Author: Redazione AEVF

The records of the convention “Via Francigena, Via of Peace”, held in Fidenza and Piacenza on 28^th and 29^th April 2016 on the occasion of the 15^th anniversary of activity of the European Association of the Vie Francigene, have been published.

It is an interesting document both for academics and for people who are daily involved on the Francigena.

Every year thousands of people from all the continents walk along this great “Cultural itinerary of the Council of Europe”, from Canterbury to Rome, until Santa Maria di Leuca in Puglia region. They are attracted by the beauty and the charm of the locations. The Via Francigena crosses, for the most part of it, so-called “minor” European territories that can be rediscovered through a strong network of local institutions, associations, economic operators, all at the service of pilgrims and walkers.

“The Via Francigena is the daughter of the Council of Europe and of its morals of respect, dialogue, democracy. The family of the Francigena is inclusive and pacific; these are the characteristics that constitute its essence and strength and an example for everyone. In the 86 pages of report of the 74 convention’s speeches you will be able to find the photography of the wonderful experience of our European Association, of the ideas and the projects that it suggests, of the sturdy bonds that it built between people and communities; bonds and mutual respect that remain and grow with time. I thank you all for having accepted to participate to the Convention, suggesting and sharing your ideas.

Our European Association is in continue growth, thanks to the certainty of the territories that adhere and to the people that commit time, energy, passion. We deal with a project destined to continue for a long time and to reach new purposes. I quote the UNESCO candidacy of the Italian segment, for a start, that will see our European Association directly involved side by side with regional and national authorities. We will also talk about this at the next EAVF’s general assembly that will take place on the 5^th May 2017 in Pavia and to which you are all invited” said the President Massimo Tedeschi.

Download the Records of the Convention

After having walked as a pilgrim along the Saint Olav Way from Oslo north to Nidaros (Trondheim) in 2005, I was asked what next – Santiago de Compostella? My answer was that to me, Rome is a more important goal.

Since 1968, I have been there many times as a pilgrim. Maybe I should walk there once? Between 12 May and 1 October 2015 I did so, around 2.900 kilometres.

In 2010 a friend had proposed we walk some days each year along the Via Romea Francigena, starting in Orsières in Switzerland. In 2014 five of us reached Viterbo. In early 2015 I told the others that I would start earlier, walk from Oslo and meet them in Viterbo so we could walk the final five days to Rome together.

Plans for a pilgrimage relay from Trondheim to Rome in 2015, Pilgrims Crossing Borders, made me aware of the Via Romea Germanica from Stade (near Hamburg) to Rome. Based on the description of Abbot Albert’s return from Rome to Stade in 1237, the road was marked again between 2009-2013, by Italian anthropologist Giovanni Caselli and others.

I chose to follow the Via Romea Germanica some weeks ahead of the relay. I have been told I became the first to walk the entire stretch from Stade to Rome in modern time.

On 12 May 2015, I left our home at Grefsen in northern Oslo, walked to the harbour and took the overnight ferry to Frederikshavn in Northern Jylland in Denmark. The next morning I started walking.

Between Frederikshavn and Padborg on the Danish-German border, I followed the Hærvejen, the ancient road from north to south on Jylland, with very good maps from www.haervej.dk. Through Schleswig-Holstein from Padborg to Wedel on the Elbe, I followed the Ochsenweg,  www.ochsenweg.de.

From Stade to Rome, I used maps from www.viaromeagermanica.com and several guide books. Between Stade and Innsbruck, I used Jochen Heinke’s Der mittelalterliche Pilgerweg Via Romea I og II (Jochen Heinke im Selbstverlag), and also Giovanni Caselli’s and Thomas Dahms’ Via Romea Stade-Mittenwald  (Ostfalia Verlag, Osterwieck). Between Innsbruck and Ferrara, I used Ferdinand Tremls Der Pilgerweg nach Rom. Auf der Brenner-route über Padua und Assisi (Tyrolia Verlag, Innsbruck), which partly also describes the Via Romea Germanica.

I spent two weeks in Denmark, more than two months in Germany, five days in Austria and close to two months in Italy. Each day I published a report in Norwegian on my open Facebook profile. In 2016 these reports were published in my book Pilegrim i Europa – min vandring dag for dag fra Grefsen til Roma i 2015 (Pilgrim through Europe – my walk day by day from Grefsen to Rome in 2015), (Kolofon, Oslo 2016).

All the way I met friendly people. Many said «Gottes Segen!», «Gesundheit!», «Respekt!», «Complimenti!», «Greetings to the Pope!» when they heard my story.

By moving slowly from north to south, I wanted to remind myself and others of the old bonds that bind us Europeans together – whether we come from south or north, are EU members or not, are Catholics or Protestants, have other beliefs or no belief.

