You are in:
- Archives » 2007 » August 2007
Pilgrims Progress
Here's a European cross-border initiative we can all get behind. The Italian government has set aside €7million to restore the Via Francigena, one of Europe's oldest pilgrims' routes, running between London and Rome.
The route, first mapped in 990 but almost certainly used for many years before this date, runs from Canterbury (the route from London to this town was made famous in Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales') and crosses the English Channel before running south east down through France. The French section of the Via passes through Arras, Laon and Reims then Champagne country. Pigrims from larger cities like Paris joined the route along feeder paths along the way. It continues through towns which are sleepy now, but which at the peak of the pilgrimage would have been thriving centres where pilgrims could find food and lodging (and doubtless be ripped-off by souvenir salesmen).
The route passes through Switzerland, along the shores of Lake Geneva, and then over the Alpes and into Italy via the valley d'Aosta. From there, it runs along the spine of Italy, through countless medieval towns (the largest city it passes through is Sienna) and from there to Rome. No motor vehicles use the route today, though it was one of Italy's major transport arteries before cars or trains.
In the Via's heyday, pilgrims continuing from Rome to Jerusalem would travel on to the South of Italy before sailing to the Middle East. Today's supporters of the route, however, are concentrating on the Canterbury-Rome connection. There is a PDF Map of the route here.
According to some reports, the Italian PM Romano Prodi sees the restoration of the route as a manifestation of his religious belief. There is also the possibility that the Via Francigena would bring prosperity to some of the towns along its length, and so would easily pay for itself within a few years. Another, more famous route, the St James route to Santiago di Compostela in Spain attracts thousands of pilgrims - 100,000 registered with the church last year, compared to only 8,000 who registered to walk the Via Francigena.
There is no reason why the Via Francigena shouldn't enjoy some of the same prosperity. Moreover, as the light of Europe's Christian heritage continues to dim in some areas and becomes an issue of contention in others, restoring the route has become an important history lesson. Europe developed along these ancient pilgrims' roads, as learning and ideas carried by the pilgrims travelled back and forth along the roads: They were the continent's main communications networks, and cities fortunate enough to find themselves on the route became cosmopolitan centres thanks to the people passing through them (and sometimes staying).
Indeed, free and unhindered travel throughout Europe and a shared Christian heritage are two of the few things even Eurosceptics believe should be part of the European experience!
You can read more about the Via Francigena at the "Friends of the Via Francigena" site, here.
Edit: Thanks to reader Sil for pointing out that the official site address is
