Via Francigena

The Via Francigena (Italian: [ˈviːa franˈtʃiːdʒena]) is the common name of an ancient road and pilgrim route running from France to Rome and Apulia, where there were the ports of embarkation for the Holy Land,[1] though it is usually considered to have its starting point on the other side of the English Channel, in the cathedral city of Canterbury. As such, the route passes through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. The route was known in Italy as the "Via Francigena" ("the road that comes from France") or the "Via Romea Francigena" ("the road to Rome that comes from France").[2] In medieval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul.

Various Via Francigena signposts

History of the pilgrimage to Rome

Sign showing the path near Ivrea, Piedmont, Italy.

Map of the Via Francigena

In the Middle Ages, Via Francigena was the major pilgrimage route to Rome from the north. The route was first documented as the "Lombard Way", and was first called the Iter Francorum (the "Frankish Route") in the Itinerarium sancti Willibaldi of 725, a record of the travels of Willibald, bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. It was "Via Francigena-Francisca" in Italy and Burgundy, the "Chemin des Anglois" in the Frankish Kingdom (after the evangelisation of England in 607) and also the "Chemin Romieux", the road to Rome.

The name Via Francigena is first mentioned in the Actum Clusio, a parchment of 876 in the Abbey of San Salvatore at Monte Amiata (Tuscany).[3]

At the end of the 10th century Sigeric the Serious, the Archbishop of Canterbury, used the Via Francigena to and from Rome in order to receive his pallium;[4] he recorded his route and his stops on the return journey,[5] but nothing in the document suggests that the route was then new.

Later itineraries to Rome include the Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan of the Icelandic traveller Nikolás Bergsson (in 1154) and the one from Philip Augustus of France (in 1191).[6] Two somewhat differing maps of the route appear in manuscripts of Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, from the 13th century.

The Via Francigena – in France given the Grande Randonnée route number GR145 – crossing the Massif de Saint Thierry, Champagne.

The Welshman Rhodri Mawr in AD 880 and his grandson Howell the Good in 945 are both known to have visited Rome towards the end of their lives, but it is not known whether they went by land or by the dangerous and pirate-infested sea route via Gibraltar. Reports of journeys before Sigeric can only be apocryphal. We may be quite certain that the Benedictine William of St-Thierry used the roads towards Rome on several occasions at the end of the 11th century. The return journey by sea was likely to be easier, thanks to the prevailing south-westerly winds, but tacking down to the Mediterranean would have made a very long journey indeed. A statement that a historical figure "died in Rome" may have been a historical falsity, but a metaphorical truth.

The Via Francigena was not a single road, like a Roman road, paved with stone blocks and provided at intervals with a change of horses for official travellers. Rather, it comprised several possible routes that changed over the centuries as trade and pilgrimage waxed and waned. Depending on the time of year, the political situation, and the relative popularity of the shrines of the saints situated along the route, travellers may have used any of three or four crossings of the Alps and the Apennines. The Lombards financed the maintenance and security of the section of road through their territories as a trading route to the north from Rome, avoiding enemy-held cities such as Florence. Another important point is that unlike Roman roads, the Via Francigena did not connect cities, but relied more on abbeys.

Pilgrims to Rome carved in a relief, Fidenza Cathedral (late twelfth century)

Sigeric's itinerary

Circa 990 AD, Archbishop Sigeric journeyed from Canterbury to Rome and then back again but only documented his itinerary on the return journey.[7] Sigeric's return journey consisted of 80 stages averaging about 20 km (12 mi) a day, for a total of some 1,700 km (1,100 mi).[8]

Most modern-day pilgrims would wish to follow Sigeric's documented route in the reverse order, i.e. from Canterbury to Rome, and so would journey from Canterbury to the English coast before crossing the Channel to Sumeran (now called Sombres) landing at the point where the seaside village of Wissant now lies. From there the modern-day pilgrim must travel to the places Sigeric knew as "Gisne", "Teranburh", "Bruaei", "Atherats", before continuing on to Reims, Châlons-sur-Marne, Bar-sur-Aube, Langres, Champlitte, Besançon, Pontarlier, Lausanne and Saint-Maurice. From Saint-Maurice they must traverse the Great St. Bernard Pass to Aosta and from Aosta they must pass through Ivrea, Vercelli, Pavia, Fidenza, Pontremoli, Filattiera, Aulla, Luni, Lucca, San Gimignano, Poggibonsi, Siena, San Quirico d'Orcia, Bolsena, Viterbo and Sutri before finally reaching the city of Rome.

