hot springs laden Bagno Vignoni. We found a bus that would take us to Galleno at 7:30 so we could spend the morning walking the eight miles back to Bagno Vignoni in the rain with the anticipation of thermal spas and a warm room to greet us driving us forward. Such was the plan. 

     We woke up this morning at 6:00. We had umbrellas, rain gear, food and sundry items in the pack ready to go. We had arranged for our provided breakfast to be ready to go at 7:00 as a take away to be eaten at the bus stop or on the bus. All was ready. As it turned out, the only thing missing was the rain. 

    The bus dropped us in Galleno as planned. There was a strong wind blowing across this rolling, ploughed field landscape, but no rain. We were swimming upstream again today, going north instead of south to Rome.  If anybody is walking the Via Francigena today, we will meet them, but probably not until about 11:00 or so, as the stage starts in San Quirico d’Arcia about 10 miles north of Galleno and it will take until that time for them to make it this far. 

     The first three miles were across those rolling, plowed fields. The clouds darted across the sky driven by the winds, allowing the sun to occasionally peek through and cast its strong light on various parts of the landscape. The hilltop town of Castiglione d’Orcia with its prominent stone tower stands high above, towering over the valley below. I was hoping to catch a photograph of the sun illuminating it. I got one, but had to act fast as the clouds obscured the sun quickly. 

    The route crowds up on the side of the hill below the town, the tower looming above. It was here we ran into our south bound walkers. We met Heather, an energetic 63 year old from Sydney, BC. Her and Sally instantly bonded. She invited us to come visit her in Sydney at the flower shop she worked at on the Main Street in town. We exchanged contact information. Our entire encounter with her was 15 minutes. 

    We continued climbing gently as we traversed below Castiglione until we reached the high point of the route where it abruptly turned right and started down the mountain toward Bagno Vignoni in the valley at the foot of the hill. This position was only a quarter mile from the road down to the wedding site Hailey and her mom had picked out for her and Joel’s ceremony. We had been here in 2017, but other than looking at old photos, my memories of that time were either foggy or non existent. I wanted to walk over to the fork in the road that led down to the venue-two villas on 50 plus acres- as we were so close. Sally was content to wait while I took this side trip. I got her comfortable sitting on an overturned plastic flower pot with lunch laid out before her and then began a jog over to the spot. It is fun to run again with all the arteries open!  That is, until you carelessly don’t watch where you are planting your feet on the shoulder of the road and roll you ankle. I went down hard. The car that was passing me that I had moved to the shoulder to avoid slowed to a stop to see that I was okay. I popped back up, gave them a thumbs up they could see in their rear view mirror and started limping on my way. Satisfied I was okay, they drove off. It took a couple dozen steps for my ankle to quiet down, but I knew I had torn some tissue in there and would be paying for that mistake in the days ahead. I didn’t notice the road rash I had acquired on both hands from catching myself, but soon the stickiness of the blood running down my fingers caught me attention. Darn blood thinners. I congratulated myself on choosing a red hanky for the trip and wiped my hands clean. 

    I made it to the road junction I sought. I have a good memory for geographic locations and seeing this spot flooded me with memories.  I took a photo or two and fought the urge to continue down the road to the villas. It was too far down for the time we had. I jogged back to Sally and we packed up and finished our descent to Bagno Vignoni. 

    We were back by 1:00, plenty of time to spend in the thermal baths. However, between the new open wounds on my hands and the necessity of icing my ankle, I chose not to go soak. Somehow putting my newly sprained ankle in hot water for a couple hours did not seem a smart choice. I had gotten a bag of ice from the desk clerk and was playing the 20 minutes on 20 minutes off game while Sally went to luxuriant in the thermal baths. She was gone about three hours in which I iced, wrote my blog and napped. When she returned we had pasta and marinara sauce laced with spinach for dinner, a repeat of two night ago, craftily heated with our tea pot. We had the same 7:30 bus to catch in the morning. We organized our stuff again to allow us a quick exit in the morning. Sally had removed all her KT tape on her feet to go soak. That would have to be reapplied in the morning. The forecast looked good for tomorrow. Other than road rash on the hands and a swollen ankle it was another amazing day. 

On the bus to Galleno

With a warm wind blowing left to right, Sally walks up the road

Plowed fields surround us as we walk the farm roads

The sun danced across Castiglione long enough to snap a photo

Our route brought us this close to the tower on the hill

The side road that leads to the wedding venue

Fall colors grace the hills below Castiglione

Back down on the highway at Bagno Vignoni we inspect the distances. Rome is still a long way to go, although these are Kilometers, not miles

Looking across the valley to Bagno Vignoni

The wide expanse of this UNESCO landscape.

