The Camino to Rome
- blistersblog
- Jan 22, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 26, 2020
If you haven't heard of the Via Francegina, don't worry! Keep reading and we will give you a brief insight into the history of the Road we will be taking.
We believe that the Via Francigena is for everyone. There are no rules about who should take this journey, we believe it is a spiritual journey, a journey in which you take time out of a hectic life and take steps to a positive frame of mind.
History of the ancient route
The Via Francigena 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, 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.
In the Middle Ages, Via Francigena was the major pilgrimage route to Rome from the north. 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.
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