The St Francis Way: which guidebook to take, and what else to read

The St Francis Way, or Via di Francesco, is a walking pilgrimage of about 518 kilometres from Florence to Rome, through Tuscany and Umbria, following places linked with Saint Francis of Assisi. It is usually walked in around 27 stages of 11 to 29 kilometres, past the sanctuary of La Verna, Assisi, Gubbio, Spoleto and the Marmore Falls, and it suits walkers who want a month-long pilgrimage. Here is the book that covers it, the guides that help around it, and what to read first. Our page for the route is Books for the St Francis Way.

The guidebook

The Way of St Francis: Via di Francesco by the Reverend Sandy Brown is the Cicerone guide to the route, and the only guidebook dedicated to it that we list. It describes the route from north to south, with 1:100,000 maps and elevation profiles, and downloadable GPX files for navigation. It includes variants for the Florence to La Verna and Assisi to Rieti sections, and flexible itineraries that start at either Assisi or La Verna.

It also covers the practical side of a pilgrimage: accommodation from low-cost hotels and agriturismi (farm stays) to foresterie (guesthouses) and hostels, with advice on booking ahead, and how to get a pilgrim credential and keep your pilgrim passport. Cicerone presents the route as a scenic alternative to the crowded Camino de Santiago. If you are choosing between the two, our Camino guidebook comparison covers the other side.

Guides for the places along the way

A route guide tells you where to walk, not what to see when you arrive. For that, two regional guides are useful. The Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria combines must-see sights with lesser-known places, from Florence's Uffizi to quieter corners, and offers planning tips as well as advice on the ground. Italy: Umbria & The Marche by Michael Pauls and Dana Facaros is Bradt's guide to the region, which its authors describe as having the beauty, history and culture of neighbouring Tuscany without the crowds.

What to read before you go

We do not list a narrative account of this route, so the best preparation is reading about other pilgrimages. Our Pilgrimage Books page has the Camino memoirs, the British pilgrim paths and the long walks to Jerusalem and beyond, and our guide to pilgrimage walks picks the best of them. Wayfarer by Phoebe Smith, shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year, is a good place to begin: it follows Britain's oldest pilgrim paths after an assignment to walk the Camino left the author feeling lost.

The trail page above will list new books as we add them.