How long is the in and how to move along it? The Tuscan section of the Via Francigena covers 354 km that can be crossed on foot by bike and on horseback. The Via Francigena is the ancient route that leads to from . Here THE VIA FRANCIGENA What is the Credential? It is the Pilgrim’s passport, a personal document recording the journey you can find the most important information about the Via Francigena to help step by step you organize a trip here. You can choose a single leg of the Via Francigena or How can I get it? The credential can be bought online (bit.ly/FrancigenaCredential) at the cost of about €3. Alternatively you can get it for free at the Tourist Offices of and . the entire Tuscan path. Are there accommodations along the Via Francigena? Yes, along the Via Francigena pilgrims can IN TUSCANY take advantage of a variety of accommodation, such as hostels, which can be run by parish churches or confraternities. LEG 1 CISA PASS TO Kilometers • 19.4 km • Hours • around 5 • Difficulty • very challenging TO • Accessibility • on foot • How to get to the departure point • -La Spezia railway line LEG 9 station, Prontobus for the CISA. • Highlights • the Cisa Pass, Pontremoli (the so called “the Key and Kilometres: 13.4 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • 3 hours • Difficulty Door of Tuscany” by Frederick II) and the Museum of Stele Lunigianese Statues. Read More. • easy • How to get to the departure point • SITA buses (phone number: +39 055 483651) from , , , , Volterra. • Highlights • It is a brief itinerary that shows the beauty of the ridges of the Val d’ dotted with the castles and abbeys born thanks to the passage of the Via Francigena in the area. The end of the journey is in San Gimignano, one of the LEG 2 PONTREMOLI TO most popular destinations of Tuscany. Read more about San Gimignano. Kilometers• 32.9 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Hours • more than 7 • Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • Parma- La Spezia railway line, Pontremoli station • Highlights • After the elegant parish church of Sorano you pass through the ancient village of , then head to reach Filetto and Villafranca . The arrival is in Aulla. SAN GIMIGNANO TO MONTERIGGIONI LEG 10 • Kilometres • 29.8 • Accessibility • on foot and with mountain bike • Time on foot: 7 hours and 30 PASSO DELLA CISA minutes • Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • Empoli- railway line, station; bus line 133 for San Gimignano • Highlights • It is one of the most beautiful legs LEG 3 AULLA TO AVENZA of the Via Francigena. The path begins with up and down in the valley of the Foci river, near Molino PONTREMOLI d’Aiano. Then you will see the Romanesque church of Santa Maria a Coneo, you cross the bridge over Kilometers • 32.4 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • 8 hours • Difficulty: the Elsa to reach the Romanesque church of San Martino di and then . Lastly, very challenging • How to get to the departure point • Parma-La Spezia railway line, Aulla station • you reach Monteriggioni, with its ring of walls and towers that dominate the surrounding hills. Highlights • This journey rediscovers the Via Francigena through castles and fortresses in the hills of Lunigiana and ends in Avenza at the Tower of Castruccio Castracani. AULLA

AVENZA MONTERIGGIONI TO SIENA LEG 11 LEG 4 AVENZA TO PIETRASANTA Kilometres• 20.5 • Accessibility • On foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • 4 hours and 30 Kilometres • 27.8 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • more than 6 hours minutes • Difficulty • medium • How to get to the departure point • Empoli-Siena railway line, • Difficulty: challenging • How to get to the departure point • La Spezia-Rome railway line, LUCCA station • Highlights • Leave Monteriggioni behind you and walk along the unpaved Carrara-Avenza station • Highlights • From Avenza you reach , where you can visit the Duomo roads in the Sienese hills to the medieval village of Cerbaia, then the Chiocciola castle and Villa and the Malaspina Castle. Then you can climb to the castle of Montignoso (Castello Aghinolfi) and Firenze castle before descending toward Pian del Lago. Reach Porta Camollia, the traditional Via Francigena finally reach Pietrasanta passing through , where there is a Medici Palace for exhibitions entrance to Siena and then to the end of this leg in Piazza del Campo, with the Duomo and then the and a museum. hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. Read more about Siena. LEG 5 PIETRASANTA TO LUCCA GAMBASSI TERME SIENA TO PONTE D’ARBIA LEG 12 Kilometres • 32.3 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • more than 7 hours SAN GIMIGNANO Kilometres • 28.5 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • More than 6 hours • • Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • La Spezia-Rome railway line, Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • Empoli-Siena-Grosseto and Siena- Pietrasanta station • Highlights • From Pietrasanta you reach Valdicastello, famous for its ancient MONTERIGGIONI railway lines, Siena station • Highlights • This leg along the unpaved roads of the Val d’Arbia, with church of SS. Giovanni e Felicita, which features decorative elements from the Romanesque period. rolling landscapes and views of the skyline of Siena, leads to the Grancia di Cuna, an ancient fortified Than you reach the town of , located along the ancient route of Via Francigena found along SIENA farm that was owned by the Santa Maria della Scala hospice. Continuing along the foothills of the Crete the journey of Sigeric. Then you climb to Montemagno, Valpromaro and Piazzano till you reach Lucca, Senesi, pass Monteroni and reach . A short distance away is the fortified town of Lucignano the town of the 100 churches. d’Arbia, with the Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista. After a stretch along the railway line you PONTE D’ARBIA reach the end of this leg in Ponte d’Arbia.

