April 19 – 21: Valpromaro Revisited

Upon our return to Valpromaro two things became clear.  The community was not quite as picturesque as we remembered it and the hostel was not quite as beautiful.  This prompted us to wonder why we both remembered it so fondly … upon brief reflection, we realized that it was definitely the two ospitalieras who had made our stay here so memorable.  So it was with this in mind that we began our week as ospitalieras ourselves, aiming to provide kindness and nourishment to pilgrims walking the Via Francigena.  As we unfortunately cannot speak Italian, we have fortunately been partnered with Luciano, an ospitaliero from near Turin.  Luciano is a retired musical instrument craftsman who spent his career building harpsichords in his own workshop.  Together the three of us rely on smiles, charades, broken French, and Google translate (Italian-English-Italian) to communicate and coordinate our thoughts, plans, and cooking.  We have told Luciano that he is the “Generale” and we are the “soldati” (soldiers) in the Ostello.  So far, we have hosted pilgrims from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Denmark.  It is wonderful to hear about their experiences on the Via Francigena and on the Camino de Santiago (as many have walked there previously or are on their way there now)!  

The Ostello:  Casa del Pellegrinos in Valpromaro

The outgoing ospitalieras and the incoming ones.

Jim and Luciano (our co-ospitaliero)

Luciano and Laurel

Our first supper at the Ostello with the outgoing ospitalieras and three pilgrims, plus Stefano who lives nearby and often donates his garden produce to the Ostello.

A pilgrim checking in, while other ones relax.

At times, it rained heavily (view out the front door).

It even hailed one morning!

Seeing off a Brazilian pilgrim in the morning.