4/12/24
We’d randomly put broccoli in the pizza sauce the night before. For breakfast we fried the other half of the broccoli up and ate it alongside some bread and an avocado that we’d forgotten about the night before. We used to eat avocados at home quite frequently but they’re very expensive in Italy, about €10 a kilo. That’s about €2.50 each! So a rare treat as we found one for about 80 cents.
Bellies full of food we left Viterbo, heading south to rejoin the EV5 and ‘cleverly’ avoiding an unnecessary descent and ascent, crossing the city by walking up the one way streets. We were on a busy road at first but soon, weirdly, went behind a crash barrier onto a quiet back road. Then we were back on the busy undulating road again, climbing and descending over and over.
Finally we went rushing into Vetralla, but there was a sudden 20% gradient right before the main street. Given the fact we’d only had one coffee that morning we thought another was a viable opportunity to take a break.
As we were perusing an information board to see what was worth seeing, a man greeted us, initially in Italian but then in English as he thought we were Australian! Todd was actually American and had moved to Italy 40 years ago. He was so friendly and wished that he could spend longer talking. Although his hair already looked great, he had a barbers appointment. He even bought us a coffee before he left. We exchanged numbers, so if you’re reading this Todd, thanks again, kindness is not easily forgotten!
Apparently the church at the other end of the town was worth seeing but involved more uphill so we declined. We drank our coffees and set off in search of the other pretty towns Todd had mentioned. After leaving Vetralla the route went through a pretty woodland before taking us on rough unsurfaced tracks. Curiously, these were all named roads! It was both a struggle to go up and down the hills as freewheeling wasn’t really an option.
Capranica is an insanely beautiful town perched on top of what you would initially think is just a hill. However, it’s built upon tuff, a volcanic rock that dictates the relief of the entire area. We first came across it in Viterbo, the underground tunnels being entirely carved from it. Here the tuff stood proud, and the area was occupied by the Etruscans, the greatest pre-Roman civilisation we’d never heard of before. The town has a long and rich history and the oldest part is a maze of tiny streets with precipitous drops. Basically, it’s incredibly cool, and though the Italians all have second homes there, foreigners are less likely to visit given how close (by car) it is to Rome.
Leaving Capranica gave us views of how it was perched. It was the type of place you’d see in books about medieval times. After we left, we went straight up another stupidly steep road and were very soon in Sutri. It is another ancient town, occupied by the Etruscans, and built on the tuff. It was also on Via Cassia, which we understood to now be the SS2, at least in some places.
Below the city walls there are Etruscan tombs, a church carved into the rock (disappointingly closed when we arrived) and most impressively an amphitheater also carved into the rock on every side. The only one of its kind. We explored for a while, eventually finding a steep hill to walk up behind it and gain a birds eye view of the whole thing.
From Sutri we had a short stint on the busy SS2 before heading back onto the dirt tracks/roads we were now familiar with. The area is known for growing nocciola, hazelnuts, and supplies 30% of the entire countries production. Italy being the second largest producer in the world. So there were fields and fields of them. We had been riding past them all day.
Just when we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere the path did the classic act of passing through the middle of a golf course. Nothing like it to bring you back to reality! After we passed through the less exciting town of Monterosi we almost ended up on a motorway! The route was actually a tiny single track by the side for a short while and then what could only be described as a farm track. We saw lines of sheep being perfectly shepherded by both man and dog. The latter being off their leads and roaming around freely, but fortunately not interested in us.
We’d debated where to stay for the night all day, eventually deciding to make it as far as Campagnano di Roma which had a few B&Bs but as we got close we found a decent camping spot and decided to save our money. It was a little field and the closest house was a couple of hundred metres away on a hill surrounded by trees. As we set up there was the occasional car moving around at the house which spooked us but nothing came near us. The track we’d arrived on was so rutted that even the Italians in their beloved Fiat Pandas surely couldn’t drive it!
We hadn’t visited a food shop so we had nothing but biscotti, jam and peanut butter for our dinner. Plenty of food but nothing particularly savoury, the closest we came was salted peanuts. The night was long and we were sat for many hours in the tent.
It was hard not to let the fact that we weren’t technically allowed to be there put us on edge, especially when it’s only 7pm. We couldn’t help anticipate someone coming to tell us we had to leave or worse causing us trouble. The wind was due to pick up over night but we seemed to be in a sheltered place, the tree tops were audibly waving but the tent wasn’t flapping. By 9pm we felt more confident of our position and gladly went to sleep. We’d made enough progress to get to Roma the next day.
Surly They Won't Make It 