The Via Francigena
In 994, Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, set out on foot from Rome to his episcopal see in England. In his diary, he recorded the 79 Italian stages of his return journey, thus providing us with the first written record of what would become Europe's most famous medieval route: the Via Francigena.
Not a single road, but a system of routes and variants that connected Northern Europe with the Eternal City, along the ancient Roman consular roads. The name "Francigena" indicates its origin: "road that comes from the land of the Franks," that is, from the lands beyond the Alps. A route of faith and culture, also known as the Via Romea, which in subsequent centuries was followed by thousands of pilgrims on their way to Rome, Santiago de Compostela, or the Holy Land, during and after the Crusades.
But the Via Francigena was much more than a pilgrimage route: it was a channel for the exchange of ideas, art, and goods, contributing to the economic and cultural growth of the territories it crossed. Declared a "European Cultural Route" by the Council of Europe in 1994, it is today recognized as a symbol of a Europe united in the diversity of its landscapes, heritage, and cultures.
Lucca, a stage of art and hospitality
For centuries, Lucca was a strategic hub along the Via Francigena. Situated between the major routes to Parma, Florence, Pisa, and Luni, the city offered hospitality, markets, hospitals, and places of worship, becoming an obligatory stop for travelers and pilgrims.
Stories and places of pilgrims
Even today, entering Lucca through Porta Santa Maria is a captivating experience. After crossing the Serchio River Park and skirting the imposing Renaissance walls, the pilgrim encounters the Basilica of San Frediano, with its famous golden mosaic, the church of San Michele in Foro, the lesser-known but precious church of Santa Giulia, and the nearby Lucca headquarters of the Order of the Tau, which for centuries dedicated itself to the care and protection of pilgrims.
The journey culminates in the Cathedral of San Martino, where the legendary is kept Holy Face, a medieval icon object of great veneration, and where an enigmatic carved labyrinth on a pillar continues to fascinate scholars and travelers.
The Credential It is the document which certifies that the holder is making a pilgrimage to any place of worship. “identity card” who accompanies the pilgrim during his journey, guarantees the authenticity of the pilgrimage, identifies the pilgrim, allows access to the facilities that host pilgrims and allows one to receive certification of the completed pilgrimage from the competent religious authority.
The Credential can be requested at
- Museum of the Cathedral of San Martino
Piazza Antelminelli 55100 Lucca
Tel: +39 0583 490530 – info@museocatedralelucca.it
Open every day from 10:00 am to 18:00 pm - Tourist Center
Piazzale Ricasoli 203, Lucca
Tel. +39 0583 494401, cel. 338 8213952
Open every day from 9:30 am to 19:00 pm - Camaiore Infopoint
Piazza San Bernardino, 1, Camaiore
tel. 0584 986272
Open from July 1st to September 30th
10:00 am - 13:00 pm and 16:00 pm - 20:00 pm
The stamps The credential attests to the pilgrim's passage through various locations and the date. To be valid, they must be affixed by official state bodies, religious organizations, competent associations, or pilgrim hostel managers.
The stamp on the credential can be received at
- IAT Old Gate San Donato
Verdi Square – Lucca
Open from April 1st to October 31st 9:30 am - 18:30 pm
From November 1st to March 31st 9:30 am - 16:30 pm
tel. 0583 583150 - Lucca Walls Infopoint
Castle of Porta San Donato new
tel. 0583 442213 - Cathedral of San Martino
San Martin Square
Tel: 39 0583 490530 - Municipal library
Hospitaller Square Altopascio
tel. 0583 216525 - Public Relations Office of the Municipality of Pietrasanta
Matteotti Square, Pietrasanta
tel. 0584 795234 - Public Relations Office of the Municipality of Camaiore
San Bernardino Square, Camaiore
tel. 0584 986202 - Pilgrim's Hostel
Via Madonna della Pietà 1, Badia, Camaiore
temporarily closed - Athena Museum
Piaggia Street, 74 Capannori
tel. 39 0583 428784 – /Athena Museum
The Testimonium It is the document certifying the completion of a pilgrimage to Rome for devotion's sake. In historical tradition, it attested that the pilgrimage had been completed and the vow fulfilled.
The Testimonium is granted to pilgrims who have traveled at least the last 100 km on foot or at least the last 200 km by bicycle.
It is issued by the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi office and at the offices of the Canonica di San Pietro, upon presentation of the stamped credential for the required route.
The Lay Testimonium certifies the journey undertaken along the Via Francigena for reasons that are not strictly religious, but also cultural, spiritual, personal, or related to the travel experience.
It certifies the completion of a recognized route and preserves its symbolic value. It is issued free of charge to pilgrims who demonstrate having completed the entire route by completing the stamps on the official EAVF credential.
