Content on this page © 2007 by James Martin, the professional vagabond, all rights reserved.
The Via Francigena (the Iter Francorum, or the "Frankish Route") is a branch of the Pilgrimage trail that goes between Canterbury and Rome, coming into full use starting around the 11th century.
Bishop Sigeric of Canterbury first made the journey to Rome in 990 AD to receive honors from the Pope. He kept details of his travels in a book, with pictures and maps of the route, which became the pilgrimage route of today, more or less.
The route contains lots of interesting cities, from the Roman stronghold of Aosta, with some great ruins to visit, to Ivrea, known for its orange-throwing carnevale, Vercelli for its rice (and the frogs who have a symbiotic relationship with it), Luni, for which the Lunigiana gets its name (there are ruins to visit) and other compelling destinations like San Gimigiano and its towers and Siena with its Palio. It's a great route to trek today.
Some of the destinations on the Via Francigena trail of Northern Italy have information you can find by dragging your mouse cursor over the destination name and clicking.
Via Francigena - Associazione Europea: Mostly in Italian, but you can download maps of the stages of the walk.
Association Via Francigena: Information site in English.
Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome: Practical help and information for those making a pilgrimage to Rome by foot, bicycle or horse.
The Via Francigena - A site in English about the Via.
Notes on Walking the Francigena - Interested in how long it takes to go from Aosta to Rome. Here are some notes from a pilgrimage.
EuroVia - A site for pilgrims to share experiences.
LightFoot Guide to the via Francigena
