During the morning of 19 May, an informal technical meeting was held in Florence, at the headquarters of the Region of Tuscany, to discuss the project of the candidacy of the Via Francigena as a World Heritage Site. It was an operational meeting organised by EAVF to plan future actions following the European thematic study which has already been carried out.
The day continued with a round table, also organised by EAVF, focusing on the Thermal Via Francigena project and the sharing of activities within the European rurAllure project. One of the research areas of rurAllure sheds light precisely on the thermal heritage which is touched by the Tuscan Francigena route. Research partners University of Bologna, University of Padua, Iuav Venice, UAM Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and the Homo Viator Foundation are actively contributing together with EAVF. Elena Dubinina, international relations manager, Simona Spinola, communication manager, and Nicole Franciolini, project assistant, took part in the presentation.
The meeting was also an important opportunity to talk about environmental education, sustainable tourism, the involvement of local communities, the maintenance of the route, its usability through enhancement of public transports and, last but not least, all aspects connected to the promotion of the itinerary.
Taking part in the round table were Federico Eligi, Councillor at the Cabinet Office of the Region of Tuscany; Carolina Taddei, Councillor for Culture in San Gimignano; Marco Bartoli, Deputy Mayor of San Quirico d’Orcia; Erica Formichi, Municipal Councillor of Castiglione d’Orcia; and Paolo Campinotti, Mayor of Gambassi Terme. President Massimo Tedeschi and Director Luca Bruschi were present for EAVF.
“Thermal springs become a richness within the local tourist offer and therefore make the Via Francigena more attractive, offering even more to its pilgrims. The Via is thus stronger if it is linked to thermal tourism. This is exactly the aim of rurAllure project“, emphasised EAVF’s President Massimo Tedeschi.
Among the proposed ideas is the ‘I love Francigena Termale by rurAllure‘ event, a two-day walking tour (28 and 29 May) in which participants will discover on foot the thermal and cultural heritage located along the stages connecting San Quirico to Castiglione d’Orcia and San Gimignano to Gambassi Terme. This initiative is free of charge and open to everybody: the first of a long series of events to enhance an area that is so rich in opportunities.
Banca Generali Private works with the EAVF to promote awareness about the environment and territorial development, through slow and sustainable tourism. Together we organise events and hikes in the ‘Mauri Area’ of Banca Generali Private: Southern Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. Dr. Alessandro Mauri, Area Manager in these territories, which are also interested by the Via Francigena, told us all about it in this interview.
When, but above all why was the cooperation between Banca Generali Private and the EAVF established?
A.M.: The cooperation between my managing area of Banca Generali Private (Southern Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany) and the EAVF was established in 2017 because it is important to us to walk alongside the many pilgrims of the Via Francigena, a cultural route that allows you to discover little known areas of our wonderful country and to promote awareness-raising actions on environmental sustainability, a theme which is very dear to our bank. Banca Generali also offers a set of investments that are consistent with the sustainable development goals of the UN Agenda 2030, which allows customers to build their portfolio by prioritizing some of the seventeen sustainable development goals.
What are the initiatives planned for 2022 to support the Via?
A.M: In 2022 we are going to support the Via Francigena through a series of initiatives organized by the EAVF. Concretely, we are going to support the walks of the “I Love Francigena” events, which was very successful in the past editions. These free walk events bring together tourists, pilgrims, enthusiasts, local associations and operators in order to jointly promote the areas crossed by the event.
What are the long-term goals of this cooperation?
A.M: We believe it is essential to raise people’s awareness of the environment and of the territory, which is something that the Via Francigena has been doing for ages. Our bank can provide economic and cultural support, helping to develop greater attention to these themes as heritage for future generations. I too have two children and I do hope I can do something concrete to leave them a better world.
What are the challenges of slow tourism and how do they intertwine with economy?
A.M: The real challenge is to convince people to practice tourism in a more sustainable and conscious way, for example by walking or cycling along the Via Francigena. This will help local communities to have immediate benefits – including economic ones – since not only tourists contribute to local economy but also, they produce an induced effect because pilgrims can – once they have ended their journey – come back again to those places as tourists.
Spring is back and with it come the walks organised by our Association, free of charge, to discover villages, heritage and territories crossed by the Via Francigena at a slow pace.
