Via Francigena
The Via Francigena (the Iter Francorum, or the “Frankish Route”) is a branch of the Pilgrimage trail that goes between Canterbury and Rome, coming into full use starting around the 11th century.
Bishop Sigeric of Canterbury first made the journey to Rome in 990 AD to receive honors from the Pope. He kept details of his travels in a book, with pictures and maps of the route, which became the pilgrimage route of today, more or less.
Each year more than 15,000 people do a part of the Via Francigena either by foot or bicycle.
This popular pilgrimage and hiking route that passes through the upper Susa Valley near to Sauze d’Oulx, has a website dedicated to it, with maps and information, linked below.
Images on this page
Upload: J.P.Lon~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paulusburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Upload: J.P.Lon~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paulusburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A Trade & Pilgrimage Route
The increasing use of the via Francigena as a trade route led to the unprecedented development of many towns along the way. The way became an essential route to take the goods from the east (silk, spices) to the markets of northern Europe and trade them, usually in the Champagne fairs, for cloth from Flanders and Brabant. In the thirteenth century trade grew to such an extent that several alternative routes to the via Francigena were developed, and it therefore, lost its unique character and broke into numerous different routes linking the north and Rome.
For more information view the Via Francigena website.
Susa to Montgenevre
The stretch of the Via Francigena near Sauze d’Oulx goes from Montgenevre to Susa (or vice versa). The Col du Montgenèvre has been used a montain pass since Roman times. The markers in Montgenevre indicate 2000km+ to Santiago de Compostela and 900km+ to Rome.
Wiew the interactive map below.