Road to Rome: A pilgrimage on the Southern Via Francigena
By Stefanie Stahlhofen in Bari/Southern Francigena
With the Jubilee just around the corner, the Via Francigena is also getting ready. The Council of Europe's cultural itinerary starts in Canterbury, but does not stop in Rome. It continues south for over 900km and ends in Santa Maria di Leuca, in Puglia. Along with an international group we walked two stages of the way between Bari and Polignano a Mare.
“Rome, of course, is the reference destination of the Via Francigena, according to Sigeric's itinerary. Rome, together with Santiago de Compostela and Jerusalem, has been part, since the Middle Ages, of what are considered the three peregrinations res maiores. So, from Rome there is already a natural extension in the direction of Jerusalem, thus connecting it with the holy city,” explains Luca Bruschi, director of the European Association of Vie Francigene (Aevf). This September, the Aevf, together with the Puglia region and the European ‘hike’ project, invites people to walk and to discover the south of this important route for pilgrims. So here we are with our rucksacks on our backs and hiking-boots on our feet, along the sea or in the midst of fields of olive trees, fig trees and vineyards, between Bari and Polignano a mare.
Walking in a fairytale
29 year old Eleni Garitou arrived from Greece. A friend told her about the project, so they came to discover the route together. In Greece, Eleni has been on treks, but never on a pilgrimage. It’s also her first time in Italy and she is amazed by the beauty of the southern Francigena.
“In Greece, when I go hiking, I go up in the mountains and in the forest. I've never been in something like this. To meet people who work in the fields with grapes, to walk and see farmers, to eat the stuff that we find in the trees. It's like I'm walking in a fairytale. It has everything. It has the the sea. It has fields. It has trees. Very beautiful. I'm so impressed. And I'm very happy to be here. You have to come!”
A very deep experience
Elena Dubinina comes from Russia and accompanies this walk as Aevf`s European project manager. She has already walked many sections of the Via Francigena, as well as other pilgrimage paths:
“For me it is a very profound inner experience because by walking you learn a lot. You see so much nature, so much culture, so many different cultural sites and you meet so many local people and other pilgrims. So, you are enriched with many new things. But at the same time, there is an opportunity to reflect and look within and discover some new parts of yourself, new ideas, new points of view, all of which is very important to me.”
For those who want to meet locals as well as pilgrims from all over the world, the Francigena is great:
“Already 80 countries from all over the world walk on the Via Francigena: Italians, Germans, Americans, but also pilgrims coming from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea... They usually come not to make only one or two stages, as we do in these two days, which is more like going for an easy walk,’ explains the director of the Aevf.
All nations, all ages
Annarita from Lecce, Italy, is 64 years old. She is one of the many examples in our group to prove that there is no age limit on the Via Francigena. Annarita likes walking and meeting new people so much that she has decided to become a hostess on the historic route.
The pilgrim passport and a stamp signed by Pope Francis
This summer Annarita volunteered to welcome pilgrims in Tuscany, in Badia Pozzeveri, near Lucca. Of this wonderful experience she recounts a special episode:
“That week also two Swiss guards passed by, two handsome guys. Because the guards, when they finish their service in the Vatican, they leave Rome and return to Switzerland by foot. It's really a ritual. And one them had the first stamp in his pilgrim passport signed by Pope Francis”.
Those who have already experienced a pilgrimage know what the stamp and the pilgrim passport are. For those who have never heard of them, Luca Bruschi explains:
“It is a bit like a service card. The pilgrim who walks, at each stage, receives stamps, and it is also nice to collect them, at the beginning and end of each stage. And in some accommodation facilities, you also get reductions for sleeping’.
At the beginning of each stage on the Via Francigena del Sud the Aevf director hands out the pilgrim passport to whoever wants it. On our route from Bari to Polignano a Mare, we don’t always find the official stamp, so sometimes we just take one from some bar along the way.
Cultural and spiritual beauty
On our way along the Via Francigena del Sud we do not only see nature and creation in all its beauty, we also discover some cultural and spiritual gems. On the first day, the programme ends with a guided tour of the Angevin Castle (Castello Angioino) in Mola di Bari, where there is also a fresco depicting a Madonna and Child. On the second day, on the way from Mola di Bari to Polignano a Mare, we also pass through Borgo San Vito, which has a beautiful, small beach, right under a Benedictine-founded abbey. In the past, it also hosted minor conventual friars. Today, the convent has been converted for residential use, and there are bars and restaurants nearby. On feast days, the church is still open for the celebration of mass.
The Jubilee, Rome and the Via Francigena
It is worthwhile, then, not only to consider the surroundings of Rome for a pilgrimage along the Via Francigena, but also the Southern Francigena (Francigena del Sud). Even if, no doubt, during the Jubilee, Rome will be the favourite destination of pilgrims. “The Jubilee is an international showcase that will also turn the spotlight on the Francigena”, says Bruschi. “Speaking of numbers, it is expected that between 30 and 35 million pilgrims and tourists will arrive in Rome. Travelling along the Francigena,” continues the Aevf director, “we would be glad, if at least 50 thousand pilgrims arrived in Rome by foot, thus tripling the current numbers”. For Bruschi, it would be nice “to walk at least one, two or three months and then slowly arrive on foot” in the eternal city. “During the Jubilee this has an extraordinary symbolic, cultural and material value”.
Useful information
The walk was organised by the European Association of Vie Francigene in cooperation with the Puglia Region within the European Erasmus Sport project ‘HIKE’. The walk will be proposed again in Puglia on 27, 28, 29 September for a new stage of the Southern Francigena, from Torre Canne (Fasano) to Brindisi. There are still a few places available, though not many. For any information and reservations: www.hike-project.eu
Full link (https://hike-project.eu/hikes/via-francigena-italy/ )
In Bari the official stamp for the pilgrim passport can be requested in the Cathedral at the parish offices in Piazza Odegitria n. 30 or in the same location at the Artwork ticket office. Another place is the reception of the Basilica of San Nicola. For masses, it is possible to attend any Eucharistic celebration on the normal calendar published on the diocese website. There is no mass especially dedicated to pilgrims.
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