Via Francigena

posted 15 Jul 2015, 03:15 by Mark Ramsden [ updated 15 Jul 2015, 05:59 ]

Canterbury to Rome 1200 miles

Look how the original pilgrims travelled – by horseback if they could afford it. Bev is doing the modern equivalent – travelling by open-topped car. However, not being too concerned about historical accuracy, the roof will be up if the weather dictates.

The Via Francigena was first mentioned in the 3rd century and is Europe's oldest route of pilgrimage. After leaving England, it winds through Arras and Reims (France) and Lausanne (Switzerland) before reaching Tuscany and some of Italy's most beautiful landscapes, before heading down to Rome, the eternal city.

The earliest map of the road was made in around 990 by Sigeric the Serious, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, who made the pilgrimage to Rome to receive his pallium (ecclesiastical vestments.)

https://sites.google.com/a/llandudnomethodists.org.uk/llandudno-methodists/bevs-pilgrimage-blog/viafrancigena/viaf-map.jpg

Start	End	Via	Distance (miles)	Comments
Canterbury	Calais	Dover	19	The original pilgrims did not have a tunnel, so the ferry is the right way to cross the Channel.
Calais	Arras	Wissant	77	Wissant, not Calais, was the old port for crossings from Britain to France.
Arras	Reims		118
Reims	Besancon		212
Besancon	Lausanne		84
Lausanne	The Great St Bernard Pass		78
Great St Bernard Pass	Vercelli		123
Vercelli	The Passo della Cisa		152
Passo della Cisa	Lucca		87
Lucca	Siena		75
Siena	Rome		159

We expect to have set off by 24^th September, and for the journey down to take about 11 days, with plenty of stops to see the sights and drive beautiful routes.

Comments