Introduction
We walked the Via Francigena Sud in May 2023, setting out southwards from Rome after researching options and seeking advice from local experts. We loved the walk and wrote a three-part account of it on this website. Since then, we’ve provided information to others interested in the route and thought we should share this more widely. We hope it piques your interest in walking the Via Francigena Sud and assists your planning.
1. What is the Via Francigena Sud?
The Via Francigena Sud is promoted as the newest, ancient pilgrimage. It’s based on the oldest known record of Christian pilgrimage, written in 333 CE by the Pilgrim of Bordeaux, who documented his return journey from the Holy Lands.
For centuries, the Via Francigena in southern Italy was a general route rather than a defined road, used by northern Europeans to walk south from Rome to the ports from where they sailed to the Holy Land.
The modern Via Francigena Sud opened in 2019 and extends from Rome to Santa Maria Di Leuca, the finis terrae of Italy. It’s a (mostly) well-marked route with guidebooks, apps, and GPS tracks to assist pilgrims. History abounds along the way. You’ll start soaking it up as soon as you step out on the Via Appia, a largely pedestrian path lined with Roman funerary monuments.
We enjoyed walking through history, exploring coastlines, rivers and mountains, and savouring delicious southern Italian food. Despite our lack of Italian, our many friendly interactions with locals were a real highlight.
Like many on this route, we had already walked the Via Francigena but when we returned home, we felt we had unfinished business in Italy. So, less than a year later, we set out southwards from Rome.
You can gain an insight into the experience of walking the Via Francigena Sud by reading our account of walking from Rome to the heel of Italy.
2. When to go, and how long will it take?
Spring and Autumn are the sweet spots if you want to avoid crossing the Apennines in winter, or walking in the heat of the southern Italian summer. The Camino Weather website is useful for checking average weather conditions against your plans.
The official App and guidebook divide the 930-kilometre route from Rome to Santa Maria de Leuca into 45 stages. You can extend the route by detouring to Monte Sant’Angelo (we didn’t), or shave off 17 kilometres and see wilder mountain country by taking the Sonnino variant (beautiful if the weather is on your side).
The route keeps to the hills as it heads south from Rome, touching the Tyrrhenian Sea at Terracina (unless you take the Sonnino variation) and again at Gaeta (Stage 10) before heading inland and across the Apennines for 21 stages to Bari and the Adriatic Sea. From Bari, the route tracks southwards on the edge of the Adriatic and Ionian seas for 23 stages to the lighthouse at Santa Maria de Leuca.
We completed our journey in 37 days. Our shortest day was 13 kilometres, and our longest was 32 kilometres. We walked 25+ kilometres on about half the days (all of which could be shortened), had a few half-days off the trail, and enjoyed a rest day in Bari to celebrate reaching the Adriatic Sea.
The Via Francigena Sud isn’t a well-travelled route yet, which was one of its attractions for us. We only occasionally met other pilgrims, but found that what the route lacked in camaraderie and companionship was more than made up for by encounters with curious locals. People stopped their cars in the middle of the road to ask what we were doing, expressing amazement that we’d walked “all the way from Rome”.
The local Via Francigena Sud groups helped advise and assist us before we left and were very welcoming when we travelled through their communities, warmly greeting us as if we were foreign dignitaries, escorting us into the backrooms of a cathedral to have our credentials stamped and accepting a delivery of new shoes when ours wore out.
3. How much is accommodation?
If you’ve walked the Via Francigena, then you can budget about the same amount per day. We spent ≈ €55 per day on accommodation for the two of us. There’s little pilgrim-style accommodation and of our 36 nights on the trail, we stayed in religious institutions for just six nights. In some locations, there will be cheaper options than the ones we chose, especially in larger cities.
4. What gear is needed
Less is More is a cliché and a guiding principle for long-distance walks like the Via Francigena Sud. We carried about 7 kilograms each (plus water and snacks).
Our packs contained a change of clothes, a light fleece, lightweight rain gear, trekking umbrellas (for rain and sun) and essential toiletries and electronics. Many days we didn’t need to carry food, just a snack bar, a piece of fruit and a water bottle each.
A credit and/or debit card is very useful, but you’ll also need to carry cash as many places don’t accept card payments. Usually, there was somewhere to withdraw cash every few days.
Credential
You can obtain a credential online from the official Via Francigena website and find distribution outlets in Rome and elsewhere. As with many other pilgrimages, a stamped credential is essential to receive an official Testimonium on completion of the walk.
5. What resources will assist me?
You can read our account of walking south from Rome here. If it’s helpful, you can download a copy of our itinerary here, including the accommodation we stayed in and some restaurants and cafes that we particularly enjoyed.
Guidebook
You can get by with the free official app (download the maps beforehand). However, the Terre di Mezzo guidebook is excellent, and we were happy we carried it. You can purchase it in Rome, or online (we found overseas postage was cheaper via Amazon.it). Cicerone also has a Via Francigena Sud guidebook.
The official Via Francigena website describes all the stages, and you can download the official app, find a list of accommodations, and purchase Credentials and guidebooks.
In addition to the official app, we used GPX tracks provided by the Terre di Mezzo guidebook on our phones. We use the Gaia GPS app, but Organic Maps is another well-recommended free alternative.
The three local groups were very helpful, providing advice on accommodation and, as above, making a real effort to greet us and make us feel welcome. We suggest contacting them and letting them know you’ll be passing by:
Group of Twelve: Giuseppe was very helpful for the Lazio section
Via Francigena Canosa, who went out of their way to welcome us to Canosa di Brindisi
The Academy of Wanderers, Puglia: Antonio is an enthusiast and was very helpful.
Social Media
The Via Francigena Sud Facebook group is an excellent place to find information and to make contact with fellow pilgrims.
6. What happens when I arrive in Santa Maria di Leuca?
The VF Sud officially ends at the Santuario di Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae (Saint Mary’s sanctuary at the end of the earth). It’s next to the lighthouse on the outskirts of Leuca.
On arrival:
- We made an appointment at the church on arrival.
- Purchased blank Testimoniums at the gift shop opposite.
- Returned to the church, where a friendly nun escorted us into the inner sanctum. There she carefully copied our names, in Latin, onto the Testimoniums and signed and sealed them (she has an ingenious system for writing Latin).
The Cape is stunning. We wandered around admiring the view from several vantage points, had a celebratory lunch and a glass of prosecco at the restaurant, and took time to reflect on the enormity of finishing the Via Francigena Sud (and, including the Via Francigena, walking from one end of Italy to the other). Then we wandered slowly into town, stopping at an excellent gelato shop on the way.
We were pleasantly surprised by Santa Maria di Leuca and enjoyed our two nights there, relaxing, eating well and joining in the evening passeggiata along the foreshore.
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Our three-stage journey on the Via Francigena Sud started in Rome, Ten Days in Lazio. In the second stage, we crossed the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea and finished in Santa Maria di Leuca, Finis Terrae: the end of the earth.
Disclosure
We do not receive payments, commissions, or freebies. If we mention a specific product/service or link to another website, it’s because we think it might be useful in planning your walk. There are likely to be alternatives to these products and services, and we suggest you assess the best options for your needs.
Wonderful. I have often thought of finishing my own via Francigena and now you have bumped it further up the list. Thanks, Mel