Day Twenty - Walking Day sixteen - Monday, November 9, 2026

Torrenieri to Bagno Vignoni - Weather- overcast all day, threatening rain - High 61, Low 48, On Route 7.94 miles, Total Distance 7.22 miles, 17,999 steps

To Date; OR - 119.12, TD - 142.32

    The people you meet on these adventures are amazing. It was a day of meeting new people, freighting food to our swanky health spa hotel and reconnecting with our visit of 9 years ago. What an amazing day!

    We were not too concerned about an early start today. We only had about 8 miles to travel with a town midway along, San Quirico d’Arcio, a UNESCO town. Our end point was Bagno Vignoni, a village built around natural hot springs. Our plan was this: walk to San Quirico, stop at the grocery store there and load up with three days of lunches and two days of dinner that don’t need to be cooked. There are no cooking facilitiesin Bagno Vignoni. There are no grocery stores. Only exclusive, high priced, fancy restaurants out of our price range. Our room has an electric tea kettle so we can create boiling water and cook simple things in it, like Top Ramen, instant mashed potatoes, noodles and the like. So we can splurge on the room price if we stay conservative on the food. 

    We were up about 7:15.  I cooked oatmeal for breakfast in the hostel’s kitchen and we applied a sliced banana on top to seem fancy. As we ate our roomy poked his head in. We talked for a minute, then we all three parted to prepare for today’s journeys. A little while later I met him again in the kitchen and got to talking. He goes by Joesph and is a member of the Swiss army. Turns out, he just finished his two years of volunteer work as a Swiss Guard at the Vatican!! Sally, a huge fan of both Pope Francis and Pope Leo asked if he ever got to meet them. Many, many times came the answer. Joesph timed his duty perfectly. He was there for the Jubilee year and for the conclave and got to know both popes. But, the coolest part?  He was walking home to Switzerland now that his duty was done, a tradition among the Swiss Guards. What an amazing guy. He was big and muscular and as kind and thoughtful as could be. We would have loved to walk a few hours with him and get to know him better, but we were heading south and he north. 

    A little after eight we stepped out the door of the apartment complex that houses the hostel and walked down the stairs. As we approached the street we looked up and there was Marzen in the street waiting for us!  We greeted her with delight. In Italian she said what I interpreted was she wanted to walk with us to the next town San Quirico. We both said great and started down the road with her. As we approached her car, she opened the back hatch and motioned for me to put my pack in. Oh! I guess we are driving to San Quirico. Sally and I got in, myself in the front and off we went, the history, geography, biology and geology lessons of yesterday continuing into today. I whipped out my translator on my phone to interpret what she was saying. The small enclosed space inside her car worked wonderfully for the app as it could clearly hear her and interpret better. I won’t go into all the details of what we learned, but will say she is a very enthusiastic and good teacher. We visited churches, an outdoor sculpture garden, a friend of her dad’s and many small businesses along our route through this ancient yet bustling little town. By about 10:30 we decided we needed to be on our way. We told Marzen and she worked us back to the car with a few side stops along the way. We embraced her and swore we would stop back by to see her if in the region again. I got her email address and phone number so we can get in contact. What a fun, energetic woman (and maybe a little lonely?). 

    We walked back up through town on the main road and stopped into the San Francisco church to see a Della Robbio sculpture of the Virgin Mary. Very cool. At the other end of town was a church constructed about 1000ad. Around the corner we sought out the Coop grocery store and carefully selected food, being careful to not overload my pack, both in weight and volume. Remember, Sally is not carrying a pack, so everything we have for 42 days in Italy are in my pack, now including three days of food. It was a tight squeeze, but I managed to stuff every pocket full as well as the main compartment. Luckily, we only had about 4.5 miles to go. 

    Once out of town the route climbed a couple hundred feet to a high point overlooking the entire Orcia valley. The whole landscape is a UNESCO site, and walking into it makes the reason for that designation apparent. It is stunning. Try as I might to get a picture that captures the grandeur, I could not. It is so big that the photos lack a central focus point making them just large landscape photos. 

    Once we crested the top of the ridge and enjoyed the view, we started our descent down the ridge to the hamlet of Bagno Vignoni (ban-yo Vin-yo-neh) at the bottom. The way was paved most of the way and a bit steep. Our feet were tired by the time we reached the bottom and the health resort we had booked for two nights. 

