Day 16 Formello to The Vatican!
- Thomas Delker
- Jun 14
- 2 min read
We slept in as we didn’t have a long day in to Roma and we doubted we would be able to get in to our apartment before 2 pm. We rolled out by 10 am and went through quiet back roads, then busy street roads, then some crazy ‘I’m not sure I’ll ever get out of this roundabout alive’ sections. Finally, about 15 km from the Vatican we were put on a bike path and we rolled smoothly and easily along all the way to just before the Vatican!
A short stretch of tourists and then we were rolling up a street with St Paul’s Basilicia and the Vatican in front of us, oddly without that many people. We were confused but kept pedaling and taking pictures as we went. We found a spot of shade on some steps and set about the next task - getting our final stamp and our testament that shows we had completed more than 200km of the via Francigena on bike and we would be released from our vow (or at least would have been if that’s why we were doing it!).
Unfortunately with the busyness of the area it just wasn’t safe to leave our bikes locked up alone so Sara, Andrew and Cry went in first while I watched the bikes, and then I went in after they came back to watch the bikes.
It was like being a rockstar (or a pope?) as we had a special entrance in to St Peters basilica, with police at mutliple check points and when we showed them our ‘pilgrims passport’ they just kept waving us through and past the long lines of tourists waiting to get in.
At a desk for pilgrims, they gave us a final stamp in our pilgrims passport and then a certificate stating where we started and when along with our photo. The extra special part was that we could then go and see the crypt and St. Peter’s Basilica. It was a memoriable experience and although we were separate for it, it was still special for us all!
Then off to our place, much confusion getting in as is often the case with airbnbs, stripping the bikes down of our attachments and a hot ride across Roma to the bike store to return them. We picked up our luggage and took an uber back to our place as the bike store was not convenient for public transport.
Phew! The biking part is complete with a few exciting moments and some amazing memories! We really felt like we got to see so much of the region from Lucca to Roma, we really felt immersed is some of the nicest parts of Italy, from Tuscany rolling hills, ancient walled cities and Roman and pre-Roman ruins. What a trip!
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