It’s summertime. The weather is warm. Work is ever present but has slowed somewhat. What better way to spend some downtime than walking a pilgrimage?

Plot twist: this time it won’t be the Camino, contrary this website’s focus.

To dovetail with my PhD research (late medieval and early modern Italian pilgrimage), I will be spending three weeks walking the Via Francigena through Northeast and Central Italy. The walk will begin in Fidenza and end in Rome, for a total distance of 643 km. I’ll document the trip over a series of blog posts (frequency will largely depend on wifi availability), but anyone who is interested can also follow smaller updates through Twitter (@culturedcamino) or on my personal Instagram account (@pilgrimscholar).

This is a bit off topic, I know, but my hope is that these posts will be helpful for anyone who wants a first-hand glimpse into what walking a pilgrimage is like. And if Italy’s really not your thing, feel free to tune back in after early September, when we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled, Spain-centric programming.

Excitement kicks off next week: time to lace up those hiking boots. Stay tuned!

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