The Via Francigena

In medieval times there were three main Christian pilgrimage destinations: Santiago de Compostella, Rome and Jerusalem.  Many will know of the ‘Camino’, the route across Spain from southern France to Santiago de Compostella. The route to Rome from the north was served by the Via Francigena (the road that comes from France) also known as the Via Romea Francigena (the road to Rome that comes from France).  Despite the name the route is generally considered to have a starting point in Canterbury.

The route was first documented in 725 as the Lombard way.  It was never a single road but rather it comprised several possible routes that changed over the centuries with the changes in trade and pilgrimage, the political situation and the popularity of shrines to saints on the route. 

With the increased popularity of the Spanish Camino in recent years came a desire to restore the Italian leg of the Via Francigena.  With this aim the Italian government launched an initiative in 2009 which was strongly promoted by Tuscany which has 250 miles of the route passing through it.  The route passes through Lucca and down to Rome via Siena.  We aim to walk the 120 km leg from Lucca to Siena at some point in the next week or two, depending upon the weather.