Today was 10 miles, bringing our total to 204 miles since we left Lucca.

Meals: You’d think this walk is all about the food with as much as we talk about it. Well, yes and no. As a former visitor of Italy once said (Bonaparte): an army marches on its stomach! We’re not quite an army, but we do march!

Last night we went to a well- rated “locals” pizza restaurant. The notes said get there early as they fill up fast! We got there early. We ordered 2 mixed salads (not in the menu, but they’re happy to make them), 2 pizzas,and a mineral water.

The salads were good but, when the pizzas came out, our jaws dropped!

As you may be able to see, each pizza requires 2 plates to support them!

We were only able to eat 1/2, saving the rest for today’s walk.

The total for the evening’s meal? 29€, or about $32.

Monuments: The proprietor of the B&B we stayed at was an architect. A few years ago, he submitted a proposal for the town’s float/ monument to the patron saint, Santa Rosa. They built it and, per tradition, carry it through the town streets on one evening per year. Next year, a new design will be chosen, built and carried.

Oh by the way, this monument is 100′ tall and weighs over 12,000 lbs.! 100 men are required to carry it. Here it is:

If you do a youtube search, you can see it in more detail. It’s worth the effort!

Today’s walk was interesting for a couple of features. The first were the carved-out roadways that we followed for about a mile and one half.

These were built by the Etruscans roughly 3,000 years ago (paving was more recent! ).

Ther second feature was the similarity between this section of Italy and Watsonville/ Salinas!

Only 4 more stages until we get to Rome. We’re getting close!

Ciao, for now.