Trekking The Way of St Francis: From Florence To Assisi And Rome

by The Reverend Sandy Brown

Overview

This guidebook to the Way of St Francis describes a 550km month-long pilgrim trail through the green heart of Italy. The route begins at Florence and goes through Assisi before its climax in Rome, exploring the mountains of Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio on the way. The route is split into 28 stages, each graded from 'easy' to 'hard'. Some stages include steep climbs and descents, but no special gear is required.
Alongside a detailed route description, colour maps and accommodation information, the guidebook contains a concise biography of Francis of Assissi and stories of his life that relate to each location visited. Also included is a walking tour of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. This book is a trove of information that makes a perfect companion for anyone setting out to walk the Way of St Francis.
The Way of St Francis is one of the most popular pilgrim routes in Italy, and it offers a great range of sights: olive groves, vineyards, Renaissance Florence, the Casentino National Forest, hilltop towns, ancient ruins, mountains, the Marmore Falls, the Vatican City and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781852846268
Publisher:	Cicerone Press Limited
Publication date:	01/30/2016
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sanford ‘Sandy’ Brown is an activist, long-distance walker and ordained minister from Seattle, Washington. After reading ‘The Pilgrimage’, by Paolo Coelho, he planned his first trek on the Camino de Santiago and since then has walked over 3500 kilometres on pilgrim trails in Spain and Italy. He records his pilgrim adventures in his popular blog, www.caminoist.org.

Sandy earned his MDiv at Garrett Theological Seminary, which honored him in 2006 as Distinguished Alumnus, and has a degree in medieval history. In 1997 he earned a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary in gender, sexuality and spirituality. He was executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and most recently was senior pastor of Seattle’s historic First United Methodist Church. In his spare time he enjoys yoga, sailing and piano. He has two grown sons and his life partner, Theresa Elliott, is a yoga master teacher.

Table of Contents

Map key

Overview map

Introduction

St Francis and the Way of St Francis

Geography and climate

Getting there

Getting around

When to go

Accommodation

Eating in Italy

Budgeting and cash

Post, phones and internet

Business hours and the riposo

Laundry

Planning and training

What to take

Maps, GPS and waymarking

Using this guide

Discovering Florence1 Florence to Santuario della Verna

Stage 1 Florence to Pontassieve

Stage 2 Pontassieve to Passo della Consuma

Stage 3 Consuma to Stia

Stage 4 Stia to Camaldoli (village)

Stage 5 Camaldoli to Badia Prataglia

Stage 6 Badia Prataglia to Santuario della Verna

2 Santuario della Verna to Assisi

Stage 7 Santuario della Verna to Pieve Santo Stefano

Stage 8 Pieve Santo Stefano to Sansepolcro

Stage 9 Sansepolcro to Citerna

Stage 10 Citerna to Citt. di Castello

Stage 11 Citt. di Castello to Pietralunga

Stage 12 Pietralunga to Gubbio

Stage 13 Gubbio to Biscina

Stage 14 Biscina to Valfabbrica

Stage 15 Valfabbrica to Assisi

3 Assisi to Rieti

Stage 16 Assisi to Spello (easier route)

Stage 16A Assisi to Spello (harder route)

Stage 17 Spello to Trevi

Stage 18 Trevi to Spoleto

Stage 19 Spoleto to Ceselli

Stage 20 Ceselli to Arrone

Stage 21 Arrone to Piediluco

Stage 22 Piediluco to Poggio Bustone

Stage 23 Poggio Bustone to Rieti

4 Rieti to Rome

Stage 24 Rieti to Poggio San Lorenzo

Stage 25 Poggio San Lorenzo to Ponticelli

Stage 26 Ponticelli to Monterotondo

Stage 27 Monterotondo to Monte Sacro

Stage 28 Monte Sacro to Vatican City

Tour of the Seven Pilgrimage Churches of Rome

Appendix A Route summary table

Appendix B Useful contacts

Appendix C Language tips

Appendix D Further reading