Starting in November, the portal of the Vie Fancigene will include another language: Spanish! The legs, routes, accommodation and news useful for the journey are now available in Spanish, to share the information along the European Via Francigena with the “official language” of the Cammino de Santiago.

There are three languages spoken in the countries of the Via Francigena: English, French and Italian, in that the route begins in Canterbury (Kent, England), crosses France (Hauts de France, Grand Est, Franche-Comté-Bourgogne, France), Switzerland (Vallese and Vaud cantons), and lastly crosses the Italian border at the Gran St Bernard Pass to proceed to Rome (Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Tuscany, Lazio).

The web portal, the magazine and all our communication methods are produced in these three languages.  They are also the most common and spoken European working languages in European institutions.  The European Association of the Vie Francigene, réseau porteur of the Council of Europe since 2007, continues to invest energy and resources in translation, so the information, news and events are always punctually translated.

We may consider Spanish as the official language of the “mother” route, in other words the route which brings hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, which was certified by the Council of Europe in 1987.  

Many Spanish travellers have been attracted to the Via Francigena in recent years, whether to experience single tracts or the whole route.  Municipal projects are also under way to link Sigeric’s route to that of Santiago, the two routes are linked by their final goals of Santiago de Compostela and Rome.  

It’s for this reason that it seemed right to expand our site to include the Spanish language, especially for the articles that refer to practical information for pilgrims that are due to begin hiking.  From today therefore, we will be able to wish you a “Buon cammino”, “Bonne route”, Have a good trip”, and, lastly, “Ultreya! Buen camino”.

From the beginning of next year, the site will also be translated in German.

Luca Bruschi