Author: Luca Bruschi

The European Association of the Via Francigena ways (EAVF) and the Italian Ministry of Tourism signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at promoting and enhancing the Via Francigena as a cultural and tourist itinerary of international relevance.

The MoU aims at consolidating the Via Francigena as a hub for slow tourism and pilgrimage in Italy and Europe, in line with the Strategic Tourism Plan 2023-2027. It aims thus to develop shared actions to structure, enhance, and promote the Via Francigena route at both national and international levels.

The Via Francigena, recognized as a Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1994, celebrates in 2024 thirty years since this prestigious European recognition. The application dossier was presented by the then Department of Tourism of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Italian Ministry of Tourism, in agreement with the coordinating committee led by the Emilia-Romagna Region.

The 3,200 km route, which traverses England, France, Switzerland, and Italy, involves Italy for almost 2000 km along an axis that touches over 400 Municipalities, often located outside tourist circuits or rural areas. These so-called “minor” territories are interconnected thanks to the work of the EAVF, founded in 2001.

Among the objectives of the protocol is to disseminate, through the EAVF network, information and activities of the Ministry of Tourism, which has included the Via Francigena and the pilgrim routes as one of the main axes for the development of slow tourism in Italy.

At the heart of the agreement is a technical coordination action, especially with the Italian regions crossed by the Via Francigena and the involved local authorities, to activate and share projects related to the route, hospitality, and promotion, also in synergy with ENIT (the Italian State Tourist Office). The aim is to attract an increasingly international audience, considering that in 2023 pilgrims who walked the Via Francigena came from 55 countries and generated an economic impact of over 25 million euros in the territories.

Activities included in the protocol also concern communication through the portals of the Italian Ministry of Tourism and EAVF, allowing interoperability between the two channels. Finally, emphasis is placed on common projects in view of the Jubilee 2025.

As Minister Daniela Santanchè recalled during the two-day event she spent last year on the Via Francigena, walking for two stages in Tuscany: “The Via Francigena represents a great opportunity to showcase the rural areas, the inland areas, the villages, and the cultural sites of Italy and minor Europe. The Ministry of Tourism is working to enhance the route through an integrated system of promotion, communication, and signage. There is a great opportunity not to be missed, called Jubilee 2025. Let’s make the Via Francigena our Camino de Santiago, making it the backbone that gives life to the system of Italian routes.”

The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, which will be presented in Milan at the inaugural conference of the Grandi Cammini Fair on March 22 during the “Fa’ la Cosa Giusta!” Fair in the presence of Minister Santanchè, represents a significant step towards the promotion and enhancement of the Via Francigena as an important tourism and cultural resource, consolidating the collaboration between the European Association of the Via Francigena and the Ministry of Tourism.

The signing of the Memorandum at the inaugural conference of the Grandi Cammini Fair in Milan on March 22nd, coinciding with the “Fa’ la Cosa Giusta!” Fair, marks a significant step forward. In the presence of Minister Santanchè, this MoU strengthens collaboration between the European Association of Via Francigena ways and the Italian Ministry of Tourism, promoting and enhancing the Via Francigena as a key cultural and tourism resource.

Rome, March 21, 2024

Get ready to lace up your hiking boots and explore the enchanting walking trails of the Mediterranean basin. EAVF starts its new European project in the framework of the Erasmus+ programme: “HIKE : Hiking for a healthier lifestyle along European Cultural Routes”.

Kicking off on 1 April 2024, this project is managed by the Culture Routes Society in Türkiye together with AEVF and Paths of Greece and has a duration of 18 months.

The HIKE aims to promote healthier lifestyles by organizing engaging hiking events along the stretch of the Via Francigena in Puglia region (September 2024), Via Egnatia in the area of Greek Edessa (October 2024) and in Türkiye next to Izmit (November 2024). Through workshops, animated activities, and community involvement, the project seeks to enhance well-being, encourage physical activity, and foster a sense of community.

