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We are walking Rieti to Assisi in November. I haven’t been able to find luggage transport without purchasing a hotel package with it. Any suggestions?Thank you for this, it's really interesting. I walked the way of st Francis a few years ago but when I got to Rieti it snowed so heavily I had to just take the train to Rome 2018 (I think). I came back later to finish it off. I don't think you will have that problem! I visited Greccio from Rieti, where St Francis arranged a nativity scene using the local people and animals. Will you have a chance to go there?
I’m not aware of any luggage transport but I also wasn’t looking for it. Sorry I can’t be of any help.We are walking Rieti to Assisi in November. I haven’t been able to find luggage transport without purchasing a hotel package with it. Any suggestions?
I was curious about that favorite restaurant, too, but didn't want to ask you as I thought maybe it was a "secret" of yours...like grandma's often have of favorite recipes they make
Grazie! Have you encountered wild boars or watch dogs?I’m not aware of any luggage transport but I also wasn’t looking for it. Sorry I can’t be of any help.
But you have chosen an amazing stretch of the VdF. Buon cammino!
I saw wild boars at a distance but on the first day or two from La Verna, not close to your stretch. They ran away once they saw me.Grazie! Have you encountered wild boars or watch dogs?
Thank you! Let’s discuss it over cocktails at Pretty BeachCongratulations Nick. I missed your last few posts as for some reason they didn’t come through in my news feed. So I went searching for your posts by name to see you have arrived. What a wonderful camino, we look forward to following in your footsteps - and of course that other fellow, St Francis.
I totally agree! The emotion it evoked for me gave me goose bumps, and as I am a mother it made me want to weep.Michelangelo’s Pietà, sculpted when the artist was 23 years old. This has always been my favourite work of Michelangelo’s. Words cannot describe how beautiful it is.
You betchaThank you! Let’s discuss it over cocktails at Pretty Beach
Thank you, Jungleboy, for sharing your journey on the St. Francis Camino. You not only walked a varied path with beautiful scenery, but also shared the sacred soil which Francis walked, lived, prayed and took refuge.Day 19: Re di Roma - San Pietro: ~6km
Today’s ‘victory lap’ on the Via di Francesco was a 6km limp to St. Peter’s Basilica.
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St. Peter’s was the first place I gave tours at in Rome, all the way back in 2001. It’s been years since I’ve been inside though, and I’d somehow almost forgotten just how enormous the church is. After seeing much more humble grottoes, hermitages and sanctuaries related to St. Francis on the Via di Francesco, it seems to me now that St. Peter’s is too big, that something might have been lost along the way. Plus, I’m much more of a medievalist now than I was when I lived in Rome, so these days I prefer some of the city’s smaller, older churches, such as St. Agnes Outside the Walls from yesterday, or Santa Maria in Trastevere or Santa Prassede or a host of others.
Still, there’s no denying the splendour and grandeur of St. Peter’s, and while I’m here I will mention my favourite piece in the church: Michelangelo’s Pietà, sculpted when the artist was 23 years old. This has always been my favourite work of Michelangelo’s. Words cannot describe how beautiful it is.
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And with that, my Via di Francesco has truly come to an end. This was a phenomenal pilgrimage, in my top two or three without a doubt. Hopefully there will be more Italian pilgrimages on the horizon in the years to come!
I had a scary experience on the VF...I was flanked by two snarling, cunning mutts...you could see what field work they had been trained to do...There are plenty of dogs and I am timid around them. The aggressive, barking ones have all been behind fences, luckily.
Oh...and finally, thank you for adding to our vernacular with 'upthread'....!As discussed upthread...
Thank you for following!Thank you, Jungleboy, for sharing your journey on the St. Francis Camino. You not only walked a varied path with beautiful scenery, but also shared the sacred soil which Francis walked, lived, prayed and took refuge.
True story: @Elle Bieling visited the St Theresa sculpture before we met up in Rome before starting the VdF and showed me her photo of it without comment as a test of my Rome 'credentials' to see if I knew what it was. Luckily I did!My two favorite sculptures in Rome are Michaelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s Ecstasy of St Theresa which is at The Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria.
