CULTURE AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE
CG/CULT (11) 10
E
THE VIA
FRANCIGENA EUROPEAN CULTURAL ROUTE:
ORIGINS, DEVELOPMENT, OPERATION, AND INVOLVEMENT OF
LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES
By Mrs
Adelaide TREZZINI
President of
the International Association Via Francigena
Secretary General, Ladies and
Gentlemen
The short
time available to me means that I have to be relatively concise, because this
is in reality a very vast topic, ranging from the establishment of cultural
routes in general to the way one route in particular operates, the Via
Francigena (VF), for which I am partly responsible.
The routes create a cross-cultural pan-European
space across state boundaries, an open space in which it is possible to seek
new solutions, to try out new ideas, share experiences… and “push back the
horizon”,
as a former
Director of the Culture and Cultural Heritage Division of the Council of Europe
put it.
The COUNCIL OF EUROPE CULTURAL
ROUTES PROJECT began as follows (information
provided by the Director of EICR: the European
1964: a working group entitled Continuous Europe put forward a cultural route project
Its main aims were to increase awareness:
1. of
a real European cultural identity
2. of
the relationship between European cultural geography and the possibility
of establishing tourist networks
3. of
European cultural heritage, by preserving and enhancing it as a source
of social, economic and intercultural development
4. of
the value of cultural tourism in the leisure activities of Europeans by
creating major sites and crossroads of European civilisation
A cultural route is taken to mean a route
covering one or more countries or regions organised around a theme of European
historical, artistic or social interest, by virtue either of the geographical
route followed or the nature and scope of its range and significance.
In 1985 the Council of Europe proposed the
Three challenges were clear from the outset:
1. A political challenge: to make the
programme a catalyst for renewed European social cohesion
2. A challenge of identity,
without ignoring differences
3. A democratic challenge,
to extend cultural tourism to a broader section of society
Twenty years on, typical themes underlying the cultural routes programme
are:
·
Peoples
·
Migration
·
Major currents of civilisation
·
Pilgrim
ways: Santiago de Compostela + VF; the Celtic, Viking and
Phoenician Routes, the Mozart Route, the Silk Route, the Baroque Route, among
others
ORIGINS of
the Via Francigena Cultural Route
To return to today’s topic, I can sum up the history of the VF as
follows:
In 58 BC,
Julius Caesar opened a “Via Romana” which rapidly became the backbone of the
road system of Western Europe, the shortest route between the North and the
In the wake
of the Arab dominion over
In
Over the
centuries the road changed its name, depending on the origins of those using
it: "Via Francigena" or
"Francisca" in
In 1154,
when crossing Lake Geneva in
The Via
Francigena was used above all by popes, emperors, bankers, merchants, pilgrims
and brigands. When Holy Years were proclaimed, starting in 1300, the numbers
using the route could often amount to tens of thousands of persons a year.
The
pilgrimage to
Significant
sections of paving and Roman and medieval tiles from the Via Francigena are
still to be found in
The Via Francigena Project aims to link these remains as a thread running
through the history, religion, art and economy of
By way of
introduction to how it developed, allow me to quote a few extracts from the
preface by the Director of EICR to the Guide-Vademecum published in 2002:
“In 1994 on
the representation of the Italian Ministry of Tourism, the Committee for
Cultural Itineraries of the Council of Europe agreed to promote the theme of
the Via Francigena, to complement that of the
Work groups
were set up by the Ministry of Tourism, and exhibitions and conventions were
organised. A leading objective of this initiative was of course to set up a
route for the Jubilee in
For the
first two years, the itinerary and the network it engendered was financed by
the European Union. But ministerial strategies evolve and the Ministry of
Tourism turned to a more decentralised structure, allowing local authorities to
form their own plans. The initiative of relaunching a truly European
co-operation fell to Mme Adelaide Trezzini, who decided, a few years ago, to
create an Association to promote the historical study of the way and provide
pilgrims as well as tourists with information on lesser known sections.”
DEVELOPMENT
of the VF project
My enthusiasm and
commitment to restoring the VF as a European cultural route came about by
chance. In 1995, perhaps because of my dual Swiss and Italian nationality, I was
asked by ANGT (Italian National Association of Tourist Guides) to promote the
VF in
The sequence
of stages in which the
project developed was dictated by an instinctive logic since I had no
experience other than my training as an art historian.
