Pilgrims and tourists love the Via Francigena app. The application, realised by the European Association of the Vie Francigene (EAVF) and developed by ItinerAria Srl, has already exceeded 5,000 downloads.

An excellent start from the official launch a few weeks ago, with positive feedback. The app, available online for iOS and Android, got an average vote of 4 out of 5 stars. It was downloaded mostly by Italian users, but there were also numerous downloads from the USA, the UK, Australia and Switzerland. 

Simple and free, the tool is for 2.0 users who on foot or by bike want to hike Sigeric’s route from the Swiss side. Currently available free in Italian and English, the app offers gps navigation along the entire route, from the Via Francigena in Switzerland, for around one thousand kilometres divided in to 45 rest-stops from the Great St Bernard to Rome. 

Over the past few days the 1.5 release has been published, with the new logo of the European Association of the Vie Francigene. The latest version includes an important development: the “Reti Locali” (Local Network) section, dedicated to the different areas of the Francigena, or the areas close to the route, which want to promote their local routes with a “mini-app” which has the same functions as the official one. There are currently two sections: one for the Via Francigena in Lombardy and another named “Slowland Piemonte” for the Lago di Viverone area. The users can find suggestions of what to see, where to sleep and eat, maps and info on tours, rest-stops and day tours. 

Another step forward for light and safe travel. The official EAVF app allows users to load maps, tracks and descriptions of each leg in advance to be independent from the internet; it has a user-friendly navigation page similar to that of google maps, and an alarm in case you stray from the route. For potential issues along the route, it is possible to send an email with images and geographical coordinates to signal its location. Lastly, thanks to the “Go to” function, the user can go to direct destinations following the indications on the map. 

The application has be realised in collaboration with the seven Italian regions crossed by the route (Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio) and the tourist offices of the Vaud and Vallese Cantons of the Swiss tract.  

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The Via Francigena app is a success!