Via Francigena sud, Stage 25 – Ordona to Stornara

2-11deg, sunny, but the chill in the breeze means we keep some layers on while walking today.

20kms, a bit wet underfoot in places but no mud on the gravel roads. We are really glad we did not take this on the day before as it is very exposed out in the fields almost all day.

Highlights – A scenic day once into the agricultural fields until Stornarella, then the amazing murals throughout the town of Stornara.

6.25 hours, including a long lunch break at a restaurant in Stornarella.

The first surprise as we head out of the town is the green hills of the Apennines now have a fair covering of snow.

We leave the road after a couple of kms and are into the fields.

Through the fields today we see – artichokes, fennel, parsley, brassicas, broad beans, spinach, and other seedlings too small to identify. Many of the fields are ploughed and you can see that the black and brown deep soil is often chock-a-block with rocks. I liken it to a picnic bar – then all we can think about is how much we want a picnic bar.

While we see the occasional car and worker, it is again a really peaceful day in the fields with the sound of the starlings, our footsteps and the click of the sticks.

In Stornarella we hoped to find somewhere open for lunch, but all the bars seem to be closed, or closing. A woman at one bar points us in the direction of a restaurant that is open, despite the late lunch hour – we never would have seen it ourselves. We take our time with a delicious lunch at Ristorante Godot, and they send us on our way with a handful of chocolates.

After lunch the last stretch is along the bicycle/walking trail adjacent to the roadway stretching straight out between Stornarella and Stornara. Many drivers seem to treat it like a racetrack.

The second surprise of the day is how amazed we are by Stornara. I had read about the murals in Stornara but we are still amazed with how impressive a sight they are.

We locate a few on our way to the accommodation for the night, then head out in the evening to see what else we can find.

A sample of the murals we located, both that evening and heading out of town the following morning.