Sigeric's journey compared to today's route

No.	Stages as described by Sigeric			Today's stages of the Via Francigena
		Place names as per Sigeric	Current-day place names	Start - End	Distances in km
Across the English Channel
1	LXXX	Sumeran	Sombre (part of Wissant)	Calais - Wissant	19.7
2	LXXIX	stage missing
3	LXXVIII	Gisne	Guînes	Wissant - Guînes	20.2
4	LXXVII	Teranburh	Thérouanne	Guînes - Licques	15.7
				Licques - Wisques	23.9
				Wisques - Thérouanne	13.2
5	LXXVI	Bruwaei	Bruay-la-Buissière	Thérouanne - Auchy-au-Bois	15.1
				Auchy-au-Bois - Bruay-la-Buissière	19.0
6	LXXV	Atherats	Arras	Bruay-la-Buissière - Arras	33.6
7	LXXIV	Duin	Doingt	Arras - Bapaume	26.2
				Bapaume - Péronne	25.3
				Peronne - Doingt	3.0
8	LXXIII	Martinwaeth	Seraucourt-le-Grand	Doingt - Seraucourt-le-Grand	29.2
9	LXXII	Mundlothuin	Laon	Seraucourt-le-Grand - Tergnier	17.0
				Tergnier - Laon	33.0
10	LXXI	Corbunei	Corbeny	Laon - Bouconville-Vauclair	18.6
				Bouconville-Vauclair - Corbeny	4.5
11	LXX	Rems	Reims	Corbeny - Hermonville	20.1
				Hermonville - Reims	16.3
12	LXIX	Chateluns	Châlons-en-Champagne	Reims - Trépail	28.1
				Trépail - Châlons-en-Champagne	25.8
13	LXVIII	Funtaine	Fontaine sur Coole	Châlons-en-Champagne - Coole	27.0
14	LXVII	Domaniant	Donnement	Coole - Donnement	25.7
15	LXVI	Breone	Brienne-le-Château	Donnement - Brienne le Château	17.8
16	LXV	Bar	Bar-sur-Aube	Brienne-le-Château - Bar-sur-Aube	26.9
17	LXIV	Blaecuile	Blessonville	Bar-sur-Aube - Châteauvillain (near Blessonville)	32.9
18	LXIII	Oisma	Humes-Jorquenay	Châteauvillain - Langres (near Humes-Jorquenay)	40.9
19	LXII	Grenant	Grenant	Langres - Coublanc (near Grenant)	27.0
20	LXI	Sefui	Seveux	Coublanc - Dampierre-sur-Salon	27.7
				Dampierre-sur-Salon - Savoyeux (near Seveux)	5.5
21	LX	Cuscei	Cussey-sur-l'Ognon	Savoyeux - Gy	20.6
				Gy - Cussey-sur-l'Ognon	16.4
22	LIX	Bysiceon	Besançon	Cussey-sur-l'Ognon - Besançon	17.0
23	LVIII	Nos	Nods	Besançon - Étalans	27.0
				Étalans - Chasnans (near Nods)	9.8
24	LVII	Punterlin	Pontarlier	Chasnans - Ouhans	18.0
				Ouhans - Pontarlier	17.0
25	LVI	Antifern	Yverdon-les-Bains	Pontarlier - Orbe	40.2
26	LV	Urba	Orbe
27	LIV	Losanna	Lausanne	Orbe - Lausanne	32.0
