Lifelong Learning Programme

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Via Francigena

Via Francigena

From Canterbury (Elham Valley) to Rome or Brindisi

RELIGIONS Catholic

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIGIOUS SITE

DESCRIPTION
The Via Francigena, Franchigena, Francisca or Romea, is part of a bundle of streets, also known as “romee routes”, which from western Europe, in particular from France, led to Rome and from there continued towards Puglia, where there were ports boarding for the Holy Land, destination of pilgrims and crusaders. The official route, faithful to that narrated by the Archbishop Sigeric in the year 990 to return to Canterbury from Rome, is divided into 79 stages and from Canterbury, crossing France and Switzerland, enters Italy to reach Rome. It has a length of 1,800 Km and, in the Italian section, it crosses seven regions - Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Tuscany, Lazio - and 140 Municipalities, for a total of 44 stages. The English Via Francigena runs along a short stretch (about 27 Km), which goes from Canterbury to Dover, which coincides with the North Downs Way. After crossing the Channel Strait, the pilgrim arrives in France, precisely in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The other French regions involved in the route are: the Champagne-Ardenne, the Picardie and the Franche-Comté. Leaving France behind, the Via Francigena crosses Switzerland in the cantons of Vaud and Valais.
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
What is known today as Via Francigena is the 1,800 km itinerary. (80 stages) covered in 79 days by the Archbishop Sigeric in the year 990 to return to Canterbury from Rome after the investiture of the Pallium Archbishop by Pope John XV. Sigeric, following the invitation of the Pope, took note of all the stages, one per day, which brought him back to Britain through Europe. His diary is therefore the most authentic testimony of the route of the Via Francigena from Rome to the Channel of that period. The Via Francigena has represented over the centuries, since the early Middle Ages, a route to Rome, the seat of the Papacy and the heart of Christianity. However, it did not indicate only a devotional path for the exclusive use of pilgrims, but a path travelled by merchants, armies, politicians and intellectuals, thus creating a primary channel of communication and exchange and allowing all those interrelations that led to the substantial unity of European culture between 10th and 13th Century.
INTER-RELIGIOUS RELEVANCE
Today, the Francigena is also a bridge between the Catholic Church, Anglican, Protestant, or simply a way to unite the various religious confessions (if not towards Rome, on the way to Jerusalem). This first European cultural itinerary highlights, perhaps today even more than in the past, the importance of intercultural and interreligious dialogue through the meeting of the three Christian "peregrinationes majores" of the medieval period, namely Santiago de Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem. To support this message of cultural and religious openness, in May 2010 it was promoted by the European Association of the Vie Francigene the "twinning" between the "Via Francigena", a European itinerary , and the "Way of Abraham" in the Middle East, a cultural tourism itinerary supported by the United Nations Alliance of Civilization, in order to promote intercultural dialogue and interreligious dialogue in the Mediterranean through tourism and cultural cooperation.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE
The pilgrimage to Rome, visiting the tomb of the Apostle Peter, was in the Middle Ages one of the three peregrinationes maiores together with the Holy Land and Santiago de Compostela. This is why Italy was constantly travelled by pilgrims from every part of Europe. Many stopped in Rome, the others descended along the peninsula to the port of Brindisi and from there they embarked for the Holy Land.
HOW TO USE WITH THE STUDENTS
- If the educational activity is held in a school in a state, region, city that is located near the Via Francigena, it would be desirable to have a guided tour in one of the sanctuaries or historical routes of the Via Francigena.

- If it is not possible to organize the visit, the class could be divided into groups and each of them could be assigned a search on a particular point of interest, thanks to the interactive map

- Being available several interactive maps - a general one of the whole route from Canterbury to Rome, another of the Italian section, another specific of the stages in Tuscany - it could be possible to virtually cover the Via Francigena in the classroom, through the use of the internet .

- On the interactive map of viefrancigene.org various interesting sites located along the way can be selected: historical centers, archaeological sites, natural parks, places of culture, religious buildings, cities, typical products.
The teacher can divide the class into "research groups" and suggest to search for information and audio-video material either on a particular area, or on a particular aspect of the route: geographic-naturalistic, historical-architectural, cultural- religious, agricultural-gastronomic.

- In addition to the materials indicated, interesting materials are added to the network every day, concerning the way and the significant religious and cultural sites along the way.
REFERENCE TO THE GUIDELINE

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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.