EAVF is set to organize captivating hikes in the picturesque region of Puglia, offering workshops and animated activities to make each step a celebration. The arrival to Brindisi will be merged with the celebration of the European Week of Sports. The project involves some local bodies and associations such as the CAI of Viterbo, the Antiche Strade Association, the Puglia Region, the cities of Brindisi and Polignano a Mare and many other entities still in the confirmation phase.

EAVF takes the lead in spreading awareness about the project. From creating informative kits to crafting engaging communication guidelines, the association ensures that the spirit of HIKE reaches everyone. This isn’t just about hiking; it’s about embracing a lifestyle that nurtures both body and soul.

The hikes welcome all participants. The details in Italian are available here and the registration form will be soon online on the official website.

Celebrations have begun for the thirty-year anniversary of the Via Francigena, certified in 1994 as a Cultural Route by the Council of Europe.

A two-day event full of meetings and of great cultural significance took place in London. On the proposal of the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome (CPR), on Friday, March 1st, a ceremony was organized featuring moments of exchange and reflection at the British Library, where the ancient manuscript of the English Archbishop Sigeric is preserved.

Origins and Reconstruction of the Route

The precious two-page document recounts the 79 stages undertaken during the return journey from Rome to Canterbury in 990 AD, after receiving investiture with the pallium from Pope John XV.

It was around Sigeric’s diary that the foundations were laid in the 1990s to reconstruct the historic Via Francigena, or rather the Road to Rome as it was then called. The written account of this 79-day journey undoubtedly enabled the commencement of significant work in studying, researching, and analyzing the route, with the aim of tracing the itinerary of what has become the Via Francigena as we know it today.

The curtain rises on the thirty-year celebrations

In the symbolic setting of the British Library, steeped in culture and literature, the manuscript was celebrated with stories, reflections, and anecdotes from both past and recent history. Bishop Sigeric can certainly be considered one of the precursors of great travelers: today, we might imagine him as a modern travel blogger narrating his journey experience, noting the places traversed and the people encountered along the way.

The event saw the participation of Connie Nolan, the delegate councilor of the City of Canterbury, Luca Bruschi, the director of the European Association of Via Francigena Ways (EAVF), and the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome, with President Nick Dunne, Vice President Brian Mooney, and Giancarlo Laurenzi, honorary president, who enlivened the event. Also present were Sandy Brown, the author of the “Cicerone” guides on the Via Francigena, and William Pettit, formerly responsible for international relations at the City of Canterbury, who participated in the first official meeting in Bologna in 1993 at the headquarters of the Emilia-Romagna region, for the construction of the candidacy dossier for the cultural route.

Luca Bruschi briefly traced the history of this significant certification by the Council of Europe, the first organization for cooperation between European states created after the end of the Second World War, founded in London in 1949 and now comprising 46 member states, including the United Kingdom.

“The Cultural Routes Programme was launched by the Council of Europe in 1987, with the aim of demonstrating, through a journey through space and time, how the cultural heritage and culture of the various European states contributed to creating a shared cultural heritage. The candidacy dossier was presented in 1993 by the then Department of Tourism of the Prime Minister’s Office, Italian Ministry of Tourism, in agreement with the coordinating committee led by the Emilia-Romagna region. The final decision by the Council of Europe was deliberated in April 1994″, Bruschi recalled, also mentioning another important milestone for the Via Francigena, 2001 when 34 representatives of local authorities, invited to Fidenza (Parma, Emilia-Romagna) by the then Mayor Massimo Tedeschi, founded the European Association of Via Francigena Ways.

The cultural program between walks and conferences

The second day, Saturday, March 2nd, also held significant cultural meaning, always in connection with the celebrations of the thirty years of the Cultural Route of the Via Francigena.

In the morning, a guided walking tour took place involving symbolic locations, starting from Westminster RC Cathedral, where inside is the list of all the English Catholic bishops who in the past (before and after the Reformation) traveled to Rome to receive papal investiture with the delivery of the pallium. The urban trek, led by expert guide Eammon Mullally, accompanied pilgrims through the streets of central London, with stops at Lambeth Palace, Westminster Abbey, and ending at St. George’s RC Cathedral in Southwark, in the picturesque district along the Thames.

