Category: news_en

Walking event “I love Francigena“ will take place on 26 September 2020, joining the celebration of the World Tourism Day 2020.

“I love Francigena” walk between San Pancrazio (Parma) to Collecchio will allow visitors and locals to discover one of the Via Francigena variants between Parma and Parco del Taro, Italy.

The walk will start from the Romanesque parish church of San Pancrazio and will shrtly immerse into fields south of the Via Emilia, shaped by the Roman centuriation more than 2,000 years ago: irrigation canals, rows of mulberry trees and ancient agricultural courts. After passing the church of San Martino di Madregolo, the group will skirt the green banks of the Taro river park until reaching Collecchio: here we visit the parish church of San Prospero, with its splendid Romanesque baptismal font.

Registration: 20 places available. Enrolment is open till 23 September. Sign up here

The event is organized by the EAVF with the contribution of the Cariparma Foundation and the support of Municipalities of Parma, Collecchio, Fornovo Di Taro, Sala Baganza.

“I love Francigena” is a series of annual walking events, celebrating the cultural route of the Via Francigena and offering a unique opportunity to enjoy sections of the path, its cultural and natural heritage and local gastronomy.

The main objective is to promote travel along the Via Francigena via:

• Environmental education,
• Sustainable and slow tourism,
• Involvement of local communities and stakeholders,
• Route maintenance and signage,
• Promotion and visibility.

A typical “I love Francigena” day will be an easy 10-20 km walk (depending on a section of the Via Francigena) mediated by a local guide who explains interesting facts about natural surroundings and history of the Francigena with a few sightseeing stops and a reception in the end of the hike. The hike is free of charge and a shuttle bus is organised from the final point.

The EAVF conducts “I love Francigena” since 2017, co-organising the event together with Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions (I LOVE CAMMINI framework) in Italy and Bourgogne – Franche-Comté in France with kind support of local municipalities and associations.

World Tourism Day 2020:

Organised by the World Tourism Organisation UNWTO, the World Tourism Day 2020 is feted on Sunday 27 September 2020 under a focus on “Tourism and Rural Development”. This day celebrates the sector’s unique ability to drive economic development and provide opportunities outside of big cities, including in those communities that would otherwise be left behind. World Tourism Day 2020 also highlights the important role tourism plays in preserving and promoting culture and heritage all around the world. The Via Francigena crossing 3000 km of rural areas from Canterbury to the harbours of Italian Apulia via France, Switzerland and Italy, provides significant opportunities for economic development of rural areas and enhancement of their cultural and natural heritage.

Anti_Covid measures:

Each participant is required to present a filled in self-certification form, which can be downloaded here. Please consult the information brochure of the Italian Association of Environmental Hiking Guides (AIGAE). Participants are required to have personal health protection equipment with them.

Clothing:

Backpack with snacks and a good supply of water (1,5 l. per person recommended), trekking shoes (vibram sole recommended, visit the Garmont technical sponsor website). Recommended: waterproof cape.

Technical information: length of the stage 14.7 km, height difference 80 meters, duration 4 hours (stops excluded).

Difficulty: tourist (easy)

Meeting point: 9.00 am in San Pancrazio (Parma)

Google coordinates of departure: https://goo.gl/maps/uT9rwRuS9nVCLNP38

Parish church of San Pancrazio Martire, Via Don Tito Pioli, 43126 Parma PR

Expected arrival: 14.30 Collecchio

Return to the starting point by shuttle.

Garmont and the EAVF join forces, united by their passion for walking and a philosophy to go beyond boundaries of the ordinary.
Hence the agreement providing benefits to the Via Francigena pilgrims:  20% discount for the Garmont footwear.

A pilgrimage has always been a rediscovery of the essential. When going on a trip, the first thought preparing a backpack is not “what do I wear?”, but “what can I leave at home?”.
That is why we focus on indispensable and expect maximum from each item.

Lightness, comfort and performance are essential characteristics for pilgrim’s items, expected to last hundreds of kilometers.

The EAVF is always keen on providing walkers with all useful information about the journey, including the most essential – footwear. Shoes, boots, sneakers. Each walk is different, each pilgrim has his or her own needs, but they all share one condition: an absolute quality. That is the philosophy which brought together Garmont and the EAVF.

The company from Vedelago (Italy) is famous for its high performance footwear for mountaineering, hiking and outdoor activities. For every person who loves living an active life, Garmont develops innovative and quality products characterized by its high technology. Garmont is ever committed to production of footwear capable of resisting the most demanding adventures, such as facing long walks along the Via Francigena. This ancient road has led pilgrims to Rome for thousands of years along the historic route traced by the Archbishop Sigeric, who left Canterbury and arrived on foot in the Eternal City of Rome. Today the official route measures over 3,200 km via England, France, Switzerland and Italy.

