Laurel and Jim Kreuger sent this report:
After completing the hospitalero/a training in Saskatoon, which was hosted by the Saskatoon Chapter and ably facilitated by Tom Friesen of London, Ontario, we promptly applied to volunteer in an ostello (hostel) in Italy somewhere along the Via Francigena (the pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome). We had walked the route in 2022 and had a favourite ostello that we had stayed at — Casa del Pellegrino G. Mancino in Valpromaro, a small village located near Lucca, Tuscany. We were thrilled when we were assigned to serve there from April 19 - 27, 2024!
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 (hospitaleros/as) who had made our stay there 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 are unable to speak Italian, we were fortunately 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 relied on smiles, charades, broken French, and Google translate (Italian-English-Italian) to communicate and coordinate our thoughts, plans, and cooking. We told Luciano that he is the “Generale” and we are the “soldati” (soldiers) in the ostello. We hosted pilgrims from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Britain, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Denmark. It was 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 next)!
Although long and tiring, our days at Valpromaro went by quickly. After learning the routines, we appreciated the peaceful regimen: clean, cook, host, repeat.
6:30 a.m.: make coffee and set the table for breakfast (bread, jam, fruit, and hard-boiled eggs)
7:00 - 7:30: pilgrims’ breakfast
7:30 - 8:30: the pilgrims depart
8:30 - 10:00: clean the hostel
10:00 - 11:00: shower and do laundry (hang it outside)
11:00 - 1:00: prepare bread dough, collect pine cones for the fireplace, fill acqua frizzante bottles, etc.
1:00 p.m.: ospitalieras’ lunch
1:30 - 2:30: riposo (rest)
2:30 - 5:00: welcome new pilgrims
3:00 - 7:00: prepare supper (soup/salad, bread, main dish, and cake)
7:30 - 8:30: pilgrims’ supper
8:30 - 9:30: wash dishes, clean the kitchen, and visit with pilgrims
9:30: bedtime
With no local store and Luciano without a car, we ospitalieras worked with the ingredients on hand in the hostel cucina. Luciano determined the menu and cooked the main dish, while Jim prepared the soup or salad. Laurel quickly found her groove as the ostello baker and experimented daily with the different flours she found in the cupboard. Breads, buns, and cakes soon filled the pantry and our bellies. Dissatisfied with the quality of the bread that she was turning out, Laurel researched the proper Italian flour for bread and learned it to be “Farina Manitoba” — upon her request, the local committee sourced some. Our meals now included cinnamon buns and focaccia.
This personal touch to our meals was remarkable and seemed to bring everyone closer together. What began as a group of pilgrims was transformed into a table of friends by the time dessert was passed around. You could not only see it their faces, you could also hear it in the animated multilingual conversations and laughter. It was a beautiful noise!
By the end of the week we were exhausted, but sad to leave Luciano behind. Hugs and last minute photos almost made us miss our bus to Lucca.