The next appointments will be on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May in Tuscany, to discover on foot the thermal heritage locations mapped thanks to the European project rurAllure along the stages linking San Quirico to Castiglione d’Orcia and Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano. This two-day event, entitled “I love Francigena termale by rurAllure” (see the programme in English here), will allow participants to immerge in the uniqueness of two stages bound by nature, history, art and gastronomy – with a special focus on the thermal sites located near the route, which have Etruscan and Roman origins.
The Parco dei Mulini, where the energy produced by the water flow of the thermal springs was exploited until the end of the 19th century; the unique water square of Bagno Vignoni; the hypothermal spring of I Bollori and Putizza along the banks of Rio Casciani, near Gambassi Terme; these are just some of the most important stops on our programme. A certified guide will lead the group and we will have no lack of refreshment moments at many of the stopping points.
Pilgrims and enthusiast walkers will be joined on foot by the staff of rurAllure and the EAVF, local institutions and associations actively promoting slow tourism along the Via Francigena, and actors who are regularly verifying the state of the paths and the effectiveness of signposting. It will be an important moment for sharing and exchanging knowledge, with compulsory registration and free of charge participation.
If you are a pilgrim, you can participate in all excursions both by staying connected to the EAVF channels (website, social media, newsletter) and rurAllure.eu, by following us with the hashtag #ILoveFrancigena.
If you are a local authority, Region or private partner, you can participate in the co-organisation of the event by contacting us at the following email: segreteria@viefrancigene.org
Meeting at their constitutive General Assembly in Aigle on 5 May, the municipalities involved by the Via Francigena – a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe that crosses the cantons of Vaud and Valais – decided to found the Swiss Via Francigena Association.
A European cultural route
The Via Francigena connects the city of Canterbury in England, to Rome and, since 2019, to Santa Maria di Leuca in the south of the Italian peninsula. This route was recognised as a cultural itinerary of the Council of Europe in 1994. It crosses Switzerland by entering through the Col de Jougne or the Col de Sainte-Croix to reach Orbe, Cossonay, Lausanne, Vevey, Aigle, Saint-Maurice, Martigny, Orsières, Bourg-Saint-Pierre and the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard.
Local promotion…
The Swiss municipalities crossed by the Via Francigena wanted to set up a Swiss association to focus on the promotion of the itinerary in Swiss territories. The new president Gaëtan Tornay says: “The association wants to realise simple and concrete projects by creating promotion tools (leaflets, website, social networks, newsletter, etc.) but also events such as guided walks. It also wants to become a link between public and private actors to strengthen the reception of walkers, which must be at the heart of our concerns“.
…Internationally coordinated
This promotion/animation/coordination work will be carried out in close collaboration with the European Association of Via Francigena ways (EAVF), which has been active since 2001 in England, France, Switzerland, Italy and the Vatican State. Its President Massimo Tedeschi welcomes the birth of the Swiss Association of the Via Francigena (ASVF) with these words: “We need local references to help us better promote this magnificent European route in each country concerned. The creation of the ASVF is, therefore, a big step forward!“
Source: Press Release of the Swiss Via Francigena Association
Two names build a strong message to give life to an emblematic itinerary.
From Canterbury, UK, to Santa Maria di Leuca in southern Italy, along the footsteps of Bishop Sigeric.
And the GR® 145 in France, which starts in Calais to reach the Swiss border after a journey of more than 700 km, building the Via Francigena.
It was here, in the north of France, that a partnership began when the FFRandonnée was invited by the EAVF to create a GR® (with the number 145) to promote this cultural route and facilitate its journey to Switzerland.
But who is the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre? And what is its role within France and its territories?
Without going back over its history, let us recall that the FFRandonnée was born in 1947, when a few people passionate about walking and discovering the natural wealth of France created the first GR® routes (GR® 1, GR® 2, GR®3, GR®4, etc.), and today there are almost 350 GR® routes of various lengths, totalling nearly 120,000 kilometres. Over all these years, the FFRandonnée has developed a know-how through its committees that is now recognised.
This know-how concerns the design and development of the GR® routes and its criteria, the work for signposting and maintenance, digitisation with the enhancements that allow to share data, IGN maps, geographical information systems or mobile applications to be kept up to date. The FFRandonnée has recently revisited and strongly reaffirmed its major orientations in the current federal plan 2021-2028. It is important to share its ambition here:
-To make the FFRandonnée a protagonist of outdoor sports;
-To make the FFRandonnée an important social player, responding creatively to a changing demand for walking routes.