Garmont’s motto “Stay Wild” embodies EAVF principles of willing to cross limits of one’s ordinary and aspiring to overcome physical, mental and psychological boundaries.
The company is also particularly attentive to issues of social responsibility and conscious exploitation of resources as well as it supports important international missions to protect wildlife. These are the concepts shared by the EAVF, which were important for choicing a technical partner.

How to benefit from 20% discount:

Make a purchase on the official Garmont website.

Enter PILGRIMSHOES discount code before completing the order.

The consortium led by the University of Vigo, including the European Association of the Via Francigena ways EAVF in partnership with 15 cutting-edge innovation hubs is granted a prestigious HORIZON 2020 call. The grant of the European Commission is given to implement the 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 routes. The EAVF is involved in the pilot testing of thermal heritage along the route to Rome together with the Via Romea Strata and Via Romea Germanica under the academic leadership of the University of Bologna. The pilot is focused on identification of the thermal and cultural heritage along the routes, creation of a network of heritage sites and museums and their promotion.

The association is also in charge of development communication strategies for the entire consortium and will lead the dissemination of the outcomes.

The project will start on 1 January 2021 with a duration of 3 years and a budget of 3 million euros.

Watch the video explaining the Horizon 2020 programme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpzR6mh8Tv8

The time has come to re-start travel along the Via Francigena with the utmost precaution and a strong sense of responsibility.

Along the way follow the necessary safety measures to contain the spread of the virus: 1-meter social distance, carry a mask to enter a closed space or to meet other people, use sanitizing gel, etc.

Page updated on 23 July 2020.

Please consult the pilgrim’s regulations and the list of open accommodation facilities along the route. This mapping, containing information about hospitality facilities and pilgrim’s services, is being regularly updated by the EAVF in collaboration with members and stakeholders.  In any case, please always contact hospitality receptions in advance.

Below is information about the route in Italy, Switzerland, France, and England.

Italy

Since 3 June 2020 Italy has opened the possibility of walking and moving from region to region and also re-opens to non-Italian tourists. For more information, see the attached guidelines for the reopening of Economic, Productive and Recreational Activities (Conference of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces).

Attached is a summary made by the group “Io Cammino In Italia”.

Switzerland

No directives concerning the paths and outdoor activities, as they are open for walking for groups of less than 5 persons.

Hotels and restaurants have regulations to follow, which are available on www.hotelleriesuisse.ch (the site is also available in Italian and English).

In general the majority of services are already open.

France

We can hike again, continuing to apply physical distance and precautious measures (clean your hands regularly, cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, use and dispose of a disposable tissue, greet without shaking hands, avoid kissing).

A travel certificate is no longer required. Wearing a mask remains compulsory in public transport and in many shops. Meetings are still prohibited. The restaurants, cafes, bars have been open since Monday, 15 June 2020.

Consult the guidelines of the French Hiking Federation: https://www.ffrandonnee.fr/actualites/18967/la-ffrandonnee-precise-les-conditions-de-reprise-de-la-randonnee-pedestre.aspx

More information at the following link: https://cms.ffrandonnee.fr/data/SIEGE/files/rando-indiv-deconfinement-5-juin.pdf

England

At the moment there are no precise indications regarding the practicability of the paths. Please consult the regulations defined by the National Trails: https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/north-downs-way/

Travel along the Via Francigena restarts and many reception facilities reopen.

After a predictable slow start of the season, many hostels, religious structures, hotels and B&Bs have reopened their doors in the last few weeks. The European Association of the Via Francigena ways EAVF regularly updates the hospitality files divided into “pilgrims” and “tourists” sections. This work is done weekly by the staff with valuable help of volunteers and local associations.

It is understandable that many facilities struggle to coop with daily management, in particular reference to sanitation and cleaning due to the health emergency. Furthermore, management costs have significantly increased as the current situation requires great attention, responsibility, and precaution.

That is why it is essential to carefully follow the health guidelines while travelling along the route. Furthermore, it is equally important to leave a donation to your host, which is usually “forgotten” by 20% of pilgrims, damaging the entire Via Francigena hospitality system.

What is the current hospitality situation along the way right now? The route is indeed well equipped with pilgrim and tourist accommodations even if in most cases available places are currently reduced. It should not be forgotten that given the situation, this year it is mandatory to book your bed / room in advance.

The French section of the route does not report any particular criticalities with most of facilities being open.

