Berceto to Pontremoli

Mr Melezet
Sep 21, 2020
2 min read

Over the pass to Tuscany.

The plan today is to climb to the Passo della Cisa and then start the descent to the coast and Tuscany.

Today's date: 20.9.20

Weather: sunny with rain showers

Steps: 42,796

Distance: 31.54 km

Climbing: 846 m ( but we descended 1,413 m )

We had a light breakfast and left Berceto at 8am. The weather was grey and drizzly so there was little traffic.

The walk up to the pass was straightforward with great views back towards Berceto. The pass is only at 1040m, so it is not very wild or exposed.

There is a bar at the pass and we met another pilgrim, Stefano, who started at the St. Bernard.

The road to the pass was used by Alfa Romeo to test cars and is still used by Alfa owners as a meet-up spot.

The sun came out and the road became much busier with cars and motorbikes. Luckily the via forked from the main road and headed down through Gravagna San Rocco where we stopped and ate our lunch.

The farm animals are protected by dogs here. We saw sheep and sheepdogs but no ostriches. There was a memorial at the spot where two British soldiers fighting with the partisans were killed during the war.

The road twisted down through woods for many kilometres and it was a lovely walk.

We stopped for a coffee before pressing on for the last few km into Pontremoli.

Pontremoli sits on an island at the junction of 2 rivers. We sat in the piazza and bumped into Noelle who introduced us to another pilgrim, Urs, who is staying at the same hostel as ourselves.