“La Scatola Magica” with Dott. Anna Porcheddu, at the Italian Cultural Institute
“La Via Francigena” with Alessandro Costa
This month’s Magic Box is about “Via Francigena”, literally “the road that comes from France”, but what exactly is it? Well, if all routes lead to Rome, Via Francigena is in fact the common name of an ancient road and pilgrim route running from France to Rome, though it is usually considered to have its starting point much further away, in the English cathedral city of Canterbury. Some pilgrims continued to the harbours of Apulia, from where they could further travel to the Holy Land by sea.
In medieval times, Via Francigena was an important road for pilgrims heading south to Rome, and like Camino de Santiago, this trail is a European Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.
The man most famous for putting Via Francigena on the map was Archbishop Sigeric “The Serious” of Canterbury. Upon his return from Rome, where he had gone to receive the “pallium”, to his diocese in AD 990 he recorded the names of places he had gone through during his journey.
Alessandro Costa is an engineer who was born in the Dolomites area, who has a passion for those beautiful mountains and a strong interest in walking and hiking. He will tell us about Via Francigena that he completed in 2016, Jubilee Year of Mercy and Family. We’ll experience this wonderful route through Alessandro’s pictures and recollections and we’ll end the evening over a glass of wine and some treats.
Everybody is welcome and entrance is free.