Day 1 of the Via Francigena, Lucca to Altopascio - 13 miles (21km)

Lucca To Altopascio Stage 1

Via Francigena, Tuscany, Italy

Today we were starting our walk consisting of 260 miles from Lucca to Rome, along the via Francigena. We had booked all the accommodation a few months in advance. We were looking forward to visiting Tuscany with the highlights of San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and Siena, before arriving at the Vatican in Rome.

In Lucca the walk starts by the church on Piazza san Michele, then down Via Roma, and Via Cruz. We had checked it out the previous day and saw no signs. We were glad to have the guide book, and we had bought the credentials needed the previous day at the Cathedral Museum for €8 each. We left the Piazza at 8.45am and walked Via Roma, stopping at Cafe la Colonna, for a coffee and sandwich. We left the cafe at 9.15am and headed out of Lucca and were happy to find some little red and white signs through the large gateway. We reached the outskirts of Lucca at 9.50am having walked along the pavement at the side of a busy road (but nothing compared to what was to come!). We turned right at a shrine, down a quiet road arriving at the beautiful St Michele Church at 10.15am, with a pretty cemetery.

Just before Capannori there are information boards about the walk, then outside the archaeology museum is a large sign saying get your stamp here, so we called in. We went to Cafe Pracchi in Capannori at 11.15am, before continuing along tracks through the countryside.
On arrival in Porcari there is a steep hill with a church on the top, however it was closed but there is a great view of the town and mountains. We called into supermarket In’s, just off the main road, then ate our lunch on a bench. Crossing a busy road, then turning right at Pam store, we passed a church now being used as a Pilgrims hostel, but currently closed.
We arrived in Altopascio at 3pm, and had a nice walk round various piazzas. We checked into our accommodation of Camera San Jacoba at 4pm, conveniently located on the route in the middle of town.

Later we had a delicious dinner at Trattoria Dell’orologio, which opens at 6.30pm, unlike the other restaurants, which opened at 7.30pm.
We were happy with our first day on the Via Francigena. As it is a relatively short walking day of 12 miles, we had taken our time. There was some road walking, but we have had a lot worse. It was a flat walk, with some pretty towns and churches, but some industrial areas too. The views to the mountains made it worthwhile. For a March day it had been lovely and sunny at 15°. There are thin red and white signs round lampposts to follow, not as obvious as the large yellow arrows found on a Camino. Occasionally there are large brown signs, and small posts with V.F. on them. Be careful to follow the signs for a walk, as the signed cycle path sometimes takes a different route.

Distance 13 miles (21km)
Duration of Walk 6 Hours 20 minutes including breaks
Elevation Gained 330 feet (101m)
Pace 29 min a mile

Websites used
  / trattoriadellorologio   Restaurant
www.bookings.com Camera San Jacoba