Our first day on the Via Francigena! We began our walk at the cathedral in the piazza San Michele in Lucca, where we put our feet together for the customary first photo.
The piazza San Michele also has a gelato shop, an appropriate place to begin a pilgrimage walk, after all man does not live by bread alone...
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| Leaving Lucca through the Porta Elisa |
I would like to say that this first day was an enchanting walk through the hills of Tuscany, but unfortunately this was not the case. Except for the last 4 km, the 18km walk from Lucca to Altopascio is mostly on roads and sidewalks, beginning with the busy roads leading out of Lucca.
We met this gentleman while still on the roads of Lucca who told us that he had walked the path to Rome some years before:
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| The route was very well signed |
The town of Porcari was having a festival and market and provided a welcome stop for lunch
Finally coming upon an actual trail was a welcome relief
Following the mass at the Church of San Jacopo in Altopascio we received our stamp by the priest himself in his office at the back of the church.
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| The Church of San Jacopo |
Of interest to pilgrims also is this depiction of St. James in the Church of San Jacopo, with a pilgrim's staff and a shell on his chest. He is shown boarding a tau shaped boat, accompanied by the Knights of the Tau. Above the sail a white flag with a red cross.
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