23/08/2025 – Daily distance: 17.0 km – Total distance: 99.1 km

Today I leave the coast to head inland. As usual, the day begins with a descent toward the tratturo. Here too, however, the route has been turned into a road, and, almost to underline the damage, a long series of repeated signs reminds me that I am walking on the Tratturo Regio. Never mind.

The sky is overcast, but to the south I can clearly see streaks of rain. Maybe it will pass me by, I think. But no: just a few drops, enough to force me to cover my backpack and put on the raincoat.

After seven kilometres of asphalt, on the hill ahead I spot a shape I know well: it really looks like an intact tratturo. I check my GPS and it points straight there. It can’t be… but yes: it’s the Tratturo Magno, miraculously preserved.

I begin the climb and, as always, the sun appears: uphill = sun, an equation that never fails. But this time it doesn’t matter. The landscape rewards every effort: once at the top, the path softens into a series of gentle hill undulations. I have to stop under a tree to enjoy the view calmly. The kilometres of asphalt are already forgotten, erased by the beauty of the panorama. It’s easy to imagine these hills populated by flocks moving toward richer pastures.

Resuming my pace takes some effort, but I continue walking, my thoughts still lost in daydreams.

The last four kilometres to Guglionesi take place again on the road, off the tratturo, but they cannot diminish the pleasure of what I have experienced today.

At the town entrance, however, the calm is suddenly broken: a gathering of riders fills the streets with roars and shouts. A harsh counterpoint to the day’s silence.

In the evening I call Antonio to tell him how the walk is going, and we arrange to meet the next evening in San Martino in Pensilis.

Track of the day