Category: news_en

The cultural value of the Via Francigena in Southern Italy (VFS) is growing. It is now in the spotlight, as is distinctive of ‘common goods’, with a development program closely linked to the search for sustainability – a principle underlying the development of all the itineraries in Europe – while paying attention to the needs of people with disabilities.

This is also the objective of those who live along the final stretch of the VFS, where a network of cultural associations (Mollare Mai, Via Francigena Pugliese, Salentofilia, Associazione Ciclistica Torcito Bike, Meditinere Servizi Turistici, Il Giunco) operates, attentive to the needs of walkers with disabilities on their way to Santa Maria di Leuca. The common feeling is that cultural routes and itineraries accessible to all should be understood not only as a form of social responsibility but also as an opportunity to increase their promotion, to improve their competitiveness for tourism purposes and to offer new opportunities to the territory, to businesses and to all local stakeholders who undertake useful actions to meet the specific needs of people with disabilities, becoming an active part of a responsible and sustainable tourism strategy.

In order to make the final part of the Via Francigena in Southern Italy accessible to all, activities carried out by ADS Mollare Mai, established in 2017 and based in Serrano, a small village in the municipality of Carpignano Salentino in the province of Lecce, are particularly significant.

The challenge of accessibility

“The Via Francigena accessible to the disabled” was the challenge posed by Adriano Bolognese, president of the Mollare Mai Association, a handbike cycling athlete, who, together with the members of his association – impaired visually, motor, etc. – has taken on the challenge of ‘making the Via Francigena accessible to the disabled’. In collaboration with Marco Bartalini of the ASD MTB Tricase Association, he mapped the stretch of the Via Francigena in Southern Italy that goes from Brindisi to Santa Maria di Leuca, identifying the most critical points of the route and suggesting the necessary deviations to make the path accessible to people with disabilities.

In addition to this first initiative, the Mollare Mai Association has flanked many other projects aimed at offering cooperation to disabled walkers and raising awareness among communities, local authorities and regional authorities on the need to build a sustainable VFS, offering services and facilities usable by people with disabilities.

The solidarity initiatives

In December 2020, for example, in collaboration with other walking associations, “La Marcia della Speranza” (The March of Hope) was promoted by covering a 40-kilometre stretch of the Via Francigena in Salento with a group of disabled people. In October 2021, the Association took part in the “Road to Rome 2021“ event organised by the European Association of the Via Francigena ways, covering parts of the Salento area. In April 2022, they took part in the Salento Trans Salento from Otranto to Gallipoli: a slow march of 50 km of the duration of one full day, with the aim of identifying a possible easier route for disabled travelers.

It should be emphasised that the Mollare Mai Association also provides guidance and logistical support on the stretch of the Via Francigena from Lecce to Santa Maria di Leuca for walkers and disabled ramblers from other Italian regions. Among other activities, it is worth mentioning the service offered in January 2023 to a group of walkers with a wheelchair user from Padua; in August, the service of guidance and assistance (for a stretch of the Via Francigena from Martano to Tricase) for a group of disabled walkers (from the ‘Insuperabile’ project created in 2019 by Gabriele Rosa) with physical or cognitive pathologies or disabilities and their assistants, coming from the Sanctuary of La Verna in Rimini and wishing to reach Santa Maria di Leuca after 21 days of walking.

There are many initiatives aimed at raising awareness in the local community on the importance of barrier-free walking for people with disabilities. In 2022 (May-October) and 2023 (March-May), for example, the Association launched an initiative called “Fra le piazze del Salento” (Among the squares of Salento), aimed at groups of disabled people and their families/accompanying persons, which included cultural walks with visits to monuments located in numerous towns in southern Salento (Marittima, Surano, Ruffano, Giurdignano, Martano, Casarano and Castro, Otranto and Corigliano D’Otranto). In June 2023, it organised the first edition of the ‘Cammino delle pietre e dei laghi’ (Stones and Lakes Walk), a 56 km inclusive ring-route in the province of Lecce, and again, in July of the same year, the group ran a 30 km bicycle or handbike or electric-powered route in Salento Greece with 6 disabled and 20 able-bodied people.

Mollare Mai also drew up project proposals and launched communication and information campaigns on the accessibility of routes, building a network of interest between public and private entities. The local community was involved, for example, in activities aimed at good wheelchair use and the removal of architectural barriers. It dedicated training meetings on disability to the students at some schools, also linked to the world of work (see the meetings held in Poggiardo in October 2023). For the workers with disabilities, it devoted taylor-made courses to approach sports with the use of handbikes, accompanied by recreational and playful activities such as working with terracotta, painting, making objects with recycled materials, theatre activities, restoration courses, cooking courses, vegetable garden therapy and library management. 

