Via Francigena

The route

The Via Francigena is the medieval road from Canterbury to Rome, recorded stage by stage in 990 by Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his return from the papal court. The Italian section from Lucca to Rome is by far the most walked part: 380 km through Tuscany and northern Lazio, past San Miniato, San Gimignano, Siena, the Val d’Orcia, Radicofani, Lake Bolsena, Viterbo and Sutri, ending at St Peter’s Square. It is a recognised Council of Europe cultural route, and arriving pilgrims can request a testimonium in Rome.

The walking is rolling rather than mountainous: about 6,000 m of ascent across 380 km, with the high point at Radicofani, roughly 810 m up on its volcanic cone. Much of the route follows strade bianche, the white gravel farm roads of Tuscany, along with field paths, short stretches of tarmac and old paved lanes. The clay soils of the crete senesi south of Siena turn slick and heavy after rain, and long sections cross open cultivated country with almost no shade.

Sixteen days is the standard length, an average of about 24 km, and twenty days gives a gentler rhythm with time in Siena and Viterbo. Familiar stages include Lucca to Altopascio at 18 km, San Miniato to Gambassi Terme at 24 km, the short 13 km into San Gimignano, Siena to Ponte d’Arbia at 26 km and Viterbo to Sutri at 25 km. Waymarking is good rather than flawless: expect clear Francigena signs and red-and-white paint for most of the way, with gaps and diversions in Lazio.

The season runs April to October. May, June, September and early October are the best of it. July and August regularly pass 35°C in the Val d’Orcia and northern Lazio, on a route with little shade and villages spaced further apart than on the Camino. Numbers are a fraction of the Spanish routes, so you can walk half a day without meeting another pilgrim, though Jubilee years lift traffic on the final Lazio stages considerably.

Accommodation is a patchwork of parish hostels, convents, municipal ostelli, agriturismi, B&Bs and small hotels. Pilgrim beds exist but are spread thinly, and some are open only to walkers carrying a credenziale. Because the network is thinner than in Spain, booking one or two days ahead is the normal practice, sometimes by telephone rather than online, and Italian helps. Several stages end at an agriturismo outside the village, which affects both dinner plans and bag delivery addresses.

The route suits walkers who have already done a Camino and want quieter days, anyone drawn to Etruscan, Roman and medieval history, and people willing to solve small logistical problems themselves. It suits less well those who want constant company on the path, a guaranteed bed without planning, or English spoken everywhere. Navigation demands slightly more attention than the well-oiled routes to Santiago, and a little Italian, or a translation app and the willingness to telephone a hostel at lunchtime, removes most of the remaining friction.