24 December 2007, MAGLIE (LE) – It’s the holidays which means everybody is at home with their loved ones eating a lot, opening presents and all that sort of stuff. I’d hate to ruin all that with some bad news, or even mediocre news, so here is some good news.

Domenico Carloni, my eyes and ears for Via Francigena news in northern Lazio, has just informed me that the government in Rome has set aside 1 million euros to restore Santa Maria di Foro Cassio, a wonderful abandoned and crumbling church near Vetralla. The town and private groups have been fighting tirelessly to get funds to save the church, which was used as a stopping point by Via Francigena pilgrims in centuries past.

Domenico and other Vetrallesi (if that is what they are called, if anybody knows please let me know) took me to the church, also known as Foro Cassio, when I passed through Vetralla in May on my way to Rome. The church is seemingly being held up by divine intervention (if you believe in such things otherwise it looks just like some good luck). There is overgrown grass all around the church and you basically need a machete to get to the structure.

The 1 million euros will be enough to stabilize the walls and fix the roof, which for several years has consisted of a temporary cover of sheet metal that was supposed to protect the frescos inside, but actually helped in their deterioration by feeding water right onto the walls. That was eventually fixed, after a good deal of damage had been done, and the temporary roof has become ever more permanent. The funds should also be enough to begin restoring the frescos.

The long-term idea of Domenico and many others is to then use at least a part of the restored church to host pilgrims. The mayor of Vetralla, Massimo Marconi, has promised to do his best to make this all happen and from the homepage of this site you can click on an interview I did with him in May in which he makes his pledge.

On an almost related note, the website (www.pilgrimagepublications.blogspot.com) of two fellow pilgrims, Babette Gallard and Paul Chinn, has recently been brought to my attention and I suggest a perusal for anybody interested in personal accounts of Via Francigena pilgrims. Babette and Paul rode their horses along the Camino de Santiago in 2005 and the Via Francigena in 2006 and then this year did the entire Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome on bicycle bringing their dog Vasco along for the ride. They have a guide book to the Via Francigena due out in April, details on their website.

Happy holidays to all.

Oh, btw, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia were terrific (and as far as I can tell I didn’t get any exotic diseases).