The Reverend Sandy Brown - The Way of St Francis

About the Author

Sanford Sandy Brown is an activist, long-distance walker and ordained minister from Seattle, Washington. After reading The Pilgrimage by Paolo Coelho in 1992 he planned his first trek on the Camino de Santiago, and since then has walked over 7500 kilometers on pilgrim trails in Spain, Switzerland and Italy. He records his pilgrim adventures in his popular blog, www.caminoist.org.

Sandy earned his Master of Divinity at Garrett Theological Seminary which honored him in 2006 as Distinguished Alumnus and has a degree in medieval history. In 1997 he earned a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary in gender, sexuality and spirituality. He served United Methodist churches as pastor for over 30 years before devoting himself full-time to pilgrim trekking.

In his spare time Sandy enjoys yoga, sailing and playing piano. He has two grown sons and his wife, Theresa Elliott, is a yoga master teacher.

THE WAY OF ST FRANCIS

VIA DI FRANCESCO: FROM FLORENCE TO ASSISI AND ROME

by Sandy Brown

JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS,
OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL
www.cicerone.co.uk

Sandy Brown 2015

First edition 2015, reprinted 2017 and 2019 (with updates)

ISBN 9781783622450

Printed in China on responsibly sourced paper on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated.

Route mapping by Lovell Johns www.lovelljohns.com Contains OpenStreetMap.org data OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA. NASA relief data courtesy of ESRI

Acknowledgements

A big thanks to Jacqueline Zeindlinger, who pored through German language guidebooks to help me learn more about the route. Thanks to my sister, Lori McCarney and her husband Rick who hosted me as I wrote the proposal. My language school, Comitato Linguistico in Perugia, gave me confidence to speak Italian. The help of several Italians was crucial: Gigi Bettin, The Most Rev Paulo Giulietti, now the Archibishop of Lucca, Salvatore Accardi of Il Mestiere di Viaggiare and Chiara dallAglio and the leaders of Sviluppumbria who helped launch this book in November 2015 in London. Thanks to each of them, along with First United Methodist Church of Seattle that blessed me with a Garmin GPS, and Robin Werner, who lent his excellent Sony NEX-7 camera.

Of course, the book would not have happened without Jonathan Williams of Cicerone. Lois Sparling, Cicerones Editorial Production Manager, always had helpful insights and Georgia Laval vastly improved the text and its coordination with maps and photos. My wife and walking partner, Theresa Elliott, was a constant and joyful inspiration each step of the way. The book is dedicated to all who hope to find adventure, spirit, and joy in the ancient paths of the Saints.

Updates to this Guide

While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/626/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to updates@cicerone.co.uk or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal LA9 7RL.

The route maps in this guide are derived from publicly-available data, databases and crowd-sourced data. As such they have not been through the detailed checking procedures that would generally be applied to a published map from an official mapping agency, although naturally we have reviewed them closely in the light of local knowledge as part of the preparation of this guide.

Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk.

Front cover: Views down to Spello and the Tiber Valley along the upper trail from Assisi (Stage 16A)

The Duomo, tower and main piazza of Spoleto (Stage 19)

Signs in Casentino Park showing trails to nearby mountains (Stage 5)

INTRODUCTION

With your pack on your back you have rounded the last bend of the Tiber River. You have walked past the looming brown hulk of Castel SantAngelo, past some offices and stores and, with 140 stern, saintly and stony witnesses watching from the colonnade above, you have stepped out of Italy and into bustling Saint Peters Square. This is holy ground, the Vatican City for millions the center of the world. After many days of walking you should be exhausted, but instead youre exhilarated.

Vittorio Emanuel II Monument in Rome (Pilgrim Churches Tour)

Before you is Michelangelos spectacular dome, soaring over the tomb of St Peter. To your upper right is the Popes balcony where he speaks to tens of thousands of the assembled faithful. Beyond is the treasure-filled Vatican Museum. Behind you are relics of Ancient Rome, its temples and palaces sprinkled within one of the worlds most beloved and beautiful modern cities.

Around you are pilgrims from all over the world, here like you to experience the drama and grandeur of this place. They came in a bus or train or car; but like millions of pilgrims from centuries past who spent weeks or months getting to this very place, you walked. You feel your arrival in a joyful heart, but also you feel it in your bones and muscles and on the soles of your weary feet. You take off your pack to rest your back after a journey of many kilometers, and with a mixture of relief and joy you think back over your amazing pilgrimage the Way of St Francis.

Interior of St Peters Basilica, Rome (Stage 28)

Stretching out over 28 days and 550 kilometers, the Via di Francesco unveils countless unforgettable wonders. In Florence are the smooth, muscular lines of Michelangelos David, the amazing heights of Brunelleschis dome, the heavy bells of Giottos tower and intricate details of Ghibertis bronze doors. After Florence are countless medieval and Renaissance churches and monuments that stand in timeless testimony to a peoples enduring faith over many centuries. In Assisi are delicate frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto. Roman amphitheaters, Etruscan arches and relics of saints dot the path that traces a pilgrim walk through cities and villages but also under the shade of mighty forests and ancient olive groves.