ON SIGERIC’S TRAIL
HIKING THE VIA FRANCIGENA
Travelling is getting predictable. The same tourist guides recommend the same overpriced cities, the same rushed day trips, and the same “unforgettable” experiences. Going to Tuscany? Leaning Tower of Pisa? Check. Michaelangelo’s David in Florence? Check. Wine tasting in Chianti? Check. The views speed past the car or train window, a few camera-phone snaps the only lasting memory of the trip. All we want is a fun, active holiday; a mix of urban sightseeing with incredible natural panoramas and a chance to meet and get to know interesting people - all without spending too much money. Is that too much to ask?
Step forward the Via Francigena. A reconstruction of a route first mapped out by Sigeric the Serious - Archbishop of Canterbury at the time - who spent four years walking from Rome to Canterbury between 990-994, the Via Francigena is an attempt by Italy to build a trail to rival Spain’s Camino de Santiago. It was designated a European cultural route in 1994, but it is only since 2009 that major works have begun to upgrade the trails and wayside accommodation. Almost 200,000 people hiked part of the Camino in 2012, compared to a number in the solitary thousands for its Italian cousin. What this means is that while the Camino is often loud and crowded (especially the more popular sections), the Via Francigena has not lost any of the peaceful tranquillity that makes a pilgrimage route unique.
VIAGGI