Sep 21, 2023, Cita di Castello to Pieve di Saddi.
We broke the 30 km stage from Cita di Castello to Pietralunga into two by staying at Pieve di Saddi, a parish church, tonight.
We were awake by 5:45. I'd arranged to meet Lorenzo at 7:00. He showed up promptly but he looked half asleep.
For tomorrow night I looked on Booking.com as we were walking and found that Locanda del Borgo, the 4-star hotel where we'd stayed in 2019 had a room available for €125. I called direct to reserve a room for us three for only €110, including breakfast.
We stopped at Bar Sasso for cappuccinos, only €1.10 each, cheaper than in Montenegro and just as good. Unfortunately, they weren't making the Ciaccia bread that Filippo had recommended we try.
We passed the turnoff to the fabulous La Tana Agriturismo, following gravel and asphalt roads all the way to Pieve di Saddi, stopping for one more coffee break at the Candeggio rest area where there was a water fountain and benches.
Pieve di Saddi is an interesting place. At first look, it appears abandoned and derelict. Some of it is derelict but the main building, housing the church, has a tower that's been converted into a hostel. Upon arrival one of the two hosts, confirmed with us that we were planning to spend the night then led us up the tower and gave us our choice of two bedrooms, one with four and the other with seven beds. We chose the smaller room, expecting this would mean we wouldn't be sharing it.
I promptly got a beer and we each had showers. The church site dates back to the 4th century and is dedicated to San Crescenziano, a Roman soldier who was martyred (beheaded) for his belief in Christianity and for converting the people of Cita di Costello.
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From Wikipedia:
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Legend has it that the countryside around the city, in the localityPieve de' Saddi was oppressed by a terrible monster (a dragon) which, with its pestilential breath, caused diseases to the inhabitants and devastated the countryside. The saint, after having preached the Christian faith, killed the monster in combat in Pieve de' Saddi (where there were three presumed dragon ribs, one of which is now kept in the diocesan museum of Città di Castello) and was welcomed as a liberator from population.
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The existing church dates back to the 11th century.
It finally started raining, just after 18:00, much later than forecast but it didn't bother us.
Dinner was at 19:00, prepared by our hosts. Pasta with meat sauce followed by sausage with salad, accompanied by red wine, and then a chocolate chip cake for dessert. Our hosts are very gracious. We have to decide how much to leave them because there's no set price. It's a voluntary, donation-based payment.
Sep 22, 2023, Pieve di Saddi to Pietralunga
Breakfast was okay, not great. Around 8:00 we were joined by the German pellegrinos. Maybe Ken's alarm woke them up too but they managed to get back to sleep. I wasn't so lucky.
I left our hosts a €120 donation for our stay, meals, etc. and we set off. Our path followed a gravel then a paved road all the way to Pietralunga. Because we were so early we stopped for a coffee break, sitting on a bench overlooking the town.
Just as we entered Pietralunga, an outdoor market was closing. We continued through town to our lodging for the night, the fabulous La Locanda del Borgo ("The Village Inn") located on the other side of town.
When we arrived all the doors were locked but I called Manuel, the owner, and he came to greet us. "We've got a problem", he said. "All the town's power is out until 15:30 for maintenance."
I reminded Manuel that Patsy and I had stayed here in 2019. He said he remembered us. Maybe, maybe not. I only vaguely remembered what he looks like but his eyes point in different directions and I do remember that.
Manuel showed us to our fabulous room, only €111 including breakfast. Patsy and I have our own bedroom, there's a kitchenette, and upstairs Ken has a room with two twin beds.
One notable thing about this hotel is the medieval room door key. It's enormous, heavy, and difficult to use.
I looked for a place to stay at the end of tomorrow's stage, Gubbio. I settled on the "Hotel San Francesco e il Lupo", available on Booking.com. I looked up their website and then called to book direct; they give a discount for pellegrinos. Our price for two rooms including breakfast was only $110 a night. I booked two nights.
Waiting for the power to come back on I used my backpacking stove to heat water to make coffees. The power came back on around 2:00 so we walked the 10 minutes back into town and stopped at Bar Covo di Nord Est for cappuccinos, waiting for the supermarket to open at 16:30.
At the supermarket, we bought provisions for dinner. Heading back to our hotel we ran into Mark and Henrietta and sat talking with them for a good half hour. Mark is an occupational therapist type of doctor. Henrietta is a criminal prosecutor.
Back in our apartment Patsy and I made dinner and Ken did the dishes.