28	LIII	Vivaec	Vevey	Lausanne - Cully	12.9[9]
				Cully - Vevey	11.3
29	LII	Burbulei	Aigle	Vevey - Montreux	8.4
				Montreux - Villeneuve	5.9
				Villeneuve - Aigle	12.7
30	LI	Sce Maurici	Saint-Maurice	Aigle - Saint-Maurice	18.0
31	L	Ursiores	Orsières	Saint-Maurice - Martigny	17.0
				Martigny - Orsières	18.5
32	XLIX	Petrecastel	Bourg-Saint-Pierre	Orsières - Bourg-Saint-Pierre	15.4
33	XLVIII	Sce Remei	Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses	Bourg-Saint-Pierre - Great St Bernard Hospice	13.8
				Great St Bernard Hospice - Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses	6.3
34	XLVII	Agusta	Aosta	Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses - Aosta	25.6
35	XLVI	Publei	(Pontey ?) Pont-Saint-Martin	Aosta - Nus	15.9
				Nus - Saint-Vincent	22.3
				Saint-Vincent - Arnad	22.4
				Arnad - Pont-Saint-Martin	15.9
36	XLV	Everi	Ivrea	Pont-Saint-Martin - Ivrea	25.2
37	XLIV	Sca Agatha	Santhià	Ivrea - Viverone	21.4
				Viverone - Santhià	16.2
38	XLIII	Vercel	Vercelli	Santhià - Vercelli	28.6
39	XLII	Tremel	Tromello	Vercelli - Robbio	19.7
				Robbio - Mortara	14.2
				Mortara - Tromello	18.1
40	XLI	Pamphica	Pavia	Tromello - Gropello Cairoli	13.5
				Gropello Cairoli - Pavia	18.1
41	XL	Sce Cristine	Santa Cristina e Bissone	Pavia - Santa Cristina e Bissone	27.4
42	XXXIX	Sce Andrea	Corte San Andrea	Santa Cristina e Bissone - Piacenza (crossing the Po)	38.2
43	XXXVIII	Placentia	Piacenza
44	XXXVII	Floricum	Fiorenzuola d'Arda	Piacenza - Fiorenzuola d'Arda	26.4
45	XXXVI	Sce Domnine	Fidenza (up till 1927 called Borgo San Donino)	Fiorenzuola d'Arda - Fidenza	22.3
46	XXXV	Metane	Costamezzana (Medesano)	Fidenza - Costamezzana	10.8
47	XXXIV	Philemangenur	Fornovo di Taro (or Felegara)	Costamezzana - Medesano	9.7
				Medesano - Fornovo di Taro	9.2
48	XXXIII	Sce Moderanne	Berceto	Fornovo di Taro - Cassio di Terenzo	19.8
				Cassio di Terenzo - Berceto	10.4
49	XXXII	Sce Benedicte	Montelungo	Berceto - Pontremoli	29.4
50	XXXI	Puntremel	Pontremoli
51	XXX	Aguilla	Aulla	Pontremoli - Villafranca in Lunigiana	19.1
				Villafranca in Lunigiana - Aulla	15.3
52	XXIX	Sce Stephane	Santo Stefano di Magra	Aulla - Sarzana	16.3
