The new official Via Francigena app is now available online.
The application was presented on Saturday 27th January in Monteriggioni during the V International Forum “Comuni in Cammino” and has been realised by the European Association of the Vie Francigene (EAVF) in collaboration with the seven regions of Italy crossed by the route (Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio) and the Vaud and Vallese cantons of the Swiss tract.
Available for iPhones and Androids, the Via Francigena app, developed by ItinerAria Srl, specialising society and expert EAVF partner, is a new free tool for pilgrims and tourists who on foot or by bike wish to undertake Sigeric’s route. Currently available in Italian and English, it allows gps navigation of the entire route, around a thousand km divided into 45 legs from the Great St Bernard Pass to Rome.
As well as preloaded maps, tracks and descriptions of each leg to be independent from internet connection, the EAVF application presents some important technical developments: a user friendly route-guidance panel similar to that of Google Maps and an auditory alarm in case a hiker takes the wrong route. The app will enable you to send more precise signals of potential criticalities along the route. Thanks to the “Go to” function in the section dedicated to hospitality the user will arrive directly at the accommodation destination following the directions on the app.
“We are honoured to present this important development for the EAVF, its associates and the municipalities and regions – states Sami Tawfik, project manager for the European Association of the Vie Francigene – It is a very important evolution for pilgrims and tourists who decide to hike. This app also gives a view of the areas along the Via Francigena, of the initiatives and touristic features of the route.”
“It is a very important step for us: it’s the release of the 5.0 version of our app – explains Alberto Conte, founder of ItinerAria and manager of the EAVF route – We’ve been working on it since 2009 when we started to experiment qualities and defects of the technology applied to the route. We decided to recall an interface that everyone will by now recognise, and shows you the direction in which we are headed. It is visible even if the smartphone in question is mounted on a bicycle handle. Additionally, users of the app will have the possibility to send an email with photos and geographical coordinates of places where they may have come across criticalities – states Conte – this will mean signage is updated more frequently, incentivising an active collaboration of those who traverse the route.”
As well as supplying signs along the course, touristic features and accommodation, the new EAVF app is also a window into the area with the “Le terre della Via Francigena” (Areas of the Francigena) section, currently in the process of publication, including hiking suggestions and an inclusion of the authentic spirit of the places crossed by the route.
An ever-evolving application. As Sami Tawfik states, the application will become more and more European. “The application is currently available in Italian and English but will soon be available in French – says Tawfik – Our aim is to extend the app to France and England. We are already working on the Swiss tract, as we are with the guide, and the objective is to have an app which follows pilgrims and tourists from Canterbury to Rome and, in the future, to the Francigena of the South.”
Video interview with Sami Tawfik and Alberto Conte
Press conference of the European Association of the Vie Francigene © Copyright