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 Florence

1 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

January 2020

Update

January 2018

Updates

A very useful guide book for anyone contemplating the St Francis Way.

The first section of the book is devoted to practical issues after a preamble about the history of the route. Advice is given about public transport, how to get a Pilgrim Certificate, best times to walk, what to carry, opening times of shops, restaurants and so forth, budget, itinerary and other useful information that is needed. The four appendices at the rear of the book give language tips, route overviews and other useful information. I can't think of anything useful that has been omitted.

I believe that Sandy Brown has written a very useful guide book for anyone contemplating the St Francis Way. There is a host of useful information, mapping and GPS provided that I think would enable a hiker to complete the route safely. The walk looks challenging and passes through beautiful areas of Central Italy. The weak part of the book for backpackers is the lack of information about camping but we do have the internet now to overcome that problem. Also, if a camp site couldn't be found en route I suspect a few nights in a B&B would be very welcome to most pilgrims.

Jon Ivins, Backpack magazine

"Guidebooks have been all but drowned by the rising tide of free digital content. But specialist guides written by cognoscenti and offering in depth, practical advice, flourish. Even in the age of GPS, pilgrims need help in staying on the straight and narrow. [This guide] steers the walking enthusiast some 345 miles... with excellent maps and detailed routes".

The Tablet

"Perhaps the easiest to follow guide and one of the most thorough guides I’ve come across for an adventure of this kind. If more guidebooks were so thoughfully put together and so easy to follow, it might just keep worries at bay and get more of us out there doing instead."

Hannah, That Adventurer Blog

"What better way to honor St. Francis’ respect and compassion for nature - much-needed today - than to walk in his footsteps along the Via di Francesco, a 550-km route in central Italy, departing from Florence and ending at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, passing through the green heart of Italy, Umbria, and, most importantly, the places and paths touched and loved by Francis himself."

Read more of this article and an interview with the author at Italy Magazine

What makes the itinerary as suggested by Sandy Brown stand out is that it combines the most important sites identified with the life of St Francis into a 550-km long walk, while taking great care to make each of the 28 stages of this walk an enjoyable and scenic daily experience with easy access to services and economical overnight lodging.

A review from Slow Italy

The Way of Francis is a timely trekking guide to a pilgrimage route from Florence through Tuscany, Umbria and Assisi to Rome and its seven pilgrim churches. It specifies the dimensions, highlights and difficulties of each stage in a trip which covers 550 kilometers in 28 days. It pays particularly attention to all the places linked to St.Francis, such as Greccio where he made the first nativity crib and Assisi where he began his mission and where he lies. He came to Rome several times and his memory is preserved at the San Francesco a Ripa church in Trastevere where the cell he occupied can be visited. The American author, Sandy Brown, is an Methodist minister with a degree in mediaeval history. The Way of Francis is a detailed, practical guide well-supplied with maps, graphics and photos as well as historical and cultural ‘boxes’.

See more at: Italian Insider

"Your travel guide on St Francis' way was of great inspiration and I will be using it this summer. It really inspired me to do more hikes this year in the UK too. Can't wait to see which other surprises you have for us!"

Coralie, Tea Time in Wonderland