Via di Francesco Walking Tour | Small Group Walking Tours Italy

Upon arrival in Florence we make our own way to our hotel. The remainder of the day is free. In the evening we will meet again as a group for a welcome dinner at a local traditional restaurant.

Florence is the capital of the region of Tuscany and is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. It is home to the awe-inspiring Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo di Firenze), the Piazza della Signoria near the city’s town hall, Palazzo Vecchio (“Old Palace”), and the medieval Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge across the Arno River left intact in World War II.

Today we will spend the morning walking around the city to view the main sights, and have the afternoon free to spend at our leisure.

A touring coach will be joining us today and stay with us until Day 15.

After breakfast we will transfer to La Verna to visit this peaceful mountain Franciscan sanctuary and the traditional starting point of the Via di Francesco. We will have a guided tour of the Sanctuary of La Verna, which served as a place of quiet contemplation for the saint and where he was said to have received the stigmata, and walk roughly 15 kms through the beautiful Casentino woods to Pieve Santo Stefano. We will enjoy a packed picnic lunch to eat along the way. This trail is of medium difficulty, with a few steep areas on Mount Calvano and Mount Modina.

Upon arrival in Pieve Santo Stefano we will have free time to explore the area. Pieve Santo Stefano is a small village with vestiges of its Roman origins. It is also known as “Diary City” as it is home to the Archivio Diaristico Nazionale, which collects thousands of diaries and other epistolary texts.

After exploring, we will transfer to Arezzo and check in to our accommodation for the night. We will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast we will travel by coach to Citerna, named after its extensive underground system of cisterns, and have some free time to explore this charming Umbrian city. It has two ancient city gates still standing–Porta Romana and Porta Fiorentina, named after the directions they faced (towards Rome and Florence, respectively)–and several churches.

Still in the Citerna area, we will head to Fattoria Montelupo, the only fattoria (“farm”) in Umbria producing buffalo mozzarella. We will have a guided tour to learn about the production process and have a tasting.

We will transfer to Lerchi and start our 9 km-walk to Citta di Castello. During the walk, subject to availability, we will have stops at Fondazione Archeologia Arborea, which has ancient local varieties of fruit plants, and Covent of Buon Riposo. This is a relatively walk with a downhill final stretch leading to the Cathedral of Città di Castello.

We will have time to explore Citta di Castello with a guide, and end the day with dinner at a local restaurant.

From Citta di Castello we will transfer to Pietralunga, a small town with only around 2,300 inhabitants. It is home to a medieval stronghold and the 7th century Parish Church of Santa Maria, and we will explore the town on a guided tour. We will transfer to the village of Monteleto and walk 7 kms. to Gubbio. The trail will be dotted with hermitages, abbeys, and little villages–plenty of wonderful stops to enrich our walk. Upon arrival in Gubbio we will have lunch (own arrangements) and view the main sights with a guide.

Our itinerary in Gubbio includes a ride by cable car on the Funivia Colle Eletto to reach the Basilica Sant’Ubaldo on Monte Ingino. The Basilica displays the body of St Ubaldo in a glass coffin above the altar, and has a small museum dedicated to the town festival, Corsa dei Ceri. We will also visit the Antiquarium and Teatro Romano, an archaeological museum and the remains of a 1st-century Roman theatre.

We are moving ever closer to Assisi. After breakfast at the hotel, we will travel by coach from Gubbio to Valfabbrica and from there walk the 15 kilometres to Assisi. The first stretch of this journey is in the woods with a few uphill areas, but overall this is an easy terrain as the landscape opens up, giving us a view of olive groves and vineyards.

Upon arrival in Assisi we will have lunch (own arrangements) and soak in the beautiful sights on a guided tour of St. Francis’s birthplace.

Of course an important stop is the Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi, a World Heritage Site since 2000 and where the saint’s remains are interred. We will also visit the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Basilica of Saint Mary of Angels), a huge church built over the small 9th century Porziuncola, the most sacred place for the Franciscans as it was where the Franciscan movement started; and the Basilica di Santa Chiara (Basilica of St. Clare) dedicated to Saint Clare of Assisi, a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi and founder of the Order of Poor Ladies, known today as the Order of Saint Clare.