It was
crucial to be certain of a number of key factors:
q
In order to carry out this research,
initial contact was made with the religious and civil regional authorities
in the cantons of Valais and Vaud and with the Swiss Register of Historic Roads
in
4.
And of course it
was vital to secure the support of the
Council of Europe (CE): when
we submitted our project “the
q
In September 1997 the AVF
(Association Via Francigena) was set up as a private-law, non-profit making,
non-religious and apolitical body with the Secretary of the Pontifical Cultural
Council Bernard Ardura, the Geneva academician and archaeologist Charles Bonnet
and ANGT as its founder members.
q
A year later, in September 1998,
José Maria Ballester of the CE acknowledged that the action taken by AVF fell
under the CE cultural routes and asked us to collaborate with other bodies and
associations with a view to creating a European VF network.
q
To this end, EICR signed a partnership
agreement with AVF in the same year, which was then renewed up until 2003.
5.
The promotion and
publicising of the VF project in regions which were
completely unaware of it took place largely through
q
the website francigena.ch in June 1998, and in
particular a section “Useful
addresses for VF information” as it was vital to provide an overview of the
outcomes of the VF project between 1993 and 1997 for the Italian local and
regional authorities.
q
the Swiss local and regional press,
which led to the first statements of intent for collaboration and
financial support
q
the Philatelic Bureau of Vatican
City, which agreed to work with us to produce the VF postcards published in
1999, and the City and Canton of Geneva, which at our request organised
a continuing training course on “Heritage and Tourism” at the University of
Geneva for the Léman Region, an initiative which was extremely successful.
The last
factor, but by no means the least important, was the interest among the
specialist public whose requirements
had to be known if they were to be catered
for.
AIVF was
firmly convinced that the VF only made sense if it incorporated a EUROPEAN
dimension, and in order to achieve this the approach adopted was above all one
of SYSTEMATIC INFORMATION:
1. A
mailing list was drawn up of ALL regions, provinces and municipalities,
tourist offices, parishes and dioceses, cultural associations and sports clubs
along the route.
2. At
the end of
We are
coming to the CRITICAL POINT of this new route.
The Italian
Government, Regions and Provinces had been thinking in terms of an IDEAL VF.
And indeed a
number of excellent publications had appeared, which were well
illustrated.
There had
been numerous tourist and cultural events such as historical pageants
focusing on Archbishop Sigeric, but
there had been very little actual walking along the VF. Sports clubs
such as CAI (the Italian Mountaineering Club), the Confraternity of Pilgrims to
In academic
terms, exhibitions, numerous seminars and study days on topics related to
the VF had been organised here and there by municipalities and provinces, some
of them funded by local banks; a feasibility study had been commissioned by the
Region of Tuscany, for example.
ALL of this
was of great promotional value, but it was not enough to restore what was
intended primarily to be a WALKING ROUTE.
It was
former pilgrims from different parts of the world who had walked the Camino de
Santiago that restored the VF to its PRESENT-DAY IMPORTANCE. Following in the
tracks of Giovanni Caselli, a British (female) pilgrim, was one of the first to
walk the entire VF route from
It was
obvious that no sustainable plan of LOGISTICAL ORGANISATION had ever been drawn up. Where were we
to begin?
Future VF
pilgrims were our “advisers”, in the sense that one of the main goals of AVF
was to do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to make the genuine but difficult pilgrimage to
q
At the start of 2000, sole priority
was given to listing all inexpensive accommodation facilities, since
that was part of the spirit of pilgrimage and reflected the likely budget for a
journey that might be
The
same method was used in succession with ALL convents and parish priests,
most of whom had NO facilities for accommodating pilgrims. In
All
the information collected was published in an initial Vademecum Via
Francigena, for Italy in June 2000, for Canterbury to the Great St Bernard
in 2002, and then in
EICR
looked askance at our impatience to bring out these guides, reckoning that the
VF would take at least 10 years to organise. We were in a hurry, for the VF was
so precarious that it might rapidly disappear.
The
sales of the Guide-Vademecum (650 copies sold of the 1st edition, 585 already
of the 2nd) show that we were right since they were designed FOR pilgrims, and
although these guides were of minimum weight and size, they were packed with
essential informations.
