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The opportunity is reserved to new graduated students who have obtained a high school diploma in a school along the Via Francigena: 21 students have already departed, and 49 more are getting ready to leave.

This was possible thanks to the project “FORREsT: new skills FOR expeRiEntial Tourism”, of which EAVF is a leading partner, and which falls under the wider project Erasmus+.

The project aims at reacting to new international tourism trends (experiential and sustainable tourism), and at promoting the economic and productive development of areas affected by the crossing of the Via Francigena. The overarching target is the valorization of small local communities, which have a common pattern in their European cultural identity: the Via Francigena. The 21 students who are already travelling are spread across France and Spain, and some of them have already finished their experience and returned home.

The students have the possibility to undertake an educational / working internship in European organizations within the abovementioned working sectors. This is possible by obtaining a scholarship that includes:

• language preparations and proficiency through the European platform OLS

• roundtrip airplane tickets to the internship destination

• insurance coverage for the entire stay period

• accommodation; professional, organizational and logistic tutoring and monitoring

• proof of attendance and certification

One year later, the project “F.O.R.R.Es.T. 2.0 – FOsteR an euRopEan identity through the Trainees mobility” also started and is now ongoing. If the first edition was offered to graduates in high schools along the Via Francigena between Aosta and Rome, the “FORREsT 2.0” project speaks to 100 young graduates along the entire Italian route of the Via Francigena, from Valle d’Aosta to Puglia, once again offering working experiences in Spain, England and France.

More information:

• Erasmus FORREsT: new skills FOR expeRiEntial Tourism
  
• Erasmus F.O.R.R.Es.T. 2.0 – FOsteR an euRopEan identity through the Trainees mobility

Here are some of their reflections at the end of the experience:

“This activity certainly had a positive impact on my interpersonal relations, helping me develop an increased objective perception of the working environment”.

Francesco Caraccia – France

“This experience can give each of us the possibility to discover and improve many aspects of ourselves. We have been stimulated in countless ways: from the private to the working realm of experience. I can only speak positively of this project, and I am satisfied of what I learned about tourism, a sector I had no experience with”.

Gaia Colalucci – Spain

“It was a very educational experience; I discovered a new country, a new culture and made many friends. I also had the opportunity to walk into the working world as a translator, which is what I am now studying at the University. I would recommend anyone not to doubt about leaving, possibly for unknown destinations, to learn about new cultures and allow the mind to open as much as possible”.

Giulia Galli – Spain

“I leave with a heavier baggage, full of experiences and with an awareness I did not have before. I discovered that I am ready to work and to manage the marketing of a company. I really liked the experience; I am sure it opened my eyes on a working field I ignored beforehand. Now it is my duty to remain curious and eager to learn more and more!”

Sara Marconcini – Spain

Francisco Sancho, originally Spanish, then resident in Vicenza, transformed his pilgrimage in a full expression of Christian life. He has been walking for many years along all the key European pilgrim routes. We have met him in Champlitte on the 10th of March.

Luca Bruschi, director of the European Association of the Via Francigena ways, with Jacques Chevin, responsible for the development of the Swiss and French sections of the Via Francigena, met the pilgrim in Champlitte, starting point of the 40th stage of the Via. The city, since 2016, hosts the French EAVF headquarters. This morning, the city mayor Patrice Colinet gave his greeting and welcomed the traveler in town.

Francisco, with his pluriannual walk, is bringing forward his project “Walk of Light”: a trip in which, at each stage, he spares a moment of prayer and lights a candle, to leave, by the end of the journey, a “trail of light” and serenity.

His journeys:

– 2014: together with backpack, walking stick and faith, he left from the doorstep of the Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo in Rome to start an itinerary that brought him to the tomb of Saint James in Compostela.The way back brought him to Le Puy en Velay, to surpass the Alps in the Val di Susa, and cross the north and center of Italy to reach Assisi and then return to Rome along the footsteps of San Francesco.

