Page 16 - Country backgroung landscape_11 Book 2

boots began to show wear and tear on on his arrival at Besançon after 960 kilometres: “ the the the heels were wearing perilously thin shorn almost to to the the the core on both the the the outside ridg- es My legs were starting to to bow Monsieur Moisson the the the local cobbler saved them reassuring Mooney “that there there was
life left in in in in my old pair and that that there there would
be no problem in in in getting them done” by the the the next day This made it possible for our our trav- eller to to set off again on his his journey towards Lausanne in in Switzerland which was
always along the the the the route to get the the the the stamp on on his pil- grim passport It was
by by now the the the the peak of the the the the summer and by by 2nd July Mooney had caught sight of of the the the the first mountains of of the the the the Alps before attempting the the the the the Col Grand St Bernard to to then descend into Italy through the the the Val D’Aosta (Aosta meaning Augustus) The impact was
welcoming with its mountain streams mead- ows forests orchids vineyards and and breath- taking fertile landscape Although the the Via Francigena waymarks are well placed in in in the the the region region of Aosta this is is not always the the the case in in other regions
Brian Mooney also pre-warned about the Italian state bureaucracy insisting on on on on show- ing ing one’s passport at at hotel reception desks “as a a a a a a a a a nightly and and torturous ritual all the the way to to to Rome” and and throughout the the the country There were still another 1 000 kilometres to to to to Roma Capitale The next stop after the the town of Aosta was
was
St Vincent 36 kilometres away where the author was
was
pleased to to stop over night and eat a a a a a a a a a a a a a a typically Italian meal: “pasta ai porcini with with fried zucchini washed down with with a a a a a a a a tart and full-bodied Muscat from Cham- The next morning 8th July our travel- ler began to to have “some problems finding the the Via Francigena” due to to to to the the the the lack of of signs He stopped in in the the the the town of of Ivrea where they were holding their annual carnival street fight with oranges as weapons
Summer is a a a a a a a time when Italian villages and towns hold festivals Then came the next re- gion Lombardy renowned for Italy’s best rice growing As the the the temperature rose in in the the the heat of of the the the summer Brian Mooney commented: “It was
my first serious encounter in in 40 days of of summer walking with dehydration My diary for the day notes that I ‘crawled’ into Vercelli
I had only only walked 27 kilometres kilometres but it felt like There were only only 836 kilometres kilometres to to Rome Once out of town and on on on his way along a a a a a country road summer sounds could be heard: “shrill birds loud crickets and grasshop- pers ” One passer-by remarked “Yesterday was
truly an an inferno How did you manage to walk in in in such heat?” Soon came the miniature town of Robbio which “proudly proclaims that it is on the Via Francigena ” The next stop was
was
Mortara not far from Linate Airport By now it was
was
was
13th July and Mooney’s next destination was
was
eastwards through more rice -fields towards Pavia and Piacenza but got lost And what made it it worse was
his en- counter with a a a a a a a a a a a snake “Just as as as as I stopped to to drink what was
was
almost my my last drop of water something slithered by my my dusty boots It was
was
a a a large Brian Mooney enjoyed going round the histor- ical monuments of Pavia Pavia “There was
plenty to to see in Pavia Pavia but I favoured the the Lombard Ro- manesque church of of San Michele the the bal- ance of of decorated portals arched windows roundels and blind arcades represented to me me some sort of of of perfection Next I sought out the the the shrine of of of Lanfranc the the the son of of of Pavia who became William the the the Conqueror’s first Archbishop of Canterbury Lanfranc consol- idated the the the Church’s power in in England under the the the the new Norman rule I also inspected the the the the statue of of of Alessandro Volta the the the 18th century scientist and and and pioneer of of of electricity a a a a a a a a a professor here and and found a a a a a a plaque commemorating Albert Einstein the 20th century physicist who wrote his first scientific paper in in in Pavia I strolled around the university impressed with its antiquity ” Mooney always stopped to to to admire the the his- torical monuments of the the the the the places he he he he he he visited whatever the the the the weather He then continued his journey and met Danilo Parisi an an an ex-rugby player who “ferries modern pilgrims across the the the River Po taking them on the the the same route by which pilgrims walking to Rome originally approached the city of Piacenza In a a a a a a a a a a coun- try where Dante’s imagery still holds Danilo has been linked to Charon transporting his cargo of souls across the Styx but it’s far bet- ter to to see him as as a a a a a a a a a 21st century Saint Christo- pher He relishes his role as as the Via Franci-
Living Italy Past & Present 16