This
all led to a revival of general interest among a number of local authorities
and institutions. New VF publications have been appearing regularly over the
last 2 years, two VF Italy guides in 2004, for example.
q
The issue of CO-OPERATION,
advocated by the CE in 1998, has proved far more difficult than we expected.
a) In
the case of the local authorities, 2001 saw the creation of a co-operative
association of Italian municipalities along the VF by the mayor of Fidenza
(half-way along the VF in
Numerous
seminars and VF days have been organised WITHOUT the participation of AIVF. In addition, we have a link on our website to
that of the municipalities along the VF, but despite their promises, they still
do not have a link to ours.
Let
us not forget, however, that it is the exception that makes the rule: the small
but active
In
In
Since
spring 2004, AIVF has, through its contacts with the Regions of Tuscany and
They
are chiefly responsible for the safety of pilgrims, the maintenance and
signposting (if possible standardised) of VF roadways and footpaths throughout
the country, the supervision of academic research, the organisation of major
tourist and cultural events, and above all for the use and CONSERVATION of
monuments.
Following
the publication of excellent press articles (in, among others, LE TEMPS,
As the
Director of EICR put it, “the continuation of VF is something of a miracle”. We
therefore felt it was time, in 2001, to INFORM the states concerned of the progress made with the project thanks to
the wholehearted commitment of the Association.
The Holy See
became a patron of the VF project of AIVF, followed by the Italian Ministry of
Culture, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, and the Ministry of
the Interior of the Helvetic Confederation.
In any
initiative there will be negative points. Allow me to mention a few:
q
AIVF has not been informed of or
invited to the events and presentations concerning the VF organised since 2002
by EICR in Luxembourg, in Strasbourg and in association with the Municipality
of Fidenza, among others (although this is provided for in our partnership
agreement).
q
We have had no further contacts with
the Centre for European Culture in St-Jean d’Angely,
q
The activities and initiatives of
AIVF are no longer mentioned in the EICR bulletin.
q
We have been boycotted by certain
public and private associations and institutions.
q
We are grateful to the CE for
honouring AIVF at the last moment in its reference to the VF as a “
To return to
the VF itself, you will agree that every cultural route needs ITS OWN IDENTITY.
For the VF
we chose a logo which expresses 3 factors specific to the VF:
The time
factor – it has been in existence since antiquity (Peutingerian map based on a
3rd century map)
The geography
factor – omnes viae Romam perducunt – all roads lead to
The destination
factor (expressing religious pilgrimage or the pilgrimage of man on Earth)
The
Manual of Standards for European VF Signposting, inspired by that of the
Camino de Santiago de Compostela since the two routes are similar, was compiled
in collaboration with EICR and accepted by the CE in July 2001. The press
launch was originally planned by EICR for 2001, and then for
Collaboration
in the technical sector: here I must mention the
indispensable collaboration with ramblers’ associations from Great Britain to
Rome; but in its efforts to identify a RECOMMENDED VF route, the Association
has met with refusal on the part of six organisations out of 22, even though we
had set up the group Friends of the VF for walkers and cyclists in
But in the
last few months, there has been one piece of marvellous news: in order to draw
up the TOPOFRANCIGENA-Italy, we had the idea of actively involving the chief
officers of the provincial police forces
along the VF in finding an IDEAL ROUTE for pilgrims, and 4 out of 7 are
collaborating; officials responsible for the environment, shooting and fishing
have identified the whereabouts of, for example, over-zealous sheepdogs and
rivers that can be forded.
We
appreciate the constant and effective support of the Holy See for the cause of
the VF and the initiatives of AIVF.
How
pilgrimage along the Via Francigena OPERATES
Our
principle has always been, and still is, to provide the maximum amount of precise
information about difficulties that may be encountered: for example, the
shortage of accommodation and facilities to buy food on long and very isolated
wooded sections with an average population of only a few inhabitants per square
kilometre in France.
