Travel + Leisure - India & South Asia
A legendary trail from France to Rome.
When (almost) in Rome, Archana Singh takes adages seriously and walks a part of Via Francigena, the 1,200-year-old pilgrim trail lost to time.
As we set off, Erica spoke encyclopaedically on Via Francigena. “Via Francigena is to Italy what El Camino is to Spain. In the Middle Ages, the 1,300-kilometre pilgrimage path began from the Canterbury Cathedral in England, passing through France and Switzerland, before reaching the eternal city, Rome,” she said. “The route welcomed travellers—from Etruscan merchants to Roman soldiers, pilgrims, and Europe’s greatest minds. It saw the succession of civilisations, architecture, and gastronomy.”
Almost forgotten for centuries, Via Francigena is undergoing a renaissance today. In 2009, the Italian government decided to revive the Italian leg of the route based on the journal written by Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury in 990 AD.
Over the past few years, a sensible route has been waymarked through Tuscany to avoid stretches of the main road, and hiking maps have been published. From a time when locals didn’t want the pilgrims in their area, to offering them free food, water, and shelter today, Via Francigena has come a long way in less than a decade.
THE JOURNEY
The full trail takes approximately 90 days, but I decided to do a portion of it—almost
100 kilometres—in five days. This provided an excellent introduction to the Tuscan countryside—unspoiled landscapes, UNESCO-protected medieval towns, open-hearted people, and exceptional gastronomic delights.
Though the route was shorter than the earlier day, it was more diverse in appeal—freshly overturned fields with earthy fragrance, endless golden vineyards, dry sunflower fields, long avenues of cypresses, rolling hills crowned with vertigo-defying citadels, and lush forests that wore fall colours. Mid-afternoon, we reached the city of towers and rightaway began our guided tour. Standing on top of the tallest tower, Torre Grossa, we listened to tales about the patrician families who built around 72 tower-houses as symbols of their wealth and power. When the Tuscan sun blanketed the whole valley in its golden glow, a sommelier took us on a sensual journey of wine-tasting at the Museo del Vino Vernaccia di San Gimignano. We tried several varieties of Vernaccia, a dry, white wine produced only in Tuscany since the 13th century, before wrapping our day with a wonderful home-made Tuscan meal.