The walk was followed in the afternoon by the CPR‘s Annual Conference (titled: Via Francigena: before, during, and after the journey), attended by 75 people from England, Ireland, and the United States. A great opportunity to strengthen collaboration with AEVF and to share future cooperation projects. Three significant testimonies were presented: Dawn Champion of the British Pilgrimage Trust focused on personal preparation for the journey, David Andrew, an ecologist from Natural England, shared his experience on the Via Francigena, and Philip McCarthy, a doctor and writer, recounted his commitment to promoting the journey in dioceses in England and Wales. In the session dedicated to the celebrations of the thirty years of the Via Francigena, Luca Bruschi, director of AEVF, Connie Nolan, delegate councilor of the City of Canterbury, and finally Giancarlo Laurenzi, honorary president of CPR, intervened, introducing the new project (under study) of the Britannica route, a 150 km connection from London to Canterbury, which has deep cultural significance.

The Via Francigena gains even stronger cultural value with this tangible involvement, at institutional and associative levels, of the British world. It contributes to growing the international dimension of the route, enhancing its extraordinary heritage.

In 2024, the Via Francigena marks a significant milestone: it’s the 30th anniversary of its certification as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.

The Cultural Routes Program was initiated by the Council of Europe in 1987, aiming to demonstrate, through a journey across space and time, how the cultural heritage and traditions of different European states contribute to a shared cultural legacy. The dossier for the Via Francigena was presented by the then Department of Tourism of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Italian Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the coordinating committee led by the Emilia-Romagna region. The final decision by the Council of Europe was made in April 1994.

The introductory part of the dossier recalls that “this work aims to be a technical-scientific contribution for further investigations on themes related to the Francigena route. It should be seen as a working tool for public administrations and interested economic operators who, from now until 2000, will have to undertake actions for environmental, cultural, and touristic enhancement necessary for the preparation of a competitive offer at the European level.”

INITIAL INSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVES

The celebrations of the 30th anniversary kick off on March 1st in London, with a symbolic meeting at the British Library, which houses the ancient “Diary of Sigerico”: the manuscript from 990 A.D. served as the historical basis for reconstructing the contemporary route of the Via Francigena. The European Association of the Via Francigena ways (EAVF) participates in this event along with the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome and the city of Canterbury.

The European Association of the Via Francigena ways is preparing to celebrate this significant event with two General Assemblies scheduled for April 26th in Vevey (Canton of Vaud, Switzerland) and October 18th in Monte Sant’Angelo, Puglia. Alongside the Assembly, there will be study visits, walks, exhibitions, cultural events, conferences, and many social gatherings. Significant celebratory moments are planned for the Vevey event, including the inauguration of an exhibition on the Via Francigena with panels displayed in the “Place du Marché” and an official “declaration” to reaffirm the cultural values ​​associated with the Via Francigena route.

In addition to the two EAVF assemblies, there’s the “Training Academy” on cultural routes scheduled for June 4th to 7th in Brindisi. The event, supported by the Puglia region with the contribution of the municipality of Brindisi and in collaboration with the “Association Brindisi and the Ancient Roads,” will host managers from 48 European routes and will focus significantly on the Via Francigena. EAVF is the organizing body.

CULTURE AND TOURISM

2024 also marks the relaunch of the UNESCO World Heritage candidacy dossier, led by the Tuscany region with financial support from the Italian Ministry of Culture.

On April 13th in Fidenza, during the Francigena Fidenza Festival (April 11-14), a scientific conference organized by EAVF with the support of the municipality and the collaboration of the University of Parma is planned to celebrate the 30 years of the cultural itinerary, with the presence of experts in history, tourism, geography, landscape, and anthropology.

The new website and app, in four languages, funded by the Italian Ministry of Tourism with the Lazio region as the lead, will go online by the end of the year. The project also includes an 18-month international promotion campaign for the Via Francigena. This communication and marketing activity will have implications for the entire European route of the Via Francigena.

