The Solitary Walker

The next day Benji and I walked the short distance (15 km) from Valpromaro to Lucca. I'm afraid I can't remember much about the l...

The white-marbled Cathedral of Saint Martin in Pietrasanta. A brickwork bell tower stands alongside. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) I...

From Sarzana the official Italian Alpine Club route took a difficult and tiring course through the Apennine foothills. I decided to take t...

Pontremoli. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) Three days of strenuous walking took me 70 km from the col to Sarzana, which was positione...

The Ostello di Cassio. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) During the next two days I would walk 45 km, climb more than 1300 m and gain t...

Felegara and the river Taro. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) Early next day Giacomo accompanied me almost to the edge of Fidenza bef...

The Church of San Fiorenzo in Fiorenzuola. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) I left Piacenza's Piazza Cavalli the next morning encou...

Sculpture representing the River Po in Turin. In crossing the Po I passed from Lombardy into the region of Emilia-Romagna. (Image from Wik...

Towers in Pavia. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) The main road out of Pavia was busy and dangerous, and after three or four kilometres...

The Romanesque Church of St Peter, Robbio. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.) For the next four days I would walk a further 80 km over t...

I now tried to prepare myself mentally for a ten day trek across the flat, often monotonous plain of the Po Valley. This first day was not...