The Lay Testimonium it can be received in Lucca at:
- IAT Old Gate San Donato
Verdi Square – Lucca
Open from April 1st to October 31st 9:30 am - 18:30 pm
From November 1st to March 31st 9:30 am - 16:30 pm
tel. 0583 583150 - turismolucca@luccaplus.it - Lucca Walls Infopoint
Castle of Porta San Donato new
Open from April 1st to October 31st 9:30 am - 18:30 pm
From November 1st to March 31st 9:30 am - 16:30 pm
tel. 0583 442213 - info@turismo.lucca.it
Before arriving in Lucca you can find hospitality along the route:
In Pietrasanta
The Diocesan House La Rocca It offers pilgrims year-round accommodations with 6 beds and 10 floor mattresses, a bathroom, and a shower. Sheets are not provided. Dinner for at least 6 people can be arranged with advance notice.
A €10 maintenance fee is required.
Via della Rocca, 10 Pietrasanta
for information: casarocca@tiscali.it – tel. +39 0584 793093 – 0584 793094
In Camaiore
In the rooms adjacent to the ancient Benedictine AbbeyPilgrim's Hostel, a simple yet comfortable facility, open year-round, with 24 beds and catering. A maintenance fee of €25,00 is required, excluding linens, which can be rented for €4,00.
Via Madonna della Pietà, Badia area ostellodicamaiore.it
For information: tel. 39 3332672436- info@ostellodicamaiore.it
La Pilgrim's House of Valpromaro It is located in the rectory of the Valpromaro church and offers hospitality year-round. It sleeps 35 in bunk beds and floor mattresses in multiple rooms, including breakfast, a bathroom and shower, washing machine, Wi-Fi, and use of the kitchen. Pets are welcome. A donation is requested for maintenance.
Via Comunale Freddana, 15 Valpromaro (Lucca)
page FB Valpromaro pilgrim's house
For information, call 0584 956028 – valpromaro@gmail.com
Lucca
The San Frediano Hostel It reserves beds in multiple rooms with shared bathrooms daily for pilgrims (in possession of a Credential for all the Ways) at a special rate of 17/19 euros depending on the season, including breakfast and cleaning.
At the internal restaurant InPasti San Frediano, it is possible to consume the “Pilgrim's Meal” for 15 euros.
Cavallerizza Street 12 – 55100 Lucca
luccahostel.com
info and reservations: tel. 0583 586761
info@luccahostel.com
The Parish of SS. Michele Paolino Alessandro offers pilgrims the Pilgrimage San Davino with 12 beds and a refrigerator, clothesline, bike and luggage storage, donation requested.
Via San Leonardo 12 55100 Lucca
luccatranoi.it
for Information and reservations: +39 366 1062641 / +39 058353576
sandavino@luccatranoi.it
Statio Peregrinorum Pilgrims are welcomed at the Archbishop's Palace. Backpacks can be left there. Credentials and Testimoniums can be stamped.
The entrance is to the right of the main entrance door.
Arrigoni Square
tel. 333 4461186
open from April 20th to October 10th
orario 11:00-13:00 / 15:00-18:00
Hospital of St. Martin and St. James offer Dinner, overnight stay and breakfast with a donation, 16 beds in multiple dormitories for 6 or 4 with bunk beds
Via della Rosa 38 (behind the Archbishop's Palace). By donation.
tel. 333 4461186
open from May 1st to September 30th
opening hours from 2.30pm
Pilgrim's Mass
Monday to Friday
19:00 PM – Church of San Giusto, Piazza San Giusto
Saturday
19:00 PM – Cathedral of San Martino, Piazza San Martino
Sunday:
19 hours: 00 -
Basilica of San Paolino, Via San Paolino
Domenica
10:30 am – St. Martin's Cathedral – readings in English, Spanish, French, and German.
La first reception facility found upon leaving Lucca it is in Capannori:
The Rio di Vorno Hostel It's a property along the Northern Variant of the Via Francigena, at the foot of the Monti Pisani. It can accommodate 12 people in two double rooms and two spacious quadruple rooms, all with private bathrooms. It's suitable for small groups or families. Breakfast is served in the bar/restaurant, which offers coffee, cappuccino, jams, homemade cakes and pastries, fruit juices, and fresh bread.
Laundry and garden available.
Via del Folle Mansi 1, Vorno (Capannori)
For information: tel. +39 0583 971081 – ilriodivorno.it info@ilriodivorno.it
At the rectory of the Ancient Abbey of San Pietro in Badia di Pozzeveri in Altopascio theSan Pietro HospitalIt can accommodate 20 people with shared bathrooms, kitchen use, and Wi-Fi. Accessible to people with disabilities. Overnight stays are by donation. Volunteer hosts are available from March to mid/late October (at other times, reservations are required). Reservations are accepted; credentials are required.