Sometimes I wish the Pieta was in a smaller church as well.
Scary!I had a scary experience on the VF...I was flanked by two snarling, cunning mutts...you could see what field work they had been trained to do...
I talked them down but it was that rarest of occasions where I wished I had two hiking poles instead of my standard one!
Thank you, that's so nice of you to say!Nick, a huge congratulations on your achievement!
I think I can safely speak for all of us who've followed your journey (& those yet to discover these wonderful posts) by giving a big shout outfor sharing it with us. Your writing & photos were a joy plus your diligence & commitment in posting every day while acknowledging/responding to each comment & question is an admirable feat on it's own.
I do actually have a short little jaunt in early Dec. It's just a few days and I won't reveal it yet (just to create some intrigue/buzz!Not that I'm trying to move you forward before you've truly arrived & wound down in Roma but...any other jaunts between now & your visit to ourfine shores?
For those who would like to see The Ectasy of St Teresa, here it is. Since having done the Camino Teresiano (https://www.pilgrimagetraveler.com/camino-teresiano.html), she is very special to me. I think I like this one the best. It is perhaps Bernini's true masterpiece.True story: @Elle Bieling visited the St Theresa statue before we met up in Rome before starting the VdF and showed me her photo of it without comment as a test of my Rome 'credentials' to see if I knew what it was. Luckily I did!
For those who would like to see The Ectasy of St Teresa, here it is. Since having done the Camino Teresiano (https://www.pilgrimagetraveler.com/camino-teresiano.html), she is very special to me. I think I like this one the best. It is perhaps Bernini's true masterpiece.
For those who would like to see The Ectasy of St Teresa, here it is. Since having done the Camino Teresiano (https://www.pilgrimagetraveler.com/camino-teresiano.html), she is very special to me.
Though I’m not a practising catholic, both Saint Teresa and St Francis featured prominently in my primary school education. I did religious education projects on both and recall them as being the most kindly and relatable of saints, if that makes any sense at all
now I can add Camino Teresiano to the list of Caminos still to walk - which seems to be growing rather than reducing
I won't be walking the distances you walk as I am a lot older than you. The plan is to walk into Rome on my 70th Birthday. I walked the CF from Roncesvalles last year and the CP Porto to Finisterre this year.Thank you, I’ll be finished on Tuesday so fire away then!
Sounds like a great idea! It really is a fantastic pilgrimage.I won't be walking the distances you walk as I am a lot older than you. The plan is to walk into Rome on my 70th Birthday. I walked the CF from Roncesvalles last year and the CP Porto to Finisterre this year.
More or less, but not as easy as on the two caminos you've done. @Elle Bieling put together a list of accommodation which was super useful. There are some days when there might only be one or two possible options.1) Were places to stay easy to find?
A combination of pilgrim accommodation (often convents or similar), hotels (mostly) and agriturismos. The agriturismos will be helpful in planning shorter stages in the mountainous areas where there often aren't villages/towns short distances apart.2) Were there hostels or mainly hotels?
Enough for me but, again, less than on the two caminos you've done. If you're hoping to stop regularly at cafés for snacks/coffee, this walk does not often provide that option. There are quite a few stages where you need to bring your own food for lunch. I usually do this on camino anyway so it wasn't anything new for me but it does require a bit more planning.3) Were there plenty of places to eat or shops to buy food?
Thank you for your quick reply and no you haven't put me off. I will look into the agriturismos they sound like a good option. Like you I always carry some food so I will probably carry a bit extra.Sounds like a great idea! It really is a fantastic pilgrimage.
My answers below all basically follow the same theme: there is enough pilgrim infrastructure, but not nearly as much as on the caminos you've walked. It's quite rural and mountainous, so there are sometimes stages where there are no settlements between the start point and end point of the day. Walking shorter stages should be OK for the most part but on the northern route especially it may mean fewer options for accommodation/food.
More or less, but not as easy as on the two caminos you've done. @Elle Bieling put together a list of accommodation which was super useful. There are some days when there might only be one or two possible options.
