Author: Redazione AEVF

Mary Kirk, a 69-year-old woman from Suffolk England, is currently walking ‘phase two’ of her pilgrimage Canterbury to Rome.  Mary is an inspiration in determination as she returns to the Francigena after having had to stop in Vercelli due to a knee injury in the spring of this year.  In the latest post of her blog (http://quovadis-walkingtorome.uk/) we find Mary just having crossed the Cisa Pass in the Apennines.  Tuscany and the wondrous towns of Lucca and Siena lie ahead of her. 

Mary will be speaking at the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome meeting in March, 2017.  She will give an account of her tremendous journey and offer practical information to pilgrims who are planning their own journey to Rome.  Mary describes pilgrimage as  “a metaphor for life, with its ups and downs, joys and sorrows, pains and pleasures; with its turning upside-down of plans, its encounters with the unexpected; with the people who cross one’s path, and the people with whom one walks a stretch and more. As in life, it is how one deals with all of this that brings to light one’s true self, and the necessity of transformation.”

If you would like to support Mary in her efforts to raise funds for refugees and the homeless please visit the following websites:

www.justgiving.com/Mary-Kirk2 (Refugee Action)

www.justgiving.com/Mary-Kirk3 (Shelter)

Buon cammino Mary!

Julia Peters

The route of the Via Francigena crossing Europe from Canterbury to Rome, has several stages that have particular artistic, cultural and religious value: Fidenza is one of these places, enhanced by the presence of its Cathedral and the Diocesan Museum.

The Cathedral has a centuries-long history.  Built between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, it was not designed to accommodate people with mobility difficulties.   A feature that today is necessity. 

A project has been initiated, starting with a study of the urban area surrounding the Cathedral, identifying the possible paths that lead to the historic monument to make it barrier-free. A direct access to the Cathedral along the Diocesan crossing Piazza Grandi, connected to the parking lot for cars and buses on Via G. Mazzini, just adjacent to it, has been identified. To make the route accessible to visitors with disabilities, the project includes adjusting areas where there is a gap in the sidewalk ad placing a platform of wood and steel over the cobblestones of the square, which are not viable for a wheelchair. The platform consists of a steel frame anchored to the ground by means of nails, thus avoiding damage to the old pavement, and making it removable. The frame is hidden by an overlying walkway consisting of wooden planks, which recall the colour and size of the wooden material used on the Roman Bridge in close proximity, which was recently renovated.

The entry into the Cathedral is facilitated by an oblique platform positioned in the left portal, made entirely of aluminium, and the placement of a new automatic swing door with shatterproof glass steel. The platform has not damaged the paving stone as it is resting on the ground via rubber feet that prevent movement.

The accessibility project of Fidenza Cathedral aspires to be an example for a new Via Francigena, leading to the creation of a route that is open to all and allowing everyone to benefit from the fascinating richness of architecture and testimonies of a place endowed with faith, history and art.

Luca Faravelli

 In the framework of the European project “Europe to Turkey on Foot (Preparation of a European cultural route between Europe and Turkey)”, the European Association of the Via Francigena and the Association “Culture Routes Society” publish a public notice to select students/graduates and young expert in communication willing to take part at a 7  day study visit in Turkey, along the Saint Paul trail and the Evliya Çelebi Way.

The terms to submit a candidature are explained in the attached Notice. 

The Via Francigena is at the centre of an educational experience presented to eleven journalists of international standing and involving the city of Siena.

The program, which took place on 24 September, was run by the Region of Tuscany as part of a broader project carried out in cooperation between the regions of central Italy, with Umbria as leader through the group “Umbria & Francesco’s Ways”, aiming to promote themes related to the paths of spirituality.  These included, in addition to the Francigena, the Walk of Francis and St. Benedict, the Francescano della Marca and the Via Amerina.

The Sienese event included the arrival in town of the journalists in the early afternoon, a visit to the Santa Maria della Scala and an urban trekking experience on the path of #SienaFrancigena.

 “The tourism promotion requires an organized, coordinated and constant communication – said the Councillor for Tourism, Sonia Pallai – and the Via Francigena is taking on increasing importance within the international context on the dimension of sustainable tourism.  Thanks to a series of qualified and effective actions we can see increasing cooperation at the institutional level. Our programmatic and operational axis with the Tuscany region is generating mutual benefits, both for the enhancement of the paths of the Via Francigena that are on Sienese territory and for the promotion of the city in overall terms.”

Source: Official Press of the City of Siena