Florence to Rome walking

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi

I'm currently 9 days into walking from Florence to Rome. The first four stages were pretty taxing. I have the new guidebook by Sandy Brown. It has useful information on accommodation but the red/white waymarks are more accurate than the walking notes imho.

Although steep elevations in the first stages the views of the Tuscan countryside more than compensated. The effort of reaching the Santuario de la Verna made our visit to this holy place all the more memorable. It is certain that Francis was there and it is truly a place of peace and tranquillity.

Immediately after the Santuario yellow arrows with the Tau cross started and the route has been clearly marked. Every day I've simply used the navigation app on my phone to find the way to our accommodation.

This route is stunning and I wish I'd walked it some time ago - I'll be back.

In terms of a Credencial, I simply made my own. Copy attached.

Regards

John

 

[wayfarer]

Safe journey Johnnie.

 

[Annette london]

Hi

I'm currently 9 days into walking from Florence to Rome. The first four stages were pretty taxing. I have the new guidebook by Sandy Brown. It has useful information on accommodation but the red/white waymarks are more accurate than the walking notes imho.

Although steep elevations in the first stages the views of the Tuscan countryside more than compensated. The effort of reaching the Santuario de la Verna made our visit to this holy place all the more memorable. It is certain that Francis was there and it is truly a place of peace and tranquillity.

Immediately after the Santuario yellow arrows with the Tau cross started and the route has been clearly marked. Every day I've simply used the navigation app on my phone to find the way to our accommodation.

This route is stunning and I wish I'd walked it some time ago - I'll be back.

In terms of a Credencial, I simply made my own. Copy attached.

Regards

John

I ordered the book from cicerone today. 25per cent off the price just for today. Now I just need to get working on the husband when the book arrives!

 

[peregrino_tom]

John - good to hear it's going according to plan.
Apart from the santuario, what sort of places are you staying at along the way?

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi Tom - you can get more details on the journey on my blog. There has been no dedicated pilgrim accommodation until now - although one or two places advertise special rates for pilgrims. I'm staying in very good and reasonably priced hostels and hotels reserved through booking.com Not much more expensive than the same accommodation on the pilgrim routes in Spain.

 

[Introibo]

Hi John.
Loving the blog. Don't know if it's helping to settle my nerves though ! I start walking from Assisi on
the 21st March. Hopefully the weather will be much improved by then.

Pax et bonum

 

[OzAnnie]

John and Introibo
I'll be coming back to this thread !
John, you're looking to be the 'pied piper', reading through the comments to far .
Hoping one day too- looks interesting.
Buen Camino

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I'm now in Assisi where the Basilica and Tomb of Saint Francis are magnificent in their architecture and in their sense of peace and spirituality. We went for the stamp of the Basilica and ended up also with Testimoniums - the certificate awarded to pilgrims who walk a minimum of 70kms to Assisi. The great surprise was at the beginning of the evening mass the priest welcomed us by name. Very special.

 

[AJ]

We went for the stamp of the Basilica and ended up also with Testimoniums - the certificate awarded to pilgrims who walk a minimum of 70kms to Assisi.

I got one too and I didn't even walk to Assisi! I got the stamp on my Rome to Santiago/Canterbury credencial as I wanted stamps from Canterbury, Rome, Santiago and Assisi on the same credencial. I didn't ask for the Testimonium, the monk just handed it to me. He didn't even fill it in.

 

[Introibo]

Hi Hi John

You finished ! Get in there.

My time is getting nearer and the nerves are building. The weather sounds as if it's going to be a lot
wetter and colder than I'd be hoping for. Never mind. What will be, will be.

Pax et bonum

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Buen Camino

I've sent you a PM. We had some very bad weather but other days were wonderful.

John

 

[Annette london]

Buen Camino

I've sent you a PM. We had some very bad weather but other days were wonderful.

John

Hi johnnie, sounds like a great way. I got the cicerone book but wondered if there are maps and would we in fact need maps? Is it well marked? We are not able to do gps so any technology stuff is out for us am afraid!! Have been following your blog too. Best wishes Annette

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - please make sure that you have the latest updates from the Cicerone website. If you are walking from Florence please treat the guidebook with some caution as the signage is not great and the walking directions could be better. But have a sense of the direction in which you should be going. I found the navigation app on my phone very helpful.
After the Santuario La Verna signage starts in earnest.

It is a challenging but wonderful route.

John

 

[lovingkindness]

...It is a challenging but wonderful route...

Bravo, JW!

 

[grayland]

We will be walking either this route (St Francis) or the Via Francigena from Lucca in late September.

John...have you walked the VF? If not..why did you choose this one over the VF?

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - no reason really. I'd never been to Florence and thought it would be good to start there. I didn't fully realise that the first days from Florence to the Santuario La Verna aren't in any way historic or connected with St Francis and are also very difficult. I'd start at the Santuario in future. St francis was really there and the Franciscan spirituality is almost tangible.

Next time the Vf!

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi

I'm currently 9 days into walking from Florence to Rome. The first four stages were pretty taxing. I have the new guidebook by Sandy Brown. It has useful information on accommodation but the red/white waymarks are more accurate than the walking notes imho.

Although steep elevations in the first stages the views of the Tuscan countryside more than compensated. The effort of reaching the Santuario de la Verna made our visit to this holy place all the more memorable. It is certain that Francis was there and it is truly a place of peace and tranquillity.

Immediately after the Santuario yellow arrows with the Tau cross started and the route has been clearly marked. Every day I've simply used the navigation app on my phone to find the way to our accommodation.

This route is stunning and I wish I'd walked it some time ago - I'll be back.

