Episode 9: Journey through Time on the Smallest Camino

Edo: 0:01

Swamped with work, long hours every day, with barely a full day off on the weekends, the summer, heat and humidity, with temperatures rising to 34 degrees Celsius, 93 degrees Fahrenheit, zapping our energy to even plan a hike or a bike trip. It's moments like this when it's even more essential to get out of the city and to go on an adventure by foot or bike. But with crazy schedules, how can one find the time to plan and execute an adventure? If you found the perfect solution in the smallest Camino in Italy or the walk of the three villages, listen on to find out what it was all about.

Anna: 0:58

Hello travelers, and welcome back to another episode of GoFar an Adventure Podcast. I'm your host, anna, and today Edo, and I would like to tell you about a recent hike that we did all in one day, but what can still be considered a Camino. In fact, they call it the smallest Camino in Italy. You can even get a more intimate version of our experience by listening to our bonus episode, in which we recorded in the field, that is, recording, actually while doing the walk.

Edo: 1:31

I had been looking for a short walk to do close to our hometown of Rome, greatly inspired by our friend Jan Klaus de Blasio our guest of episode 4, gofar but stay close and creator of the blog Lazium Mirabile, which is all about great trails and places to see in Lazio, our home region, where Rome is the capital Ideally something that was easier to reach by train or car, doable in one day, but also more than a stroll, so that we could get that Camino experience. I was so excited to come across the website for Il Camino dei Trevillaggi, or the walk of the three villages, also known as the Camino Piupiccolo d'Italia, or the smallest walk in Italy, At only around 60 km from Rome, approximately 37 miles. It seemed like the perfect option for a walk that we could do in one day. With the long summer daylight hours, we wouldn't even have to start super early and could arrive at the starting point at the same morning that we would begin walking.

Anna: 2:30

The walk was organized in May of 2021 by a group of friends. It consists of a 20 km loop that begins and ends in the lovely village of Villa San Giovanni in Tusa, and passes through two other villages Barberano Romano and Blera.

Anna: 2:47

Hence, the three villages located in the province of Viterbo, in the Tusa area, which is the area north of Rome that was once inhabited by the ancient Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization that the ancient Romans eventually conquered. There is plenty of parking in Villa San Giovanni in Tusa and, because it's a loop, it would be an easy place to leave the car all day, starting and finishing in the same place. The walk goes through a regional nature park, past ancient ruins, medieval churches, and each of the villages have plenty of places for refreshment, so it seemed like the perfect walk.

Edo: 3:24

We were also convinced by the organization. We both love a bit of swag pilgrim credentials, a certificate of completion and a well-mapped and organized route, all provided by the Stay Freedom Association. In fact, it's these elements that make it more of a cammino and not just a short walk in the woods, hence its name the smallest walk in Italy. By contacting the association and telling them how many people we were, when and what time we were planning on walking, we were greeted by Pasquale, one of the members of the association, who provided us with a general direction.

Edo: 4:01

optional GPX track which, in hindsight, we should have taken an opportunity to purchase their guidebook and the map and credentials, just like any of the larger, more famous pilgrimage routes, such as the Camino di Santiago, the Via Francigena or the Way of the Gods, provide for you All for only 5 euro per person. Well worth it, especially with the friendly, personable touch of creators who are very passionate about their project. The credential, sometimes called the Pilgrims Passport, is usually a piece of folded cardstock or a little booklet that contains a map of the route and places to put your stamps. As you go along your journey and you stop in towns, churches, cafes, visitor centers associated with the walk, you will receive from these a stamp made with a rubber stamp marking that you passed through there. The idea is also to prove that you actually made the journey. It makes it much more official as a Camino, a pilgrimage, rather than just an ordinary hike.

Anna: 5:02

It really did have the feeling of a proper Camino. Although it was only 20 kilometers, the amount of care and attention given to organizing and maintaining the route really made it seem like a pilgrimage or a special walk. The first line of the guidebook reads when something is well done, it makes you want to take it seriously. This definitely applies to this walk. At first I didn't really understand how it could be called the smallest Camino in Italy, but as soon as we arrived at the welcome center in Villa San Giovanni I immediately got it. It definitely had the same wonderful Camino vibes as longer walks that we've done.