The website, a true catalyst for all initiatives on the Via Francigena, introduces an important new feature in April: the launch of the new section dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary. A timeline that retraces the Francigena history of this period is planned, along with a collection of thoughts and reflections from authoritative “ambassadors” of the Via Francigena and testimonials from pilgrims. This material will help preserve the identity and history of the Via Francigena: “History is memory,” as reminded by the medievalist Jacques Le Goff, a great supporter of the Via Francigena, which he called “a path of cultures.”

The “Via Francigena” magazine’s June and December 2024 issues will also feature in-depth analyses and reflections on the last thirty years of history.

WALKS, ANIMATION, AND PROMOTION

There’s significant attention to animation in the territory with multiple initiatives and organized walks by EAVF in collaboration with project partners and local associations in the four countries traversed. We’ll also walk thanks to the new European ERASMUS Sport project “Hike,” starting in April. The areas identified for activities are in Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

EAVF is also participating in the significant relay “La Grande Randonnée vers Paris” organized by the FFRandonnée – French Hiking Federation, in anticipation of the Paris Olympics. Among the 10,000 km of planned walking throughout France, from March 31st to April 14th, the association will be present on the Via Francigena-GR145 trail in the territories of Doubs, Haute-Saône, Haute-Marne, Aube.

Promotion is also emphasized, with participation in important Fairs: “Salon Destination Marne” on March 16-17 in Châlons-en-Champagne; “Fa’ la cosa Giusta!” on March 22-24; “Festival Grandes Heures Nature” in Besançon on June 14-16.

2024 will certainly be an important year for the Via Francigena. We are ready to celebrate it, honor it, walk it, and bring it back to life to celebrate this anniversary to the fullest!

2024 will be a crucial year for the world of pilgrimages. On the one hand, the Via Francigena celebrates the 30th anniversary of its certification as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 1994. On the other, it is the year before the Jubilee 2025, in view of which there are numerous initiatives linked to religious and cultural tourism. These include the ‘1 billion steps for peace’ project, which our Association has decided to join. This is an international initiative in which one hundred European pilgrims’ paths will organise a few days of pilgrimage with hundreds of participants!

The initiative stems from the conviction that walking routes constitute an international community of peace, protection of nature, and brotherhood of peoples. And what better occasion than the eve of the 2025 Jubilee, which will officially begin on 24 December 2024 bringing a large influx of pilgrims to Rome as early as the end of this year?

In addition to the Via Francigena, the participating routes include the Romea Strata and the Via Romea Germanica (our Association has been collaborating with them for the last three years in a project for the valorisation of the thermal heritage within the Horizon 2020 European project rurAllure), the Via degli Dei, the Cammino Celeste, the Cammino di Sant’Antonio, the Via di Francesco, the Cammino Francescano della Marca, the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara, to name but a few.

To celebrate the closing of the initiative, a walk of brotherhood will take place in 2025, and a concert will be held with the handing over to the Holy Father of the ‘Declaration of the Paths of Peace’ signed by the adhering paths. To receive all the updates on upcoming initiatives, we recommend subscribing to the AEVF monthly newsletter.

A new model of tourism along the Via Francigena, accessible and inclusive for everyone, was the strong message launched last Monday at the Piedmont region stand at the Borsa Internazionale di Turismo (BIT) in Milan.

During the event, “Tourism for All” was presented, the accessible tourism project realised with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) funds to adapt structures and paths, with the aim of making them more accessible also to people with disabilities.

The project develops on two sections of the Via Francigena in Piedmont. The stretches involved in the project are Ivrea-Viverone, in the Canavese area, and Villar Focchiardo-Avigliana, part of the Susa Valley variant, together with other neighboring territories.

Ongoing activities include the systematisation of existing good practices for the reception of people with disabilities, the adaptation of infrastructures and tourist websites, the organization of accessible services, the training of tourism operators, the creation of accessible tourism experiences, and the construction of an adequate reception system. An important step will be the creation of a guide dedicated to accessibility in this stretch.

An important aspect is also the activation (ongoing) of extracurricular internships in the tourism sector for people with disabilities, carried out with the support of the Piemonte Lavoro Agency.

