A wonderful promotional campaign for the Via Francigena is currently underway in Calais, focusing on the first French section of the European route.
The Department and the Municipality of Calais, together with the AMVPAC association (Association for the Enhancement of the Architectural Heritage of Calais), are carrying out numerous projects and initiatives. These include an official stamp, signage, efforts to enhance the route through the city, and support for welcoming pilgrims, whose numbers are steadily increasing internationally.
The iconic Francigena pilgrim arrives in the city… by sea!
The route is already marked in the city with ground plaques and signage from the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (FFRP). It is now also accompanied by the image of the famous yellow pilgrim figure at life-size — just like in other sections of the Via Francigena, such as in the Lazio region of Italy.
Creativity is alive in Calais: some new installations show the symbolic pilgrim silhouette inside a boat, representing Sigeric’s journey from France to England, specifically from Calais to Dover across the English Channel.
Where to spot the pilgrim in a boat
The first pilgrim figure (on foot) was placed at the official starting point of Stage 1 of the Via Francigena in France, at the Church of Notre-Dame de Calais. This church, built in English Perpendicular Gothic or Tudor style — the only one of its kind on the continent — was the venue for the wedding of General Charles de Gaulle, first President of the French Fifth Republic, and Yvonne Vendroux in April 1921.
Further along the way, another pilgrim — this time in a boat — has been placed on the Calais seawall, symbolically accompanying walkers and evoking the crossing from England in a flobart, a small traditional fishing boat of the Côte d’Opale.
The same flobart installation can also be found beside the church in the village of Wissant, which also lies along Stage 1 of the GR®145 Via Francigena.
The Inauguration
To celebrate the unveiling of the new installations, the Pas-de-Calais Department, the City of Calais, Calais Tourist Office, and AMVPAC organised a walk along the first French section of the Via Francigena in early April, bringing together around sixty walkers.
These initiatives confirm the growing commitment to making the Via Francigena in France increasingly well-known and appreciated!
