Way of St. Francis
Our Trip to Italy in 2024: Part 3
We descended the narrow steps and entered a dimly lit crypt. In front of us, on the floor, was a bronze marker indicating the site of the grave.
This wasn’t the resting place of a saint, though. It was a memorial to a wolf. We were in Gubbio in the Italian region of Umbria. This was the territory of Francis of Assisi, a wandering preacher from the 12th century. The leaders of Gubbio, a village built on a steep mountain slope, having heard of Francis’s special relationship with animals requested his help with a ferocious wolf. The wolf had been terrorizing the townspeople and they didn’t know what to do. Francis hiked 30 miles on familiar mountain paths from Assisi to Gubbio. He conversed with the beast and prayed with him. The wolf was transformed into a gentle pet, leaving the citizens in peace, content with whatever food he was freely offered.
Black Celery on Bruschetta in Trevi
My wife, Karen, and I were walking south along the Way of St. Francis from the mountain monastery of La Verna in Tuscany to the river town of Rieti in the region of Lazio. We walked steep mountain paths lined with Scotch broom and flat river valleys descending toward the Tiber. We explored Umbrian hill towns like Trevi where it was black celery season (late October); Gubbio, a town so steep that elevators and lifts serve as public transportation; and Assisi, Francis’s birthplace and the center of his ministry. We savored creative pasta concoctions made with wild boar or black truffles. We drank the leathery red Sagrantino and Sangiovese-based wines. We slept in monasteries with fellow pilgrims, mostly Italian, some nights. Other nights we stayed in small hotels and B&Bs. Some days we didn’t see any other hikers or pilgrims. Some evenings, we had multilingual dinners with Italian, German, and Dutch walkers who were fellow fans of the 12th century mystic. Every town along the way had been touched in some way by St. Francis.
Approaching Assisi
Marmore Falls (created by the Romans in 271 BC)
Taussig Travel can help with your trip to Central Italy. Public transportation isn’t very good in this region, so a self-drive independent tour with a car or a guided tour would be best. We learned a lot about the Way of St. Francis (Via Francesca, Via di Francesco) and would be happy to give advice to anyone contemplating walking it.
Poggio Bustone
In April, Brian will lead an exclusive small group tour of Venice, Florence, and Rome with an optional extension to Pompeii and Amalfi. Click here for more information. We’ll also offer a week-long stay in Tuscany in the spring and in the fall.
Additional Resources
- The Way of St. Francis: Via di Francesco by Sandy Brown, a US Episcopal priest now living in Lucca, Italy. His recommended route is now used by most English speaking pilgrims. As a cleric himself, Sandy brings a unique perspective to pilgrimage walks.
- Rick Steves Italy– We are fans of Rick Steves and his work to make Europe and its culture accessible to North Americans. His Audio Europe app is free and is also very useful. We recommend buying the paperback version to plan with and the Kindle version to bring along on the trip.
- Rick Steves Snapshot Hill Towns of Central Italy– This is a smaller, thinner book focused on the region covered in this blog post.
- Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto- This biography of Francis approaches its subject with respect, while attempting to to understand the man behind the many legends.