Badia Pozzeveri, Church Street, Badia Pozzeveri (Altopascio)
for information and reservations: 338 4957991 ospitanzesdfodv@gmail.com
In the centre of Altopascio the Foresteria La Pistacchia with Ten beds in dormitories with shared bathrooms. Accessible to people with disabilities, and overnight stays with a donation. Reservations are accepted, and credentials are required.
Ricasoli Square 32, Altopascio
for information and reservations: 338 4957991 ospitanzesdfodv@gmail.com
The Via Francigena is the backbone of a cultural, religious, and even touristic narrative.
In the Lucca area, some traditional and other contemporary events are closely linked to the Via Francigena, and throughout the year, you can experience festivals and historical celebrations commemorating the pilgrims' passage. Learn about all aspects of the Via Francigena: from medieval reenactments to accounts of an era when the figure of the pilgrim was a constant in the stories and everyday culture that have always accompanied these great European itineraries, the contemporary era. New pilgrims gather at festivals and non-competitive "marathons," in the spirit of the journey, to share experiences and landscapes.
We're off to a good start! In May, the Francigena Running race follows the same route, but runs from Pietrasanta to Lucca, along the Via Francigena.
On April 27th, Lucca celebrates the feast of Saint Zita. In her memory, the miracles she performed are remembered, including the transformation of bread into flowers, which pilgrims are always present at, and the episode of the famous pilgrim who drank from the water transformed into wine at the Fatinelli spring. During these days, in honor of the saint and the miracle of the flowers, the square in front of the church of San Frediano is transformed into a garden, as are the surrounding hamlets, the amphitheater, and the Piazza dei Muratori.
Events are concentrated in the summer months, which are more suited to outdoor activities, and celebrations for St. James, the patron saint of pilgrims, are held annually.
It is celebrated on July 24th and San Jacopo, in Altopascio, throughout the month with markets, festivals and historical reconstructions of medieval life in the village and in the Hospitale dei monaci del Tau.
In Camaiore, at the Abbey, dinners are held during the summer featuring faithful medieval reconstructions of the abbey and guided tours led by the Abbot himself, reminiscing about the times when the monastery was active. Historical accuracy is also evident in the food, carefully prepared according to medieval recipes.
To relax and immerse yourself in more meditative and intimate settings, in the summer, Lucca and Porcari host the "Francigena International Arts Festival," dedicated to the road, with many musical and cultural events to spread and embrace the culture, traditions, and concepts that pertain to the Via Francigena.
During the first weekend of September, Nozzano Castle hosts Tuscany's oldest medieval reenactment festival, "The Castle Relives." A rich two-day program featuring fire-eaters, jesters, stilt walkers, minstrels, singers and musicians, soldiers and duelists, angels, witches, harlequins, friars, and beggars, in a continuous and ever-changing afternoon and evening show. And finally, haute cuisine—medieval, of course—with a final toast featuring Hippocrates!
During the same days, the historic center of Camaiore hosts "The Discovery of Medieval Camaiore and the Via Francigena." Parades, historical reenactments, performances, and scenes of daily life set in the Middle Ages are featured, along with moments dedicated to fine dining, with tastings of typical products and medieval wine. A two-day event showcasing the ancient route traveled by pilgrims to Rome.
September 13th and 14th in Lucca's historic center – Luminara and Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A long historical procession through the city streets, lit by small candles.
At the end of September, two major sporting events will take place along the Via Francigena: FrancigenAmica, from Camaiore to Pietrasanta, a walk for all those dedicated to rediscovering this stretch of the Via Francigena, and the Francigena Tuscany Marathon. This unique event, a non-competitive walk and free passage, celebrates the values of solidarity, equality, and spirituality of the Sigeric Way. Four routes of increasing difficulty, 10, 11, 22, and 42 km, from Pietrasanta to Lucca, passing through Camaiore and Massarosa.
Finally, on November 11th, in Lucca, during the short summer days of San Martino, San Martino di Tours is celebrated. The feast is dedicated to the titular bishop of Lucca Cathedral, known for the episode of the gift of his cloak to a poor pilgrim.
Towards Altopascio, the medieval heart of the journey
Leaving Lucca through the medieval San Gervasio Gate and the neoclassical Bring Elisa, the Francigena continues in the Lucca countryside, between Romanesque parish churches and rural villages.
Lucca's stages and how to travel them
Before continuing, a stop at the Sanctuary of Santa Gemma, beloved saint of Lucca, is almost a ritual. The journey then continues through the municipalities of Capannori, Porcari, Montecarlo e ALTOPASCIO, an ancient hospital center known throughout Europe for its hospitality to medieval pilgrims.
Are you planning your journey?
Here are some tips and sites that might be right for you!