The collaboration between our two structures was natural. From 2021 we have an agreement to coordinate our actions. A team of walkers participated in part of the great itinerary set up for the twentieth anniversary of the European Association of the Via Francigena, Road to Rome 2021, and relationships were forged marking a turning point in our approach in this field, confirmed by cross-participation in our respective general meetings. A fine programme of collaboration project is in perspective, close to all our departmental committees and for the benefit of all hikers!
Claudie Grossard, President of the National Commission for Trails and Itineraries
The new guide dedicated to the Via Francigena in Southern Italy is now on sale in Italian bookshops, as well as on the official website of the publisher Terre di Mezzo.
The guide was presented and sold in preview at the Fa’ la cosa giusta! 2022 fair, at FieraMilanoCity, where the EAVF participated from 29 April to 1 May 2022: the fair, now in its eighteenth edition, devotes its attention to sustainable lifestyles and critical and conscious consumption choices, with an entire department specifically focusing on the great walking itineraries of Italy.
Angelofabio Attolico, EAVF’s representative for the Via’s stretch south of Rome and one of the authors of the guidebook, presented the guidebook to the public in the hall, in the company of Gianfranco Lopane, Councillor for Tourism of the Region of Puglia, Roberto Battista, from the Tourism Agency of the Region of Lazio, Rosanna Romano and Felice Casucci from the Region of Campania, and EAVF’s President Massimo Tedeschi. The presentation was moderated by Andrea Mattei, journalist for the national Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
This is the first printed guide dedicated to the 930 km of the Via Francigena stretch linking Rome to the Apulian Finis Terrae, Santa Maria di Leuca, crossing territories in Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and the whole length of Puglia. Starting from the Appia Antica Park, the route continues to Terracina, Gaeta, Sessa Aurunca and Benevento, a strategic junction point between the Via Appia and the Via Traiana.
Approaching the Apulian section, pilgrims can take a number of different trails, travelling along the Matera route; arriving in Monte Sant’Angelo on the Gargano peninsula and then the coastal path linking it to Bari; heading towards Brindisi, to reach the ports linking Italy to the Holy Land and from there perhaps continuing walking to Jerusalem; or they can continue their journey along the coast towards Salento to arrive in Santa Maria di Leuca, reaching the end of the ‘Italian heel’, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet.
For each stage the guide indicates a detailed map, the altimetry, the points where to stock up on water, indications on the type of terrain on which you walk (dirt or asphalt), information on where to sleep and what to visit, etc. There are also suggestions for some short trips and the key information for the Bradanica route leading to Matera.
The guide is currently only available in Italian and is focused on walking trips, although most of the route, as it is described in the guide, can also be undertaken by bicycle.
We are happy to announce that, starting today, the Region of Lazio officially collaborates with our Association. Together we aim to enhance the quality of the Via Francigena legs that cross this territory.
The Lazio section of the Via Francigena is, in fact, particularly important for the development of the itinerary: not only because it accompanies pilgrims to their destination – Rome, the Vatican City – but also because from there the path leads them to Santa Maria di Leuca, the Italian Finis Terrae of the route. Lazio is therefore the bridge, the crossroad, the meeting point between the Via Francigena of Sigeric the Serious and the Via Francigena in Southern Italy.
Capranica – Campagnano di Roma
The Via has 21 stages on foot in Lazio, 10 north – starting from Proceno, the Tuscan border – and 11 south of Rome, along the ancient Via Appia, leading to Minturno and the Campania border. Crossing the territory of Lazio allows exploring an infinite variety of landscapes, stories and eras, traveling among views that bridge between sea and land, local traditions and traditional gastronomic specialties.
Lazio therefore earns the privilege (and the responsibility!) of being one of the longest regions to cross. This is a challenge that we have decided to take up with the Region of Lazio, in partnership: by joining forces, we will be able to offer pilgrims a safe route where accessibility, signposting and refreshment points can make the experience of the itinerary unique, whether on foot, by bicycle or on horseback.
Cori – Sezze
We will periodically update you on this important collaboration. If you have any reporting to share with us regarding the Via Francigena in Lazio, please do not hesitate to contact us: the opinion of our pilgrims is of essential importance to offer an itinerary which is increasingly beautiful to experience, one step at a time.
The assembly of the European Association of Via Francigena ways took place in Canterbury, symbolic location along the Via Francigena.
