Three routes to Rome: the Via Francigena, the Via Romea Germanica and the Romea Strata in Lazio

Three major European pilgrimage itineraries, certified by the Council of Europe, converge in Lazio on their way to Rome. At the heart of the “Antichi Cammini d’Italia” project.

Three historic routes, three different European directions, one final destination: the Via Francigena, the Via Romea Germanica and the Romea Strata converge in Lazio before reaching Rome. They are three of the five itineraries at the heart of “Antichi Cammini d’Italia”, created to enhance the country’s major historic and religious walking routes and to position Italy among the world’s leading walking destinations.

All three are certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe: the Via Francigena since 1994, the Via Romea Germanica since 2020 and the Romea Strata since 17 June 2025. Together they form a historical map of pilgrimage flows that, for centuries, have led travellers from northern, eastern and western Europe towards Rome.

Via Francigena

The Via Francigena is Italy’s most internationally recognized walking route. It is based on the travel diary of Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, who in 990 CE recorded the 79 stages of his return journey from Rome in a manuscript now preserved at the British Library.

The Italian section measures around 1,000 kilometers in 45 stages and, in Lazio, crosses the Tuscia of Viterbo. From Acquapendente, on the shores of Lake Bolsena, the route continues to Bolsena — where the Eucharistic miracle that inspired the feast of Corpus Christi took place in 1263 — Montefiascone with the Rocca dei Papi, Viterbo, a former papal seat with the medieval quarter of San Pellegrino, Vetralla, Sutri with its Roman amphitheater carved into the tufa rock, Campagnano and La Storta, before reaching St. Peter’s Basilica.

Via Romea Germanica

The Via Romea Germanica reconstructs the journey described by Abbot Albert of Stade in the Annales Stadenses of 1236. Its Italian section measures approximately 1,050 kilometers from the Brenner Pass to Rome. In Lazio, it joins the Via Francigena at Montefiascone and, from there, shares the crossing of the Tuscia of Viterbo: Bolsena, Viterbo — with the Macchina di Santa Rosa, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — Vetralla, Sutri and the Veio Regional Park, as far as La Storta.

A northern variant also touches Civita di Bagnoregio, the celebrated “dying city,” suspended on a tufa spur in the heart of Tuscia.

Romea Strata

The Romea Strata is the most recent route to be certified as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe: the recognition was awarded on 17 June 2025. It reconstructs the network of ancient roads that brought pilgrims to Rome from central-eastern and Baltic Europe: more than 4,700 kilometers across seven countries, with 245 stages and over fifty UNESCO sites.

The main Italian section runs for around 1,000 kilometers in 47 stages, touching Lazio locations such as Bolsena, Montefiascone, Viterbo and San Martino al Cimino before reaching Rome as the crowning point of the journey. Since 2024, the final stretch no longer rejoins the Via Francigena, thanks to meticulous remapping carried out by a network of volunteers, which has redefined the route, giving it a distinct identity and a new way into Rome.

A European map, a Lazio destination

Three directions, three historical traditions, one geographical convergence: Lazio. It is in this region that the three routes meet, share the same landscape of the Tuscia of Viterbo and approach the Eternal City together.

The Lazio stages form the true experiential heart of the “Antichi Cammini d’Italia” project: tufa villages, Romanesque basilicas, natural parks, papal fortresses and ancient walking routes still accessible on foot today. This geography of pilgrimage is made more recognizable and accessible in national and international markets through the project.

Project funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU “Antichi Cammini di Italia”, PNRR – Mission M1C3, Investment 4.3, Measure 274 – the Italian Ministry of Tourism is the subject operator, ENIT S.p.A. is the subject agent.

press@pomilio.com

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