LEG 6 LUCCA TO ALTOPASCIO SAN QUIRICO D’ORCIA PONTE D’ARBIA TO SAN QUIRICO D’ORCIA LEG 13 Kilometres • 17.8 • Accessibility • On foot or with mountain bike Time on foot: 4 hours • Difficulty • easy • How to get to the departure point • -Florence Kilometres • 27.4 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • minimum 6 hours • and Aulla-Lucca railway lines, Lucca station • Highlights • Travelers leave Lucca from Porta San Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • by way of the Siena-Grosseto train to the Gervasio and arriving in there is the famous Romanesque church of San Quirico; then, just station, and bus line 112 • Highlights • The path leads to the fourteenth century village after , there is the Badia di Pozzeveri, then the church of San Jacopo in Altopascio, once home of Buonconvento, in the beautiful landscape of the Crete Senesi. Passed you enter the of the Knights of Tau who offered a welcome refuge for weary wanderers. Read more about Altopascio territory of the Val d’Orcia to San Quirico, with its Romanesque church.

LEG 7 ALTOPASCIO TO SAN MINIATO SAN QUIRICO D’ORCIA TO RADICOFANI LEG 14 Kilometres: 25.3 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • 5 hours and 40 minutes • Difficulty • easy • How to get to the departure point • Florence-Viareggio railway line, DIFFICULTY Kilometres • 32.7 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • More than 7 hours Altopascio station. • Highlights • The initial section of the path is in Galleno, an ancient dirt road of • Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • from Siena or Buonconvento railway the Via Francigena. After crossing the hills of Cerbaie the travellers head for the Ponte a Cappiano stations or bus line 112 • Highlights • From San Quirico you head to , with its with a Medici bridge and from here the center of . After crossing the , the trekkers Very challenging characteristic pool of thermal water in the centre of the village. From here you continue to Castiglione reach San Miniato, a perfectly maintained medieval town. Read more about San Miniato. d’Orcia and then to Radicofani, the village dominated by the Rocca. Read more about Radicofani. Challenging LEG 8 SAN MINIATO TO GAMBASSI TERME Medium RADICOFANI TO ACQUAPENDENTE LEG 15 Kilometres • 23.7 • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • 6 hours • Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • Florence--Livorno railway line, S. Miniato Easy Kilometres • 31.8 km • Accessibility • on foot or with mountain bike • Time on foot • 7 hours • station • Highlights • This is an exceptionally beautiful path into the hills of Val d’Elsa where you can Difficulty • challenging • How to get to the departure point • from Chiusi train station and La see castles, forts, hospitals and abbeys along the Via Francigena. After the Coiano parish church and Ferroviaria Italiana bus (tel. +39 0578-31174). • Highlights • This is the last section of the Via the parish church of Santa Maria in Chianni you will reach Gambassi, known for its hot springs. The Francigena in Tuscany before entering in Region. end of this leg is the church of Christ the King. THE VIA FRANCIGENA

IN TUSCANY

ALLTHINGSTuscany.it www.viafrancigenatoscana.it.