The Via Francigena with Sandy Brown, Luca Bruschi, Julia Lewis and Beatrice Moricci
A journey from Great St Bernard Pass to Rome: join our panel of expert guests to explore the Italian section of this 1900km pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome.
Sandy Brown is an ordained minister, community activist and long distance walker from Seattle, Washington. He is the author of Cicerone's guides to the Via Francigena, the Camino de Santiago: Camino Francés, and author of Cicerone's guide the Way of St Francis, another pilgrimage route through Italy.
Joining from Fidenza in Italy, Luca Bruschi is the executive director of the European Association of Vie Francigene. Luca explains the history of the route, the work by his association and how an 8th century pilgrim trail is important for offering European unity today.
Another key organisation for the Via Francigena is the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome. Their secretary Julia Lewis joined us from near the beginning of the trail in Canterbury, England and shared her experience of walking the Via Francigena in 2015. Listen to Julia to discover the highs and lows of the route, and the importance of rewarding yourself with gelato after a long day walking.
Our final guest joined us from the Via Francigena itself, from a cafe in San Quirico d’Orcia, Tuscany. Beatrice Moricci is currently walking the Via Francigena from Great St Bernard Pass to Rome and then to Santa Maria di Leuca. A fantastic photographer, Beatrice shares some of her photography from the route and the stories of the people in the photos, as well as what it feels like to walk the Via Francigena now in summer 2020.
