2009 UPDATES

This website has some interesting data on the VF and the Via Romea. http://www.rometravels.com/via_francigena.html

The official magazine of the AEVF is Revista Francigena. Their articles are in Italian and English. The next issue will be June 2009.
http://www.rivistaviafrancigena.it/pdf/Sommario_28.pdf

The contents of the latest issue includes:

• Promotion of the Historical
• The opinion of Gianni Alemanno, Mayor of Rome
• An interview with Paolo Cocchi, Councillor of Regione Toscana
• P.D.O.-P.G.I. and Local Products along theVia Francigena: Focus on Lunigiana
• Present and future of Parmigiano-Reggiano (Food Culture)
• The Voice of Pilgrims: Enrico Brizzi, writer, Virginio Bettini, university professor,
  Immacolata Coraggio - a pilgrim woman, Profiles and faces along the Francigena
• Focus on: The Via Francigena in Siena
• La strada Lubecca - Roma
• The Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome

There is also a link to the http://www.associazioneviafrancigena.it/ where you can click on the English link to read up-dates and news of happenings.

The Via Appia:

The Via Appia Traiana was one of the greatest thoroughfares of the past centuries. Documents show that the Via Appia and Via Casilina were the natural continuation of the Via Francigena through the South of Italy. Beyond Rome, it headed towards Capua and then onto Benevento, Canosa, where it headed towards the ports of Puglia. From here (Brindisi) merchants and travellers set sail for the eastern Mediterranean. During the Middle Ages, it was used by pilgrims going to the Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo on Mount Gargano, and to St. Nicolas of Bari (San Nicola di Bari), as well as those heading to the Holy Land via the sea.

Via Micaelica

"The 400km Via Micaelica is so named because it connects Rome with Monte S. Angelo, where lies the ancient underground sanctuary of San Michele. It is also called "Via dell'Angelo or Francigena South" because it is the ideal continuation of the road linking northern Europe with Rome.
This route follows the route of the Roman Via Latina (known more commonly Casilina) or the Appian Way to Capua and along the Via Appia Traiana. Between 1151 and 1154 Nikulas of Munkathvera, abbot of the monastery of Icelandic Thingor, went on a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem and wrote a detailed diary in which he described routes, alternate route, the places visited. After Rome, the abbot chose the
Via Latina as the Via Appia ....."

"This route was not only used by pilgrims coming to Rome from southern Italy and the Mediterranean countries, but especially for the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. "

The way in not yet all signed. Two associations are planning to sign soon and will be specifying the refuges.

http://compostela.pellegrinando.it/sezioni.php?seid=1921

There are two guides - one by Romano Stopani:
"Guide to the Via Francigena routes in southern Italy" 2005 - pp. 112
14.50 euro and the other
Verso il Monte dell'Angelo - A piedi sulla Via Francigena del Sud, da
Roma a Monte Sant'Angelo" - Ikona edizioni, Como 2004.

New Pilgrim refuge in Rome: The Confraternita di San Jacopo officially signed an agreement withthe Suore Figlie della Divina Provvidenza last month, essentially to take over a wing of their convent for use as offices and as a pilgrim refuge. The facilities are described as 'vast'.It is in the via Galvani in the south of the city, about 3km SE of St Peter's, and will be officially opened in Holy Week withwardens/ospedalieri from the Confraternity. It occurs to me that they might welcome ospedalieri from other countries too.See report on their website http://www.confraternitadisanjacopo.it/Notizie/Ultimissime/SpedaleProvvidenza.ht/m Well done, them! (Peter Robins on the VF Yahoo Group)