As
organised by AIVF, the way the Route operates is very simple:
The website www.francigena-international.org
is usually the point of contact with intending VF pilgrims, who can be classed
as pilgrims once they have already walked 2 or 3 routes leading to Santiago de
Compostela. Intending VF pilgrims who express interest in this new pilgrim
route want information about accommodation, maps of the VF, signposting, the
percentage of tarred roads, recommended guidebooks and where they can be
obtained, whether they are given a certificate when they reach St Peter’s, and
so on and so forth. They expect the VF to be exactly like the Camino – a motorway for pedestrians
that leads to
In
2000 we started warning intending VF pilgrims that NOTHING of that sort exists,
that they would be true pioneers with all the advantages and disadvantages that
that entails; and that AIVF had been set up to help them to arrive safe and
sound in Rome, since it is they who will bring this ancient pilgrimage route
back to life.
After 4
years of relentless work, we are now in a position to send them:
an order
and membership form in 5 languages for our publications and products, such
as the VF pennant and the broach with the keys of St Peter, for
we could not let pilgrims arrive in
We have two VF Guides-Vademecums
indicating:
Stages in km
– type of road – altitude – tel. and fax nos. of municipal authorities –
tourist offices – Internet access points – inexpensive accommodation
(max.£35-€55-CHF100 for 2 people/day): hotels – bed & breakfast – youth
hostels – shelters – camp sites – religious accommodation – places to visit and
see: especially medieval sites and museums
These pocket-sized
books have been supplemented since 2004 by two Topofrancigena, made up of 40
geo-cultural maps in colour showing the historic route – nowadays often
the main arterial roads – a recommended route, and often an excursion
route.
The maps are the
vital element, but it is unfortunately impossible to obtain them on their own,
since walking maps are only available for the mountains in
With a maximum weight
of 450 gr, walkers thus have ALL
they need to walk from
Intending
pilgrims can contact our co-ordinators
in their preferred language in
They often
immediately join the FRIENDS of AIVF and receive the documentation they have
ordered which will enable them to choose in advance THEIR own route.
FRIENDS
receive free of charge:
q
a FRIEND of AIVF card, a
pilgrim passport entitling them to special reductions (70% of the accommodation
listed, free-francigena, etc)
q
1-2 special sets of VF pilgrim
credentials, to certify their journey along the VF
q
and a VF Pilgrims’ ACCOMMODATION
LIST from Canterbury to Rome with updates to the 2 Guides-Vademecums (changes
in accommodation are inevitable), the most recent advice and 2 stickers for
their rucksacks.
q
For the last 2-3 years, pilgrims
have found VF information on arrival at the Information Office in St
Peter’s Square.
q
The chance to visit the Church of
San Pellegrino with the 9th century fresco of Christ Pantocrator inside the
THEIR and
OUR journey along the VF ends as follows:
Even after a
genuine peregrinatio, there were no reception arrangements for
pilgrims at Saint Peter’s Basilica in
To remedy
this, AIVF organised, in close collaboration with the
1. A
Basilica Register of VF Pilgrims (which provides some statistics), in
which pilgrims may write their impressions and the reason, not necessarily
religious, which led them to make the pilgrimage to
2. The
award of a Testimonium parchment (donated by AIVF) certifying
completion of the pilgrimage after walking at least 130km from the Church of
San Sepulcro Acquapendente (the former place of pilgrimage which replaced
Jerusalem when that became inaccessible), at a ceremony, depending on the
availability of the priest, in the Vatican Grottoes.
Whenever I
can, I am delighted to meet pilgrims near St Peter’s Square, since their
experience will enable us to improve our help to future pilgrims.
The
question of FUNDING is probably troubling you.
EICR had
anticipated a request for financial support from our Association back in 1999.
Our requests to our partner EICR in subsequent years for financial assistance
to create the VF Guides-Vademecums and the TOPOFRANCIGENA have gone unanswered.
Despite
everything, all our initiatives have been made possible thanks to occasional
grants, self-funding from subscriptions and sales of VF publications and
products, and above all due to the generosity and voluntary work of the FRIENDS
and members of AIVF, to whom we once again extend our thanks.
Clearly this
is not the best solution since it depends on individual generosity.
But our
experience shows the very significant support that a private voluntary association can give to a public project in the field of culture, by abiding by the rules of
faithful and balanced collaboration in both financial and human terms, without
becoming like a Wild West adventure, as has sometimes happened.
The
solution?
It is for
each of us to find one so that other cultural routes can be CREATED and an
AUTHENTIC
Plenary
Assembly of the CongrEsS OF LOCAL AND
REGIONAL AUTHORITIES of the Council of
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION Via Francigena
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