Jeanne's Next Chapter: The Via Francigena

September 6, 2021 - Hello again!

I have taken a six year hiatus from posting on my blog but perhaps it is time to jump back in. David and I are beginning a three week journey on the Via Francigena in Italy and several people have expressed interest in following our progress. So these will be shorter, more frequent posts from the road.

The Via Francigena…. what is it? The Via Francigena is an ancient route that the Archbishop of Canterbury “Sigeric” took from Canterbury, England to Rome in the year 990. (Yes, over a thousand years ago.) He kept a diary of this road to Rome which crossed France, Switzerland and the length of Italy which allowed historians in the modern age to rediscover it and designate it as a Cultural Route of Europe.

When we walked a portion of the Camino di Santiago in Spain with Terry and Susan Walker two years ago, we met people who talked about the Via Francigena. Then maybe it wasn’t a coincidence when my friend and pastor Kelly Brill shared the book A PILGRIMAGE TO ETERNITY by Timothy Egan with me. After reading about his experience on the Via Francigena, I was ready to go. Luckily David had also had a great experience on the Camino so he was up for the adventure. We began planning mid-pandemic hoping that once we were vaccinated, we would be able to go. We decided to focus on the segment from Lucca in Tuscany to Rome which should take about three weeks on foot.

People walking these ancient routes are referred to as Pilgrims, or in Italy as “pellegrini”. Many pilgrims carry all of their belongings on their backs and find accommodations in hostels, abbeys and monasteries as they go. Full disclosure here - we have chosen a more supported method. We booked with a company that has made reservations for our lodging along the way, in small hotels and “agritrurismi” (working farms). Arrangements were also made to move our suitcases from place to place so we only are carrying a daypack. We had a great experience on the Camino with this method so are trying it again.

We arrived in Italy over a week ago and spent time in Como visiting dear friends and hiking on the steep hills in that region. We have practiced our Italian and remembered how much we love the food, wine and culture here. Yesterday, we took a train to Lucca in Tuscany where we picked up our Pilgrim credentials, a passport that we will get stamped along the way. This morning we received our first stamp in the Duomo (Cathedral) of San Martin. We will begin our walk just outside of San Miniato in the hills of Tuscany.