53	XXVIII	Luna	Luni	Sarzana - Luni	12.7
54	XXVII	Campmaior	Pieve di Camaiore	Luni - Massa	14.8
				Massa - Pietrasanta	15.8
				Pietrasanta - Camaiore	8.2
55	XXVI	Luca	Lucca	Camaiore - Lucca	24.2
56	XXV	Forcri	Porcari	Lucca - Porcari	10.6
57	XXIII	Aqua Nigra	Ponte a Cappiano. Part of Fucecchio	Porcari - Ponte a Cappiano	19.7
58	XXIII	Arne Blanca	Fucecchio	Ponte a Cappiano - Fucecchio	4.9
59	XXII	Sce Dionisii	San Genesio near San Miniato	Fucecchio - San Miniato Alto	7.6
60	XXI	Sce Peter Currant	Coiano. Today part of Castelfiorentino	San Miniato Alto - Coiano	12.1
61	XX	Sce Maria Glan	Santa Maria a Chianni near Gambassi Terme	Coiano - Gambassi Terme	12.2
62	XIX	Sce Gemiane	San Gimignano	Gambassi Terme - San Gimignano	14.5
63	XVIII	Sce Martin in Fosse	San Martino Fosci (Molino d'Aiano. Part of Colle di Val d'Elsa)	San Gimignano - Badia a Isola	20.5/25.5
64	XVII	Aelse	Gracciano (Pieve d'Elsa. Part of Colle di Val d'Elsa)
65	XVI	Burgenove	Badia a Isola. Part of Monteriggioni
66	XV	Seocine	Siena	Badia a Isola - Monteriggioni	3.5
				Monteriggioni - Siena	20.5
67	XIV	Arbia	Ponte d'Arbia. Part of Monteroni d'Arbia	Siena - Monteroni d'Arbia	17.9
				Monteroni d'Arbia - Ponte d'Arbia	9.8
68	XIII	Turreiner	Torrenieri (Part of Montalcino)	Ponte d'Arbia - Buonconvento	5.7
				Buonconvento - Torrenieri	13.5
69	XII	Sce Quiric	San Quirico d'Orcia	Torrenieri - San Quirico d'Orcia	7.4
70	XI	Abricula	Briccole di Sotto	San Quirico d'Orcia - Bagno Vignoni	5.3
				Bagno Vignoni - Radicofani	27.4
71	X	Sce Petir in Pail	San Pietro in Paglia (Voltole)	Radicofani - Ponte a Rigo	10.7
72	IX	Aquapendente	Acquapendente	Ponte a Rigo - Acquapendente	13.8
73	VIII	Sca Cristina	Bolsena	Acquapendente - Bolsena	20.2
74	VII	Sce Flaviane	Montefiascone	Bolsena - Montefiascone	18
75	VI	Sce Valentine	Viterbo (Bullicame)	Montefiascone - Viterbo	18.7
76	V	Furcari	Vetralla (Forcassi)	Viterbo - Vetralla	17.9
77	IlIl	Suteria	Sutri	Vetralla - Sutri	22.1
78	III	Bacane	Baccano (Campagnano di Roma)	Sutri - Campagnano di Roma	22.3
79	II	Johannis VIIII	San Giovanni in Nono (La Storta)	Campagnano di Roma - La Storta	25.6
80	I	Urbs Roma	Roma	La Storta - Rome	14.8