A combination of pilgrim accommodation (often convents or similar), hotels (mostly) and agriturismos. The agriturismos will be helpful in planning shorter stages in the mountainous areas where there often aren't villages/towns short distances apart.
Enough for me but, again, less than on the two caminos you've done. If you're hoping to stop regularly at cafés for snacks/coffee, this walk does not often provide that option. There are quite a few stages where you need to bring your own food for lunch. I usually do this on camino anyway so it wasn't anything new for me but it does require a bit more planning.
I hope I have not scared you off. I have become used to doing more remote caminos in the last few years so I didn't find this difficult in that sense but there are fewer villages and therefore fewer options for food and accommodation than the CF or CP.
Another two questions JungleboyThank you for your quick reply and no you haven't put me off. I will look into the agriturismos they sound like a good option. Like you I always carry some food so I will probably carry a bit extra.
Thanks again.
Hello @muddy-mama, I will answer these questions for us. There is no app that I am aware of. I am also not sure what the tourist offices offer, as I did not use them. Nick can answer if he knows. As for an accommodation list, I researched the entire route, because I will finish it eventually, so technically, the answer is yes. However, I did not make a list per se, but placed the accommodations on a Google map. This info will be available shortly, as I work on my website to write up my journey, experiences and advice for pilgrims. So, sorry you will have to wait.Another two questions Jungleboy
Did you find an app for the route?
Are there accommodation lists at tourist offices?
Did Ellie do a list for the whole route or just until Assisi?
Ok that's three. I hope you are not getting fed up with me but your information is so good.
Thanks in advance
Muddy-mama
Thank you Elle. I look forward to the seeing your experiences of your journey.Hello @muddy-mama, I will answer these questions for us. There is no app that I am aware of. I am also not sure what the tourist offices offer, as I did not use them. Nick can answer if he knows. As for an accommodation list, I researched the entire route, because I will finish it eventually, so technically, the answer is yes. However, I did not make a list per se, but placed the accommodations on a Google map. This info will be available shortly, as I work on my website to write up my journey, experiences and advice for pilgrims. So, sorry you will have to wait.Elle
Not an app, but you can download the gps map from Sandy Brown’s guide for the Way of St Francis from Cicerone. It helped us when we walked it last fall.Thank you Elle. I look forward to the seeing your experiences of your journey.
@muddy-mama hello, I have finally finished my maps, with GPS tracks, and with most features that pilgrim's appreciate, including a practically exhaustive number of accommodations that I was able to find via extensive research. Please see my article Way of St. Francis Maps and Stats, and scroll until you see my map. I have also included prices, as of the end of this year, which while will eventually not be current, it will assist in being able to compare one accommodation against the other! Enjoy!!As for an accommodation list, I researched the entire route, because I will finish it eventually, so technically, the answer is yes. However, I did not make a list per se, but placed the accommodations on a Google map. This info will be available shortly, as I work on my website to write up my journey, experiences and advice for pilgrims. So, sorry you will have to wait.Elle
Buen Camino! Love your posts! I am planning on walking this Camino in May 2023. Question please. Did you pre-book your accommodations? Find accommodation when you arrived to towns? Did you use a travel agent? If so, who did you use? Any information is much appreciated. NAMASTE!Well, this is something different! After walking several caminos in Spain and Portugal in the last few years, today I started walking the Via di Francesco in Italy. It’s a pilgrimage of about 500km centred around the life of St. Francis of Assisi, starting from a sanctuary in La Verna, Tuscany, and heading south via Assisi to Rome. Wendy is not joining me for this pilgrimage but I am lucky to be walking with @Elle Bieling and her husband Rich (the fourth person in the photo below is Amanuel, an Eritrean living in Germany who we met yesterday).
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Last night we stayed in pilgrim accommodations at the beautiful and atmospheric La Verna sanctuary, which was a fantastic experience. This is where Francis received the stigmata and it’s still an active monastery, isolated in the mountains. This morning we received a pilgrim blessing from one of the monks and went on our way!
