They made it! Our friend Jose Luis Tani Stanghellini, with by Paolo Tessandori, Andrea Guareschi and the support of the whole Tuscany Ride a Bike staff, arrived in Rome after an adventure of 4 days and many many km ran on Via Francigena!
Our heroes, who raced to help the association "Friends of Peru" to realize initiatives for Cusco region, started on February 4 from Lucca (the town with 1 hundred of churches!) and following the steps of medieval pilgrims, they have reached Siena, the city of the Palio, running through the beautiful hills of Val d'Elsa and the historic villages of S. Miniato, S. Gimignano (with its forest of towers) and Monteriggioni, protected by its crenellated walls.
The second stage, jose and Luis faced the magnificent landscapes of Val d'Orcia, natural park recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage, to arrive at Acquapendente and then in the shadow of the fortress of Radicofani which for a millennium was one of the most important of the Via Francigena. The next day Luis, Paul and Andrea ran and cycled through tuffaceous territories of Lazio, long time ago habited by the Etruscans, Romans, Lombards and Popes, and reached the beautiful Lago di Bolsena, stopping in the village of Montefiascone at the end of the day.
On February 7, our heroes are finally arrived, tired but happy in Rome, the Eternal City, which after he became the capital of the world thanks to the exploits of Caesar and Augustus and having shone the baroque splendor of the "Rome of the Popes," welcomedour modern pilgrims as it has done for those who, over the centuries, have traveled the Via Francigena.
It was an extraordinary adventure, beautiful and difficult but as Luis says: "Things made with love, have no limits to dreams .."
Thanks Luis and Good luck for the Milan-San Remo and the project "A Km for Peru"! Follow us and we'll tell you also this enterprise!