Some people have the Via Francigena right outside their door and live for years without knowing it. For Monica Nanetti, the opposite happened: her city, Milan, is far from Sigeric’s path, but just hearing about it once was enough to spark a decision that, over the years, led her to explore it – on two wheels. And something changed. A lot, actually.
Reading guide
- The first slow journey: from Aosta to Rome
- The Via Francigena offers more than just a journey
- Discovering the Swiss segment and the first Guidebook
- Seven years later
- Via Francigena, stay just as you are!
The first slow journey: from Aosta to Rome
In these stories about the Via, we talk about people who walk along the Francigena and those who bring it to life in various ways: offering hospitality, building benches in the shade, cleaning the paths, promoting it. Monica belongs to both groups and began both walking it and writing about it when pilgrimage routes in Italy were still virtually unknown and slow tourism existed but had no clear identity.
“I first heard about the Via Francigena many years ago, maybe around 2012.” As a travel journalist, she was attending a press event in Switzerland, and while passing through the Great St. Bernard, someone showed her the hostel where most pilgrims stay and described the long route that starts in Canterbury.
Those are the moments that can either pass without consequence or become life-changing. Monica held onto that moment, and though she didn’t know it yet, it would greatly shape her future.
“At the time, I didn’t walk or cycle,” she says, “but this idea kept circling in my mind, and in 2017, I decided to do a different kind of trip.”
The obvious choice would have been Santiago, but that felt overhyped—while memories of that hostel on the Swiss-Italian border and the story of Sigeric and the pilgrims stayed vivid. So she set off on the Francigena, from Aosta to Rome—and it was love at first sight. In many ways.
The Via Francigena offers more than just a journey
“What I discovered in 2017 wasn’t the existence of the Francigena, but its beauty. It was my first slow journey—I chose to do it by bike because I didn’t have the time to walk the whole way, and instead of shortening the route, I picked a way to reach Rome anyway.” It was a double revelation. “I fell in love with the mode of travel, and especially with the route itself. It was love at first sight, an incredible experience, a daily dose of wonder.”
Since then, Monica has experienced traveling in many other places, but new adventures have only confirmed her passion for that first one.
“I realized that the Via Francigena is a special route—so full of insights, rich in elements, and with a variety of landscapes that’s hard to find elsewhere. It really has something extra.”
Discovering the Swiss segment and the first Guidebook
This discovery sparked a small professional revolution. Today, Monica is a specialist in slow travel, especially bicycle travel, which she chronicles on her blog “Se ce l’ho fatta io” (“If I Could Do It”), where she recounts her adventures with plenty of self-irony, attention to detail, and a strong ability to engage readers. The key appeal is that she’s not an athlete, but an ordinary woman, not particularly sporty—so if someone like her can get out there and pedal through the world’s beauty, anyone can.
Back in 2017, she rode from Aosta to Rome and came back ecstatic. But what she had seen wasn’t enough. She returned to the Great St. Bernard to walk the missing stretch back to Aosta, then began exploring more segments and realized that even the Swiss portion was still largely undiscovered.
“It was—and maybe still is—little known, but objectively stunning. So I proposed a dedicated guidebook to a publisher. I set off with backpack and camera, from the French border to the Great St. Bernard, moving slowly as I photographed, wrote, and researched.”
She walked 260 kilometers (including alternate routes) and published La Via Francigena svizzera. Dalla Francia all’Italia in 11 tappe in 2020 with Morellini Editore—the first guide on the Swiss part of Sigeric’s trail. She would go on to write more about the Francigena, but you never forget your first. “A few years later,” Monica adds, “I returned to that final segment with a group and was once again struck by the sheer beauty of these places. Even though we had to do 2,000 meters of elevation gain in three stages.”
But if she could do it…
Seven years later
Monica points out something I’d never thought of, but it’s true: “The funny thing about the Via Francigena is that you keep finding yourself back on it—maybe doing small sections, following variants, or with different companions.” In 2024, she decided to repeat the 2017 journey, this time with some friends.
“For some of them it was their first time; for me and the friend I did it with back then, it was a chance to see what it felt like after seven years.” They set off in May and arrived in 17 days, with many new discoveries and many familiar joys. “It confirmed how interesting the route is, how I have less stamina and strength than before, and how much the Francigena has changed in seven years. Back then, many towns along the route weren’t even aware of it. Now, there’s a much stronger identity, more services and infrastructure.”
The friends who experienced it for the first time—including Giovanni Storti, a cycling and mountain enthusiast and strong advocate for sustainability—were amazed.
“There isn’t a single stage of the Via Francigena that’s like another. It’s full of constant stimuli. First-time travelers are always blown away, and it was fun to experience it through their eyes. I kind of envied them. Places like Bagno Vignoni are beautiful in themselves, but getting there under your own power makes it even more magical.”
“Why Take a Plane When We Have Something Extraordinary Right Here?”
Monica still has plenty of pedaling ahead: she’s only partially traveled the southern stretch of the Via Francigena, as an ambassador for the Road to Rome in 2021, when we walked the final stage to Santa Maria di Leuca together. “The time is right to do the entire southern section by bike. There’s work to be done, but I feel like the potential is starting to show—and it’s absolutely extraordinary. It’s just a matter of time.”
She hopes that in a few years, a guide to the Rome–Santa Maria di Leuca segment by bike will be added to the ones she’s already written, with the clear goal of spreading awareness of its beauty.
“I instinctively say: we have a wonder right here at home—people should know that. Why take a plane when we have something extraordinary right here?”
Via Francigena, stay just as you are!
The differences she observed between the two journeys lead Monica to believe that the route is now in its prime.
“This is a magical moment for the Via Francigena. It’s developed enough to offer structures and services that didn’t exist before—but it’s not yet overcrowded or, let’s say, industrialized like the Camino de Santiago, which feels excessive to me.” The line between improving and losing authenticity is a fine one, and great care must be taken now. “In some sections—especially by bike—there are changes to the route that feel a bit forced and haven’t really helped. For now, there’s a good balance: the Via is well-developed and pilgrim-focused, but not to the point of losing its soul. It’s important that the Francigena stays true to itself.”
The future of such a uniquely characterized trail isn’t about copying other models, but about preserving its identity.
Those who choose slow travel help local areas develop and receive, in return, the warmth and authenticity of grassroots hospitality—but they must also be willing to give something back.
Finding the right balance, maintaining harmony and scale: that’s the present and the future of the Via Francigena, regardless of whether it reaches the numbers of the Camino de Santiago.
“To turn it into a destination for 500,000 people a year? That would be a shame, in my opinion.”
