The Forgotten Pilgrim Path

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.

ON A BRIGHT OCTOBER MORNING, I found myself standing on a panoramic point overlooking the Arno Valley, draped in a series of small hills with cypress and olive trees in the heart of Tuscany.

“San Miniato, where you are standing right now, has been on a crossroads since the Middle Ages. Due to its strategic location, it was a bone of contention between Florence and Pisa. As it lies roughly 20 miles (32 kilometres) away from each of them, it earned the name ‘20 miles town’,” explained Erica Masani, my guide. It was my first day of walking the Via Francigena trail with S-cape Travel; my 10 companions came from around the world. Like the pilgrims of yesteryear, we slowed down to the pace of the 10th century, swapping diesel engines for strong legs, pencil heels for hiking boots, and gadgets for trekking gear. One important thing that differentiated us, the modern pilgrims, from the ancient ones was our motivation—while they were driven by faith, we were stoked by adventure and the trend of slow travel. The path was punctuated with tiny images of a pilgrim welcoming us every few metres—on a lamp post, on small signage, even spray-painted on the pavement.

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.”