Page 14 - Camino

Via Francigena, Italy
St Bernard Pass – Rome, 955km
The full Via Francigena or Francigena
Way route extends for 1900 kilometres from Canterbury to the Eternal City of Rome, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul and the Holy See. Pilgrims would often walk to Rome and continue to Puglia, where boats would take them to the Holy Land.
The pilgrimage was first described by the Archbishop of Canterbury, also known as Sigeric the Serious, who travelled to Rome
in 990AD to be ordained by Pope John XV. Archbishop Sigeric detailed his experiences and 80 stopping points for pilgrims in his travel diary, known as ‘the Via Francigena according to Sigeric’.
The road to Rome became less important
in the 17th century, but has recently been rediscovered. Today, the number of pilgrims on the Via Francigena is very small compared to medieval times and compared to the Camino de Santiago, but after being declared
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SWITZERLAND
St Bernard Pass Aosta
Ivrea ITALY Pavia
Lucca Siena
Viterbo Rome
Monteriggioni, Tuscany
a European Cultural Route in 1994, more resources were allocated to marking and promoting the trail. Thanks to a decade-long campaign of marking and mapping that finished in 2016, the Via Francigena is now the longest signposted cycle route in Italy.
The ancient trail cuts a path through some of Italy’s prettiest regions, starting high in the Swiss Alps before crossing the historic Saint Bernard Pass, down through the spectacular alpine landscapes of the Aosta region, mountainous Piedmont, Lombardy with its lakes, the lowlands of Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany’s rolling hills and vineyards. It has a lot to offer today’s travellers, combining rich history, Roman and Etruscan ruins, medieval cities, world-famous cuisine and mind-blowing natural beauty.