     We had to search for 20 minutes to find the reception room. We found the address of the hotel, but it had a sign that said go to the reception, but not where it was. We finally found a shop with a lady who pointed us in the right direction. Once there, we registered with the desk clerk (haven’t done that once this trip so far) and he lead us up to our room. I believe he lingered in the door hoping we would tip him, but I felt our budget was strained enough by just being here. 

     We flopped on the bed and lazed for an hour, both feeling unreasonably tired for such a short day. Was it the weight of the pack? The effort to understand Marzen? Never could deduce why. 

    After our hour of repose we went out to explore the resort. It has the distinction of being the only village in Italy with a liquid piazza. Cool looking (hot water) but no one is allowed to use it, making it the most impracticable piazza in Italy. The village is just a collection of hotel and gift shops for tourists clustered around the hot springs that flow out of the ground. There is a lot of history here as well. It was one of the few places where flowing water occurred all year round so grist mills were built to grind the grain from the surrounding fields. However, the water was full of minerals and hot so it evaporated and left limestone deposits on all the sluices and equipment that had to be continually chipped off. Of course thermal baths and showers were here as well and notables of Italy stopped here on their way to and from Rome for hundreds of years. 

    We wandered into the resort’s bar for a

Coke. We sat next to a woman at a table and soon were in conversation with her.  She was from Maine, about 42. Her sister, four years younger soon arrived and we spent the next two hour absolutely enthralled talking with them. Kennesaw is nurse practitioner specializing in cardiology. Of course, my recent heart attack came up and occupied a fair amount of time. She dropped right into practitioner mode and we analyzed my history, attack and aftermath. Maisie, her younger sister worked in water management, stream restoration and such, mostly doing the artwork to illustrate existing and future conditions. She discovered she enjoyed it so much that she started her own company doing such artwork and is very happy with her work. They described the death of their father just a year ago and how he handled his illness and impending death with grace and dignity. We shared our Bob story. I think we would have sat with them another few hours, but they needed to drive to Multipuciano in the dark and find dinner and Sally and I had dinner to prepare. We exchanged contact information and invited them to our area. Kennesaw’s husband is in love with the PNW and is skiing all the volcanoes in the state (he still has a few to do) so chances are good we will see them again. 

     We cooked Top Ramen in our tea pot and had some scissor salad for dinner. We stripped down the pack for our day hike tomorrow from Gallina back to here. Rain is still forecast all day, but the rainfall total has shrunk from 0.6 inches to 0.05 so we will see what tomorrow brings. What a fun day full of amazing people. 

Marzen and us in San Quirico

Sally at breakfast in the hostel in Torrenieri

Joesph the Swiss Guard

Our bedroom at the hostel in Torrenieri

Marzen points out the Cypress trees and how they were used for shade for sheep before they became linings for driveways

Church in San Quirico

One of many sculptures in this theme in the park in San Quirico

Joesph in his Swiss Guard uniform at the Vatican

Sally overlooking the Orcia Vally

Castelione hovering about the valley

Orcia Valley

Bagno Vignoni main piazza

Us with Kennesaw and Maisie in Bagno Vignoni

Day Nineteen - Walking Day Fifteen - Sunday, November 8, 2026

Buonconvento to Torrenieri - Weather- Foggy morning Sunny with puff clouds - High 60, Low 42, On Route 8.05 miles, Total Distance 10.23 miles, 24,132 steps

To Date; OR - 111.18, TD - 135.10

The day started foggy and cold. The sun burned off about 10:00 to reveal gorgeous blue skies. 

    Our room was as described in yesterday’s post, but I left off a feature of the room, the smell. We were lucky to have a bathroom in our room, but the smell of sewer gas in the bathroom was severe. We closed the bathroom door and left the ceiling fan on. I put a towel over the shower drain. No avail. The smell was strong enough that Sally opened the window to the 42° weather outside to get some fresh air during the night. The one plus of this situation was that it got us up and out this morning a little quicker than usual. 

    It is Sunday, meaning everything in rural Italy is closed. In previous trips we have gotten caught by this fact with no food.  We now know and buy ahead Saturday afternoon or evening. My pack was brimming with food. Pasta, marinara sauce, rolls, meat, cheese, chips, cookies, sodas, rice, muslix, chocolate bars, etc. as we left the apartment I carried yogurt cups in my hands, hoping for a bench to enjoy them on. We found three chairs on the street outside an apartment building and stopped there to enjoy our breakfast. The air was chilly, but we were dressed appropriately. Trash in a trash bin, we were on our way. 

