Month: September 2018

The World Francigena Ultramarathon will now take place on 27th and 28th October. The event has been postponed for a week compared to the initial date (20-21 October) due to the extraordinary Palio of the city of Siena.

“Considering the police and voluntary associations of both health and civil protection will be engaged in safety at the Palio, failing the necessary guarantees of safety of the route, the organisation of the World Francigena Ultramarathon walk has decided to officially postpone the event to 27^th-28^th October 2018” explain the organisers of the marathon on Facebook.

An unexpected change of programme won’t stop the Ultramarathon Walk. Registration remains open until 15^th October. “It’s time to support the event – says Sergio Pieri, head of the Sports and Tourism Office of Acquapendente – Despite everything, the marathon is still a great event. We risked cancelling the event so we decided to postpone it and restart organisation. We know that many people were prepared for the previous date and we regret the unexpected turn of events. We hope that the Sienese and lovers of the marathon in the area will join the walk“.

The World Francigena Ultramarathon is the first European ultramarathon at a trekking and Nordic walking pace along Sigeric’s ancient route from Siena to Acquapendente. The ultramarathon, reserved exclusively for walkers, includes:

• A non-stop route, 120km from Siena to Acquapendente,
• A 32km route from Siena to Buonconvento,
• A night-time route, 65km from San Quirico d’Orcia to Acquapendente,
• A 32km route from Radicofani to Acquapendente.

The event, promoted nationally and internationally, aims to raise awareness of a territory rich in natural and artistic beauty that make up the historical, cultural and environmental heritage of the municipalities participating in the initiative. The event has been organised by the Department of Sports and Tourism of the City of Acquapendente and the Department of Tourism of Siena, with support from the European Association of Via Francigena Ways, and with the collaboration of the Municipalities of Siena, Monteroni D’Arbia, Buonconvento, Montalcino, San Quirico D’Orcia, Castiglione D’Orcia, Radicofani and San Casciano dei Bagni.

For more information, visit the programme: http://www.francigenaultramarathon.it/

The European Association of Via Francigena Ways (EAVF) and the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (FFRP) have signed an agreement with the goal of enhancing and promoting the Via Francigena in France.

The agreement was signed by the vice-president, Didier Babin, accompanied by Valerie Lecurieux, by the EAVF president, Massimo Tedeschi, the vice-president Martine Gautheron and the director, Luca Bruschi, in Paris at the headquarters of the FFRP on 14^th September.

In addition to the common promotion of the Via Francigena in France, the agreement includes: the provision of the gpx / gps tracks along the Via Francigena and the distribution of the official Pilgrim Passports of the Via Francigena in Paris, at the headquarters of the FFRP, and the online shop and, in future, at the network of regional committees (The FFRP network has about 250,000 members).

Lastly, the creation of the first official guide: Canterbury- Great St Bernard Pass, which will be published in the spring of 2019, continues. The guide will include both the GR145 and Sigeric’s historical path.

“This is a very important result for our association, which is currently focusing on the development of the Via Francigena in France. With the rise of activities along the 700km long transalpine route, the strategic partnership between the EAVF and FFRP has become natural. In 2016 the EAVF opened its operational headquarters in Champlitte to strengthen its presence in France and to internationalise its activity“, underlines EAVF president, Massimo Tedeschi.

The ultimate goal is to network the territories and make sure that the entire route can be safely traversed through England, France, Switzerland and Italy, so that the project of a single, well-organised European path from Canterbury to Rome can be realised.

The FFRP is committed to the development of national hiking trails and already devotes attention to the routes to Santiago which, in France, start from the historic sites of Vézelay, Arles, Tours and Puy-en-Velay. The FFRP manages the territory and routes with signage, maintenance support, activities, promotion, broadcasting and finally with numerous dedicated guides. The FFRP established the GR145 route, which in France corresponds to the Via Francigena and crosses eight département (Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Aisne, Marne, Aube, Haute-Marne, Haute-Saône; Doubs) of three regions (Hauts- de-France, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté).

Paths, tracks, and technical descriptions are available at the EAVF website and aim to give directions to the ever-growing number of pilgrims who travel along the Via Francigena in these sections.

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On 8^th September 2018 the new Walk For Research project was kicked off by Alessandro Ronald Sabelli in collaboration with ASD Stone Tower.

As with the previous editions, it aims to raise funds for a foundation dedicated to paediatric research. This year Alessandro’s march supports I4Children, a project conceived by the Bambino Gesù Foundation  in Rome.

About 50km per day on foot with the aim of giving voice to an important research project on the prevention of neurodegenerative processes. Fourteen days of walking along the Via Francigena, between nature and evocative villages of the Italian province, where Alessandro and his group share the hardships and joys of his challenge for the benefit of research.

