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The “Via Francigena” and the Pistoia itineraries

Since medieval times Pistoia has been connected with a section of the Via Francigena, a series of routes that linked Canterbury to Rome, and which became the pilgrimage route par excellence as the convergence of the routes for the three great destinations of the Christian faith: Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela.

At the time when pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was at its height, it was the route most-travelled by Italian pilgrims, known as “romei”, who were heading towards the distant sanctuary of Galicia and by those who, vice versa, were travelling from France to Rome. 

The Via, founded by the Longobards, was travelled for centuries by thousands of pilgrims. Along its paths that connected the whole of Europe, cities, monasteries, churches, hospitals and hospices sprang up, but they were also the scene of experiences and exchanges between different cultures.

One of the main branches of the Via Francigena, that added Pistoia to the pilgrimage network connected to the worship of San Jacopo, runs through the area. Situated at the northern margins of the Arno basin and at the foot of the Apennines, Pistoia, a city of transit, was one of the major points of passage in the trans-Apennine road system. The main routes that crossed the territory were used by a multitude of pilgrims and merchants. Travelling down these ancient routes today (at certain points the current route may differ slightly from that in medieval times) brings us to small centres of great historical and scenic importance.

Itinerary 1 Pistoia - Fucecchio (VII, VIII, IX) 
After crossing the Arno at Fucecchio the route split into different roads. One route, beyond what is today Castelmartini, proceeded along the western slopes of the Montalbano area, continued along the high ground of the Montalbano passing by Cecina, and then descended into the plain to the south of Pistoia near Casalguidi. A second route reached Lamporecchio passing by the monastery of San Baronto. And a third, today known as Via Francesca, passed through the valley of Monsummano, rejoining the via Cassia at Pieve a Nievole.

Itinerario 2 Pistoia – Lucca (I.b)
Going towards Lucca the route crossed through the Serravalle pass, came to what is now Pieve a Nievole, and finally, crossing the Pescia river, arrived in Lucca.

Itinerario 3 Pistoia – Bologna (II)
Towards the Apennine passes the most walked route from the early middle ages was the “via Francesca della Sambuca”, which, leading onto the Roman “via Aemilia”, eventually arrived in Bologna.