On this page, devoted to the activities animated by some friends of mine, I’d like to give a speciale space to the Association of the Friends of the Cammino di Santu Jacu website: www.camminando.eu.
I recommend you to visit it, firstly because it is the only place where you can find the updated and official information about the Cammino di Santu Jacu in Sardinia. As some of you may know, I’ve been working on that project for some years now and I had the luck of walking a part of it last November. The video of that wonderful week is at the end of this article.
But the Cammino di Santu Jacu is not the only interesting thing you will find on that website: there also are constantly updated information related also to other routes in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, together with lists of albergues, instructions to get to start points of many Caminos, and so on… It’s a real gold mine for pilgrims!
The backpack is the balance between our fears and our desire for freedom… That point usually moves towards the freedom, as long as te backpack rests on our shoulders: and the backpack gets empty.
Personally, my opinion is that what is needed for a week’s walk is neither more nor less than what we need for a month: the essentials.
It is therefore necessary to think that you will spend a long period of time in which everything that you need is to be transported on your shoulders, therefore, all the unnecessary should stay at home! Here is a list of the essentials for those who start walking in spring and summer. I recommend to avoid the temptation of adding too many things to this list: remember that the ideal weight should be less than 10% of your body weight!
1 backpack, 40-45 liters , light, should distribute the weight on your hips and possibly be equipped with side pockets for water
1 shell, symbol of the pilgrim
3 short-sleeved shirts (or 2 short-sleeved and 1 long sleeve ) for them as well as everything else, you shall prefer the technical materials, which dry as quickly as possible because the laundry is done at the end of the daily walk and must be dried in the morning before leaving
1 or 2 pairs of shorts
1 pair of throusers (if you find those trekking throusers with the removable lower part of the leg, you can also leave at home the second pair of shorts )
1 fleece or microfleece depending on the season and the regions you want to cross
1 poncho that covers your backpack
3 pairs of technical socks reinforced toes and heels ( not the sponge !)
3 pairs of pants
2 pairs of bras ( for ladies )
1 pair of slippers for the shower
1 pair of hiking shoes for the mountains: there are many solutions on the market; I prefer lightness and protection for my foot. If you start in the spring and summer, in my opinion, you can leave at home the Gore-Tex and prefer breathable materials that dry quickly
1 lightweight sleeping bag (you will hardly sleep outdoors , unless you wish, but the sleeping bag will help protect you from what might be hiding in the mattress ) or 1 sheet sleeping bag
1 mat: if you plan to leave in the summer, sometimes albergues will be crowded enough to force a solution on the floor and a night under the stars could also be an experience you might want to try
1 torch front for departures before sunrise and in the evening so as not to disturb if you want to read before sleeping
Marseille soap (both for clothes, shower and hair), wire for hanging (3-4 meters ) and a few safety pins for the laundry
the necessary – just enough! – for the toilette (mind the weight: if you set off in 2 or 3, share shower gel and toothpaste! ) In which I include ear plugs , needle, cottonthread, scissors and betadine to treat blisters, arnica cream, ointment feet , electric epilator (or shaving kit but only if you can not help it)
1 shower towel, microfiber , lightweight and compressible
a pilgrim’s guide of the Way (bought or packaged by you with the information found on the internet, but do not leave at home information on historical and cultural heritage which you shall not fail to admire! )
1 wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and sunscreen
1 bottle or 2 lightweight plastic bottles of 0.5 l .
pen and notebook for travel notes
a case to be kept with them containing identity card, pilgrim’s credential, money, credit cards / debit cards, health cards
camera.
Not really essential but still important for someone: cell phone, mp3 player eventually, walking stick or telescopic poles, a pair of hiking sandals for resting time and sometimes even to walk, a handkerchief of cotton or other fabric.
This time I’ll leave in a still fresh period, then I will add it to this list a long sleeve technical shirt and a lightweight waterproof and windproof Gore-Tex jacket.
NB: In case of rain, despite the cloak covering the backpack, it could happen that the clean clothes will get wet, making the pilgrim feel uncomfortable. To prevent this, it is advisable to close the various clothes into transparent plastic bags (those for garments, which are also less noisy when handled). The same trick is also to be taken to store battery chargers and other electrical items as well as money and documents.
