Italy Ain't Done With Me Yet!!

La Via di Francesco aka The Way of St. Francis 

I've been doing a little reading about the history of the Way of St. Francis and it's good to appreciate that while pilgrims have been walking to Rome and Assisi for centuries, the Way of St. Francis is not a typical historical pilgrimage route such as the primary Camino de Santiago where pilgrims have been crossing northern Spain for over a thousand years. Rather it's a modern route cobbled together from a series of much older pilgrimage routes running between La Verna, Assisi and Rome with pilgrims having criss-crossed this land for centuries. This is well illustrated in the route map posted at the top of this page where multiple routes are identified. There are also other historical pilgrimage routes from distant places that cross the Way of St. Francis. These include the Via Romea Germanica which starts in northern Germany eventually crossing the Way of St. Francis at the Franciscan Sanctuary at La Verna before merging with the Via Francigena at Montefiascone where Rob and I stayed last year just 130 kms north of Rome. 

The central character of this route is of course St. Francis, a much loved figure well known for his interactions with nature. In 1979 Pope John Paul II renamed St. Francis as the Patron Saint of Ecology, and I think that it was when I read more about this part of his life that I finally committed myself to this route.  St. Francis's story goes back to the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a time of city-states where safety was often found behind the walls of hilltop towns and cities. Yup, once again I will be finishing many stages with steep climbs! I know that my buddy Rob really, really wishes that he was going to be there to share this with me.😂 Of course the rugged beauty of Umbria and the fact that Umbria is not as popular with tourists as is its neighbouring sister states Tuscany and Lazio definitely had a bearing on my decision.

Looking at the map above, I'll essentially be following the big thick red line, initially along the Via di Francesco in Toscana from Florence to La Verna. There I'll hopefully join a few other folks as this is the generally accepted "starting point" to walk the traditional northern pilgrimage route to Assisi which is the section that most people walk. As was the case last year when walking the North Downs Way and the Via Francigena, I won't necessarily confine myself to the official route. I plan to briefly leave the accepted path at Gubbio for a two day crossing to Perugia to see this beautiful historic city before walking a day eastward to Assisi where I will then start the southern part of the Way of St. Francis southward to Rome. I expect to take 4 extra days in the cities of Gubbio, Perugia, Assisi and later Spoleto where there is apparently much to be enjoyed, tasted and experienced. However, I get a little ahead of myself. There's loads of walking to be done first!

I'm just about ready to go. I just have to get all this gear into my 30 litre pack. As I'm in the mountains for much of this journey, I've worked diligently to reduce the weight of my pack to as light as I've ever managed, 11.5 lbs (5.2 kg) before food and water. This is a full 4 lbs lighter than I walked with last year on the Via Francigena. I'm not getting any younger! 😇 With food and water my pack could weigh as much as 16.5-17 lbs (7 kg).

I fly off to Florence tomorrow afternoon (May 14th) arriving late Monday night. I plan to spend one quick day in Florence and then follow the trail eastwards.

Oddly after walking some 10,000+ kilometres through 10 different countries, I still get a little bit anxious in the last couple of days before beginning. I know from experience that this is a normal part of my process, and that this feeling will simply evaporate with my first steps. 

I can't wait to have my first morning tea with a couple of cornetti! "Due cornetti al cioccolato e crema pasticcera per favore!" Molto bene!!😊

If you are interested in leaving a comment at the end of my posts (and I hope you are) please don't forget to leave your first name or initials to help me to identify you. Thanks for your support! And yes Louise, NOW I'm getting excited!!!

Buon viaggio! Buon Camino!

Geoff