The final stretch towards the Apulian ports

Via Francigena upon the Daunian Mountains; the hill in the background was the site of Crepacore castle.

From Rome the path followed for a long stretch the Via Appia or the parallel Via Latina up to Benevento. From that town Via Traiana was taken up the Campanian Apennines and Daunian Mountains, where Crepacore castle stood, a fortress held by the Knights of Jerusalem in order to guarantee the safety of pilgrims along the mountain stretch.[10] The road therefore reached Troia, in the high plain of Tavoliere delle Puglie (where Via Francigena is attested since 1024),[1] and then continued towards Bari, Brindisi and Otranto, the main ports of embarkation for the Holy Land.

Today

Today some pilgrims still follow in Sigeric's ancient footsteps and travel on foot, on horseback or by bicycle on the Via Francigena, although there are far fewer pilgrims on this route than on the Way of St. James pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.[11] Roughly 1,200 pilgrims were estimated to have walked the VF in 2012. One reason for this is a lack of infrastructure and suitable support facilities. Affordable pilgrims' accommodation and other facilities can be hard to come by for those traveling along the route. In 2011, James Saward-Anderson and Maxwell Hannah ran the entire route for Water Aid.[12] They completed the route unassisted in 58 days.

Accommodation

Pilgrims' accommodation building in Cassio, Parma, Italy [13]

Due to the scarcity of dedicated pilgrims' accommodation along the Via Francigena, pilgrims often camp out rather than staying in hotels or pensions, both options which would turn out expensive when used for weeks on end. However increasingly in Italy, some monasteries and religious houses offer dedicated pilgrim's accommodation. These are called spedali and — like the refugios found on the Way of St. James in France and Spain — they offer cheap and simple dormitory-style accommodation. Spedali accept pilgrims who bear a valid credenziale (pilgrim's passport), usually for one night only. Some places offer meals as well.

The state and path of the route

A steep section of the Via Francigena in Settimo Vittone, Piedmont.

Only a few decades ago, interest in the Via Francigena was limited to scholars. This began to change in recent years when many who, after travelling the Way of St. James in Spain, wanted to make the pilgrimage to Rome on foot as well. In Italy, this gave birth to a network of lovers of the Via Francigena, who with paint and brush, began to mark its trails and paths. These people were joined by religious and local government agencies who also tried to recover the original route. Where possible today's route follows the ancient one but sometimes it deviates from the historical path in favour of paths and roads with low traffic. The potential for the tourist trade in Italy has been recognised but this has also led some to take advantage - some have worked to divert the path so that it passes around this bar or that restaurant![14]

In England, the VF passes only through a small part of the county of Kent, from Canterbury to the ferries at Dover.

In France, the VF (given the Grande Randonnée designation 'GR145') goes through the régions Hauts-de-France, Grand-Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté before reaching the Swiss border.

In Switzerland the VF (with the route designation '70') goes through the cantons of Vaud and Valais.

In Italy the VF goes through the Regione of Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and finally about halfway through Lazio to Rome.

Walkers could choose to walk along the EuroVelo EV5 cycling route which bears the name the 'Via Francigena'. However, this EuroVelo route varies substantially from Sigeric's route and the one given by the Via Francigena Association.

In 1994 the Via Francigena was designated a Cultural Route, and in 2004 a Major Cultural Route.

In November 2009 the Italian government launched a project to recover the Italian leg of it. The object of the plan is to recover the entire route (disjointed parts of which are already signposted) "not only in spiritual and religious terms but also in terms of the environment, architecture, culture, history, wine and cuisine and sport." The initiative was promoted by the Region of Tuscany, which hosts 400 km (250 mi) of the Via, and which presented a plan detailing the low environmental impact infrastructures to be created. The plan will be shared with other local authorities located along the route as an encouragement to carry out similar recovery work.[15] Tuscany has also announced cooperation with the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi (ORP), the Vatican’s organisation for encouraging pilgrimages.

The final stretch, from Rome to the Apulian ports of embarcation for Jerusalem, has been renamed Via Francigena nel Sud (in Italian "Via Francigena in the South (Italy)") or else Vie Francigene del Sud ("The Francigena Ways to the South").[16]

Gallery

• Stages along the Via Francigena
• 
  Canterbury Cathedral, the starting point of the Via Francigena.
• 
  Pilgrims bound for Rome depart Canterbury Cathedral from the Christ Church Gate.
• 
  Crossroads of the Via Francigena (designated in France as the Grande Randonnée route GR145) and the GR654 in the département of Marne, northern France.
• 
  The Great St. Bernard Pass in high summer.
• 
  Column built by the Compagnia di Sigerico at Soprarivo, Calendasco. An identical one stands in the village of Corte Sant'Andrea, Lombardy.
• 
  Sigeric's station no. XXX in Aulla, Tuscany.
• 
  The Cisa Pass between Tuscany & Emilia-Romagna.
• 
  Mediaeval Italian manuscript depicting the Castle of Tentennano on the Via Francigena.
• 
  St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City in Rome holds one of the destinations of the pilgrimage, the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle.
• 
  Via Francigena along Southern Apennines, near Ariano Irpino, on the final route connecting Rome and the Apulian ports of embarkation for the Holy Land.

