By Michael Lewis
Going on pilgrimage was an important medieval religious experience. There are many routes to Rome, with the Via Francigena from Canterbury serving as one of the most famous, thanks to the ‘notes’ Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury (r. 990-4) made of his journey over 1000 years ago; nowadays it’s designated a ‘Cultural Route’ by the Council of Europe.
Modern pilgrims are not just religious types, but recreational walkers and others seeking an experience like those who have trod the well-worn paths of the Via through England, France and Switzerland into Italy, and (maybe) beyond. Most, like me (and my wife), did not have the 80 to 100 days spare to walk the whole route, so we chose a starting point for a much shorter expedition – ours was Castlefiorentino to Siena, about 45 miles in four days, through beautiful Tuscany.
I did not plan it as part of the MeRit project, but I wanted to experience something of the journey medieval pilgrims made. Of course, they did not have modern walking shoes or poles or carry an ergonomic 65-litre backpack. But they did tackle similar elements – thankfully, no rain for us, but instead the blissful Tuscan sun – and similar terrain.
The journey is not easy walking – described as ‘moderately hard’ in my guidebook – and I sometimes questioned why I was doing it, especially when facing steep hills! What struck us was the camaraderie when meeting strangers – fellow ‘pilgrims’ – on the same route, from a casual buongiorno or ciao to a more extended, albeit often brief, conversation at a water tap or similar, sharing where they were from, where they were going, or a short story.
The journey was made easier seeing approaching medieval towns, especially San Gimignano, with its tall towers built by competing families to outdo one another, and the impressive walls of the fortified Monteriggioni.
San Gimignano is famed for a saint I knew nothing about – St Fina. Born in 1238, she was noted for her intense devotion to the Virgin Mary, despite her short life (of 10 years) of illness and pain. Her mortal remains became a focus of veneration, with offerings enabling the foundation of a hospital in her name, providing (in the original sense of the word) hospitality to the old, poor and pilgrims. Fina’s emblem is the white violets that grow on the walls of San Gimignano, now known as Saint Fina violets. After paying homage at St Fina’s tomb, I was led astray by the temptation of Crema di Santa Fina gelato – a vanilla ice cream flavoured with the violet’s saffron pistils and Pisan pine nuts!
The climb to Monteriggioni is long and suddenly very steep. Its walls, with 14 towers, are remarkably preserved. Built by the Sienese from 1213 to protect their frontier from Florence, its towers are mentioned in Dante’s Divine Comedy, likened to giants guarding his eighth circle of Hell. This awe stays with us today, though within its walls are eateries now serving the best of Tuscan wine and food. If that is Hell, Heaven must truly be divine.
Our final destination was Siena. Signs marking its environs, suburbs and then the Porta Tufi, betray what is a long walk for pilgrims to the cathedral. Its narrow streets and what seems like thousands of tourists also inhibit a sense of how far is left to tread. However, the black and white striped Duomo di Siena is (when it eventually emerges) a sight to behold. Job done, we stamped our ‘pilgrim passport’ and collected our Siena ‘credential’.
Somewhat bizarrely, the experience of pilgrimage mixes the holy with the everyday, the basic needs of survival – food and water – with the commercial – St Fina ice cream! Unlike other pilgrims, we did not lodge in ostelli but in something a bit more furnished, but we still felt a connection to generations of pilgrims who wearily trod the Via Francigena.