Here’s an update I sent to my friends in an email. Hope it helps.
We have a myriad of questions that we would like to pose to you as our “advance guard” in Italy. We hope not to overwhelm you but here goes….
- What guide book did you use? And how useful was it? Were the maps solid and easy to read? We have ordered Via Francigena, A Tuscan Pilgrimage, Lucca to Rome.
We used a guidebook from Cicerone that was terrible compared to the
Brierly books. The one you have ordered looks better at least based on the ratings, but the one I would suggest is put out by the European Association of the Vie Francigene (EAVF). There website is
www.viefrancigene.org (yes, “e” instead of an “a” at the end). We walked with a fellow from Germany and he had a guidebook with a lot of useful information but I don’t know if its available in English – I have attached a picture of the cover. Because our guidebook directions were confusing we found that we did not use it, we had mapping software on our smartphone that was priceless, and separate lists of accommodations from different sources. Unfortunately, the list of accommodations that I liked was way out of date. The reason I liked it was because it had addresses, phone numbers and comments about each facility.
- Is the Via Francigena from Lucca to Rome reasonably well marked? Did you ever get lost, wander off the path….lol?
We never got close to being lost. There was always way markings especially out of towns and cities. In cities they were there but more scarce. The little red and white signage is only on public buildings/posts, never on private buildings so you may go awhile in towns with nothing but just when you think you may have gone too far, another sign will show up. This is where the mapping software comes in. I highly suggest you download the Sloways App as well as the Via Francigena App. If we were in the middle of nowhere and there is a fork in the road and no way markings, I pulled up the app, expanded the map and we were able to stay on route every time. The paper based maps in the guidebooks are a page long and not expandable versus the smartphone apps. I used the Sloways app the most because it was quick to open, and I liked the “altimetric profile”. Just touch the profile and it tells you where you are and how many more hills you still have to climb
. The Via Francigena app had a few extra alternate routes which were handy, and it also has some accommodation and restaurant information listed. As soon as you download these free apps, go into each stage starting in Lucca and download the maps, then you don’t need a network connection.
- Where did you pick up your credencials? We would like to have the Italian version, if possible.
We picked up our credencial in Rome. We spent 4 days there before heading to Lucca so we had time to get it. The
vieFrancigene.org site has a list of places in Italy to pick up your credential, here’s the link -
https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/credenziali/ There are 3 places listed in Lucca, one of them being the Tourist Information Centre located just outside the train station before you go into the walled city.
- Did you have any trouble acquiring your Testimonium (the Italian Compostela) in Rome? And where did you get them?
The Testimoniums are easy to get, and virtually no lineup. I attached a couple pages from our book that tells you were you can get them. We got ours from the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi office in St. Peter’s Square but we wanted to get it from the Uffici della Canonica di San Pietro just because of the process described in the book. We talked to the Swiss Guard but the office was closed and was not going to open for another 2 hours so we went to the other office. There is no fan fare when you get you Testimonium in Rome, in fact at the office we went to, you have to write your own name on it, can you imagine! (I asked if they would write it for me in Latin but they looked at me like was insane
). The last city before Rome is La Storta and the route into Rome is almost all sidewalk or busy road except a part that goes through a park and we skipped that piece because it added extra distance. We walked into Rome but we met a number of people who were going to catch the bus or train that morning because it was not very scenic and somewhat dangerous – and they all had intentions of getting their Testimonium.
- Did you use any apps to stay on course and to point out all places of interest?
I detailed the apps we used above but there is minimal information in them about places of interest. I think the guidebook you ordered or the one I recommended will give you more information.
- I know that you called ahead to reserve your beds. Was this in alberques and were those numbers in your guide book?
Accommodations was worst part of our trip (worst being relative – we were in Italy!). First off, the list I used was way out of date and half the numbers we called were out of order, and some of the others were not in the business anymore. The apps and guidebook we used had limited accommodation information. Secondly, it was a busy time of year in Italy and most of the country took two weeks off – part for Easter, Liberty Day and Independence Day all around the same time, so it was busy especially in touristy cities like Lucca, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Siena.
I have three lists for you that I am told are regularly updated:
-
www.viafrancigenatoscana.org The first place we stayed in Lucca is part of the Tuscany Pilgrim Association and this is their website but unfortunately, it only lists accommodations in Tuscany. We stayed at a few of their places and recommend them all – but note, they only list pilgrim style accommodations. Also note – there are not many albergues like the ones in Spain and Portugal. Most have separate rooms with double beds and therefore the price is a little more.
- The
viefrancigene.org site also has accommodations at
https://www.viefrancigene.org/static/uploads/03-accoglienza-lucca-radicofani-eng.pdf and
https://www.viefrancigene.org/static/uploads/04-accoglienza-radicofani-roma-eng.pdf. It includes both low cost pilgrim accommodations and tourist style hotel information.
- “Via Francigena in Italy” pdf is attached. It also lists both low cost pilgrim accommodations and tourist style hotel information
Note: A couple of the above lists include an email address. I sent emails a couple of times with great success and got an English response. The times I called we had very little English which added to our difficulties.
7) How many days did you walk?
There are 18 staged routes from Lucca to Rome and we planned for 3 rest days, making it 21 days on the road. It had rained just before the San Quirico to Radicofani stage and in the app it said that if it rains, the three fords can be very demanding so we decided to take a transport from San Quirico to Acquapendente, skipping over two stages. We had rested a day in Siena so now we had 4 spare days. To make a long story short, we didn’t take any more rest days (mainly because the distance each day was shorter the last half) and used the 4 extra days in Amalfi.
In the first half of the walk, there are a couple days over 30 kms and some 24-28km days – we looked at trying to make them shorter but there are many days where there are no services except maybe a bar, so we pretty well stuck to the planned stages.
Additional Comments:
- Get a SIM card. You probably already do this when you go to Europe but this is the first time we did and it paid off not only for making calls but also the wifi in both ostellos and albergos (hotels) is spotty. We used TIM but had poor coverage a couple days so I plan to use Vodafone next time.
- Take an extension cord that has room to plug in 3-4 appliances – some of the accommodations have limited plugs and we had two smartphones, a camera and a powerpack. With the extension cord, you only need one European adapter at the wall and then all your appliances connect as at home
- Learn some Italian. I know Sally is pretty good with Spanish, so you may be okay.
- If you plan to take a bus, you need a ticket. Tickets can be purchase at Tobacco shops, but if you don’t see one, ask at any shop, they may just sell them.
- The first few days we walked, we saw maybe 2 or 4 other pilgrims walking in the same direction as us, but also saw as many or more walking in reverse. Some of the people we chatted with were going to Santiago but most were Italians who took a week off or even just a weekend to walk – they love the via Francigena.
- There is a Camino Forum run by a guy called Ivar. I subscribe to it and get a weekly email with people asking the same questions over and over - what shoes should I were, what equipment do I need, is it safe to walk solo, etc. Anyway, after we got back, I put up a posting about how busy it was and how hard it was getting accommodations given the holidays plus my outdated lists. I found out that the list I was using was indeed in a sad state and was being updated. The person doing the updates was only as far as Switzerland. Also, someone posted a “Via Francigena: Quickie Guide/Reference” which I have attached. It answers almost all your questions ☹. Also, someone posted their blog which is rather detailed and they stayed in some of the same places as we did – here’s the link (but don’t look at their pictures, mine our nicer ) https://therandoneurds.wordpress.
. Odd bits of flooding and animal encounters which I suppose go with the territory.