For the first time in the history of the EAVF, after 21 years of activity, the general assembly was hosted in the city of Canterbury, whose administration has been a member since 2005.
It was here, the following year, that the stone marking the km zero of the European route from the North Sea to Rome, to the shores of the Mediterranean, was unveiled.
On 27 April, the EAVF assembly was held in the Cathedral Lodge, in front of both the Cathedral and the symbolic km zero stone. Ben Fitter-Harding, City Leader at Canterbury City Council, emotionally welcomed all the participants from the four countries of the Via Francigena: England, France, Switzerland and Italy.
Before the beginning of the meeting, President Massimo Tedeschi recalled the difficult period for Ukraine and Europe:
“The Via Francigena is in fact a “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe”and is thus part of the programme launched in 1987 in Santiago de Compostela. This was two years before important historical events: the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. The programme was born in coherence with the principles and values of the Council of Europe, founded – as we know – on 5 May 1949 with the Treaty of London, to promote, in the immediate post-war period, the principles of democracy, respect for human rights, intercultural dialogue and tolerance.
United Kingdom, France and Italy were the founders of the Council of Europe together with seven other European states. Switzerland joined in 1963; and the Vatican State, the place where Peter’s tomb is located, has the status of ‘permanent observer’. This means that all the states through which the Via Francigena passes are part of the Council of Europe. This is a fact that should be remembered and that we appreciate very much. The Via Francigena unites peoples”.
Important points were addressed on the assembly’s agenda: the economic budget for 2021, which includes the budget for the fantastic event held from 16 June to 18 October 2021 “Via Francigena. Road to Rome 2021. Start again!“; the renewal of the associative offices for the three-year period 2022-2025; the UNESCO candidacy of the Via Francigena and the projects of international cooperation such as rurAllure, Horizon2020 project.
Through the presentation of the docufilm “Road to Rome” we experienced, once again, the great emotions of the long journey across Europe that has connected 658 municipalities. A 20-minute video collecting faces and interviews from the event. In addition to this docufilm, 16 regional videos, 1,000 high-resolution photographs and 55 reels were made available to members.
The members confirmed Massimo Tedeschi as EAVF’s president for the next three years. This confirmation was voted for and applauded unanimously by all members. Also confirmed were vice-presidents Martine Gautheron (France), Gaëtan Tornay (Switzerland), Francesco Gazzetti (Italy), Aldo Patruno (Italy) and Francesco Ferrari (Italy), as deputy vice-presidents. The list of vice-presidents now also includes Tricia Marshall (England), Natacha Bouchart (France) and Silvio Marino (Lazio).
The renewal of the offices saw a substantial confirmation of the outgoing Executive Board with some new entries. Provinces and Departments Haute-Marne (Grand-East), Communauté d’Agglomération Grand Besançon (Doubs, BFC), Unione Montana Valle Susa (Piemonte), Lodi (Lombardia), Pavia (Lombardy), Communauté d’agglomération de Béthune-Bruay (Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France). Municipalities: Orbe (Vaud), Aosta (Valle d’Aosta), Ivrea (Piemonte), Pavia (Lombardia), Medesano (Emilia-Romagna), Santo Stefano Magra (Liguria), Pontremoli (Tuscany), Altopascio (Toscana), Monteriggioni (Toscana), Gambassi Terme (Toscana), Montefiascone (Lazio), Acquapendente (Lazio), Donnement (Grand Est), Wisques (Hauts-de-France), Fasano (Brindisi, Puglia). The member regions and the municipalities of Canterbury and Rome are also members by right, as well as the municipalities of Champlitte, Fidenza and Piacenza, which host the offices.
The day following the general meeting was dedicated to the discovery and reconnaissance of the English route section of the Via Francigena. Administrators, volunteers and the EAVF group were on the trail, led by Giancarlo Laurenzi of the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome and Peter Morris of North Downs Way, responsible for the maintenance of the route.
The signage is in excellent condition, with markers, trail signs and tourist information boards. Along the route there are contemporary art installations between Bekesbourne and Shepherdswell. The project has been funded under the Interreg Europe “Green Pilgrimage” scheme, which has provided significant resources for the restyling of the walk. Great news for all ramblers who will walk along this path.
On the occasion of EAVF’s General Assembly, the 26th of April at 5 pm, a special ceremony takes place in Canterbury’s Cathedral: the blessing of the “Via Francigena. Road to Rome” stick that traveled across 3,200 km in 2021, along the entire itinerary.
