The Via Francigena, from Canterbury, England to Rome, Italy

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You might have seen this name on our website or in an earlier blog, so we think it is valuable to answer the question “What is Via Francigena?”

The Via Francigena is an ancient road and pilgrim route running from the UK to Rome. The trail took pilgrims on an epic journey from the starting point at the Cathedral in Canterbury, England, across the channel to France and through Switzerland before passing through Italy on their way to Rome. The route is known in Italy as the “Via Francigena”, meaning the road that comes from France, highlights of this ancient pilgrim trail includes the Alps, the rolling hills of Tuscany and the famous city of Rome.

Today, many visitors traveling along the Via Francigena, are following in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims either on foot, by bike or on horseback. The Tuscan section has been made safer and equipped with appropriate signage to aid a secure pathway for the pilgrims or ‘pellegrini’ as they’re called in Italian! It is a new trend of traveling slowly and consciously, in contact with nature and people you are visiting.

Via Francigena hikers passing in front of our agriturismo

The start of our walk just up from our Farm, Gambassi Terme

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Via Francigena - Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano

The Via Francigena runs right through the middle our farm, on the section from Gambassi Terme to San Gimignano, so we have seen many people, especially tourists following the route - our neighbours thought we were tourists at first, until they started seeing us walking up and down the road more than once! Experiencing and exploring the walk for ourselves highlighted the beauty of the rolling hills in Tuscany, dotted with the castles and abbeys within the area, we also came across a horse stable (our neighbours) with over 20 stunning horses as well as river streams in the forest trails. This time we were prepared with hiking boots, unlike our last trip to the geyser, slipping and sliding at every pebble!

Old bridges across quaint streams along the Via Francigena

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Our excursion started at our farm and ended in San Gimignano, a 13.5km walk, one of the most popular destinations of Tuscany. The whole walk is around 2.5 hours and classified as easy. If a 2.5 hour walk seems a bit too long or you'd like to stop half way to San Gimignano, Pancole is a great stop off point. Pancole is a fraction of San Gimignano and is only an hour away from La Torre by foot. It is a small town but has unique views and a relaxing atmosphere; we were fascinated by the old fashioned church, Santuario Maria. The church was reconstructed after World War II following a Nazi attack, it is said that even though the church was destroyed, the image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously left intact - gives us goosebumps.

Santuario "Maria SS. Madre della Divina Provvidenza", Pancole, San Gimignano

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Every year around the Christmas season it has been made a tradition for the 'Three Kings' to arrive with gifts on horseback to the church, which the nuns then gift to everyone who comes to the Mass - we were only going for a fresh morning walk in early January and look at what the Via Francigenca awarded us with!

Pancole, San Gimignano, the Three Kings on horseback & our friend Lydia with her gift from the nuns at the Sancutary

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Seeing the 'Three Kings' was certainly divine but the cherry on top of the icing was when we discovered that the green King turned out to be our neighbour who runs the horse stables - small world! Continuing our hike to the centre of San Gimignano, we passed by many agriturismos and wineries such as the Collemucioli which grabbed our eye as they produce organic wine, as we plan to produce. We wanted to stop by for some wine tasting however we had to keep going before it became too late to return.

Collemucioli, Pancole, San Gimignano, another quaint organic vineyard we passed through on our walk

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Walking though the vineyards on the way to San Gimignano

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The spectacular views, across the vines, to San Gimignano

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Upon arrival to the centre of San Gimignano, we felt as though we were entering into 13th century Italy! The tall stone walls as castle protection were incredible as well as the castle buildings, living spaces for peasants and aristocrats and church in Piazza della Cisterna which can be seen below - talk about blast from the past!

The large walls at the entrance to San Gimignano, as we walk into the town on the Via Francigena

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The 2.5 hour walk was definitely worth the pain from not stretching before hand as it was a lovely way to spend the late afternoon and head to San Gimignano for dinner or an aperitivo! Before our return back home, we stopped by for some tempting Italian ice-cream (to reward ourselves); we tried the 'Italian Garden' flavour (tomato, cheese and basil - strange but so tasty!) and the Vernaccia flavour - they were delicious!

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The ice-cream was so great, that when our friends James and Sofia came to visit we had to take them - they're also fans of this ice-cream place now!

The next time we decide to take a visit to San Gimignano, we will go on horseback with our neighbours who own Centro Ippico La Francigena, the horse stable and farm next door to us. The instructor Natale (the green King) organises horseback rides from his farm to San Gimignano whilst stopping to taste wine at a handful of agriturismos on the way - let's hope to stay sober on the horses! Horseback riding or walking may not be your style? Not to worry, as you can tour Via Fracigena from La Torre to San Gimignano on bike with our nearby bike rental - Land Hill Bike Rental!

Overall, Via Francigena is definitely a road to explore if you're planning to visit Tuscany, we found a lot of relaxation in discovering the nearby nature, towns and people. It is an experience that will remain with us always - especially since we'll be living on the road soon!