See also

• Way of St. James
• Valdorcia
• Ponte della Maddalena - a river crossing en route.
• Order of the Holy Sepulchre - The Order of the Holy Sepulchre was one such order of Pilgrimage providing Hospices on the Vía. (The road to Jerusalem lay through Rome, as it still does for the intrepid.)
• EV5 Via Romea Francigena, a long-distance cycling route also running from London to Rome.
• CoEur devotional path

References

1. Renato Stopani (1992). Centro Studi Romei (ed.). "La via Appia Traiana nel Medioevo" [Via Appia Traiana in the Middle Age] (PDF). Vie Francigene del Sud (in Italian). p. 4.
2. Valle d'Aosta Aosta Valley: Gran San Bernardo - La Via Francigena
3. Via Francigena: history (PDF) Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
4. Hindley, Geoffrey A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The beginnings of the English nation (New York: Carroll & Graf) 2006:294-295.
5. The transcript, formerly in the Cottonian Library, is now in the British Library (Cotton Tiberius B.v., folios 34 and 35; On-line map of Sigeric's route
6. Nikolás is noted in F. P. Magoun, Jr., "The Italian Itinerary of Philip II (Philippe-Auguste) in the Year 1191", Speculum 17.3 (July 1942:367-376) p. 367 note 2.
7. Ortenberg "Anglo-Saxon Church and the Papacy" English Church and the Papacy in the Middle Ages p. 49
8. Via Francigena - 03 |Augnet
9. Distances given by Ingrid Retterath: Via Francigena von Lausanne nach Rom. Outdoor guide Bd. 201. Conrad Stein Verlag 2011.
10. "San Vito". Commune of Faeto (in Italian).
12. "Epic run from Canterbury to Rome follows pilgrimage". BBC.
13. www.viefrancigene.it
14. it:Via Francigena
15. 128-page PDF in Italian, with plans and pictures
16. "The Francigena Ways to the South". Vie Francigene del Sud.

Sources

• Kerschbaum & Gattinger, Via Francigena - DVD- Documentary of a modern pilgrimage to Rome, ISBN 3-200-00500-9, Verlag EUROVIA, Vienna 2005
• Trezzini, La Via Francigena. Vademecum dal Gran San Bernardo a Roma La Via Francigena. Vademecum dal Gran San Bernardo a Roma (Association Via Francigena) 2000
• Adelaide Trezzini-AIVF. San Pellegrino sulle Via Francigene. Ed. Gangemi Cod. ISBN 88-492-1607-6
• Adelaide Trezzini-AIVF. Topofrancigena da Canterbury a Roma (2004-2007) Ed. Ass. int. Via Francigena
• Adelaide Trezzini-AIVF. Guide-Vademecum da Canterbury a Roma. Ed.2002-03
• Adelaide Trezzini-AIVF. Dormifrancigena da Canterbury a Roma.2006 + 2007 Ed. Ass. int. Via Francigena

External links

• Via Francigena on URCamino
• Canterbury City Council local info on the route through the UK
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-13793445
• (in French) The GR145 Via Francigena in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France
• Italian Ministry of Cultural and Heritage Multiple language site of the official route in Italy including roadbooks, GPS and maps
• La Via Francigena website for Italy (in Italian & English)
• The Via Francigena in Southern Italy, from Rome to Apulia (English version)

Via Francigena associations

• (in Spanish) Asociación de la vía Francígena en España
• Association Internationale Via Francigena Active since 1997 promoting cultural and tourist awareness of the Via Francigena to Roma
• Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome United Kingdom pilgrim association providing information on the Via Francigena
• European Association of Vie Francigene Information on the route through Italy
• (in Dutch) Dutch Association Dutch Association of pilgrims walking or cycling to Rome
• Via Francigena Association in Switzerland
• (in German) EUROVIA Austrian pilgrim Association supporting pilgrims to Rome (German/English/Italian)
• Camminando sulla Via Francigena. The Italian Community of pilgrims 3.0 (choose your language)

Related routes

• (in Italian) La Francigena in Garfagnana Route between Aulla and Lucca through the Garfagnana in Italy (in Italian)
• Via Francigena di San Francesco Route from Roma to Rieti.
• (in Italian) Via Francigena Appia Pedemontana Route from Roma to Formia