Day 3 - Pian Della Campanna to Sansepolcro

Got up on Day 3 of the pilgrimage to find the weather had changed for the worse with heavy clouds and rain. The profile for the descent back down to the valley showed a fairly precipitous final stage so, thinking about slippery rocks, decided to do a shorter and slightly less steep route. A copper-bottomed mistake - like spelling cashew with three 'r's or invading Russia in mid-winter.

Above some of the the clouds

The official path across the mountain was ok but after a few km I diverted downhill through the woods. The first descent wasn't too bad and took me to a small road where I could have lunch at some nice, seat-high logs.

Lunch stop

The second descent was very tricky. The "path" was actually a stream bed with slippery mud intermingled with sharp, slippery rocks. One had to take tremendous care not to fall in such a remote location. Before getting to the road there was one last expanse of broom on the side of a steep hill which had to be pushed through to get back to the path.

I finally rejoined the official route and then it was a steady trudge along a road into Sansepolcro in steady rain. I arrived at the rather nice hotel I had booked and felt a bit bad about walking into reception and dripping quite so profusely onto the nice rug they had in the foyer. Nonetheless the room was warm and the shower was hot. My clothes however were soaking and very muddy after all the scrambling so I headed off to a laundrette to do a wash.

Like many Italian towns, Sansepolcro has a beautiful old centre and some nondescript modern buildings surrounding it. The laundrette was in the modern bit of town and full of people who spoke zero Italian. Clearly the laundrette was a bit of a social centre but the machines were fast and efficient.

The old centre of Sansepolcro is well worth visiting. Not just for the stamp from the friendly tourist office but for the fact that this was the home town of Piero della Francesca. There is a famous tale from World War 2 - the allies thought that German soldiers were still in the town and were planning to reduce the town to rubble. However a British artillery officer recalled that Sansepolcro contained what Aldous Huxley had called the finest painting in the world and called off the bombardment. It was fortunate as, in fact, the Germans had already left. The painting is now in the civic museum and it is, undoubtedly, amazing.

The Resurrection

Dinner was at a little restaurant at the other end of the old town from the hotel - Ristorante Enoteca dei Sensi. Great food, great atmosphere.