Sacred Forest, 2
Badia Prataglia to Casa Santicchio
It takes about 8 hours to walk from Badia Prataglia to La Verna. However, we decided to break it into two parts and booked a place in Casa Santicchio a bit off the main trail. It was wonderful not having to rush. The forest changed, the beech trees disappeared and made place for oak trees, juniper shrubs and mulberry trees. Sometimes, a sweet chestnut tree was spreading its branches down the hill, just making us aware of its presence. Vibrant yellow brooms filled the air with a sweet smell like jasmine. The whole area was a paradise for butterflies.
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We hiked at an elevation between 800 and 1000 meters. Most of the time the path was covered by canopies of trees which kept us from becoming really hot.
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In one point, it rained. The warm rain was actually refreshing.
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Broom
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Chicory with butterflies
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Carthusian pink
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We tasted sweet Juniper berries and sometimes strawberries growing along the way.
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Ripe Juniper berries
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Christi brought homemade apricot Schnaps for all of us
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Sign for St. Francis way and to Casa Santicchio
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Sometimes we passed little chapels and shrines.
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We assumed this to be a mulberry tree
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Blooming blackberries with transparent blue butterfly
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We stayed in a former farm house built in the 18th century called Casa Santicchio. The recent owners bought the place after it was abandoned for 30 years and made it into a gem. The amazing thing was that they lived in Milano before and were city people. I admired their courage.
Self-made sauna (barrel) with pools in front of Casa Santicchio. In the distance, covered in clouds, you see Mount Penna, the goal of our next day.
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.We slept in a room used by the farmer as a school room for their 11 children. We were told that the teacher walked up each day from the village Rimbocchi to teach the children.
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Laura was a great cook and made delicious vegetarian food for us. Normally, the place would have been filled with pilgrims. However, due to Covid, the group scheduled to be here at the same time we were here, had to cancel. We had the entire place to ourself.
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Eggplant overbaked with cheese, hummus mixed with red beets, pea spread, fennel mixed with bread crumbs, red pepper and cooked cabbage – delicious! Simple red house wine from Tuscany added to the feast.
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The stem of the oak tree was bent when it was young in order to form a fence.
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In former times, farmers built stone walls to free their fields from rocks and make terraces for their fields of potatoes, chickpeas and other crops. Now the terraces are of no use anymore and the forest took them over.
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Old stone walls overgrown with moss and plants