Via Appia/Appia Way - Stage 06 - Massafra to Palagianello

This is the sixth stage of the Via Appia by foot, from the town of Massafra to the town of Palagionello.

Link to Stage 05: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=15206611
Link to Stage 07: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=15226047

The track follows the Via Appia Antica loosely as it's not possible to hike the original route anymore. In large part because the old road have been upgraded over the centuries and is now a highway in some section or a main provincial road where cars are speeding by you. In other sections, the road is simply gone. Instead, I've searched for nice roads, a little away from any main roads where there is a lot less traffic (or none at all).

It was rather difficult to find a good track between the 2 towns as there several large roads and train tracks to keep in mind. After trying several tracks that I considered unsafe, I eventually settled on travelling via Palagiano, avoiding the more busy provincial roads. The majority of this stage is on asphalted roads, but those that don't normally have much traffic.

The track starts at the train station of Massafra. Before you get to the main road, you'll pass a Lidl supermarket that is open on Sundays and also has a toilet, although it's a bit early at this stage in the track.

Once you reach the main road, you take a left on the first roundabout and then make a steep climb to pass the train tracks. For the first 1.5 km, you'll follow a more busy provincial road, but there is an (overgrown) sidewalk.

Until you reach 8 km on your odometer, you'll be walking through the various fruit and olive trees on narrow roads, until you get to Palagiano. Just 100 meters after passing the roundabout, you'll find a place where you can fill your bottles with fantastic water for a few pennies. This water tapping station is probably open 24x7. While passing through town, you'll pass by a few small shops, but as probably not open on Sunday.

When your odometer reaches 9 km, you'll leave town and head back into farm land. 2 km later, you'll pass under the A14 highway and soon you'll make a left turn. Here you are probably on the original Via Appia. If you don't care for either, you can skip this section.

At around 12.7 km, there is a 1 km detour to visit the 9th century rock church of St. Nicolas ("Chiesa Rupestre S. Nicola"). Nearby there is also a geocache.

General info on rock church: http://www.visitmottola.com/itinerari/le-mirabili-grotte-dio/chiesa-rupestre-san-nicola
Picture of rock church: http://www.salentoacolory.it/la-chiesa-rupestre-san-nicola-mottola/
Geocache info: https://coord.info/GC6VBZ6

The rest of the track runs east, in the same direction as the nearby train tracks. When your odometer reaches 16.5 km, you go north towards the train station. Just before you get to the train stacks, you'll see a no-entry sign, but you can safely ignore this old sign, as there is no sign on the other side of the small track and it's frequently used.

After passing under the train tracks, you'll get to the train station after a few more turns.

Enjoy the trail end leave a comment. In particular if you know some interesting waypoints should be included or an alternate track that could/should be used. Any information is much appreciated.