Via Francigena Walking Tour: Great St. Bernard Pass to Rome

We make our own way to our hotel in Geneva. The group will meet with the Odyssey Program Leader and sit down for our welcome dinner at the hotel.

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Today we will be travelling from Geneva to Lausanne, but first we will have a half-day tour of our base city. Geneva, Switzerland’s second largest city, is home to the headquarters of international organisations including the World Health Organisation, and a rich and vibrant counterculture made up of artists and creatives.

We explore its main sights with our local guide and on our touring coach. We will visit Geneva’s Old Town (Vieille Ville) to have a feel of ancient Geneva. The historic district is dominated by St Peter’s Cathedral (St Pierre Cathedral), where Protestant Reformation leader John Calvin once preached in the 16th century. We will visit the cathedral and will also have a chance to go up its two towers (96 steps up the northern tower and 60 steps up the southern tower) for a panoramic view of the city.

We transfer to Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth largest city and noted for its wine and for being the home of the International Olympic Committee. Here we will go on a cruise of Lake Geneva, the largest lake in Switzerland.

We will have dinner at our accommodation in Lausanne.

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Today we will be beginning our journey on the Via Francigena.

But first, we will transfer to Montreux to have a guided tour of Chateau Chillon, a medieval island castle located on Lake Geneva. The castle was first documented in 1150, a fortification of the Counts of Savoy. Chateau Chillon had an excellent location between the Vaud Riviera (towards Germany and France) and the Rhone Valley, a quick access to Italy. The Counts of Savoy ruled over states that later formed the Kingdom of Italy.

After our tour of the castle, we will travel to Col du Grand Bernard (Great St Bernard Pass) on the Via Francigena. The Great St Bernard Pass is the third highest road pass in Switzerland connecting Martigny in Switzerland to Aosta in Italy. This will be a beautiful drive with views of the snow-covered Alps.

We will take a short walk along the beautiful mountain lake, Lac du St Bernard (Great St Bernard Lake) and visit the St Bernard Monastery (Great St Bernard Hospice), which dates from the 9th century. Located high in the Alps (2,400 metres), it is well known as the home of the large Saint Bernard dog breed, which the monks acquired in the 17th century as their companions and as watch dogs who can rescue people lost in the snow.

We then continue to Aosta, Italy, where we will stay for the night.

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Today we will be walking a section of the Via Francigena with our local guide, walking from Chatillon through the Aosta Valley to Verres (14 kms., approx. 3 hours). This walk will take us through medieval ruins and a part of the ancient Strada Delle Gallie, an old Roman road that used to connect Paris to Rome.

We will take the touring coach to Ivrea, with a stop to appreciate this 20th-century industrial city developed for Olivetti, manufacturer of typewriters, mechanical calculators and office computers. It was inscribed in 2018 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

From Ivrea we continue on to Pavia. We will have dinner in our hotel.

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From our hotel in Pavia we transfer to Belgioso, where we begin our walk to Miradolo Terme (10 km, approx 2 1/2 hours), passing through fields dotted with vineyards before arriving at the city centre.

From Miradolo Terme, we ride by coach to Piacenza (“pleasant abode”). Piacenza was originally founded as a Roman military colony (Piacentia, 218 BC) and became the site of the Council of Piacenza. It has notable cathedrals and palaces.

We will have dinner at a local restaurant and stay for the night.

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From Piacenza, we move to Fornovo di Taro, where we will begin our walk to Ozzano Taro (6 kms., approx. 3 hours) through beautiful mountain scenery with a view of the Apennines.

We transfer to Lucca. The charming town of Lucca located at the foot of the Apuan Alps. Colonized by Rome in the early second century BC, Lucca retains its Roman influences in the numerous marble columns of the city’s main square, Piazza San Michele, and in the church of San Michele in Foro from which the piazza takes its name. The church, founded in the 8th century, has an imposing marble statue depicting the archangel Michael defeating a dragon with a spear.

We will have dinner at a local restaurant and stay for the night.

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We travel from Lucca to Massa, to begin our walk to Pietrasanta (12 kms., approx. 3 hours), a town on the northern Tuscany coast. This walk will take us from Massa’s marble monuments, through a hike with views of the Apuan mountains, and to the fine buildings and sculptures of Pietrasanta. The town sits between the Mediterranean and the Apuan Alps, and has attracted artists such as Michelangelo to work with marble, making the town feel like an open-air museum.

In the afternoon, we transfer to Pisa for a walking tour. We will also gain entrance to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

We return to Lucca for the night.

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Today we will have a break from walking the Via Francigena to enjoy a full-day excursion to Florence.

Florence is the capital and most populous city in Tuscany, and attracts millions more people each year. It has been ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, owing in part to its artistic and architectural heritage. Florence was a centre of medieval trade in Europe, and is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance.