     The route skirted the back streets of the newer part of town then headed out paralleling the highway. As it was Sunday morning and traffic was light we chose to walk on the highway, the dry pavement preferable to the dew soaked grass where the trail was adjacent to the road. Eventually the route broke with the highway at right angles and began the inevitable climb into the surrounding hills. A group of ten male cyclists passed us as we walked up this dirt road, gaining altitude and approaching three swanky wineries perched on the hill tops. They were impressive with their cypress tree lined drives, exquisite landscaping and impressive buildings. Of course, off season, Sunday morning, they were all shuttered. We did find a picnic table outside one and employed it to enjoy an early lunch, about 10:30. 

     A little further up the road we were sitting at a conveniently placed bench with a stunning territorial view when we heard female voices coming up the road below us. As we stood to greet them two Italian women walking the Via Francigena for three days approached. We chatted for 10 minutes, then realized we were going to walk together and started off up the road, Sally paired with one, I with the other. 

     For the next hour we each chatted with our companion in broken English and Italian as we walked nearly two miles up this beautiful stretch of hilltop road. My partner, Lorena was 54.  She had been a nurse for 34 years and had decided to leave the rat race of a professional career and slow down a bit. She now does odd jobs when she needs money, house cleaning, fruit picking and the like. She says she makes less and therefore spends less but is a much happier person. She can take holidays such as this one. I enjoyed my walk and talk with her. 

    Sally was having a similar experience with her new friend. I could hear them laughing and chatting a 100 yards behind us. 

    The sun had now burned off the fog and was quite warm. I was till wearing a fleece and was getting hot, but had been loath to stop and interrupt our conversation. When I did stop to strip off the fleece Sally and Monica caught up with us. We took a photo and said goodbye. They were walking to the next town past ours and needed to get moving a little faster. 

    It is amazing how much information can be exchanged through the language barrier. We as humans have so much in common that through a few words and gestures ideas can be shared. But, any depth of ideas, thoughts and feeling are difficult to express so the conversation stays on a superficial level for the most part. 

    As soon as Lorena and Monica moved on we met a woman out for a walk from the town we were heading to. She joined us and we were once again emerged in “conversation” Italian-English style. Marzen was 73, although her bright eyes, enthusiastic smile and animated gestures spoke of a much younger person. She was retired from a career in Siena as a manager of student housing at the university. She commuted by bus each day from her home here in Torrenieri. 

    She turned out one a wonderful tour guide. Every bush and tree was explained to us. We ate blue berries off of roadside bushes, saw Italian rose hips, walnuts trees, apple trees, fig trees and much more. She was explaining the mountain we saw in the distance, a volcano that was the cause of all the hot spring we would encounter in the coming days. At one point, as she tried to explain something about the volcano she grabbed one os Sally’s trekking poles and scratched CaCO3 in the dirt road. Oh!! Limestone!  She was very clever. We really enjoyed her company and lessons, although we rarely made it more than 20 steps before stopping to observe something. It made for slow going. The weight of the food in my pack was beginning to bear down on tired shoulders. I used my phone’s translator app to ask why all the fields were plowed and left bare for the winter. She told me they were all planted with winter wheat and that if I looked I could see some fields where it was beginning to emerge. 

    As it turned out, she lives right next door to the hostel we are staying in tonight so she was able to guide us to our destination. She stayed with us while we waited for our host to come open the door. Of course, in this small town she is great friends with him. When he arrived they chatted a few minutes before we said goodbye to her and followed him inside to learn the workings of our newest accommodations. 

    He spoke very little English, but was quick with a friendly, warm, smile, and made us feel very welcome. We have a large bedroom to ourselves, access to a large kitchen and a pink bathroom down the hall. We are the only ones here for tonight, although he said their might be one more. To Sally’s dismay, no heat. 

    Once settled in, we walked through town, hoping to find a place open for a Coke. Everything was closed, partly due to Sunday, partly due to 4:00 in the afternoon. We did find a bar on the far side of town and had a Coke. Sally also had a glass of the local wine. She saw spinach on the menu. We asked if we could have an order to go, figuring it would be good in our marinara sauce for dinner tonight. Plus, it would be our only vegetables for the day. 

    We returned “home”, cooked dinner, talked with Jeff and the kids and Andy via FaceTime and then retired for the night. Another amazing day. 

Our funky old room in Buonconvento

Our very smelly bathroom

On the ridge top in the fog with a swanky hilltop winery in the background

Miles and miles of grapes beautifully tended

Cypress tree lined road

Our route is on that road and the town in the distance, Torrenieri in the background

Sally and Monica walking and talking in beautiful Tuscan scenery

Lorena and Monica with us at our parting

Torrenieri, our destination for tonight

Marzen Lombardi with us the last two miles into town