Via Francigena in the south: from Rome to Santa Maria di Leuca

Between Buonalbergo and Celle San Vito: from Campania into Puglia (AEVF photo)

Via Francigena nel Sud: Roma – Santa Maria di Leuca: 870 km - 37 days

September - October 2021

Walking on the Via Francigena south of Rome was unlike any of my other Long Walks so far.

This was primarily because I was walking with an organised group,  the “Via Francigena. Road to Rome 2021. Start again!” team, and though its size and membership were in a constant state of flux, the group was always there for me. Not only that, but because we were officially representing the European Association of the Vie Francigene (AEVF), our group was warmly received in practically all the towns we passed through, welcomed by the local authorities – the mayor, or the bishop, a town councillor or a parish priest – and treated to refreshments, guided tours, visits to museums and archaeological sites that are normally open only by appointment… In short, we were quite spoiled!

But I could also say that walking on the Via Francigena south of Rome was very much like all my other Long Walks so far. The basic routine was the same: waking up in the morning, packing my backpack, eating breakfast and setting off. Walking all day, meeting new people and making new friends, on the trail and in the villages I passed through. Stopping for a cup of coffee, for lunch, for a mid-afternoon break, and then walking some more. Hesitating at the sound of a barking dog (how big? Is it loose?). Eating ripe figs off the tree and getting sticky fingers. Walking in the rain and getting wet feet. Walking in the sun, with a sunburnt nose. Running out of water. Arriving exhausted, hungry and thirsty, hot and sweaty (or cold and wet). Finding time to take pictures and take notes, lying in bed fighting off sleep to catch up on my blog.  

I could even say that walking on the Via Francigena south of Rome was the toughest of any of my Long Walks so far. In addition to walking all day, dealing with the everyday challenges facing the long-distance walker – fatigue, aches and pains, carrying a heavy backpack, obtaining sufficient rest and sufficient food and water – but not too much! It’s heavy! – I also had to keep to a tight schedule. I had to arrive on time for the appointments with those authorities who were waiting to receive us, nod and smile and pose for photographs with them when all I really wanted to do was sit down on the ground and take my boots off! Tour a museum before having a chance to take a shower… or go out to dinner and socialise when all I really wanted was to crawl into bed!

On the whole, it was a unique experience, and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to walk this route as an Ambassador of the Via Francigena with the Road to Rome – Start Again 2021 team.

Bearing the Road to Rome flag on the Benevento - Buonalbergo stage (AEVF photo)

But what would walking the Via Francigena south of Rome be like for the ordinary pilgrim, walking alone?

In actual fact I did walk alone for one week, the first week in Puglia, between Troia and Bari. This was because our team split in two after Troia: the walkers took the variant of the Via Francigena leading to Monte Sant’Angelo, while another group cycled from Troia to Bari on the main route, which follows the course of the ancient Roman Via Traiana, or Trajan Way. I chose the latter route... but I didn’t have a bicycle! So I walked, as fast as I could, covering 30 to 35 kilometres a day in order to catch up with the cyclists, and the walkers who had taken the other route and then caught a train to Bari, on their rest day there. And I managed to do it, with a little help from members of the local associations that take care of the Via Francigena and pilgrims in the area, such as Pro loco Cerignola and Comitato Via Francigena del Sud Corato – Andria – Ruvo – Bitonto. They helped me find accommodations and introduced me to new friends, who showed me around their home towns and, I’ll admit it, even gave me a ride a couple of times, for those last few kilometres through the suburbs into the town centre and to my accommodation at the end of a 30-kilometre day!

These pilgrim-friendly associations, and other local associations like them in other parts of the Via Francigena – such as Gruppo dei Dodici in southern Lazio, the region you cross on your first week south of Rome – are there for all pilgrims, not just “bloggers” and “ambassadors”, and I would encourage walkers to contact them, not only for practical help and advice but for the experience of meeting some very special people along the trail, making some new friends and seeing the towns and the countryside along the way from their point of view, with their insights as members of the local community.

This is an experience you can only have on less well-travelled routes such as this one. If you’re walking the Camino Frances to Santiago, along with a third of a million other people every year, the people who live along the way might see you as either as a potential customer, or as a nuisance, depending on their point of view. But if you’re walking a less heavily travelled route such as the Via Francigena of the south, you’ll meet people who are happy to support and assist you. – You’ll also meet people who assume you must be crazy, or wonder why you don’t just drive, and they too can make for some interesting encounters and memorable conversations!

 

Discussion among walkers, members of Gruppo dei Dodici, local authorities and priest at the Monastery of San Magno, Fondi (Lazio)