In the first edition, which took place in 2014, Alessandro walked for a total of 24 days from John O’Groats – in Scotland – to London, to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity; for the second edition he accompanied Sara Begg in a walk of the Capital Ring in London in just two days. The third edition of Walk For Research, in support of the Bambino Gesù Foundation, is for an important research objective: the screening of new antioxidant molecules in neurodegenerative processes.

The timetable of the hike, beginning in Chatillon – Saint Vincent in the province of Aosta and whose arrival – after a 850km journey – is scheduled for Sunday 23^rd September in Rome, includes several stops along the Francigena.

Follow the Walk for Research on Facebook. To contribute to the donation: http://www.fondazionebambinogesu.it/presta/home/42-878-walk-for-research.html

There are 16 stages and 266 kilometres to the fifth edition of the “Francesco a Francesco” relay. The journey will start on 19^th September from St. Peter’s Square in Rome and will end on 4^th October in Assisi, the day dedicated to the feast of St. Francis, patron saint of Italy.

The initiative, organised by the National Union of Pro Loco (Unpli) was presented this morning, in the “Spadolini” hall of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage (Mibac) in Rome. The participants will walk along the Via di San Francesco, through places where the Saint spent most of his life and left important marks. The route, accessible to all, winds through woods, roads and paths of Lazio and Umbria, among the splendid views of the Valle Santa Reatina and along the Spoleto-Norcia stretch, crowned the most beautiful green roads of Italy: ten stages of the route in the territory of Lazio, then in Umbria, 18 locations are crossed by the route.

The event began with a speech by Francesco Palumbo, general director of the tourism department: “The Pro Loco initiative along the Italian Cammini – said Palumbo – goes very well with the Atlas of the Italian routes that we have also created thanks to the contribution of the Unpli. For the first time, Italy has a network of 44 roads that meet very precise quality standards and create an infrastructure for tourism“.

The president of the National Union of Italian Pro Loco, Antonino La Spina, underlined the role of the Union of Pro Loco of Italy “which continues to work to help network the world of Paths, building relationships with partners institutions and associations. It is clear that the Pro Loco can and must play an important role in this context, able to ensure a series of services thanks to the widespread diffusion of the association in the territory“.

Presentations were given by Claudio Nardocci, president of Unpli Lazio, Francesco Fiorelli, president of Unpli Umbria, Ernesto Fanfoni, head of the Cammini department of the Unpli, and Giulio Proietti Bocchini, office of culture and tourism of Assisi. During the morning accounts on “The paths of the Pro Loco: good practice and territorial synergies” were also given; Maurizio Alfisi and Francesco Grosso (UNPLI Piemonte) illustrated “The Quadrant of the High Piedmont Walkways”; Roberto Patanè and Peppe De Caro presented “L’Antica Transversale Sicula” which will launch for the first time on 4^th October. Don Giovanni Lombardo, on the other hand, focused on the peculiarities of “Il Cammino dell’Anima” which develops on the Nebrodi.

Following this were speeches on the theme of “Let’s network Italian paths”, by Francesco Ferrari (vice-president of the European Association of Via Francigena Ways), Sandro Polci (director of the Via Francigena European Festival), Antonio Montani (vice-president of the Italian Alpine Club) and Ambra Garancini (Network of the Francigena Way).

The day also focused on the “New opportunities for the Way”, with the speeches by Stefano Mantella (Director of Strategies for Property and Innovation, Agenzia del Demanio) who illustrated the contents of the new call for property concession, while Massimiliano Monetti (President Confcooperative Abruzzo)focused on community cooperatives as a possible instrument for the development of the territories. The meeting was managed by Gabriele Desiderio, project manager and external relations of the Unpli. All info on the relay from “Francesco a Francesco” is available at http://www.camminitaliani.it/

THE ROUTE

19^th September: Rome San Pietro-Fontenuova, 23 km (difficulty level: easy).

20^th September: Fontenuova-Monterotondo, 24 km (easy).

21^st September: Monterotondo-Palombara Sabina, 12 km (easy).

22^nd September: Palombara Sabina-Montelibretti 17 km (medium easy).

23^rd September: Montelibretti-Poggio Moiano (15, average easy).

24^th September: Poggio Moiano-Poggio San Lorenzo 13 km (medium easy).

25^th September: Poggio San Lorenzo-Rieti 18 km (easy).

26^th September: Rieti-Poggio Bustone, 19 km (medium easy).

27^th September: Poggio Bustono-Greccio, 21 km (easy).

28^th September: Rieti-Greccio, 19 km (easy).

29^th September: Greccio-Torreorsina, 18 km (difficult).

30^th September: Torreorsina-Ceselli, 18 km (easy).

1^st October: Ceselli-Spoleto, 12 km (difficult).

2^nd October: Spoleto-Trevi, 12 km (medium easy).

3^rd October: Trevi Spello-Santa Maria degli Angeli, 20 km (easy).

4^th October: Santa Maria degli Angeli-Assisi, 5 km (easy).