I looked for the traces of our Christian heritage – rooted in Jerusalem, Athens and Rome. Over the centuries, these bonds have been exposed to trials, exploitation, wars, reformation and secularisation. But the traces are still there, spiritually and physically. Guard stones along the road are churches, chapels and altars.

While I was walking, refugees continued to come to Europe. Politicians were striving to handle a number of refugees we had not seen in decades. I did not see the refugees, and border crossings had not yet been closed.

The large majority of pilgrims in our time do not walk. They come by car, train, boat or plane. And they are by no means less real pilgrims. Still, recent decades have seen a growing interest in walking slowly again – along old roads to holy places.

Walking on my own, I carried what I needed of clothes, food and water. I chose to sleep in cheap hotels and pensions and to carry just the food and water I needed for the day. With 3-4 sets of clothes, rainwear and light shoes for the evenings, my sack weighed 11-12 kilos with full water bottles. On my feet I had light hiking boots with soft soles. This made it possible to walk long stretches on asphalt. In average, I covered 25 kilometres each day. Making around 4 kilometres an hour, this would often take eight hours – pauses included. After starting out too ambitiously in Jylland, I had to cure a sinew inflammation in the leg with three weeks on bike.

Organised pilgrimages often have a daily rhythm with prayers and meditations. I used a Roman Catholic prayer book in the morning and in the evening. During the day, I would normally visit one or more churches. I would spend time, light a candle; say a Pater Noster and an Ave Maria.

In Jylland, churches were often open during the day, in Northern Germany less often. In the mainly Catholic Bayern, Austria and Italy, churches were almost always open. Here, roadside altars and crucifixes were physical reminders of the Christian faith of those living there and of mine passing there.

Physically as well as mentally a pilgrim should have a day of rest each week. I chose to rest on Sundays and go to church.   

As a member of the (Lutheran) Church of Norway, I was welcome to participate fully in Lutheran services. In Catholic masses, it was not obvious that I would be welcome to receive the Holy Communion. I could have come early, asked to see the priest and maybe be welcome to participate, or I could have pretended to be a Catholic. I chose not to bother or cheat the priest, remaining an observer during the Eucharist for most of my pilgrimage. Not the least when I reached my goal, this was sad.

Talks have long been held on how to overcome this division between the Christian confessions – where the Eucharist is seen by the Catholic Church as an expression of full communion, while the Lutheran understanding is that the Eucharist is open to all. In my view, however, this is not a relation between two equal parties. We should remember that it was Luther and the other 16^th-Century reformers who broke out and came to found new churches.          

Some say the road is the goal for a wanderer. In one way, I may agree; along the road are the views, the meetings and the experiences. Still, my goal, Rome with her churches, saints’ graves and all the other, was what kept me walking. I found rest in the thought that I was walking south in the footsteps of many Northerners during the last millennium – through landscapes and places they saw, along roads Christian church and cultural impulses had followed on their way north.

It is a quiet joy to know that the city with the Holy See and the graves of St. Peter and St. Paul is not farther away than that I have walked there. It took some months, but the road there is marked with a string of churches, chapels and altars still used by those who live there.

The European Association of the Vie Francigene provides data on the profile of the walker, the pilgrim and the excursionist who travels on the European route

Fidenza – The walker travels 4 or 5 km per hour. The pilgrim loves taking time for themselves, stopping and taking a break in unknown places. They don’t like adapting to deadlines during the walk, which is an occasion to meet, talk and listen. A journey that becomes a discovery of ourselves and others, absorbed in the great beauty of the Via Francigena. And, as Lacarrière says, “To walk these days does not mean to go back to the Neolithic era, it rather means to be a prophet”.

The European Association of the Vie Francigene analysed about 2.000 of the almost 11.000 distributed forms, which were completed by pilgrims who required the credential in 2016, in order to better define the profile of the walker of the Via Francigena. We are talking about a sample that hasn’t got the statistic characteristics of significance, compared to the universe of walkers and pilgrims of the Francigena. It is a mere evaluation by EAVF on the basis of the forms and the information coming from EAVF’s staff along the route; however, it provides useful information to better know the profile of the 3^rd Millennium pilgrim. Last year, a flow of about 40.000 walkers has been estimated.

By the survey, the following points can be highlighted:

• The Via Francigena greets an always more international public
• All the modalities of accommodation, from hostels to facilities that offer more services, are chosen by pilgrims
• The Via Francigena is an “intergenerational” walk, with a slot that spreads between the age of 16 to 70
• Services and businesses are created along the route, to support it
• The Via Francigena promotes the dialogue between territories and encourages the sense of belonging of local communities

Age groups. The Via Francigena becomes an even bigger European cultural route, which can attract people from all over the world. An “intergenerational” walk that involves all the age groups, from 16 to 70, with an increased presence of over-70 people and a strong under-20 growth, if compared with 2015. The most represented groups are the one between 40-60 years (41%). The 30-40 and 20-30 groups follow, not very distant. Walkers are autonomous, well informed, they love getting organised in an autonomous way and buying editorial products dedicated to the path.