Verification of the Swiss section confirms available beds along 200 km of the route; efforts are also being made to publish new parochial and offer-based structures online.

Along the Italian section, starting from the north you can find pilgrim hospitality in five stages with the sole exception in Aosta which offers a range of other accommodations. Numerous facilities have reopened in Piedmont, welcoming tourists with reduced prices. Lombardy has an accommodation gap on the border with Piedmont up to Mortara, however in Palestro in Torre Merlata you can sleep in a tent.

The situation in Emilia-Romagna is a little more critical, as hostels in this region have not yet reopened between Piacenza and Berceto. However, tourist facilities there offer preferential rates for pilgrims.

In Tuscany and Lazio many facilities actively welcome pilgrims. In cities of Lucca and Siena historic hostels are closed, although there are alternatives of campings, guest houses and traditional tourist facilities.

The accommodation situation along the Via Francigena in the South is being updated and monitored, as well as route conditions, safety and signs in accordance with the European Via Francigena manual.

You can download accommodation lists from the Visit Via Francigena hospitality platform. Other facilities are expected to reopen in late July and will be inserted in the accommodation files accordingly.

Find more information about the route following the link https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/covid/

The European Association of the Via Francigena ways (EAVF) participated in the final conference of the «Italy, Greece and Turkey on Foot» project, which took place on 6 – 7 February 2020 in Izmit, Turkey.
The conference was a closing event of a 12-months project, financed by the European Union, and led by a Turkish NGO Culture Routes Society in cooperation with the EAVF and the Greek NGO Trace Your Eco.

The final conference gave an excellent opportunity to present the results of the project, share best practices along the Via Eurasia and strengthen cooperation between the partners. It brought together over 80 international participants from institutions, associations, civil society, universities and private sector.

The Via Eurasia hiking route presents an opportunity of becoming a “cultural bridge” connecting Europe and Turkey crossing five countries: Italy, Albania, Republic of North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, which will facilitate sustainable tourism development, intercultural dialogue and rural revitalisation.

During the morning session on 7 February the following results achieved within the project were presented:

• involvement of municipalities along the proposed cultural route in Turkey, Greece and Italy;
• study visit in Apulia, Italy and roadshows in Turkey and Greece;
• new visibility material as website, brochures, flyers, panels;
• exchange of good practices in terms of governance, capacity building and promotion;
• mapping cultural heritage along the way;
• development of strong partnerships and intercultural dialogue among the partners and local towns.

Luca Bruschi, EAVF director, shared best practices of the Via Francigena governance model with a special focus on the Via Francigena of the South.

A lead university of the Via Eurasia Scientific Committee – the Bogazici University – conducted workshop on sustainable tourism during the afternoon session.

On 7 February the Scientific Committee and the Management Board of the Via Eurasia discussed the consolidation of the route’s management structure and future actions to develop animation of the route.

During the project an intensive analysis and research was done by the Scientific Committee, in cooperation with the Head of the Management Committee Elena Dubinina, in order to prepare the dossier to be certified as a Council of Europe Cultural Route.

The submission of the dossier is scheduled on 30th September 2020.

To train local stakeholders and meet the demand for increasing experiential and sustainable tourism – this is the objective of the ” Via Francigena Capacity Building” training module launched by the European Association of the Via Francigena Ways (EAVF).The training is addressed to public bodies, tourist offices, trade associations, private sector and local communities. During the pilot phase, the project will cover the Italian section of the Via Francigena, to be extended to the entire European route in the nearest future.

Why Capacity Building?

To improve hospitality sector, stimulate increase in tourism flows and generate concrete economic benefits, it is essential to qualify the tourism product at a local level by training and direct involvement of stakeholders of the Francigena world. Numerous Italian routes compete thanks to infrastructure development and elaboration of tourist products and offers. To keep  a high level of quality and an outstanding offer it is necessary to respond with professionalism and excellent services to the specific needs of pilgrims and walkers.

Objectives of the course:

In this context the training offered by the EAVF intends to involve and train the main actors along the Via Francigena. Its focus is to improve hospitality services at local level for diverse users (pilgrims, hikers, tourists, cyclists, campers, etc.); increase customization of existing services or creation of new services (luggage transport, bicycle rental, hospitality, etc.) and promote knowledge and usefulness of already active territorial information and promotion tools (App, website, logos, events, etc.).

The training request emerged from the questionnaire realized by the EAVF and addressed to the municipal administrations along the Via Francigena. 80% of respondents consider it essential to increase skills of economic operators and local associations by focusing on the characteristics of tourism demand, communication, marketing and current issues such as sustainable and responsible tourism.

