Here’s my itinerary – by car and train – to update the Way of St Francis guidebook this month.
I’m just back after spending three weeks (Nov 18-Dec 8) researching updates to The Way of St Francis: From Florence to Assisi and Rome. It was great fun to retrace my 2013 and 2014 footsteps, but this time with a car. During the three weeks I revisited almost every town on the itinerary as well as several important Franciscan sites I hadn’t had the opportunity yet to visit, such as Montecasale, Greccio, Fonte Colombo and Montefalco.
The result is a link on the Cicerone website update page that includes helpful new information on several parts of the walk:
- Introduction to Florence – more info on visiting the Basilica of Santa Croce
- Stage 2: Consuma – lodging update
- Stage 6: Santuario della Verna – more information on pilgrim accommodation
- Stage 8: Pieve Santo Stefano – Montecasale update
- Stage 10: Entry update to Citta di Castello
- Stage 12: Gubbio – additional visit info
- Stage 13: Biscina – new hostel for pilgrims!
- Stage 15: Assisi – scheduling information, pilgrim office info
- Stage 17: Foligno – new accommodation
- Stage 18: New entry info to Spoleto, including revised GPX track
- Stage 21: New entry to Piediluco, including revised GPX track
- Stage 22: Clarification after Labro, clarified approach to Poggio Bustone and new GPX track
- Stage 23: Rieti – new accommodation
- Stage 24: Poggio San Lorenzo – new accommodation, including info on a convent and hostel
- Stage 25: Ponticelli – new agriturismo
- Stage 26: Montelibretti – new accommodation; Monterotondo – new accommodation information at the Duomo
- Stage 27: Monte Sacro – new accommodation
Ideally, people will access the update page and carefully replace old information with new before taking the walk. Here’s a direct link to the new info also: WayofStFrancis2015updates (pdf).
As always, many people contributed to supply information, including Gigi Bettin, Salvatore Accardi, Rita Giovanelli and others. Also, it was great to meet up with friends like Feliciano, Alec, my language teachers at Comitato Linguistico and Graziella. I enjoyed making new friends, too, like Jorge Fernandez and Simone Minelli. And as always Jacqueline Zeindlinger had important suggestions. Thanks, all, for your help!
Caminoist 
Got my new long awaited guide book this week in the mail. Finally, can start making plans to hike the camino September/October of 2016. Looking forward to my camino experience. Thanks for a great guide book. Thus far, from what I have read, looks pretty thorough and the pocket size will be easy to store away in my pack. Plan to do it in the recommended 35 days from Florence to Rome. With a few hikes before the trip to Cinque Terre and Lake Como as warm ups.
Beautiful. Enjoy!
That’s fantastic that there is a new approach to Spoleto! The last couple of miles were pretty harrowing on the prior approach. Continuing on the bike path sounds great. Thanks for the update; Leslie and I may do the walk again next year.
Hi Sandy, I hope all is well. I have got your book in front of me right now, and it is so hot that yours truly cannot touch it yet; and it is burning a very deep hole on my table somehow! How did you get it to be so hot?
Two questions as follows:
1. I have got only five days to walk. From where to where would be the crème de la crème of the Via Saint Francis–if you know what I mean; and,
2. How much would it cost for those five days in late April early May, please? Would I be wiping out my Financial Empire by staying at hotels somehow?
I thank you in advance; and wishing you/your Family happy festivities. Huge blessings to everyone there-of…
You could walk to Assisi! It’s a lovely walk through the Valdichiascio. Five days prior to Assisi is Citta di Castello, a lovely town that is accessible by train. Beautiful walk – you’d have a blast! Estimates of hotel costs are in the book, so you should be able to see the necessary budget. In this stretch there are also hostels in case you’d like to economize.
What about the costs? Thank you…
Hi Anthony ~ If you look at the daily accommodation listings in The Way of St Francis you can find costs for each recommended hotel or hostel. Hope that helps ~ Sandy
Wow, this is great information.
I did el Camino de Santiago (French Way) this year and am quite excited for this new experience on the Via Francigena.
Thank you for sharing!