In terms of a Credencial, I simply made my own. Copy attached.

Regards

John

Hello,

So you made your own credential? And this was accepted in Rome? I mean do they have an Office there like in Compostela?

BP

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - to put this in context in the last 10 years 5000 walking pilgrims received the certificate called the Testimonium in the Vatican. Yes I made my own Credencial as I did many times before when walking to Santiago before the Cathedral decided to implement a monopoly.
There is no pilgrims office on the same model as in Santiago.

Regards

John

 

[jirit]

We did the same and most that received our pilgrim passport were quite impressed with it.

 

[grayland]

We did the same and most that received our pilgrim passport were quite impressed with it.

Neville...Can you post a picture of the credential you made?

 

[jirit]

The pilgrim passport is on the right side

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

The pilgrim passport is on the right side

View attachment 27315

Wow, you should be manufacturing them! It could be a lucrative market...! :O)

 

[Urban Trekker]

Johnny, you probably don't remember me. We met in 2013 after I completed my first camino, the English Way using you "Gently Rolling Hills of Spain" English way guide book. It was not my last camino having walked the Portuguese way in 2014 and the French way in April and May of this year. Some of my camino family is thinking about walking the way of Assisi. Are there any maps of the route? Is there a forum? Is it all road walking or is it trail and road walking? Do you have pictures you can share? So many questions so little time.

Happy Trails

 

[grayland]

Johnny, you probably don't remember me. We met in 2013 after I completed my first camino, the English Way using you "Gently Rolling Hills of Spain" English way guide book. It was not my last camino having walked the Portuguese way in 2014 and the French way in April and May of this year. Some of my camino family is thinking about walking the way of Assisi. Are there any maps of the route? Is there a forum? Is it all road walking or is it trail and road walking? Do you have pictures you can share? So many questions so little time.

Happy Trails

Ivar has created a separate Via Francigena Foum that includes discussion on the Florence to Rome (Way of St Francis) route

https://www.viafrancigena.me/

Actually, I am planning on walking the route in September/October.
Sandy Brown has a new Cicerone guide out in English.
Johnniewalker used that guide as I recall.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Johnny, you probably don't remember me. We met in 2013 after I completed my first camino, the English Way using you "Gently Rolling Hills of Spain" English way guide book. It was not my last camino having walked the Portuguese way in 2014 and the French way in April and May of this year. Some of my camino family is thinking about walking the way of Assisi. Are there any maps of the route? Is there a forum? Is it all road walking or is it trail and road walking? Do you have pictures you can share? So many questions so little time.

Happy Trails

Hola - Of course I remember you

You will find an account of my pilgrimage on the Way of St Francis on my blog - www.johnniewalker-santiago.blogspot.com

If you decide to start in Florence the first days are "challenging" I wouldn't easily walk them again and this part of the route has only recently been devised by Sandy Brown - he's walked them, Saint Francis hasn't!

The authentic route begins at the Sanctuario de la Verna - a deeply spiritual place. The route is very well waymarked from there. There is a lot of information on the internet and an active Facebook forum:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wayofstfrancis/

I took Sandy Brown's guidebook but didn't think to download any updates because it was so recently published. Hmmmm. If you are using the guide go to the Cicerone website and make sure you print off the updates. To be honest I used the navigation app of my phone for wayfinding, google for local history and booking.com for accommodation (more than in the guidebook).

It is a lovely route - a mixture of surfaces with lots of meandering country lanes and minor roads. The scenery is fantastic.

And lots of gently rolling hills

John

 

[Urban Trekker]

Thanks John. What was your average daily cost if I may ask.

Happy Trails

 

[Kiwi-family]

They say there's not such thing as a stupid question, but this might come close;-) Did you find people had stamps? We detoured off the Via de la Plata last month to Valdeperdices which isa ctually on the route going to Portugal, but there was no stamp at the "pilgrim accommodation" (which was the village hall sans beds, so I'm not surprised they were lacking a stamp!) Just made me wonder how easily you found stamps on a non-official (as it were) route.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Stamps - the Way of Saint Francis is well known and is attracting more pilgrims every year. Every where I asked had a stamp readily available.

Budget - there are shops etc to buy supplies for breakfast/lunch. The major expense on this route is accommodation - I used booking.com and found that in most places there was a choice at different prices. Italy in general I found to be more expensive than Spain.

 

[debra]

Hello Johnnie Walker

If you are available I have a few questions. I am looking at doing this Florence to Roma or VF del sud in late January and early February by bike. 20 jan-8feb which is almost 3 weeks. I would like to know if the route in the Sandy Brown book can be done by bike? I walk the Via de Plata and felt that 98%+ was aright for a bike. Also was you advise someone to do the Way in the winter?

Thank you for your time
Debra

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola Debra

I walked this route in February this year. The first few days between Florence and Rome are clearly a modern invention by Sandy Brown and pass along established walking paths. In these early days there are significant elevations which would be unsuitable for bicycles in good weather let alone the freezing and snowy conditions I encountered.

The much more authentic route starts at the Santuario La Verna where Francis lived. There are sections which are passable by bicycle but you'll also be pushing the bike at times. However all along the route there are minor and major roads which cycling pilgrims can use. I'd rely much more on a good map or navigation device plus booking.com than a walkers guidebook which badly needs revised.

Buen Camino

John

 

[grayland]

The destructive earthquake today has greatly impacted a portion of the way.

People have lost their lives and homes. I am thinking and praying for the good people who are suffering.

 

[jirit]

This map gives you a good indication of where the original earthquake struck and the numerous after shock activity has occurred

 

[grayland]

We will be walking from Florence in a couple of weeks.
Which towns actually on the route have reported damage?