All roads lead to Rome
- Jasmina
- May 20, 2018
- 3 min read
Dawn, at last. I was relieved. Morning light gave me confidence and left my fears ahead. The long scary night was over, the dark shapes had now a clear image. I left the garden before 6 am when everybody was still sleeping. The ancient roman road was cobbled and worn out by centuries of usage. Cars of local residents were using it on daily basis, and time to time pilgrims were following it towards Rome. The Via Francigena coincided with the Via Cassia Antica in this part of the Tuscia. I followed it for a long stretch to the point where it got lost in cultivated fields. Fields and olive groves replaced the houses on a pleasant straight road slightly in descent. I passed old bridges, railways and wheat fields, the landscape became bleak and spacious, sheep flocks were grazing on huge spaces.
It was still morning when I saw steam rising from the ground. The scene was quite unusual in the middle of the flat emptiness. When I arrived closer I realised it was hot thermal water and people were bathing. It was Bagnaccio terme, hot springs found nearly in their natural state consisting in several baths containing water in different temperatures. A strong smell of sulphur reminded me of Saturnia in Tuscany. I lusted for a moment to stop but then changed my mind. I knew I would soon arrive in the city of Popes, Viterbo and rather stopped there for a late breakfast. I was somehow feeling at home, in my comfort zone. I had lived in Rome for three years and cycled a lot through Lazio. The places were familiar to me and now I was feeling a sort of pressure to arrive to my destination.
I had breakfast in Viterbo and moved ahead following the via Francigena, once again immersed in nature. What is so surprising about Latium is that walking in the nature means also walking in history and ruins. Ruins have become part of the natural landscape and are found all over the region. Medieval towers in the woods, roman bridges, Etruscan tombs, ancient walls and cisterns, aqueducts, abandoned chapels, mithraeums hidden and protected by orchards and fields. I had just passed Ponte Camillario and an Etruscan catacomb when I realised that I had picked a variant of the via Francigena missing to see the remarkable strada Signorino. The country road is a sort of trench, a narrow cutting running deep in the hills excavated by Etruscans. It is part of a larger road network of sunken lanes which linked Etruscan necropolis and settlements in Tuscany and the Tuscia. I was a bit rattled but I decided to continue towards Vetralla and then Sutri.
After a short nap under an almond tree I suddenly realised I couldn’t find indications of the Via Francigena. The countryside was so charming that I got lost. I decided to continue though on that path because as we say in Italian all roads lead to Rome. The path led into almond orchards and ancient ruins, after a while I arrived on a paved road, a quiet strada provinciale which helped me to speed up. It was late afternoon when I arrived in Bracciano. I bathed in the lake and rested my tired muscles. I had to decide if spend the night in Bracciano or try a home stretch to Rome. I went for the audacious ride to Rome. It was already 6 pm and other 40 km were awaiting me. I started my final ride soaked and with a feeling of victory which was giving me energy. I knew the road well: through Tagliata, Boccea, Malagrotta, Ponte Galeria and finally Magliana Vecchia, my old home where I had lived for three years. But eventually I did something different, haste decided for me otherwise. At Tagliata I took Via dell’Arrone and then onto the SS1, the via Aurelia, basically a motorway where bicycles were not allowed. It didn’t matter, my mind was focused on the target. I arrived at 10 pm, Triest-Rome, 920 km, 10 days. My best achievement but most importantly the time of my life!
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