La Storta to Rome

Mr Melezet
Oct 19, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Jan 11, 2022

Cinghiali.

We had a light breakfast at the hostel before setting off. It was a cold but sunny Autumn morning.

The first few km along the Via Cassia were dull, passing through the usual shops and garages that you find at the edge of every city. The road itself was more interesting and we had breakfast no.2 at La Giustiniana watching cyclists and old cars on parade. There were lots of motorbikes, possibly on their way to the race meet at Campagnano.

Today's date: 18.10.20

Weather: sunny but cold

Steps: 36,927

Distance: 24.85 km

Climbing: 420 m

The Via took us into the dell'Insugherata nature reserve. It was remarkably wild and the path was often flooded. In one field we encountered a large family of wild pigs. It was certainly a surprise, but luckily they took off into a hedge. This was about 15km from the Vatican.

We had lunch in a cafe in Monte Mario and walked on to the hilltop for our first panorama of Rome. We looked across to the Olympic stadium and St. Peters and then walked down our last steep descent to Viale Angelico.

The Via runs straight along the Viale for about 3 km. We stopped for tea with about one km to go. The streets were very quiet until we were close to the Vatican when it became busier with tourists.

The Via ends in St. Peter's square. The square was not busy as the entrance to the Cathedral is now from a separate area. We took a few photos and then walked to one of the entrances to the Vatican to visit the Pilgrim chapel. We had a fruitless chat with the Swiss Guard who wasn't expecting visitors and took a while to establish that the Chapel was 'closed for restoration'. It was a bit disappointing but we will be back tomorrow when the credentials office opens.

We walked to our accommodation past the castle and Piazza Navona, and had a preview of the sightseeing for the next few days. We stopped for a celebratory gelato, but it probably won't sink in until we get our credentials tomorrow.