– 2015/2016: he leaves towards Santiago de Compostela and, passing by Brussels, he pushes himself up to Norway, where he visits the tomb of Sant’Olaf a Trondheim. He goes back to Rome passing through Cracow in occasion of the World Youth Day in 2016.

– 2019/ today: the 6th of July 2019 he starts a spiritual journey to Santa Maria di Leuca with the aim of connecting all the major faith destinations in Europe, the same ones that pilgrims and wayfarers walked since the Middle Ages. He expects to return to Santa Maria di Leuca for Easter 2021.

This is how Francisco shares his story:

“I already walked, during my 25 years of pilgrimage, most of these routes. I collected unforgettable experiences, met extraordinary people, who became my best friends. I collected witnesses, images, stories and episodes, but I also learned about pain, unbearable difficulties, I looked into the most hidden and dark faces of my soul, I met the uncertainty of living…with no doubt, the man who left is not the same one that returns.

In every place I crossed, I lit a lumen, recited a prayer and attempted to bring serenity, so that, when I will look back at the end of my journey, I will see a trail of light, a “Walk of Light”.

When I return, I wish to tell the story of my journey, physical and spiritual, through a series of photography exhibitions, across various Italian cities. My dream is to share with everyone my life experience and possibly get people closer to the idea of walking, meant as a spiritual and cathartic experience… Only God knows how much, today, it is necessary to slow down, at a walking pace, have the opportunity to meditate and observe the beauty of the world that surrounds us”.

It is possible to support Francisco Sancho’s journey here. The fundraiser will allow him to:

– Complete the Walk of Light, contributing to the little resources he needs to sustain himself: some food and a bed for the night;

– Organize events “Walk of Light” around Italy. “Walk of Light” is a photography exhibition that tells the story of his pilgrimage in Europe;

– Create and moderate a Facebook community, where anyone – pilgrims, wayfarers, passionate followers and interested people can share experience, suggestions, and support each other’s journeys.

“Thanks to the help of dear friends, I was able to confirm my first photography exhibition in Monte Sant’Angelo (FG), a loved city, from the 18th of June to the 11th of July 2021”.

Website: boanerges.es

Instagram: @franciscosanchopellegrino

Facebook Profile: Francisco Sancho Boanerges

District 108L Lions Club International is at the front line when it come to promoting peace, and the Via Francigena as Cultural Route of the Council of Europe represents the values of peace, respect, dialogue, democracy, and inclusion.

In District 108L (Umbria, Lazio, and Sardinia) the Via Francigena officially crosses through territories located within the region of Lazio and, in this regard, the district lions officer Sara Fresi has created a historical document entitled “Territories of Lazio crossed by the Via Francigena”. This document is a useful contribution for all those who wish to travel the Via Francigena and discover its picturesque landscapes and historical, cultural, monumental beauties. Following is the incipit of the document:

Territories of Lazio crossed by the Via Francigena, by Sara Fresi

In the 7th century the Longobards penetrated the Italian territory, occupying part of the peninsula at that time disputed with the Byzantines. They wanted to connect the Kingdom of Pavia with the southern duchies by means of a safe road across the Apennines, passing through the Cisa Pass: its name in ancient times was Mons Langobardorum, later called Via di Monte Bardone. It was basically a group of roads connected by consular and dirt roads. When the Franks took over in the Carolingian era, the Via di Monte Bardone changed its name to Via Francigena, or “road originating from France”.

Traffic along this route increased and, over the centuries, the road established itself as the main route linking northern and southern Europe, used by masses of pilgrims as well as merchants and armies. It also connected the three ‘Peregrinationes Maiores‘: Santiago de Compostela, the tomb of the Apostle Peter and the Holy Land. The European Network of the Vie Francigene is a legacy linking the present day to the cultural identities of the old continent.