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Day 1 - La Verna to Pieve Santo Stefano: ~15km
I don’t mind city exits on camino, so I’ve always been fine to begin a pilgrimage in Lisbon or Porto or Madrid or wherever. But this — starting the Via di Francesco at a Tuscan sanctuary and immediately being plunged into a beautiful forest — was something else entirely and a spectacular way to set out on this adventure.
As a first day, it was almost perfect. After seeing the sun’s first rays hit the cross at the sanctuary, we walked in forest for the next three hours — first amidst the changing colours of autumn, and then among towering pine trees, with no signs of civilisation. The walk was short, the weather was glorious, and I had the entertaining company of Elle and Rich.
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Along the way, we picked berries and saw mushrooms, chestnuts and even wild boar. Forest walking on pilgrimage is nothing new, of course, but this felt different from what I’m used to in Spain and Portugal. I have been lucky to spend a lot of time in Italy in the last 21 years, from the jagged peaks of the Dolomites to the Greek temples of Sicily and many places in between, but this first Italian pilgrimage in the Central Apennines somehow feels new and exciting.
With a successful first day done and dusted, it’s onwards and (literally) upwards tomorrow!
@YOGRANNI, Nick, my husband and I walked together the northern section from La Verna to Assisi, so I will answer for us. No, we did not pre-book. Only the first two nights, in La Verna and in Santo Stefano, because we really, really wanted to stay at the Sanctuary in La Verna because it is a very, very special place, and Santo Stefano has very few choices. However, we did book one day ahead for the rest, which is truly mandatory to alert the rural places so they can provide you with necessities, like dinner if there are no restaurants in the area.Buen Camino! Love your posts! I am planning on walking this Camino in May 2023. Question please. Did you pre-book your accommodations? Find accommodation when you arrived to towns? Did you use a travel agent? If so, who did you use? Any information is much appreciated. NAMASTE!
Tough call! I haven’t walked any part of the Francigena so I can’t compare, but @Camino Chrissy walked the section from Lucca to Rome around the same time we were on the VdF, so maybe check out her live thread if you haven’t already. The VdF has a fair bit more elevation change than the Francigena, so it is harder by that measure. But I recommend it whole-heartedly!Having read this thread I am now totally torn - the Francesco or part of the Francigena?
JUngleboy, I am trying to connect with the Tenuta di Biscina Agriturismo without success. Have tried both whats app and their email? How did you contact them? Any ideas for me?Day 7 - Gubbio - Agriturismo Tenuta di Biscina: ~25km (including walking around Gubbio)
The Via di Francesco is nothing if not an adventure!
I spent the morning exploring Gubbio and for a brief period, the sun came out and created some amazing light. After soaking up the atmosphere of this fabulous place for a couple of hours, it was time to get moving.
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I didn’t leave Gubbio until about 10:30am and with only a 15km stage to the Eremo di San Pietro in Vigneto, the walk itself seemed almost like an afterthought. But the cammino had other plans. First, I was bitten by a dog — a small domestic dog on a leash, but still. I showed the owner where my leg was bleeding and she said it was only a little bite and didn’t seem to care much.
Then, Elle and Rich, who were well ahead of me, got in touch to say the hermitage-ostello where we had planned to stay was closed. It’s an isolated area and it’s off-season now so we had to scramble to see if we could find somewhere to stay that didn’t involve going all the way to Valfabbrica, which would have made for a 38km day.
Eventually after a few phone calls, an agriturismo a few kilometres past the hermitage came to the rescue, and now we have a beautiful apartment that significantly exceeds our usual lowly pilgrim standards, and we’re having a home-cooked dinner made for us with vegetables from the garden.
The cammino provides, as they say.
I just called the number from Google Maps or their website. But that was on about the 11th of October (last year). They might be closed for the year by now.JUngleboy, I am trying to connect with the Tenuta di Biscina Agriturismo without success. Have tried both whats app and their email? How did you contact them? Any ideas for me?
Possibly, tho on the website it says, "always open". I tried again on WApp in Italian?I just called the number from Google Maps or their website. But that was on about the 11th of October (last year). They might be closed for the year by now.
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