On this sightseeing tour, we will visit the city’s main sights, including:

• Uffizi Gallery – “offices”, once the offices of the Florentine magistrates, now housing a large collection of art commissioned or owned by the Medici family, which ruled Florence for the most part of 1434 to 1737
• Ponte Vecchio – a medieval bridge that is the only bridge across the Arno River left intact after World War II
• The iconic Duomo, or the dome of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

We return to Lucca for the night.

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From Lucca we transfer to Fuccechio. From there we walk to San Miniato (8 kms., approx. 2 hours), a medieval town halfway between Pisa and Florence, perched on top of three hills overlooking the verdant fields of the Arno Valley.

We transfer to San Gimignano, where we will stay for the night.

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San Gimignano has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, and we will have the opportunity this morning to explore the rich architecture and history of this medieval hill town. San Gimignano served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling on the Via Francigena. We will be able to view the towers that dominate San Gimignano’s landscape. These towers, were built by the families that controlled the town as a symbol of their wealth and power. Of the original 72 tower-houses, 14 survived the test of time.

We then begin our walk to Colle di Val d’Elsa (“Hill of Elsa Valley”, 11 km), leaving San Gimignano behind to pass through three valleys dotted with agricultural land and vineyards. Colle di Val d’Elsa is renowned for its crystal glass production, and its historic centre dating from the Middle Ages, perched on top of a hill offering views of Tuscany.

We transfer to Siena, where we will stay for the night.

In Siena, we will be treated to the city’s magnificent Gothic architecture, preserved through the centuries. Established as the military colony Saena Julia in the first century BC, Siena is a well-loved tourist attraction and home of the famous Palio de Siena, a horse race held twice a year. At the heart of the city is the fan-shaped Piazza del Campo, at the central intersection of the city’s three hillside communities. Siena has the Siena Cathedral (Duomo), with its intricate façade and equally impressive interior decorated with striped marble, and the Santa Maria della Scala, a former hospital now turned museum with an emphasis on its legacy for caring for pilgrims travelling the Via Francigena.

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Today we will transfer to Rigomagno, our starting point for our walk to Lucignano (5 km., approx. 2 hours). Lucignano is a beautiful medieval walled town situated on a hill between Siena and Arezzo, and was the subject of battles between these two cities in the Middle Ages.

We return to Siena after our walk.

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From Siena, we travel south by coach to Ponte d’Arbia. This drive will take us through Crete Senesi (“Senese clays”), dotted with medieval villages, woods, and the grey clay knolls caused by erosion that give this region its name.

Ponte d’Arbia is named after a five-arched bridge spanning the Arbia, a tributary of the Ombrone River, and is a small part of the municipality Monteroni d’Arbia.

From Ponte d’Arbia, we begin our walk to Sant’Antonio (5 km.), and finish the day in Orvieto, a town located on a 195-metre rock above the junction of two rivers.

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Orvieto dates from Etruscan times, became a Roman city (Urbs Vetus), and fell under Lombard and Tuscan rule. We will explore this history and more on a walking tour. Our tour includes:

• Entrance to the Orvieto Underground – a subterranean maze of tunnels that began with the Etruscans’ building of cisterns in order to collect rainwater; subsequent inhabitants then continued to dig and add spaces until Orvieto had a network of 1,200 underground structures
• Orvieto’s Cathedral – a Gothic masterpiece

The afternoon is free to spend at leisure.

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From Orvieto we will be travelling to Rome, the end of the route of the Via Francigena.

Along the way, we will stop at Viterbo, a central Italian city located at the foot of the Cimini Mountains. It once rivaled Rome as the papal residence in the mid-13th century. Viterbo’s walled medieval centre is beautifully preserved, showcasing 13th- and 14th-century houses and palaces.

We will visit

• Villa Lante – a harmonious garden paradise, lauded as the zenith of Mannerist garden design in Italy; it was designed in the 16th century by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, for Gianfrancesco Gambara (1533–1587) shortly after the latter’s appointment as cardinal by Pope Pius IV
• Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo – a former bishops’ palace that was enlarged to serve as a papal residence; the Pope’s residence was moved here in 1257 due to hostility and urban violence in Rome; Viterbo remained the papal seat until 1281

After our tour of Viterbo, we move to Rome, where we will have dinner and stay the night.

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Today is a free day to spend at leisure. Spend this time to relax in your hotel room, or to explore Rome on your own.

Today we will spend a full day exploring the Eternal City with our local guide.

We will visit:

• Vatican museums including the Sistine Chapel
• St Peter’s Basilica
• Trevi Fountain
• Spanish Steps
• Colosseum (no internal visit)

In the evening, we will have a farewell dinner as a group.

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The end of breakfast marks the end of the tour and our services.

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