The good practices of the Mollare Mai Association in the promotion of routes and developing the VFS to also be usable by disabled people have been recognised by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism. In June 2022, they respectively invited the Association to present its experiences of walking with disabled people within the Cultural Routes for Sustainable Social and Economic Development in the Mediterranean (CROSSDEV) project and, in May 2023, to participate in the Chianciano Terme meeting for a discussion on the removal of barriers: perhaps this is the start of a hoped-for collaboration and of s good care for the issues of accessibility of the Routes, that can really be enjoyed by everyone?

On 7 november at the World Travel Market in London, one of the most important international tourism fairs, the Regione Piemonte, Turismo Torino e Provincia and Visit Piemonte DMO introduced the project “Via Francigena for All” to the English press.

At the Italian corner of ENIT- National Tourism Agency, they talked about the accessibility and sustainability of the Via Francigena, a historic route that aims to be more inclusive by overcoming all physical and mental barriers.

“Via Francigena for All” is a project launched a few years ago with the collaboration of EAVF and today also sees the Piedmont Region strongly committed to making the Piedmont stretch of what is now recognized as the Cultural Itinerary of the Council of Europe more inclusive and accessible to all pilgrims.

The hope is that the theme of accessibility on the Via Francigena can increasingly become part of national and regional tourism policies.

Travelling by train has always stimulated literary and artistic creativity. And at the same time, the fascination and practicality of this means of transport also make it the subject of actual travel ideas. Just think of the many existing itineraries, sometimes linking several continents, or the Interrail option for young people with the support of the European community. 

Travelling by train, compared to choosing other means of transport, is definitely an advantage in several respects, summarised in five simple considerations. 

1. It allows you to enjoy the journey 

Travelling both a short and a long distance, seated in a train, allows you to observe the world through its window, notice changing shapes and peculiarities, one place compared to another; you can also watch the way different people interact, differing from one town to another. You find yourself as an observer, in the flux of reality, enjoying a privileged position: you are part of the context but at the same time you will only belong to that portion of the world for a certain period of time and can therefore look at it with an external and curious eye. With this attitude, favoured by the tranquillity of travelling by train, as opposed to the hustle of travelling by plane or the lonely essence of a car journey, you can appreciate with greater intensity all your experiences, and enjoy every changing moment.

2. It increases mental and social knowledge 

On board the train, there is no shortage of interaction: the opportunity to make new and interesting encounters is a frequent possibility. According to the study by the research centre Eumetra on the types of entertainment of train travellers, although reading or listening to music are the main pastimes, 61% put exchanging a few words with perfect strangers first, during long journeys or during a holiday. 

Travelling by train therefore offers benefits on a social level and on the growth of one’s cultural and intellectual background. In fact, the same study shows that 88% of travellers have read at least one book on a train in the last year, compared to 81% of all Italians. Although surfing the Internet and communicating on the web hold the podium on how to spend time on board a train, reading ranks third, and is a more popular choice compared to listening to music or podcasts. 

3. It is the most ecologically responsible travel option 

It is now well known that the atmospheric CO2 emission of a train journey (0.044 kg per km) is significantly lower than the journey by plane or car. The European Environment Agency‘s latest report, the Transport and environment 2020 report, indicates that 72% of emissions are due to road transport, 14% to maritime transport and 13% to air transport, while the train is attributed only 0.4%. Travelling by railway is therefore the most environmentally friendly option and more and more people are not only increasingly aware of this, but are also willing to practice it as a necessary and responsible attitude towards the environment.  

4. Comfortable and matching your interests 

There are many benefits of a journey that begins by train for cyclists, to whom we have dedicated this special issue. In some cases, you can benefit from a bicycle transport service; not to mention that many of the railway stations are located in central locations that allow you to reach points of interest conveniently and quickly. 

5. It is cost effective, thanks to collaboration with Trenitalia  

Given the recent increases in the cost of fuel and plane tickets, the choice of using the train is certainly economically advantageous. The agreement between Trenitalia and Via Francigena has been renewed for some time now, and allows many pilgrims to alternate their walk with a train journey, offering everyone the best formula according to their own timing and needs. For those who need to reach the initial stage or to return home once the walk is complete, Trenitalia has provided a 10% discount on tickets purchased by Via Francigena pilgrims with the pilgrim’s credential. The Via Francigena, crossing a large part of the Italian Peninsula, as the official route shows, intersects with over 200 stations along the Italian path, which in turn are connected with bus stops and other local public transport. This discount also covers the Via Francigena in Southern Italy, including the stations along the stretch between Rome and Santa Maria di Leuca. If you are planning to experience the Via Francigena on regional rail routes, it is advisable to take advantage of the Italia in Tour 3 and Italia in Tour 5 special offers, which provide unlimited second-class travel on regional trains for 3 days at €29 (€15 for children aged 4 to 12) or for 5 days at €49 (€25 for children aged 4 to 12). 

