Via Francigena assistance here

[lemenos]

My wife and i have walked from Aosta near the Swiss border to within 100km of Rome on the Via Francigena, and would be happy to answer any questions from pilgrims interested in this amazing route.

We have also done the Caminos de Norte and Primitivo to Santiago de Compostela.

Buon cammino!

Les

 

[Doogman]

my wife and i have walked from aosta near the swiss border to within 100km of rome on the via francigena, and would be happy to answer any questions from pilgrims interested in this amazing route.

We have also done the caminos de norte and primitivo to santiago de compostela.

Buon cammino!

Les

Hello, and thank you for your offer! I am starting out on the Via Francigena in Canterbury next month, but will only be going as far as Arras this time around. Where I will be in northern France, the accommodation seems to be fairly scarce, so I have booked all of my lodging in advance. On the Italian section that you did, was it difficult to find accommodation, or was that a problem at all? I don't really care if I stay in albergues or hotels, as long as there is something available every 20-25 kms. Also, why did you stop 100 kms from Rome and not go all the way? It's a possibility I might do some of the Italian section next year, so I may have further questions down the road. Thanks again!

 

[lemenos]

Hi, sorry for the confusion, my wife and i will be finishing our via on 6/25--in rome, we are not stopping short!

Generally, lodging is not a problem, no need to book too far in advance--a few days before has been sufficient for us. Will send some documents we have acquired which have helped alot with lodging. And be sure to have a phone and practice your italian, since calling to reserve is the best way to go!

Hello, and thank you for your offer! I am starting out on the Via Francigena in Canterbury next month, but will only be going as far as Arras this time around. Where I will be in northern France, the accommodation seems to be fairly scarce, so I have booked all of my lodging in advance. On the Italian section that you did, was it difficult to find accommodation, or was that a problem at all? I don't really care if I stay in albergues or hotels, as long as there is something available every 20-25 kms. Also, why did you stop 100 kms from Rome and not go all the way? It's a possibility I might do some of the Italian section next year, so I may have further questions down the road. Thanks again!

 

[Doogman]

Hi, sorry for the confusion, my wife and i will be finishing our via on 6/25--in rome, we are not stopping short!

Generally, lodging is not a problem, no need to book too far in advance--a few days before has been sufficient for us. Will send some documents we have acquired which have helped alot with lodging. And be sure to have a phone and practice your italian, since calling to reserve is the best way to go!

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your journey!

 

[Mike Trebert]

My wife and i have walked from Aosta near the Swiss border to within 100km of Rome on the Via Francigena, and would be happy to answer any questions from pilgrims interested in this amazing route.

We have also done the Caminos de Norte and Primitivo to Santiago de Compostela.

Buon cammino!

Les

Thanks for posting. My next walk will be the VF from Tuscany to Rome - hopefully next year. I will contact you with a few questions, if that's OK, when my planning gets more serious.

Buen camino, - Mike

 

[frida1]

We just completed the Arles/Aragones and are thinking about Francigena for next year. I will contact if we decide for that route!

 

[jujubery]

Wow , this is uncanny. My husband and I finished the Camino Frances in May of 2017 and I am already looking forward to walking again. However, we want to try Italy and I found the Via Francigena after a few key words on the internet. We only want to walk the Italian portion. I don't even know where to start, but we have time. We will start out Mid September 2018. Can you give me a starting point for my research. I would love to talk to you both about it!
Jujubery

 

[Kiwi-family]

http://www.viefrancigene.org/en/
Great place to start looking

 

[jujubery]

Thank you Kiwi-family! you've been around the block a few times! What has been your favorite journey?

 

[Kiwi-family]

Thank you Kiwi-family! you've been around the block a few times! What has been your favorite journey?

What an impossible question!
Our first Camino Frances just from Astorga rates highly because it's the only one our whole family did together.
The 1,500km one rates equally highly because it included some beautiful Camino's - Baztan, San Salvador, Primitivo and La Voie de la Nive (included Frances and Fisterra too, but these were less stunning)
Via de la Plata has amazing architecture/cities along the way.
Portuguese will always be special because it was just my husband and me celebrating 25 years of marriage - and the food was quite something else.
Hard to choose a favourite - I'm just grateful for every walk and hope to do more.

 

[jujubery]

Hi Les,
I hope your walk was everything you hoped it would be. My husband and I have changed our plans and will be walking the Italian section of the VF in April 2018. Would love to talk to you both about your experience and travels.
Are you from the US? If so, a phone conversation would be ideal
Thanks,
Jujubery

 

[grayland]

Hi Les, .......snip....
Are you from the US? If so, a phone conversation would be ideal
Thanks,
Jujubery

A reminder to use the private message function of the forum to exchange any private contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses.

It is always a bad idea to post this information on the open forum

 

[jujubery]

My wife and i have walked from Aosta near the Swiss border to within 100km of Rome on the Via Francigena, and would be happy to answer any questions from pilgrims interested in this amazing route.

We have also done the Caminos de Norte and Primitivo to Santiago de Compostela.

Buon cammino!

Les

 

[jujubery]

A reminder to use the private message function of the forum to exchange any private contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses.

