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Published: January 18th 2018
For the third year in a row I have decided to walk a pilgrimage. In September and October 2016 I walked various stages of the Camino de Santiago starting in Pamplona and ending in Santiago de Compostela {see blogs starting with
Barcelona, on the Way to the Camino de Santiago). In July 2017 I walked the portion of the St. Olavsleden from near the Swedish border to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway (see my blog at
My St. Olavsleden Pilgrimage).
The reasons for walking these pilgrimages without my wife Linda remains the same as previously...someone needs to be home to take care of our pets; our dog Bonnie has diabetes and cataracts. Also Linda can't walk long distances.
My reason for walking pilgrimage trails (see a representative map of the trails in Europe) is that the slow pace without electronic devices and other daily interruptions allow for hours of contemplation about spiritual matters; and the comradery of follow pilgrims is such a blessing as interactions are so much more personal than those experienced with acquaintances at home.
The reason for choosing to walk the Via Francigena is that it was the second most important pilgrimage undertaken during the Middle Ages after Jerusalem and before Santiago. The Via Francigena
starts in Rome, where Archbishop Cedric received the Pallium from the Pope, and follows the route taken in 990 AD on his return to Canterbury, England. Most pilgrims today walk the Via Francigena in the opposite direction. As with the Camino de Santiago, it is rich in history and beautiful landscapes. It has better food...I may even gain weight. But the pilgrim accommodations are not as good as the albergues in Spain. And as with the Camino and the St. Olavsleden a pilgrim must walk the last 100 km to earn the Testimonium (like the Compostela in Santiago or the Olavsbrev in Trondheim). As I only have two weeks, including travel there and back, the last 100 km is all I thought I could cover and still see some sights in Venice, Tuscany, and Rome. The Via Francigena website (http://www.viefrancigene.org/en/) gave conflicting information stating one must walk 140 km from Acquapendente and another stating the 100 km starts in Montefiasconi. I contacted the web administrator who told me the 100 km starts in Viterbo, and thanked me for catching the contradiction. They will correct the website. I also used the Terre di Mezzo Via Francigena guidebook which has maps, directions,
accommodations, restaurants and historical sites to be found along the way.
Now that I know where my starting and ending points will be, my next concern in planning was to find accommodations. The website didn't show many "albergues" and they are far apart...greater distances than the 10 miles (16 km)/day that seems to be my daily limit. The Italian "albergues" are for the most part very "rustic" monasteries where you have to call ahead to make sure that someone will be there to let you in. The Via Francigena website shows a few B&Bs and hotels along the way, with more being added, but I ended up booking B&B's, of which there are many along the way, at Booking.com. The map function on Booking.com was helpful although they didn't show the pilgrim route. I had to switch back and forth between the Via Francigena and the Booking.com websites to find B&B's close to the pilgrim route. The B&Bs, at an average of $40/day when shared with my son who will be walking with me, are much more expensive than the Camino's albergues. However, sheets and towels are provided, and thus I can carry a lighter backpack as I was
able to do by staying at farms in Norway. I will be able to carry under 10 pounds, including the weight of the backpack, having learned that on my Norway pilgrimage I still took too much at 10.5 pounds.
As my options, weather wise, were either Spring or Fall to avoid the hot summer, this meant I would travel in September; the later the better. I will depart Colorado Springs on 10 September and return to Newark on 26 September. And as with Norway, I will stop in Connecticut on the way back to Colorado to visit my daughter, son-in-law, grandson and a new grandson who was born in mid-June. Linda is scheduled to visit a friend in Florida shortly after I return so I need to be home by 1 October to watch the pets.
I'm using frequent flyer miles to fly to Venice. I will arrive 40 minutes after my son does on Tuesday, 11 September. He expressed an interest in joining me...and he speaks some Italian after spending a year abroad at a university in Rome. We will spend two nights in Venice. I will have dinner with a former NATO colleague who lives in
Venice for the first evening. We will spend the next day, Wednesday, 12 September, touring Venice and its museums.
The next day, Thursday, 13 September, we will rent a car to drive to San Marino (my 85th country), and end the day in Montepulciano,Tuscany. The next day we will visit Pienza, then Acquapendente to pick up a pilgrim credential, Orvieto and finally Viterbo to return the rental car, tour this historic town, and then spend the night in a B&B. The morning of Friday, 15 September, we begin our pilgrimage to Rome, which also happens to be my son's birthday. We have B&Bs booked in Vetrella, Capranica, Monterosi, Campagnano, Formello, La Giustiniana, and Rome. We will pick up our Testimoniums at St. Peters Sacristy in the Vatican City on Friday, 21 September, and then spend a couple days sightseeing before renting a car on Monday, 24 September to drive to Pompeii and Sorento for one night. From Sorento we will take the ferry to Capri. My last visit to this area was in 1994 (see
Amalfi Coast and Capri) so it's time to return. We will return to Ostia Antica, next to the Fiumicino airport, in time for dinner with one of
my Camino Angels who coincidentally lives there. It will be great to get in touch again.
In 26 September we return the rental car at FCO where my son will catch an 11:45 AM flight to Los Angeles. Before I catch a 6:30 PM flight to Newark, I will visit the ruins of the Roman port at Ostia Antica. I will arrive in Newark at 9:30 PM, if the flight is on time, and stay at an airport hotel. The next morning I will take the train to Danbury. I will visit my daughter Rosanna, son-in-law Evan and grandsons Connor and Logan from Thursday, 27 September to Monday, 1 October when I will fly home arriving at 10:00PM.
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s v Tsamaya
Bob & Janice Waller
great plan!
Bob - sounds like you have a great plan for the next part of the pilgrimage. We went to Orvieto for a couple of days and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately we won't be in that area of Italy when you are there -by that time we will probably be in Sicily as we are pretty sure that is where we will over-winter Tsamaya. Good luck with your training this summer in preparation for your travels.