The growth of the Southern Francigena continues.  The pilgrim hostel was inaugurated with an info point on the 2nd December in San Giovanni Rotondo, Puglia. 

Numerous authorities took part in the ribbon-cutting, including the Director-General of Tourism of the region of Puglia, Aldo Patruno, the president of the European Association of the Vie Francigene, Massimo Tedeschi and the mayor of San Giovanni Rotondo, Costanzo Cascavilla.

The hostel has already welcomed its first guest, an Italian pilgrim from Livorno walking along the Via Micaelica from Benevento to Monte Sant’Angelo. The hiker was received by councillor, Claudio Russo, and the first Cascavilla citizen.  The enhancement of the route and sow tourism continues with the opening of this hostel.

The work was carried out thanks to the regional funding of ten thousand euros, attributed to the European Association of the Vie Francigene (EAVF) which enabled the recovery of an ancient site, dating back to the XII-XIII century, in the historical city centre.  The hostel is located inside an ancient medieval tower, has six beds available to pilgrims and an information point.

“The region of Puglia and its municipality have reaffirmed their desire to continue to focus on the Southern Francigena Route project.  We are talking about another building block towards infrastructural development: the EAVF will fully support all further steps towards the completion of the project which will then lead to the final certification of the Cultural Itinerary of the Council of Europe”, states Massimo Tedeschi, president of the European Association of the Vie Francigene.

After the restoration of the Celle San Vito-Lucera stretch, the 2018 goal for the Pugliese municipality will be to make the path from the convent of Stignano to the Sacra Grotta di Monte Sant’Angelo usable and safe.  This is a regionally funded operation that will have the first accessible stretch of the Via Francigena in the South, in Capitanata.