Methodology:

The EAVF offers a training course of different levels, adapted to the needs of a recipient. It offers a lab alternating theoretical / debate phases with practical and interactive experiences, work exercises useful for experimenting with different case studies. Specific sessions are foreseen to foster knowledge-sharing, information exchange, group cohesion and networking.

The adopted experiential methodology is interactive and homogeneous, with innovative didactic tools used onsite and remotely. The training course will be conducted by trainers – experts in tourism marketing, management of tourist destinations and participatory process, highly experienced in enhancement of Cultural Routes.

An EAVF certification is provided for Municipalities and operators who undertake the training course. A certification of participation or excellence is based on the achieved level and examination taken. Excellent achievements will be published on the website www.viefrancigene.org.

For info and contacts: Tel. +39 0523 492792. Email: formazione@viefrancigene.org

Attached is the downloadable brochure.

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The 2019 edition of “I love Francigena“ closes with a more than positive outcome.

The event created by the European Association of Via Francigena Ways (EAVF) brought dozens of walkers to discover the route with two dates: 7th September along the Cassio – Berceto section and 14th September from Pontenure to Fiorenzuola d’Arda.

The initiative, free of charge, was included in the  “I love cammini Emilia Romagna” events, the project promoted by  APT Servizi Regione Emilia-Romagna, in collaboration with the Episcopal Conference of Emilia Romagna and the AIGAE association to experience the historical paths of Emilia Romagna from Piacenza to Rimini.

The first walk took place in the woods and along the dirt tracks from Cassio to Berceto, the last historic village before the Cisa Apennine pass towards Tuscany. The initiative took place with the collaboration of the municipality of Berceto, which welcomed the participants with a buffet with the mayor, Luigi Lucchi.

The second outing, in the Po countryside, was organised in collaboration with the Fiorenzuola in Movimento association, the municipalities of Pontenure, Cadeo and Fiorenzuola d’Arda. Walkers, accompanied by EAVF staff, were also able to admire some cultural and naturalistic places such as the Paderna castle, the castle of Cerreto Landi, the ford of the Chiavenna stream to finally arrive at the Collegiata of Fiorenzuola d’Arda. This last walk saw the participation of some local administrators: Manola Groups, mayor of Pontenure; Marco Bricconi, mayor of Cadeo; Toma Maria Lodovica, deputy mayor; Alessandro Genesi, Councilor for Public Heritage Works and Romeo Gandolfi mayor of Fiorenzuola d’Arda.

On this occasion the last stop also dedicated some time to tasting local dishes, thanks to the collaboration of the Parish of San Fiorenzo, the participants could appreciate the delicious taste of ‘torta fritta’ cooked by volunteers.

I love Francigena represents an opportunity to meet new people, discover the territory and enhance the route. With this perspective, the two mayors, Marco Bricconi and Romeo Gandolfi, took part in the walk and gathering after the ford of Chiavenna. The participants also helped the EAVF staff in the maintenance of signage and collection of waste. The two Francigena dates were organised with the support of Banca Generali Private.

More information here

Our appointment with “I love Cammini Emilia Romagna” returns in September. There are two dates dedicated to the Via Francigena to experience and get to know the route at a slow pace: 7^th September from Cassio to Berceto and the 14^th September from Pontenure to Fiorenzuola d’Arda.

The initiative is a project promoted by APT Services Emilia-Romagna Region in collaboration with the Bishops’ Conference of Emilia Romagna and the AIGAE association to experience historical paths of Emilia Romagna, from Piacenza to Rimini.

On Saturday 7^th September we are offering the opportunity to walk 10.4km of the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe from Cassio to Berceto, the last historic village before the Apennine crossing of Cisa to Tuscany.

On 14^th September “I Love Cammini Emilia Romagna” will lead you to the discovery of the Francigena in the Padana countryside from Pontenure to Fiorenzuola. The French dates are organised by the European Association of Via Francigena Ways (EAVF) in collaboration with Banca Generali and the association Fiorenzuola in Movement.

How to participate? The excursion is free, the only thing you need to do is to book at: camminiemiliaromagna.it

What do you need? Just a pair of trainers, preferably with a stiff, thick sole, a cap, a backpack and you are already ready to book on to one of the free weekends of the first edition of “I love Cammini Emilia Romagna 2019”.

The routes almost never exceed 10km – most of them are limited to 7 or 8km – and are suitable for everyone. We leave at around 9.30am and return in the afternoon. Each re-entry has been calculated so that you can get public transport home.

For more information visit: www.camminiemiliaromagna.it and https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/i-love-francigena-en/