We will then have dinner in a local restaurant and rest in our hotel.

Today we will have a little side trip to Perugia, capital of the Umbria region, and we will have the whole day free to explore on our own before returning to Assisi. Perugia was one of the main Etruscan cities and has a rich artistic tradition. It promises great sights dating from antiquity and the Renaissance.

From Assisi, we will venture out to surrounding towns and have a full day of sightseeing in a trio of Umbrian hill towns: Spello, Bevagna and Montefalco.

In Spello we will visit the 12th century Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore (collegiate Church of Saint Mary Major), which houses the Cappella Baglioni (Baglioni Chapel) filled with 15th century Renaissance frescoes such as the Annunciation and The Adoration by the Shepherds by Pinturicchio, as well as a self-portrait of the artist himself.

We drive to Bevagna and view the Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo (Church of Saint Michael the Arcangel) and Chiesa di San Silvestro (Church of St. Sylvester).

Finally in Montefalco we will visit the Chiesa Museo di San Francesco and view the depiction of St. Francis in a fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli, and enjoy a wine and olive oil tasting in a local cantina. After we have our fill, we will return to Assisi for dinner at our own arrangements.

We will bid goodbye to Assisi and travel to Spoleto, a city at the foothill of the Apennine Mountains. We will have a local guide to view the main sights, including the ancient Basilica di San Salvatore which was built before the 9th century and was declared a World Heritage Site in 2011.

From Spoleto, we will transfer to Macenano and walk 10 kms. to Arrone with a local guide, who will take us on a worthy detour along the way to the Abbazia San Pietro di Valle (Abbey of San Pietro in Valle) on the side of the Nera River.

Once we arrive in Arrone, we will transfer to Terni and have the remainder of the day free to rest our legs.

After plenty of walking and sightseeing, we will have a more relaxed day today, with a guided visit to the beautiful man-made waterfall Cascate delle Marmore (Marmore Falls) in Terni followed by entrance to the gardens of Bomarzo, also called Parco dei Mostri (Park of the Monsters) due to its giant stone sculptures.

From Bomarzo, we will transfer to Viterbo for an overnight stay.

Today is a free day to spend at our leisure. We may roam around the city, catch up with our laundry, or simply rest.

From Viterbo, we will transfer to Arrone and walk 14 kms. to Piediluco, where we will have a stop at the Sanctuary of St. Francis and enjoy views of the Piediluco Lake. Piediluco is a small village overlooking this beautiful alpine lake.

The remainder of the day is free until we meet again for dinner.

Today we will venture out to Poggio Bustone, which St Francis of Assisi visited in 1208. He reportedly greeted the villagers by saying “Buon giorno buona gente” (Good morning, good people!), his words memorialised on the city’s arched gate. We will visit the the convent he built (San Giacomo Convent) and have some free time to explore the village on our own.

We will move on to Labro to explore the medieval fortress city, and to Rieti where we will have a city tour and stroll through Rieti aboveground and underground, viewing the subterranean passageways dating back to Roman times.

From Rieti we will head back to Piediluco and enjoy a group dinner at the hotel.

From Piediluco we head to Monterotondo, and from there walk 14 kms. to Cinquina. This relatively easy trail will take us through the serene rural countryside dotted with oak trees and medieval watch towers, until we reach the urban outskirts of the Eternal City. From Cinquina, we will be transferred to Tivoli Terme and retire for the night.

This morning we will view the World Heritage Site, Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa), a large Roman archaeological complex at Tivoli. It was constructed around the second century for Emperor Hadrian to serve as his retreat house from the palace in Rome, and its ruins show the riches and extravagance of the empire.

From Tivoli we will travel to the last city on our tour–the city of Rome.

This is a free day to spend at our leisure. Take time to relax, shop, and enjoy the sights of the Eternal City.

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

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