|
|
|
|
Via Francigena
|
| |
|
| |
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. It was an important medieval road and pilgrimage route connecting north-western Europe with Rome. To pilgrims headed south, it was the Via Romea, to those headed north, the Via Francigena.
The pilgrimage to Rome
The Via Francigena was the major medieval pilgrimage route to Rome from the north; even today pilgrims travel this route but in far fewer numbers than the Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago).
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Via Francigena' Start a new discussion about 'Via Francigena' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. It was an important medieval road and pilgrimage route connecting north-western Europe with Rome. To pilgrims headed south, it was the Via Romea, to those headed north, the Via Francigena.
The pilgrimage to Rome
The Via Francigena was the major medieval pilgrimage route to Rome from the north; even today pilgrims travel this route but in far fewer numbers than the Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago). The route that was first documented as the "Lombard Way", was first called the "Frankish Route", the Iter Francorum, in the Itinerarium sancti Willibaldi of 725, recording the travels of Willibald, bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. The "Via Francigena" is first mentioned in the Actum Clusio, a parchment of 876 in the Abbey of San Salvatore al Monte Amiata (Tuscany). At the end of the tenth century Sigeric, the Archbishop of Canterbury, travelled the Via Francigena going to Rome to see the Pope in order to be consecrated and returning to Canterbury; he made a record of the route and his stops on the return journey, but nothing in the documentation of his journey suggests that the route was in any way considered new. Other travellers whose accounts include itineraries of their passage include the Icelandic traveller Nikolás Bergsson (in 1154), and Philip Augustus of France (in 1191). Two somewhat differing maps of the route appear in manuscripts of Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, of the thirteenth century.
In 1985 the Italian archaeologist of roads, Giovanni Caselli, retraced the itinerary as described by Archbishop Sigeric. Whilst both Howell the Good of Wales 945AD, and his grandfather Rhodri Mawr 880AD, were known to have gone to Rome towards the end of their lives, it is not entirely certain whether they both went by land, there being also the sea route by way of the straits of Gibraltar,dangerous, and infested by brigands, as they were. Earlier journeys than Sigeric can only be apocryphal.We may be quite certain that St Thierry ,listed below, used the roads towards Rome with great regularity, at the end of the 11thC. The return journey by sea was, and is much easier, thanks to the Westerly Atlantic winds, but tacking down to the Mediterranean would have made a very long journey indeed. Saying that a historical figure "Died in Rome" may always have been a historiographical falsity, but a metaphorical truth.
The Via Francigena is not a single 'road' in the strict sense of a Roman road, paved with stone blocks and provided at intervals with a change of horses for official travellers. It comprises several possible routes that changed over the centuries as trade and pilgrimage developed or waned. Depending on the time of year, political situation, and relative popularity of the shrines of saints along the route, travellers may have taken one of three or four crossings of the Alps and the Apennines. The Lombards paid for the maintenance and defence of the section of road through their territories as a trading route to the north from Rome, avoiding enemy held cities such as Florence. Unlike Roman roads, the Via Francigena did not connect cities, but relied more on abbeys.
The Via Francigena today
There are those who, following in Sigeric's ancient footsteps, make the pilgrimage to Rome along this route on foot, horseback or bicycle today. However, they do so in far fewer numbers than on the popular Way of St. James pilgrim's route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Consequently there is far less in the way of accommodation and other facilities for pilgrims along the route. Pilgrims in Italy camp out rather than stay in hotels (which will prove very expensive over the many weeks it will take to travel the route) though stays in pensions are a mid-priced option.
Walkers could choose to walk along the Eurovelo EV5 cycling route (named the 'Via Francigena') when this is finished. However, it varies substantially from the route given by the VF Association.
Timeline
In 1994 the Via Francigena was designated a European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe.
In November 2005, Italian politician Romano Prodi announced he would revitalize the Via Francigena if elected Prime Minister in the 2006 election.
On 11 August 2007 a group of 27 cyclists, which included several members of Canterbury City Council, set out from Canterbury Cathedral by bike to ride the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome in 16 days. This was a charity ride to raise money for the restoration of Canterbury Cathedral and other causes.
Itinerary
The eighty stages in Sigeric's itinerary averaged about twenty km a day, covering some 1700 km; they have been the basis for re-identifying the route today.
Having crossed the English channel to Calais, a pilgrim bound for Rome might stay in Bruay, Arras, Reims, Châlons-sur-Marne, Bar-sur-Aube, Langres, Besançon, Pontarlier, Lausanne, Saint-Maurice then over the Saint Bernard Pass to Aosta, Ivrea, Vercelli, Pavia, Fidenza, Aulla, Luni, Lucca, Poggibonsi, Siena, San Quirico, Bolsena, Viterbo, Sutri and to Rome. Camping can give a pilgrim more options for staying in places without affordable accommodation.
One of the most known points of Via Francigena is Passum Padi in the municipality of Senna Lodigiana where the Pò was crossed by Sigeric. Today a monument commemorates the crossing of the river by the archbishop.
The Via Francigena Association Guide - Vademecum - provides a comprehensive list.
Literature
- 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
See also
External links
Via Francigena associations
- The International Association Via Francigena
- Dutch Association of pilgrims walking or biking to Rome
-
History of the route
Pilgrims associations
- on the website
- the European Pilgrimage Routes project website
-
Travelogues
- An epic journey completed by a Canadian couple in late 2008. Includes daily notes and other relevant information
- Michael and Clair Lee's exceptional photo story of their journey from Anywhere(Essex)to Rome, their Vía Romea
- , an account of walking the Via Francigena by Brandon Wilson, one of the first modern pilgrims to walk the trail (2000, 2002)
|
| |
|
|