“The pilgrimage itself is not a goal but a mean: undoubtedly the best and the most anciently known to get free from all ties that enchain us to our own convenience, our laziness, our habits, ultimately to ourselves.
Walking is good because it makes us tired, because it purifies us: the bag weights, the shoes and the cobblestones of the road bruise your feet, the sun beats down hard, thirst or hunger will afflict the soul held captive in the body too well cared for, and it gradually takes flight”
I finally managed to order alle the documentation I’ve collected in the last weeks and so, I made the first Excel sheet where I recap the itinerary that I mean to follow. I mean, since when you are on the Way, you never know what will happen… luckily! Anyway, this document outlines the stages, the foreseen date, total and partial km, difficulty level and the accomodation where I hope to sleep, with its characteristics.
One of the first places that I will cross during my walk, will be Mortara, a town near Pavia, along the Via Francigena. Mortara history is rooted in the centuries, so much that the existence of the town is already confirmed in the IV century AD, when Gaudenzio, Novara bishop, wanted to build two chapels at its entrance: one was sacred to Saint Peter and the other to Saint Eusebius. The latter started working as a parish for Mortara. Both chapels were built at about 1,5 km from the town and soon became an important stop for those on their way to Rome, or back home to northern and western Europe. Many important people passed from here: in 440 the future pope Leo, in 494 Saint Epifanio, in 574 pope Stephen II, in 575 pope Paul I, and, in the spring of 773, the Frank Ambassy coming back from the meeting with pope Adrian I.
The church of Saint Albino in Mortara
Not long after the passage of this group, the church of St. Eusebius finally came in History: on October 12, 773, in fact, just near the two chapels of St. Peter and St. Eusebius, took place the final battle between the Franks led by Charlemagne and the Lombards guided by their king Desiderius. The battle was extremely bloody and both sides suffered heavy losses, but the Franks triumphed over the Lombards. Despite the victory, however, two of the Paladins of King Charles lost their lives: Amelius d’Auvergne, the king’s cupbearer, and Amicus Beyre, the royal treasurer.
Charlemagne ordered that they should be buried with all the honors, each under the altar of one of the two chapels: Amicus under St. Peter and Amelius under St. Eusebius. The next day, however, the remains of Amicus and Amelius were found both under the altar of the chapel of St. Eusebius, one beside the other. And so, the church of St. Eusebius passed into legend.
Charlemagne and his Paladins: miniature on parchment (XV century), National Library, Turin.
Afther these miraculous events, father Albinus, monk and adviser of Charlemagne, expressed his desire to found a monastery to be aggregated to the church of St. Eusebius, and the king gave it rich donations. The guesthouse of St. Eusebius was well adapted to accomodate the students of Albinus who settled here and took their vows when he became bishop of Vercelli. At his death, in 801, Albinus asked to be buried next to the two Paladins. The monks, all of Frankish origin, dedicated their monastery to Saint Albinus from Angers and adopted the rule of St. Augustine, while enjoying extensive autonomy. St. Albinus, from that moment until today, always remained a popular stop for pilgrims.
In the spring of 1999, two sarcophagi were discovered just below the altar of the church of St. Albinus, during the works for its restauration. One of them, as well as being consistent with the dating to the Carolingian period, contained the remains of a man of great prestige, buried with his legs crossed, according to custom adopted by the ecclesiastics of high rank and, later, by the knights of the Temple. Even today, the walls of the apse of the Romanesque church of St. Albinus, bear the engravings left by many pilgrims who found refuge here.
Today I’ve been working on the tracking of the route that we will need to follow (if we will decide to do that) to go from Arles to Saintes Maries de la Mer and, from there, to Palavas les Flots, walking through the heart of the Camargue. I wrote a small guide in Italian, with some detailed maps, that I will translate and publish on this page in the following days.
From this page, you can also access the GPS tracks, but beware: I still couldn’t verify them on the field, so, if you want to use them, be careful! Especially in the second stage, from Saintes Maries de la Mer to Le Grau du Roi it is enough to miss a crossroad and you’ll be on the wrong side of a pond and you’ll have to make a long detour, when you already had a long way to walk.