Anna: 5:49

Also, the variety of terrain and natural beauty that we saw, along with special historic and naturalistic sights, made it more of a special walk and not just a stroll in some random woods. In only 20 kilometers we went through lovely medieval hilltop towns, ancient passageways cut through solid walls of tufo rock, past ancient tombs, an ancient bridge, ruins of medieval mills and an ancient necropolis which we were supposed to pass but we ended up not seeing because we got kind of turned around. But more on that later. We hiked through fields, olive groves and lush forests that seemed almost tropical, along with a burbling mountain stream. This great variety of landscape gave us lots of different experiences, all in only one day of walking, which really contributed to a sense of a very journey with lots of different emotions.

Edo: 6:45

This was exactly the idea that the walk's creators had To provide people with a slow and free walk just a few kilometers from Rome that would immerse trackers in the wild natural beauty of the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio, in the ancient land of the Etruscans, giving people an opportunity to rediscover the art of traveling by foot as a way of gathering and to be grateful towards everyone else and the nature that surrounds us. We parked in an empty parking lot at the main town square of Villa San Giovanni in Tusa, not to be confused with Villa San Giovanni in Calabria region or Abruzza region or Emilia Romagna region. It almost sounds like the Italian Springfield.

Edo: 7:27

On a regular Thursday morning, the smell of fresh bread wafted out of the bakeries around the main square, where we saw a few old men chatting at the courier bus stop, not waiting for the bus, and the woman picking fruit from a fruit tree near the main square. Asquale accompanied us upstairs to their welcome center, which is also a museum of dried and pressed local wildflowers and plants collected and displayed by one of the members, older auntie. We received our first stamps for the starting point in Villa San Giovanni, purchased the guidebook and patches for our backpacks, had our picture taken with their banner, and we were off Passing along a tree-lined street, heading out of town, then through fields, a white gravel road and shady woods for about four or five kilometers until our rest stop at Casina di Cagliolo and, to be 100% honest, we went off track for the first time and hiked up on a necessary hill before we found our way back down, but at least we saw a cool, spooky snake.

Anna: 8:33

This is another thing that we really appreciated about this Camino is that there are plenty of rest areas to get food and water. Have a listen to episode number 8, in which we talk about how to be prepared and save money on a journey, and while we definitely recommend having enough water and food with you, just in case there are no places to get food or water or in case you have an emergency, it certainly is nice when you can get a cold drink, buy an unexpected snack, sit down and, if needed, replenish your water supply. We made a quick rest stop at the Casina di Cagliolo rest area for a much-welcomed cold drink and picnic benches. After a short break, we set off again for what ended up being one of the most interesting sections of this walk, going through the Martirana Regional Nature Park.

Anna: 9:25

Right after the rest area, we headed down into the woods along Avia Cava, which is a path literally carved through rock that led us straight into an ancient necropolis. A necropolis, for those that don't know, literally translates into City of the Dead. It's a series of very elaborate tombs carved directly into the mountainside that dates back to thousands of years ago. What's even more interesting is that most of what comes to us from the Etruscans was actually found in these tombs, since apparently they put a lot more effort in their graveyards than in their actual cities where they lived.

Edo: 10:04

After having entered a few of these tombs, indulging in a little photo shoot. You can find these shots as chapter markers here or on our Instagram account. At GoFarPod, we kept going towards the second of the three villages.

Anna: 10:17

Barbera Normano.

Edo: 10:19

But things weren't really meant to go too smoothly for us. For the second time in less than an hour we lost our way again. This time it wasn't really entirely our fault. At one particular fork in the road we got distracted by a bunch of American archaeologists who were there for a dig. They were just snacking, sitting in the middle of the trail, and we missed our turn. So we kept going into the woods. We climbed yet another unnecessary hill, had to cross a big field, but in the end we still managed to get to the other side and back on the trail.

Anna: 10:53

I should point out that by taking this detour we actually missed some of the most beautiful ancient Etruscan tombs, but that gives us a reason to come back. Anyway, once back on the trail, we had to follow a short paved road that then led us up to the charming medieval walled city of Barberano Romano.

Edo: 11:39

But with some of the best scenery. We hiked for about 5.4 km right along the Biedano River, including almost getting our feet wet. The path so close to the water included some large rocks and steep inclines and declines, but the flora reminded us of scenes from Jurassic Park it was so lush and green, very different from what we had seen up until this point. We also passed what was left of three ancient stone mills, Large stone arches covered in moss that at one point we had to walk on Dry stone walls that today form pools in the river. It was really stunning.