The meeting was introduced by vice president Fabio Carosso and moderated by journalist Rosalba Graglia.

Barbara Bellini, head of tourism for the Piedmont Region, outlined the outlines of the initiative, while the director of our association Luca Bruschi emphasized the international dimension of the Via Francigena, with reference to the numbers of attendance and the profile of its pilgrims, recently updated with the data of the just-ended year.

Danilo Ragona and Luca Paiardi, creators of the “Viaggio Italia” project, shared their experiences related to disability, hoping that this pilot project can materialise into a future guide and can be exported to other regions.

Valentina Sapienza and Giuliana Garavini, disabled interns of the “Via Francigena for All” project – already mentioned in this article -, presented their experience to the public.

There is still much work to be done, starting with a new cultural approach of institutions able to put universal enjoyment of our paths and trails at the center of territorial development policies. In this context, the work of the Piedmont region represents a significant starting point, as well as a pilot project that offers a model to be taken up, hopefully, in other Italian regions.

The Cultural Routes Programme celebrated its 35th anniversary in Chania with three days of interactive sessions, workshops, debates in the presence of 430 international delegates.

The city of Chania, on the Greek island of Crete, hosted the event from 5 to 7 October, which was attended by over 430 delegates: from the Council of Europe to the European Union, from the World Tourism Organisation to UNESCO, from representatives of over 50 European Cultural Routes, certified and non-certified, to representatives of the Ministries of Culture of the countries that are part of the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes.

This year’s theme was ‘Council of Europe Cultural Routes: Safeguarding European Values, Heritage, Dialogue‘.

The European Association of Via Francigena Ways (EAVF) was represented by Luca Bruschi, Director, and Elena Dubinina, head of European projects and international relations.

Luca Bruschi spoke during the plenary session dedicated to ‘Safeguarding Cultural Heritage‘, with a focus on the main challenges for the protection of cultural heritage and sustainable tourism use of the Via Francigena.

Elena Dubinina intervened in the session together with all the representatives of the routes to share the EAVF’s experience within the European project rurAllure (Horizon 2020 programme), which focuses on cultural heritage and museums along the pilgrimage routes.

During the Forum, the EAVF was able to strengthen relationships with the delegates of the cultural routes that have similar themes: Way of St. James of Compostela, Via Romea Germanica, St. Olav, Way of Stevenson, Via Romea Strata (in the process of certification).

It was also an opportunity to meet the representatives of the Ministries of Culture of the countries crossed by the Via Francigena, such as Italy and Switzerland, but also the ministerial representatives of the countries present along the extension of the path towards Jerusalem, following the ancient Via Egnatia: Albania, Greece, Turkey.

The Via Francigena reaffirmed the European values underlying this cultural itinerary, which connects local communities, supports the economy in rural Europe, generates job opportunities for young people, and encourages cultural, interreligious and intergenerational dialogue.

The City of Viterbo will host the General Assembly in its autumn session of the EAVF’s members on Friday 14 October 2022.

The General Assembly is made possible thanks to the contributions of:

Other contributions were received from: Rotary Club di Viterbo, Graphic Art 6, Banca Lazio Nord , ANCE Viterbo.

Click here for the complete programme of the days 13-15 October

👉🏻 REGISTER HERE*

* participants who are not members of the EAVF may only attend the Assembly as auditors, as voting rights are reserved for members

The General Assembly and the events in Viterbo are open to the public upon registration.

The EAVF’s international network returns to meet in physical presence after the well-attended General Assembly in Canterbury (Kent County, UK) in April 2022. The main item on the agenda will be the discussion on the status of the candidature of the Via Francigena as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Attention will then turn to the main projects underway in England, France, Switzerland and Italy. Finally, a special focus will be on the best practices concerning the route, reception and signposting.

The meeting in Viterbo includes, in addition to the statutory assembly attended by the 214 member municipalities and 70 friend associations, a series of discussions, cultural events, guided tours, convivial moments and a ‘I Love Francigena‘ walk from 13 to 15 October.