Hello
@JohnMcK
There IS pilgrim accommodation after Rome, but not for everyday and it takes a bit of finding sometimes.
I am conscious that it is nearly four years since I made the trip and things may have changed - you might have thought for the better as time goes by, and the VFdS has been increasing in popularity but on the other hand I suspect Covid will have made things move backwards a bit.
My accommodation list (essentially) is on the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome website:
Go to the bottom of this page:
https://pilgrimstorome.org.uk/the-journey/accommodation/
BUT remember it is getting old and has not been updated I think.
My policy was always to find pilgrim accommodation if there was any, and if not, to use Booking.com. I have Italian so as a principle, I usually did not book through the site, but used it to find a place and then tried to get a phone number and contact directly. It is usually a few Euros cheaper that way - but on the other hand Booking.com is pretty reliable and includes some very cheap accommodation. Prices south of Rome are quite cheap, going up a bit again when you get to the coast of Puglia.
There are quite a few religious houses/parishes with accommodation. Accommodation can be quite seasonal.
If I were setting out tomorrow I would use these:
These are from the official VF site:
https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/accommodations-facilities/
These lists I found useful on the italian section of the VF before Rome as they make an effort to check whether places are confirmed to be open and they indicate that.
Where there IS pilgrim accommodation I found that it was particularly friendly. There are very few pilgrims and great interest therefore if a pilgrim DOES appear. And your best bet for finding the next place is often getting your host to phone ahead for you.
Generally it is always worth trying to phone ahead (or use FB messenger or Whatsapp) as people will NOT be sitting there waiting for you to come! You are likely to be a rare visitor. You really shouldn't rely on just turning up like you can on so many of the Camino routes in Spain.
I found it a great walk. I met no more than five or six other pilgrims between Rome and Brindisi. But as ever, great kindness from local people. And quite a lot of people you meet have never heard of the VF! As long as you are comfortable with that, I would encourage you. There is not a whole lot of English spoken. You can manage of course with Google translate etc, but if you want to chat you might want to learn some Italian.
I am happy to answer more questions if you have them.