Walking from one destination to another is not only sustainable and social form of tourism, it allows the traveler to take all the time needed to savor every detail of the road, the scenery, and the small and big treasured found on the way, including the people met.T he following five routes, selected by Agnese Gentilini for Le Nius, are among the best ones to explore Italy making the most of this way to travel.
Cammino di Francesco (Tuscany-Umbria-Lazio)
In La Verna (Arezzo) there is a beautiful Franciscan sanctuary perched on a spur of rock surrounded by forest in the Tuscan Apennines. Here begins the Cammino di Francesco (Saint Francis’ route), the path that traces the places where the history and life of the Saint took place and which connects La Verna to Assisi and Assisi to Rome. It is a very spiritual journey, which crosses part of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio and jewels such as Sansepolcro, Città di Castello, Gubbio, Perugia, and Rieti, as well as many small villages touched by the saint.
Linea Gotica (Tuscany-Emilia Romagna)
The Gothic Line tour traces the long fortified line built by the German army in 1944 in an attempt to slow down the advance of the allies towards the north and that cuts Italy in two from Massa Carrara through the Apennines, up to the Adriatic Sea between Rimini and Pesaro, for a front of about 300 kilometers. Crossing some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Italy – Apuan Alps, Tuscan-Emilian ridge, Contrafforte Pliocenico, and the Romagna plains – this is also a path of memory that still bears the signs of the war in its trenches, bunkers, battlefield remains, tombstones, monuments, and dedicated museums.
Tratturo Magno (Abruzzo-Molise-Puglia)
Tratturo Magno which connects L’Aquila to Foggia was the most important, as well as the longest, of the five sheep tracks that constituted a network of trails that were still in use until fifty years ago. The 244 kilometers of the Tratturo Magno start on the Gran Sasso mountains and arrives in the Tavoliere delle Puglie crossing Molise and touching the shores of the Adriatic Sea. This walking tour, as well, is a journey through the history of the country, its traditions, crafts, colors, and flavors. Along the way there are plenty of churches, bridges, medieval villages, castles, palaces, all in a territory that is still little known and rich in traditions.
Cammino di San Tommaso (Lazio-Abruzzo)
Cutting Italy with a horizontal line from Rome to Ortona, Saint Thomas’s route is another deeply spiritual walk, starting from the Basilica of San Pietro in Rome and going through Lazio and the least touristy parts of Abruzzo to end at the Basilica of San Tommaso Apostolo in Ortona, the itinerary traces the path walked by the saint in the mid-1300s the by St. Bridget of Sweden who went on a pilgrimage from Rome to Ortona to visit the tomb of St. Thomas. On this tour spirituality is combined with nature, art, culture, food, and wine in natural parks, medieval abbeys, castles, characteristic villages – such as Albano Laziale, Subiaco, Tagliacozzo.
Via Vandelli (Emilia Romagna-Tuscany)
Named after the surname of its creator, the route Vandelli is a path that dates back to the end of the 1700s, when it was traced to allow the Duchy of Modena access to the sea. The journey, in fact, connects the city of Modena to Marina di Massa through the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines, the Apuan Alps, Garfagnana, and the marble quarries. This walking tour is relatively unknown and inaccessible, but also incredibly fascinating. History, legends and natural beauties are the heart of this journey. Along the way you will encounter, for example, the village of San Pellegrino in Alpe (1525 meters above sea level) where there is the medieval Sanctuary of San Pellegrino, who, according to the legend, during a fight with the Devil slapped him so hard that he took off crashing into the Apuan Alps and forming the Monte Forato which is visible from the village.