The PLAN (which gang aft agley as we all know) is to walk 480km from Aosta to Sarzana in northwest Italy. “Surely a fool’s errand” I hear the cries. Especially for one (me) entering, but not quite into, one’s (my) eventide years, now amounting to 71. If you would like to read about this physical journey, that can be followed here , but should you be interested in the interior journey, that journey of meditation, examination and reflection, of musings and imaginings, please share that journey with me here.
IT ALL REALLY BEGAN in June 2017 when my colleague and dear friend Fabio took me on “a little drive to see the REAL Lunigiana”. He showed me the small medieval villages of Virgoletta and Filetto, in both of which I first noticed the little yellow man, here beckoning me down a hidden, dank, mysterious alleyway.
And so I became aware of this ancient pathway, this Via Francigena, which linked the Cathedral of Canterbury with the Basilica of St Peter in Rome. It was more than that of course: Caesar Augustus and Julius Caesar had both used this way in their imperial expansions, Napoleon Bonaparte likewise. Goths, Vandals, Lombards and countless English poets and artists in search of sun, good food, wine, and sex had walked this way.
So why am I walking this Way? Firstly, out of my love for Italy, its people, its history, and its way of life (I may expand on this as I go). Secondly, out of a personal need to take some time to address some aspects of my life before I get much older. Thirdly, just to see if I CAN!
My walk will begin about 13th May in Aosta, a gorgeous little city nestling into the Alps, and (hopefully) will end 30 days and 480km later in Sarzana, another gorgeous little city a stone’s throw from the sparkling Tyrrhenian Sea. If all goes well, I hope to continue the journey on to Rome on a next trip; but I’ll wait and see for that.
Vaughan's vehicle 