Thank you to all those who entered our wildlife identification quiz: majority opinion was a spotted fritillary.
We say fond farewell to Hugo and set off on a pleasant walk through the Woods of Cerbaie, consisting of oak, alder, tree heather and strawberry tree growing on sandy soil, still muddy from recent rain.
Coming down to Ponte a Cappiano there is a restored medieval covered bridge built by the Medici. This replaced a previous bridge which was sketched by Leonardo da Vinci, but whether his design was used is not known. The area changed hands many times as control passed backwards and forwards between the city states of Lucca, Pisa, Siena and Florence and the bridge was destroyed and rebuilt many times.
Next up is Fucheccio, another lovely place you never heard of before and decorated with flags from the visit of the Giro d’Italia cycle race a few days ago. As seems to be the pattern, there is the old town on the hill and the new town below with a fancy elevator to whisk you up from the car park, we take the stairs.
We purchase lunch and cross the River Arno looking for a pleasant place to eat it but end up dining under a road bridge.
The final 150 m climb up to San Miniato is hot and humid and we arrive at the Franciscan Monastery for tonight’s rest just before a loud clap of thunder and the rain pours down.