It is always a bad idea to post this information on the open forum

you are correct! Now...how do I find the private message function?!#

 

[grayland]

you are correct! Now...how do I find the private message function?!#

I varies a bit from a mobile device to a desk top

The message function is called “conversations” on the forum software.

 

[Former member 31048]

Hi Les,
I hope your walk was everything you hoped it would be. My husband and I have changed our plans and will be walking the Italian section of the VF in April 2018. Would love to talk to you both about your experience and travels.
Are you from the US? If so, a phone conversation would be ideal
Thanks,
Jujubery

Hi Jujubery

We are also planning to walk on the Via Francigena in April - Lucca to Rome, starting 11 April.
Where are you beginning?

Jenny

 

[Athena Atterdag]

Hi all,

I lived in Turin for some time and know Northwestern Italy quite well. I walked a small portion of the Via Francigena (from Bard to Pont St Martin) last autumn and am planning to walk a bit more this March - most likely, it will be Aosta to Chatillion (and to walk other sections during my stays in Italy, up to Rome!).

So I may well be able to help with some questions about the region and the part of the Via Francigena running through it

By the way, Ivar has created a separate forum for the Via Francigena: https://www.viafrancigena.me/ (I'm still waiting for my account to be validated, though).

 

[Jen Marsden]

My wife and i have walked from Aosta near the Swiss border to within 100km of Rome on the Via Francigena, and would be happy to answer any questions from pilgrims interested in this amazing route.

We have also done the Caminos de Norte and Primitivo to Santiago de Compostela.

Buon cammino!

Les

Hi Les, just wondering what time of the year you walked. After doing the Frances to Santiago in 2016, I'm meeting my sister next year to do the Portuguese however her time is limited so I'm planning on doing either the Via de la Plata or the Via Francigena. I will be mid summer and while I am Australian and know how to handle heat, I'm leaning toward the Francigena simply because it seems like I will encounter more beautiful scenery than Spain in the heat of summer. Would you agree with that?? I will be on my own and have little or no Italian (however I will of course have some by that point) and was wondering if you thought that reservations are necessary or just wise? Thanks so much for your help, Jenny

 

[Zoran K.]

My wife and i have walked from Aosta near the Swiss border to within 100km of Rome on the Via Francigena, and would be happy to answer any questions from pilgrims interested in this amazing route.

We have also done the Caminos de Norte and Primitivo to Santiago de Compostela.

Buon cammino!

Les

Hi, and thank you for your offer!
I surely hope that you will get and answer this as I have spend a lot of time trying to find an answer but no luck so far.
The thing is that the all of the following books: "Via Francigena A Tuscan pilgrimage" by Carla Mackey, "Via Francigena 1000 km on foot from the Gran San Bernardo to Rome" by Roberta Ferraris and "Via Francigena Canterburyto Rome: Part 2 by Alison Raju give "wrong" distance on at least 2 legs. When I say wrong I mean not the same as the Google maps show and I presume that Google is correct...or? Using Google I would add all the towns that the route is passing through and following the books and it is still wrong compared to Google.
In particular there are two stages that I am very interested in since they are longer then the others:
Altopascio-San Miniato Alto is according to the books 28,9 km and Google says 22,9 km and
San Gimigniano-Monteriggioni is according to the books 31,2 km and Google says 25,1 km.
As I said, i would add every town that is walked through (in the books) so it is as accurate as it can be.

I need that information as I would cut these two days in to 4-5 km shorter days and since I stay in hotels, I have to plan accurately.
BTW I start to walk from Lucca on 3rd August and finish in Rome on 21st August 2020
thank you very much for any help

 

[Jomas]

Ciao.
the guides you mentioned report the real Km of official route of the two stages you have indicated (there are only small differences).
Relying on google maps is not always the best choice: this support tries to indicate the shortest way.
But along a pilgrimage there are deviations / variants that any map platform does not signal except by entering the various locations that are crossed on foot.
I'll post below the links that connect you to the description of the stages from the official website of the Via Francigena. There is also an interactive map so you can see the countries / cities that you will find along the way.
Altopascio - San Miniato: https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/resource/statictrack/tappa-29-da-altopascio-san-miniato/
San Gimignano - Monteriggioni: https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/resource/statictrack/tappa-32-da-san-gimignano-monteriggioni/

Two suggestive stages
I wish you a good journey and stay along the Francigena.

 

[frida1]

One interesting thing about the Via in Italy, esp. the more northern part, is that there are variants. Usually these are choices between a road route and a more quiet route designed for hikers. The hiker route can be substantially longer and more difficult. There seem to be 2 schools of thought.

one is that distance walkers want the most direct route possible, the other is that walkers want an enjoyable and scenic route. It can be confusing. I generally prefer a scenic route. However, that can lead you to miles of climbing and descending along a ridge without really getting the reward of a fantastic view.

we used several resources, including Cicerone guide and Lightfoot guide, and the VF app And tried to choose the most appropriate route for us. It’s not really a matter of getting lost, more choosing the one you’d like best. Naturally, when doing this kind of walk, you must assume that specified distances need a margin of error of a few kilometers. It shouldn’t be more than 3-5 k difference.