Means of transport. The trend of walking pilgrims is confirmed (79%), increasing by 4 points with regards to 2015. The constant number of pilgrims who travel along the Francigena by bike surely represents a great opportunity to mainly broaden the usability of the Via Francigena for bike lovers. It is necessary to increase the services on the path and on accommodation, together with adequate investments on the safety of the route.

A pilgrim out of three loves travelling in group, or at least with a travel partner, since the start.

Reason for travel. The main reason for people who decide to travel on the Francigena is the walk itself, even before the destination. However, one of the true motives is the one of “learning how to waste time”, which in the modern society is almost considered inappropriate, because we are always trying to retrieve the time we don’t have. Spirituality, knowledge of the self and intimate research emerge, all of which move us closer to nature and the environment that surrounds us. The Via Francigena offers time to reflect, to think, to discover. The cultural aspect is important just as much: the walk offers a journey through history, time and the European culture. The religious reason is fixed at the 15%. The interest connected to the discovery of the territorial food and wine industry grows; it is able to cheer the stage at the end of the day and it becomes a way to know the local tradition along the Via Francigena.

The provenance. The knowledge of the Via Francigena is growing on a European scale. If it is true that about the 70% is Italian, the Via Francigena is becoming more and more an international route, that attracts pilgrims from all over the world. In Europe, the most numerous walkers come respectively from France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria; while, from the rest of the world, the main provenances are from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Norway; however there are increased numbers coming from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela.

Period and starting stages. Despite the hot weather, most of the departures focuse during summer time: July and August are the months that see a greater attendance on the walk, also related to the possibility to go on vacation for a medium-long period. In spring and autumn, the presence of non-Italian pilgrims is higher. It is interesting to point out a presence of pilgrims all year round, even during the winter months of December, January, February.

Some locations on the Via Francigena are particularly strategic to start the walk, or at least this is what emerges from the analysis of data. In Switzerland, an increasing number of pilgrims starts from Losanna: a wonderful city on the Lemano lake, easy to reach and close to the Alps. In a few days of walk it is possible to reach one of the mythical location of the route, the Great St. Bernard Pass. The Pass itself is one of the other most beloved starting point location for walkers. In Italy, the main chosen cities to start are Fidenza, Lucca, Siena, Viterbo.

Walk period and accommodation. The average period is 7-8 days (50%), even if many choose to walk on the Via Francigena during, for example, weekends or spring “long” weekends. More than the 20% walks more than two weeks, instead.

The half of the pilgrims prefer to sleep in town hostels, whether religious or private. What matters is the sharing and welcoming spirit, starting from a meal at the end of the stage, which becomes an opportunity to exchange experiences. People who walk for a long period on the Via Francigena definitely prefer these buildings, more similar to the true aspect of the walk. People who travel for a shorter time prefer facilities that offer more services and comforts, such as hotels and/or B&Bs, from which a special consideration is expected towards the category of the excursionist. Surely, the increase of low-cost accommodating facilities, as hostels and hospitals, becomes the most important element for the rise of the pilgrims’ flow.

The walk as a philosophy of life. The analysis confirms a strong trend happening these years, increasing also in Italy. That is to say, the one of the walk intended in all its forms and dimensions, an “art” that since at least a couple of centuries is celebrated by very famous authors (Russeau, Herman Hesse, Thoreau, Leigh Fermor, Ollivier, Muir), but also by less known authors, at least to the Italians. It is actually a beautiful slow revolution, the one that focuses on walking, sensory, spirituality, authenticity connected to the journey. As signalled by one of the greatest expert on walks, the French writer David Le Breton, a strong positive change of the culture of walking is happening and the walker itself is acquiring a social dignity. “The foundation of walking has greatly changed in the last 30 years, relying only on its body and will and this is an anachronism in a era of speed, immediacy, efficiency, production, utilitarianism.”

2017: year of the boom and opportunity for territories. Pilgrims are already walking on the Via Francigena since the beginning of the year. For 2017, a true boom is expected, which is going to be able to increase the knowing of this European route, also thanks to an always greater commitment of institutions, associations and private operators. The lights turn on especially on small Municipalities, which compose the “minor” Europe and which have been celebrated during the recent Forum on the Via Francigena in Monteriggioni, on the last 28^th January.

The territories can play a very important role to support the put online of the entrepreneurial and creative humus attracting positive energy and faith. The theme of occupation (not just the young one) is at the centre of European, national and regional politics, now more than ever. The Via Francigena and all the other routes connected to it can become great experimental platforms to create occupational flows around cultural themes, declined in all their multiple forms of sustainability and accessibility.

Luca Bruschi