Via Francigena - Day 16

Early start again and a nice cool breeze at my back to take me down to Tochialaro. A small town halfway between Brindisi and Lecce.

The gate leaving Brindisi.

These little Via Francigena men were starting to pop up all over the place now.

On the outskirts of Brindisi the path was lined with bamboo grass, it is common place all round southern Italy even up into Rome.

But it wasn't long before I was back among the olive trees and grape vines.

A private chapel at the front of a farm property looks quite new.

The track went down hill into a gully.

Where there was more grape vines squeezed between the hill slop and there creek bed.

I cane accross some Roman ruins, with signpost of all the distance to travel to various cities along the Via Francigena, only 120km to St Maria di Leuca.

The track into Tochialaro,

Became a road,

Became a city.

The church in the centre of the road, literally one way passes on one side and the other way passes on the other side. I was able to catch rosary and mass here in the evening.

A lovely interior, the church is St Mary of the Assumption.

The main altar.

The Blessed Sacrament chapel.

A side altar