The “Francigena” Road
Podere Vasella is located exactly in the middle of the canonical stage that the guides on the “Francigena” road set from Vetralla to Sutri.
But as they say, never look back but always move forward, so be careful when leaving the gate we take the road to the right towards Sutri and enjoy the second half of the stage that the pilgrims will have started about 10 km further north.
A dirt road will accompany us for a few hundred meters before a sign will make us turn left, taking a concrete path that takes us down the valley, taking us through a small underpass under the Roma Viterbo railway.
But as they say, after a descent there is always an uphill, but don’t worry, it lasts less than a hundred meters before regaining the flat path.
We won’t even have time to get used to the woods and hazelnut groves when we arrive at the town of Capranica, accessing it from another railway underpass but this time the line will be the Capranica-Orte one, which has been abandoned for decades and is the subject of continuous discussions about its possible reopening.
We walk along the first streets of the town and we will arrive at our first crossroads, on the right we will go along the Via Romana which will save us a kilometer but will deprive us of the passage through the historic center which we will encounter if we decide to take the route on the left which will allow us to touch the Cassia before entering the first access arch to the old town.
Here we will take the opportunity to have a coffee in one of the bars we will encounter right on the route.
We continue the journey, the exit from Capranica will give us breathtaking views, taking us back to Cassia where we will encounter the source of San Rocco.
We fill our water bottles with pure water from the source before taking the uphill road again, we will cross hazel groves until we reach an asphalt road, a small path protected by a wooden fence awaits us on our right, we will follow it for about 50 metres, there we will find a sign on the left that indicates the Francigena again which, leaving the road, heads downstream towards Tinozzà.
It won’t be long before we will meet our small stream which will accompany us until the end of the stage.
We are in a gully surrounded by mixed forests of beech, oak, chestnut trees and much more.
The path now to the left, now to the right of the small river is easily practicable, giving us scents of undergrowth accompanied by encounters of multiple botanical species.
Cross the little river?
Don’t worry, you will find romantic wooden bridges made with the trunks of plants that have fallen along the path. Now the forest begins to open up, we begin to find the first vegetable gardens until we reach the small tuff bridge, the village of Sutri is there on our left.
Here we are at yet another crossroads, left or right?
If we choose the first we will continue along the dirt road until we find the Cassia which we will cross to reach the center of Sutri where a square welcomes us with all the charisma that only a square in an Italian village can do, we are only spoiled for choice of bar where we can sit and have a good drink before stopping at the tobacconist where we will get our ticket for the bus that will take us back to Capranica in the “La Trinità” area.
We leave the square and head downhill towards Rome where we will eventually find our stop without first getting lost in the alleys of Sutri.
While if at the little tuff bridge, we will opt for the right, and not the political one, we will proceed on a dirt road for no more than 50 meters before turning left again and finding a small glimpse of the Etruscan Necropolis which will accompany us for a few hundred meters before encountering a cut of tuff worthy of the name it bears.
We continue forward until we reach yet another little bridge that will make us turn left, there we see the ruins of the Promonte Mill, where a good part of its structure is still standing.
We follow him until we reach the back door of the Etruscan amphitheater where a protective grate gives us yet another breathtaking view of this route.
We continue to go around the amphitheater until we reach the tombs that we will most likely have already seen while traveling along the Cassia towards the north.
We cannot miss a visit to Villa Savorelli which overlooks the amphitheater where a forest will guide us to a panoramic terrace which will allow us to admire an overview of the spectacular amphitheatre.
Now we are ready for our drink in the square and the return. The buses have a frequency of approximately one hour on weekdays while on public holidays the frequency becomes two hours. For the timetables we can refer to the Cotral website since depending on the season they may undergo timetable changes.
If we are allergic to public transport, no one is stopping us from organizing our own transport which we will have left specifically in Sutri.
Upon request, the property can also organize return transport.
The Francigena Road
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