Via Francigena April 2019 - Any help most appreciated!

[Michael Vander]

Where is the official minimum starting point for getting your Testimonium? I see that some sites say Acquapendente 140 KM or Viterbo 108 KM.

Where is the easiest place to purchase a Credenzuali? Can the Credenzuali be purchased in Acquapendente or Viterbo?

What is the easiest way to get to from Rome Ciampino Airport to the Via Francigena?

Where do pilgrims stay once they reach Rome? Is there a main residence in Rome for pilgrims of the Via Francigena?

 

[Hiawatha]

The very best place to ask these questions is possibly here ,

https://www.viafrancigena.me/

Precise and useful information at a caring level equal to this forum .

 

[andycohn]

Where is the official minimum starting point for getting your Testimonium? I see that some sites say Acquapendente 140 KM or Viterbo 108 KM.

Where is the easiest place to purchase a Credenzuali? Can the Credenzuali be purchased in Acquapendente or Viterbo?

What is the easiest way to get to from Rome Ciampino Airport to the Via Francigena?

Where do pilgrims stay once they reach Rome? Is there a main residence in Rome for pilgrims of the Via Francigena?

1. Viterbo. That’s where we started and received a testimonium.

2. A complete list of places to buy or order a credencial is on the website of the European Association of the Vie Francigene. www.vie.francigene. This is the best site for information in general about the VF. You can also use the credential issued by the American Pilgrims on the Camino. Order it here: https://www.americanpilgrims.org/credential-request

3. From the Ciampino airport there are frequent trains to Termini train station, Rome’s main train station. Virtually the entire VF can be reached by train from there. Consult the website of Italy’s national railway for schedules: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html If you want to start in Viterbo, there are several trains a day from Termini, but there are more frequent hourly trains from Ostiense, one of Rome’s other train stations. To get to Ostiense station from Termini, take the blue metro line to Piramide. From there, it’s about a 400 meter walk. (At Piramide, there is also a train station, but it’s not the right one to go to Viterbo, so don’t be confused).

4. Pilgrims stay wherever they like in Rome. Some hostel-type places are listed in the European Assn. of the VF, listed above.

I recently created a resource sheet for the VF. You might find it useful. It’s attached.

Buon camino.

 

[Harington]

Where is the official minimum starting point for getting your Testimonium? I see that some sites say Acquapendente 140 KM or Viterbo 108 KM.

Where is the easiest place to purchase a Credenzuali? Can the Credenzuali be purchased in Acquapendente or Viterbo?

What is the easiest way to get to from Rome Ciampino Airport to the Via Francigena?

Where do pilgrims stay once they reach Rome? Is there a main residence in Rome for pilgrims of the Via Francigena?

It would be rare for anyone to check your credential carefully! Arriving in Rome is a bit disappointing - not at all like Santiago. Montefiascone proclaims it is 100km from the "tomb of Peter", so I'd say that was sufficient.

 

[Jury taylor]

1. Viterbo. That’s where we started and received a testimonium.

2. A complete list of places to buy or order a credencial is on the website of the European Association of the Vie Francigene. www.vie.francigene. This is the best site for information in general about the VF. You can also use the credential issued by the American Pilgrims on the Camino. Order it here: https://www.americanpilgrims.org/credential-request

3. From the Ciampino airport there are frequent trains to Termini train station, Rome’s main train station. Virtually the entire VF can be reached by train from there. Consult the website of Italy’s national railway for schedules: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html If you want to start in Viterbo, there are several trains a day from Termini, but there are more frequent hourly trains from Ostiense, one of Rome’s other train stations. To get to Ostiense station from Termini, take the blue metro line to Piramide. From there, it’s about a 400 meter walk. (At Piramide, there is also a train station, but it’s not the right one to go to Viterbo, so don’t be confused).

4. Pilgrims stay wherever they like in Rome. Some hostel-type places are listed in the European Assn. of the VF, listed above.

I recently created a resource sheet for the VF. You might find it useful. It’s attached.

Buon camino.

Andycohn, thank you for this wonderful resource.
I am planning on walking from Siena to Rome in July, yes I know it will be very hot. I am hoping to start early and finish around 10. All short days - Unlike the CF last year!
However I was wondering if you know how busy this walk is? Can I expect to see other walkers each day like you do from Pamplona to Santiago, or Pamplona to Sarria.
Judy

 

[timr]

However I was wondering if you know how busy this walk is? Can I expect to see other walkers each day like you do from Pamplona to Santiago, or Pamplona to Sarria.
Judy

@Jury taylor I walked from Canterbury to Rome last year, commencing April 1st and arriving in Rome 28th June, so a little earlier than you. You WILL meet other walkers every day on the section from Siena in July but NOTHING like the numbers on the CF.
Temperatures are a very personal thing(!) but I didn't find the heat a problem and planning to finish around 10am will give you a lot of time to fill up before an ostello/albergue would be open, or before a hotel or BnB would give you your room! I generally finished walking by mid-afternoon.
The resource listing of @andycohn is very useful. I would just add that for reasons I never found, the official francigene GPS app crashed very frequently on my iphone. And strangely the almost identical and also free Sloways app worked perfectly all the time. You may need to try the other if you have trouble with one.

 

[andycohn]

Andycohn, thank you for this wonderful resource.
I am planning on walking from Siena to Rome in July, yes I know it will be very hot. I am hoping to start early and finish around 10. All short days - Unlike the CF last year!
However I was wondering if you know how busy this walk is? Can I expect to see other walkers each day like you do from Pamplona to Santiago, or Pamplona to Sarria.
Judy

Hi Jury: I agree with timr. You’ll see some people, but not like even on the most remote section of the CF. When we walked from Viterbo in December, we saw no one. That was December, of course, but on other walks on the Via Francigena or in Italy in general, it was rare to see more than a handful of people per day. The resourse I mentioned above is the official web site. You’ll need data to access it. There’s also the official app, as timr mentions. Finally, there’s the official guidebook, which comes in both print and electronic form. All 3 are discussed in that resource sheet I previously attached. I’m partial to the guidebook myself, which is very user friendly in its electronic form, and won’t crash on you. But the app and website are free, so may as well have them, too.

 

[Doogman]

Andycohn, thank you for this wonderful resource.
I am planning on walking from Siena to Rome in July, yes I know it will be very hot. I am hoping to start early and finish around 10. All short days - Unlike the CF last year!
However I was wondering if you know how busy this walk is? Can I expect to see other walkers each day like you do from Pamplona to Santiago, or Pamplona to Sarria.
Judy

A friend and I walked the VF from Siena to Rome last summer (late June/early July). It was hot, but not exceptionally so. We finished up in early afternoon most days. We probably saw 7-8 others over the 15 day walk. It's a great journey with beautiful towns.

 

[Jury taylor]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to my query. I like walking on my own but I would like to meet a few people each day. I was surprised how much I enjoyed meeting and sharing the walk last year. Is the Assisi to Rome a more well trodden path?

 

[andycohn]

I haven't walked that at all, but my sense from reading other posts on this forum is that it is less traveled than the Francigena. I suggest you do a search on this forum for posts on the camino from Assisi, and contact the posters directly.