Historical Via Ghibellina (from Florence to St. Francis Sanctuary of La Verna)

I walked the Via Ghibellina last summer (June 2019) starting from Florence and arriving to the Sanctuary of St.Francis in La Verna.
Then I followed the Way of St. Francis till Assisi.

This route is not very known but I hope it will have more success in the future. Researchers discovered an ancient medieval road that led from Florence to Poppi and then to La Verna on the Tuscany Appennino. Most of this route is still inside the woods. There are also some villages that are known to be one of the most beautiful in Italy, like Poppi, the Abbey of Vallombrosa, Bibbiena and Rignano. In the Middleages there were many shelter and tavern on the path. Now the pilgrims can find a shelter inside monasteries, churches and some B&B.
It's not and easy path due to the continuous ups and downs. Need to be a little bit trained and to know how to walk for a day long with everything you can need in your backpack. It's a beautiful path to discover.

I tracked the route with GPS, you can find the Via Ghibellina tracks on Wikiloc
There is a small guide made by the association Comunità Toscana "Il Pellegrino" but it's only in italian at the moment

I wrote diaries about those days on the Via Ghibellina on my blog. You can find them with GPS tracks here:

- Via Ghibellina diaries
- Via Ghibellina suggestions and GUIDE

- Via Ghibellina GPS track day 1: from Florence to Pieve a Pitiana (wikiloc)
- Via Ghibellina GPS track day 2: from Pieve a Pitiana to Prato di Strada (wikiloc)
- Via Ghibellina GPS track day 3: from Prato di Strada to La Verna Sanctuary (wikiloc)


Enjoy!