We are in or on the Apennines. Stunning panoramas on all sides if only it weren’t cloudy and by afternoon foggy and rainy and by later in the afternoon muddy and slippery. We trudge on encouraged by a chorus of encouraging words. Me: how you doin? Paula: STRONG! Paula: How are you doing? Me: STRONG! That carries us for at least 5 km
We walked through Svizzano, a very small town with a Cistercian monastery dating to the 11th century. The local historian and would be toothless mayor gave us a short history of the monastery, pointing out the age of individual stones and the various capstones that were evidence of its history. In 1998 the town had a year long celebration of the 1000 years during which the monastery was the heart of the community. I dipped into the abutting church, it being 11 am on a Sunday mass was just starting. A dozen women and one couple with a teenage girl in attendance, and yet the choir, two women in the slo-go years of life, sang a most beautiful hallelujah . Back in the rain we made our way to Ostelleria di Cassio.
Tomorrow Bercello.
Walking the Via Francigena 
I just received the progress email for P2 stage 12, Cassio to Berceto. I had commented – Now you are climbing to Castello di Casola and then up and down through woodlands to Cassio. One more -highway stretch too. — Next, P2 12, come some challenging climbs to the Cisa Pass and Righetto pass, and then the long descent to Groppoli. Curious whether you prefer climbing or going downhill., especially in the rain. From what I read, there’s a lot to see – vistas, rivers, – a riot of geological wonders. If you make it through the rain, you can do anything. Anyway, I was going to say that the Cisa Pass is psychological midpoint in your journey. And to quote Dante translated by Longfellow, “MIDWAY upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. [omitting a lot] Thou wouldst conduct me there where thou hast said,
That I may see the portal of Saint Peter,
And those thou makest so disconsolate.”
Then he moved on, and I behind him followed.
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Stunning photos! I love that eerie blue shuttered house.
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