Anna: 12:19

This section, as mentioned before and as pointed out by the organizers in their own website, is actually the most challenging one of the whole hike. It follows along a creek, so there's basically no elevation gain, but the terrain can be a bit challenging, especially for us. We did this hike in June, and this June was very particular. We experienced a high amount of rain, with summer storms hitting every afternoon like clockwork for something like two weeks. The day we went on the hike was actually the first one the trail had reopened to the public and we were the first ones to walk it after a few weeks of it being off limits. So the organizers warned us that this particular section might be tricky and to let them know of any difficulties we might have encountered.

Edo: 13:09

Again, let us refer you to the bonus episode, in which you'll hear all about our impressions as we hiked. Thinking back on it exactly two months later, at the time of riding, I can tell you that it was tough. It took all of our skills to navigate the terrain, due to some obstacles we encountered. The terrain itself was muddy and sometimes washed out. Some sections required us to walk on over or under ancient rocky structures that were slippery and treacherous, and some other parts were blocked by fallen vegetation. While climbing under or over a tree isn't particularly difficult, things get even more spicy when that particular tree bears the sign that points in the right way. We got turned around a few times, especially because the path was often overgrown or washed out by the overflowing river, so it wasn't always easy to navigate in the right direction with no signs pointing you in the right way.

Anna: 14:04

But it was still feasible. I mean, we're still here to tell the tale, aren't we? After this very interesting section, we made our way up to the last of the three villages Blere. Once there, we stopped for a novelty ice cream which is our guilty pleasure and a cold drink. It was a hot and muggy day, and after a few hours spent navigating the treacherous jungle terrain I'm being dramatic, but that's what it felt like. We could have really used a break.

Edo: 14:36

After having replenished our fluids, we set off again for the last leg of the trip. At this point you have two options. You can either take the short path around 3 kilometers or 2 miles long that takes you straight back to the starting point, or you can take the scenic route that adds 2 kilometers and some elevation. To be fair, we were quite tired and decided to take the easy route, since we felt like we spent a lot of energy in the jungle. This, however, gives us an excuse to come back. Maybe we could bring some friends and split it in two days.

Anna: 15:08

And now for one last funny story. We were on the home stretch, less than one kilometer away from the end point, walking along a nice paved country road with olive groves to our left. At one point we hear a low rumbling sound. Edo turns to me and goes excuse you, thinking I had well let out a belch. I looked at him confusedly and then I see him looking to my left, over my shoulder. I follow his gaze and in the distance, maybe 50 feet away, we see a wild boar poised for battle.

Edo: 15:46

It was looking at us, legs wide, head slightly lowered. I'm no zoologist, but its body language didn't seem too friendly. So I tell Anna that maybe it's best if we just walk away slowly without startling it. So that's exactly what we did. A few seconds later we hear a rustling and the sound of hooves battering the earth. I had a split second to think okay, that's it. We're about to get gored by a boar, see ya. But then we both turn around and we see the boar running deeper into the olive grove, followed by two little boarlets. It's a real word. I looked it up.

Anna: 16:22

With this last bit of excitement, we left the road behind and made it back to Villa San Giovanni, where we went back into the office to collect our very own testimonium, the diploma we got to bring home testifying that we had completed the hike. Call this for the meager sum of five euros, which were definitely well spent. This entry fee goes to finance the website, trail maintenance and everything else that surrounds this amazing hike just beyond our doorstep. Here are some final stats. We hiked for a little over 20 kilometers, or 12.5 miles, with an elevation gain of 450 meters approximately 1500 feet, in around five hours and 40 minutes. Here's another refreshing drink offered by the organizers. We got back to the car With sore muscles but with a full heart. We started to drive home, gathering our thoughts about this adventure and already planning and thinking about our next one.

Edo: 17:34

MUSIC. And here we are. We hope you enjoyed listening to this episode about a little gem of a hike that we had no idea existed. Again, a huge thank you goes to the organizers of this lovely Camino. You can find out more about it and the people behind it by looking up Camino de Trevillaggio on Facebook and Instagram. Speaking of which, make sure to check out our own Instagram account at GoFarPod to see the pictures we took on this trip and take a listen to our bonus episode, in which you can hear everything as if you were right there with us.

Edo: 18:05

Make sure to tune in. For the next two episodes. We have something ultra special planned. As it turns out, anna and I had to do a tactical retreat due to bad weather, which forced us to abandon a multi-day trip we were on, so we took this time to finish working on this episode. We've already recorded some material out in the field and hopefully we'll be back to finish it in two days time, so you don't want to miss that. Thanks again for traveling with us and, as always, go Far MUSIC.