The meeting takes place within an international three-day programme full of events, meetings, and a walk along the Via Francigena.
The autumn EAVF General Assembly will gather on 18th October in the Apulian town of Monte Sant’Angelo, in the province of Foggia, at the “Ciro Angelillis” Municipal Library Conference Hall, with the presence of institutional representatives and associations from England, France, Switzerland, and Italy.
Monte Sant’Angelo, known as the City of the two UNESCO sites, has been designated the 2024 Capital of Culture for Puglia. It is a significant pilgrimage destination linked to the cult of the Archangel Michael and an important stop on the Via Francigena, which in this section of the Gargano region crosses the territory in five stages, passing through Troia, Lucera, San Severo, Stignano, and San Giovanni Rotondo before reaching its destination in Monte Sant’Angelo.
The EAVF assembly returns to Puglia exactly five years later. In fact, it was on 18th October 2019 that the Via Francigena family gathered in Bari to vote on the historic decision to extend the Via Francigena in Southern Italy by 900 km, from Rome to Monte Sant’Angelo, Brindisi, and Santa Maria di Leuca, passing through Lazio, Campania, and Puglia.
The programme for the three days in October (17th, 18th, and 19th October), in addition to the assembly, includes a guided tour in the three languages of the participants, the concert “The Power of Music” by Franco Godono, and a walk along the Via Francigena. The assembly will address important agenda items, such as the extension of the ‘Francigena Britannica’ route from London to Canterbury, an update on the UNESCO dossier, sharing of projects in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee, and the presentation of international cooperation projects that EAVF is working on. There will also be a moment of remembrance for the late president Massimo Tedeschi, who passed away last June.
2024 is undoubtedly confirmed as the year of Puglia for the Via Francigena, a region investing a great deal of energy and resources into developing the Via Francigena in Southern Italy at cultural, tourist, and, most importantly, infrastructural levels regarding trails, signage, and hospitality. Puglia gained international attention from 4th to 7th June during the Training Academy on cultural itineraries hosted in Brindisi, organised by EAVF, with the support of the region, the municipality, and the Brindisi and Ancient Roads Association. Finally, Puglia hosted in September the Via Francigena walks and animation days between Bari and Brindisi, as part of the European Erasmus HIKE project in which EAVF is participating.
The assembly and events in Monte Sant’Angelo, which are open to all, are organised with the contribution of the Region and the Municipality. On 19 October morning, an ‘animated sung walk’ (“camminata animata cantata”) along a stretch of the Via Francigena is scheduled, organised by Italea Puglia in partnership with EAVF and the ‘Monte Sant’Angelo Francigena’ association.
The ‘camminata cantata’ is a format proposing an experience in contact with nature and stories made in Puglia. The ‘camminata cantata’ meets the memories of wayfarers and pilgrims, and with them peasants, shepherds, woodcutters who, for work and necessity, have travelled through these places over the centuries. Animating the musical incursions will be the group of Gargano singers led by musician, singer and researcher Pio Gravina. A convivial aperitif will close the experience.
