Via di Francesco - Florence to Santuario della Verna

Walk from the heart of Renaissance Florence into the deep forests of the Tuscan Apennines on the opening stages of the Via di Francesco. This self-guided pilgrimage follows quiet paths, ancient mule tracks, and small stone villages toward La Verna, the sanctuary where St. Francis received the stigmata in 1224. It is a journey rich in landscape: vineyards and olive groves near Florence, chestnut forests around Consuma, and the pristine Casentino National Park as you approach the sacred mountain.

Your pilgrimage begins with time to explore Florence, visiting Santa Croce — where a famous fresco cycle portrays the life of St. Francis — or wandering the Arno and Ponte Vecchio before stepping onto the trail. The countryside rises steadily toward the pass of Consuma with broad views over the Arno Valley. Stia and Camaldoli offer some of the most peaceful forests in Tuscany, shaded trails, ancient hermitages, and a living monastic tradition stretching back a thousand years. Shorter walking days through the Casentino allow time for prayer, reflection, and rest amid beech and fir woods alive with birdsong.

The pilgrimage culminates at Santuario della Verna, a Franciscan sanctuary built into sheer rock cliffs, surrounded by deep forest and extraordinary silence. Pilgrims can visit the Chapel of the Stigmata, the corridors of stone carved by centuries of devotion, and the sweeping terraces that look south toward the Umbrian hills.

Pilgrim Paths arranges your accommodations from Florence to La Verna and provides Sandy Brown’s e-guidebook plus access to the Pilgrim Paths Navigo app with curated GPS tracks as backup to trail signage. Walk at your own rhythm, gather stamps in your pilgrim credential, and experience the beauty and simplicity that shaped Francis’s world.