DISCOVER ALL THE DETAILS 

The discount is valid on regional trains, with departure and arrival in the stations listed in the regulations. 

*Click here for more information* 

*Follow the instructions to benefit from the discount* 

*Consult regulations* 

Thanks to the partnership with Trenitalia, the Via Francigena becomes accessible to all those who want to undertake the walk, regardless of their physical fitness or the time available.  

Discover the benefits for those who hold the pilgrim’s credential 

Buy your Trenitalia ticket now 

The Strategic Plan of the European Association of the Via Francigena ways (in three languages) is the result of a solid shared and participative work with municipalities, regions and associations of the four countries crossed by the European cultural route. It was a team effort that lasted six months, which took shape with its guidelines during the EAVF General Assembly in Calais on 26 May. In Pavia, during the autumn members’ assembly on 20 October, the design of the plan was presented.  

“Building on the positive experience of the 2020-22 strategic plan, our European Association has prepared the 2023-25 strategic plan, a very important three-year period because in this period we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the awarding of the ‘Cultural Route of the Council of Europe’ certificate to the Via Francigena (1994-2024) and in 2025 the Roman Jubilee will take place.  The 30th anniversary celebrations will allow us to reflect on the journey we have made and what lies ahead. In these thirty years, the world has changed a great deal and a route such as Via Francigena responds well to the signs of change: it is sustainable, responsible, it networks people and local communities, generates economy, enhances cultural heritage“, said President Massimo Tedeschi in the incipit of the strategic document. 

The plan focuses on five macro-areas that are translated into activities on the territory: a route that involves no less than 715 municipalities for a length of 3,200 km:  

1) Monitoring of the official route and cooperation with territorial stakeholders  

2) Governance and strengthening of the common identity  

3) Communication, organisation and animation of events  

4) Monitoring pilgrim and cultural tourist flows  

5) Research, culture and sustainability.  

Communication and promotion have been outlined with a specific Media Kit that illustrates the opportunities linked to the enhancement of the itinerary, which is increasingly visited by an international public.   

Download the Strategic Plan at the following link.

The media kit is available here.

Our Association attended the last edition of TTG Experience, one of the most important B2B events in the tourism sector at a European level. From 11 to 13 October, the event – now in its 60th edition – welcomed hundreds of hospitality-related exhibitors, as well as stakeholders, tourists and workers. EAVF’s staff attended the ‘Le Vie verso Roma’ (Ways to Rome) stand together with the Romea Strata and Romea Germanica teams, to present the interactive platform developed by the three-year European project rurAllure, dedicated to the major cultural points of interest located along the main European routes.   

The App enriches the pilgrim’s experience by displaying locations of historical, artistic, ethnographic and architectural interest, as well as identifying activities and initiatives along the route, for an authentic immersion in the local territory. The TTG fair was an important opportunity to meet the association’s partners, both those who are already consolidated and those with whom actions are in progress to enhance the promotion of the itinerary in all its richness and variety.  

Every year TTG also becomes the setting for meetings and debates dedicated to planning the future of tourism and hospitality. More than 200 events were scheduled in this year’s programme, and on the 12^th it welcomed the rurAllure round table on slow tourism and pilgrimage experiences, organised by the Rimini Campus of CAST-Centro Studi Avanzati sul Turismo of the University of Bologna, with the patronage of the Associazione Geografi Italiani AGeI. The round table was organised in two different sessions. In the first part, it brought together representatives from the Italian regions of Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Apulia and Friuli Venezia Giulia, to share study cases related to the development of cultural tourism along pilgrimage routes, under the leadership of Alessia Mariotti, President of the Rimini Campus Council. In the second part, an international panel moderated by the coordinator of the rurAllure project Martin Nores Lopez, presented the opportunities linked to the tangible and intangible heritage of the paths as a fundamental asset of the development of slow and sustainable tourism. Both discussions highlighted how the involvement of local communities and dialogue with public institutions and private entities are of key importance for the promotion of a form of slow tourism increasingly open to new targets, with different demands and needs.  

In this context, the Via Francigena is in the front line for the valorisation of small villages excluded from the traditional tourist circuits, thus offering important opportunities to municipalities and territories located along the 3,200 km that build the itinerary, as was also emphasised during the meeting “La Francigena verso il Giubileo 2025” organised by the Lazio Region during the Rimini fair.