August 4, 2024 - Daily Distance: 11 km - Total Distance: 265 km

It’s Sunday, and today’s stage is short. So, we decide to get up at 5 and take it easy.

After a quick breakfast, we set off. The day starts with passing by the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria, which, given the early hour, is closed. To follow the tratturo route, we should head towards Castiglione a Casauria, but to avoid some paved road, we choose to follow the ridge running parallel to the tratturo, knowing that the two paths will converge after a few kilometers.

Initially, we walk along a comfortable flat road beside the highway and railway until it’s time to face the climb. The path follows a trail... a nice trail, yes, but definitely steep! We arm ourselves with patience and climb slowly. The trail is little used, and the vegetation slows us down, but it’s nothing compared to what we’ve faced on other stages.

At the end of the first climb, we reach a house with a nice fountain underneath. A man comes out to see who these travelers are. As usual, we share a bit about our adventure and ask about the "botti di carico" that Mariano mentioned the day before. We’re not exactly sure what they are—I personally imagined them to be barrels for wine! He explains that they are ancient piezometric towers on top of the hill and warns us that there’s still quite a bit of road ahead.

We resume our journey, following Mariano’s directions, who has sent us GPS waypoints to locate the "botti."

We were under the illusion that the climbs were over, but we were just getting started. We continue for a stretch on the road, then on a dirt path, until we face an impressive climb straight up to the hilltop! I check the GPS, hoping for an alternative, but it unrelentingly points us in that direction.

We start climbing, with the sun now scorching. After much effort, we finally reach the top. It’s time for a slight detour to see these famous "botti di carico." I expected simple concrete cisterns and had prepared for disappointment. Instead, we find ourselves in front of ancient stone structures that seem to be planned for restoration and reuse by the local authorities. It would indeed be a great idea!

We continue climbing, but this time the gradient is lighter. In the distance, towards what seems to be the point where we’ll crest, we see a structure resembling a Sardinian Nuraghe. As we get closer, we discover it’s just a rock with a peculiar shape. But the illusion was convincing!

We cross beautiful meadows and begin the descent along a very steep concrete road. As expected, we’re accompanied by signs of the "Cammino della Pace." The Monte Velino range guides us as we walk. How different the landscape is from a few days ago. No longer sun-scorched plains, but pleasant hills as far as the eye can see: it feels like two different journeys.

The descent is 2 kilometers long, and the gravel makes the path treacherous: the fear of slipping is always present. We quickly lose all the altitude gained and put our knees to the test, but we eventually reach the upper part of Bussi sul Tirino. There’s our accommodation: for the second time, my companions will stay in a castle, restored after the L’Aquila earthquake.

The castle is in the upper part of the town, partly restored but almost uninhabited and lacking amenities. And our long-awaited bar? After washing up, we head down to town in search of a place to eat. We have to walk another kilometer... not exactly the easy day we thought!

The first bar only sells arrosticini, which don’t appeal to my companions. The second one offers only sandwiches, but hunger strikes and we settle for it.

To avoid having to return to town in the evening, Silvia suggests shopping and offers to handle it after a well-deserved break by the pool. But, as often happens, things don’t go as planned: as soon as she arrives at the pool, it starts raining, so she decides to go straight to do the shopping... but it’s Sunday, and the supermarket is closed. We see her return to the castle a bit disheartened. Oh well, in the evening, we head back down to town to have a pizza. After all this, we’ve learned our lesson: never again say that a stage will be easy!

Track of the day