A millenary route that crosses several European countries: England, France, Switzerland, and Italy. The Via Francigena in Italy crosses six regions: Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio. The southern section of the Via Francigena, called the Via Francigena of the South, is a route of approximately 900 km that crosses five regions: Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, Molise, and Puglia. The stretch through the Lazio region is approximately 420 km long.

The whole document (in Italian) can be consulted by clicking here.

Saint Maurice, a small municipality in the Canton of Valais with great strategic importance, is located along the Swiss stretch of the Via Francigena, exactly halfway along the route followed by archbishop Sigeric on his journey to Rome. The European Association of Via Francigena Ways is incredibly happy to enrich its network with such an important institutional member, therefore we warmly welcome Saint Maurice and its representatives!

Saint Maurice is situated along the 51st stage of Sigeric’s itinerary and in Roman times was called Agaunum. It was located at a bottleneck formed by the Rhone river, thus taking on a role of great strategic importance. The famous Theban legion was stationed here, led by Maurice and exterminated at this location in the 3rd century for refusing to swear an oath to the gods before the battle because they had converted to Christianity. The martyrdom of St. Maurice and the legion turned ancient Agaunum into an important pilgrimage site along the Via Francigena.

The Abbey of Saint Maurice was founded on the tomb of the martyrs in 515 by Sigismund, son of the Burgundian king. From that moment the Abbey played an important role, becoming the centre of veneration of the martyrs and the main abbey in the Burgundian kingdom, as well as a pilgrimage destination. The Abbey of Saint Maurice thus became the oldest Christian monastery in the West and has been operative uninterruptedly since its foundation. Bearing witness to this past are the commemoration of Saint Maurice every 22 September and the Laus perennis, the perpetual prayer of the canons at the tomb of the martyrs, a custom that has continued for 1500 years.

Even today, Saint Maurice is the seat of ecclesiastical institutions and is known for its basilica and its church treasure, which contains rare masterpieces of sacred goldsmith’s art. Wars, fires, and falling rocks have repeatedly destroyed the funerary oratories, churches, and monastic buildings built in the 4th century at the foot of the cliff overlooking the site. The church was destroyed in 574 during a Lombard raid, but was rebuilt and enlarged based on the same floor plan under St. Gontrand (561-592). Numerous reconstruction phases and extensions followed.

The Trésor de l’Abbaye, one of the richest in Europe, consists mainly of reliquaries, including for example “St Martin’s Vase” and Theuderic’s casket both dating back to the 7th century A.D., as well as Charlemagne’s aquamanile from the 9th century and the so-called “bag of Saints Innocent and Candide” from the 12th century.

This small jewel of nature, art, and history has been a valuable part of the Via Francigena over the past centuries and now hand-in-hand with EAVF will continue to amaze pilgrims and visitors alike in the decades to come!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

– The Castle of Saint Maurice

– Technical information about Via Francigena Switzerland stage 07 Aigle – Saint Maurice

– Technical information about Via Francigena Switzerland stage 08 Saint Maurice – Martigny

On 11 – 13 January 2021 the European Association of the Via Francigena ways EAVF participated in the kick off meeting of the European project “rurAllure: Promotion of rural museums and heritage sites in the vicinity of European pilgrimage routes”.

This project aims to foster cultural cooperation and tourism along the historic pilgrimage routes. It leverages the state-of-the-art in information technologies in order to promote rural museums and heritage sites in the vicinity of major European pilgrimage routes. The goal is to foster symbiosis between the rural environment and the pilgrimage routes to enrich the cultural experience of the pilgrimage by the vast cultural heritage of rural areas that most often goes unnoticed.

The kick off meeting which was conducted digitally brought together project partners and associates under the leadership of the University of Vigo. The 16 cutting-edge European organisations and research institutions, including the EAVF, participate in this ambitious project, working on common strategies and developing the project’s pilots: literary heritage along the Saint James’ Ways, thermal heritage on the road to Rome, ethnological heritage on the Saint Olav’s ways and the naturalistic heritage on the way of Mary.