Via degli Dei - has anyone walked it?

[grdemedeiros]

I heard about Via degli Dei from an Italian pilgrim. It goes from Bologna to Firenze, looks like a week or so. Has anyone on this forum walked it? @RodrigoD & I just finished our Camino (Portuguese) and are now looking for another European walk we can do in ~7 days in April. We loooooove Italy but aren't sure we can handle the mountains of the Via di Francesco. TIA

 

[jungleboy]

I haven’t walked the Via degli Dei, but instead I can highly recommend the Via Ellenica in southern Italy (eight days from Alberobello to Matera). I wrote a short summary in this thread and our podcast episode about it is coming later this week!

 

[grdemedeiros]

Thank you! BTW, thought of you when I read about the Caminho de Fé in Brazil. Knowing Portuguese would give you two a boost. (And Lisbon to São Paulo or Rio is an easy flight.)

 

[Pilar]

I have walked the Via Degli Dei three times. It is a fabulous walk. You can easily do it in a week. There is an online guide that helps. There is an Italian guide that you can follow even if you don't speak Italian. PM me if you want anymore information.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Bologna to Florence is part of an important secondary route of the Via Romea network of pilgrim roads to Rome, of which the Francigena is by far the most prominent.

 

[Hiking starts at 75]

My daughter and I walked part of the Francigena in May this year. It was from Lucca to Siena. Tuscany is beautiful and did it in a week. We really enjoyed it.

 

[Ghislaine]

I heard about Via degli Dei from an Italian pilgrim. It goes from Bologna to Firenze, looks like a week or so. Has anyone on this forum walked it? @RodrigoD & I just finished our Camino (Portuguese) and are now looking for another European walk we can do in ~7 days in April. We loooooove Italy but aren't sure we can handle the mountains of the Via di Francesco. TIA

 

[Ghislaine]

I walk via degli Dei beginning if April. It’s not a hard hike, but far from the greatest trail. Muddy, muddy and muddy. Lots of spots that was sliding terrain, few nice views, but it didn’t compensate for the bad trail. I wouldn’t recommend that one. But some may have other great experience.

 

[gkaplan]

I heard about Via degli Dei from an Italian pilgrim. It goes from Bologna to Firenze, looks like a week or so. Has anyone on this forum walked it? @RodrigoD & I just finished our Camino (Portuguese) and are now looking for another European walk we can do in ~7 days in April. We loooooove Italy but aren't sure we can handle the mountains of the Via di Francesco. TIA

I walked it in May. There is some climbing but nothing too strenuous. We did it in 7 days, not 6. Quite a bit of mud, but that shouldn't be a problem in Summer or Fall.
I have a couple of recommendations for hostels and food if you're interested

 

[andycohn]

I echo @Pilar , above. Great trail. All natural terrain. Fabulous views through the Apennines. Quite a bit more climbing than the Portuguese camino, which you walked previously, but nothing super-demanding Much less touristed than the Via Francigena through Tuscany, but with very good infrastructure and terrific places to stay. It's also easy to break up the stages. Not to mention the food! We went in the fall of 2022; no issues with mud at all. As @Pilar mentions, there's a very good website -- in English -- that helps you with the planning. https://en.viadeglidei.it/. The only guidebook I'm aware of is the Terre di Mezzo guide, which is only in Italian, but it's easy to follow.

(And btw, there seems to be some confusion in posts, above, where others have confounded this trail with the Via Francesco or the Via Francigena. It is distinct).