The “Via Francigena. Road to Rome” stick, after almost one year, returns to the ‘km zero’ – the majestic Cathedral in Canterbury, departure point of the Via Francigena. The stick was the absolute symbol of the long march that crossed Europe from north to south in four months, between 15 June and 18 October 2021, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the EAVF. A journey full of emotions, encounters, unexpected events, extraordinary moments and difficult moments, joy and tears. In the year of the 2021 Olympics, the stick was also metaphorically an important symbol of dialogue between 658 municipalities and 4 countries, as it was carried firmly in the hands of pilgrims on their way, as if it were an Olympic torch.
The story of this hazelwood stick is beautiful. The idea of making it a symbol of the ‘Road to Rome’ initiative came from Giancarlo Laurenzi, a pilgrim, President of the London-based Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome. But where did this object come from? It was made by Michael Walsh near Holycross Abbey in Tipperary, Ireland. The stick was seasoned, cleaned and prepared for the long journey with more than 10 layers of boiled linseed oil. The subsequent decoration on the stick, with the recognisable icon of the pilgrim symbol of the Via Francigena, was engraved by an artist from London, Julie Helen Sharp, and the rope grip on the handle was prepared by specialist craftsman Declan O Shea.
The stick, blessed before the beginning of “Road to Rome” by Brother Celsus Tierney, set off on 15 June from km zero in Canterbury, in front of the Cathedral, to walk the distance to Dover in the company of enthusiasts, pilgrims and representatives of the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome and of the Kent County Council, who handed it over to Captain Nick Jones (P&O Company) in the port of Dover on the morning of 17 June. He transported it on the ship to Calais, on the French shore on the other side of the English Channel. Welcoming the stick at the port were EAVF’s President Massimo Tedeschi, Calais municipal delegate Dominique Darré, EAVF’s Director Luca Bruschi and the event’s social media manager Myra Stals. This moment was particularly emotional.
From there, the continental journey of the stick began, passing into the hands of the various representatives of local institutions and associations, as well as other pilgrims who accompanied the Road to Rome group on the four-month journey. An epic journey, narrated with photos, videos and a travel diary that put people and local communities at the centre of this experience.
Six months after its exciting arrival in Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia, the stick returns to Canterbury where a ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday 26 April in the Cathedral. On this occasion the staff will be blessed by Reverend Robert Willis in the presence of representatives of the European Association of Via Francigena ways, the city of Canterbury and the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome. It will be an emotional and symbolic moment which strongly links the journey of the Road to Rome to the meeting of peoples – sending out a strong message of peace at a delicate moment in history, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, at the gates of Europe. The stick of the Via Francigena is meant to become a symbol of peace and hope.
After the EAVF Assembly on 27 April in Canterbury, the stick will return to Italy, in Fidenza (where the EAVF headquarters is located). This geographical position is perfectly in the middle of the whole European journey. As well as being a beautiful reminder of the Road to Rome march, the stick will continue to be a symbol of unity between peoples. It will continue to meet pilgrims from all over the world.
Every pilgrim has a personal amulet. Some bring it from home, some find it along the way. An object of symbolic value, a good luck charm, a souvenir, or a mascot that accompanies us. What really matters is the meaning that will be forever associated with it, and with the experience of the journey.
From this realm of memories and evocations comes the work of Mirko and Silvia, two artisans, architects and passionate pilgrims who dedicate themselves to the creation of personalised souvenirs, mainly made in wood or ceramics, specifically dedicated to pilgrims travelling along the Via Francigena.
Together they founded the Artio Design workshop in Aosta, becoming theofficial designer of the Via Francigena in 2020, offering objects made with natural materials which you can carry during your pilgrimage. Water bottles, key rings and wooden pins to hang on your backpack, leather bracelets, ceramic or stone necklaces, and much more: Artio Design also produces custom-made stamps and stickers, as well as shapes and signs in the style of a ‘medieval shop’ that tag places where you can receive a stamp on your credential. Each product can be 100% personalised with details, texts and images that make it unique and unrepeatable, just like each person’s experience along the way. We are delighted to renew our collaboration with this important company for 2022!
“Our aim is to provide pilgrims with a product adapted to their needs for lightness, compactness and recognition, and to offer retailers exclusive articles that will identify and enhance them on the Way“, reads the official website.
