Little Green Tracs

Walkabout to Wanderlust

For centuries, humans have always been on the move. 

They have been walking, hiking, tramping, rambling, marching, and scrambling, even running at times. Other times they simply stroll, wander and slowly saunter along. 

Their reasons for moving from one place to another are varied, as the days are long. Some were simply traders taking goods for sale to another town; soldiers marching to confront and conquer their enemies, and just plain ordinary folk wandering in search of work and a new life. Still others were in search of something; maybe a religious or spiritual journey, or wanting an better appreciation of the world that surrounds or a deeper understanding of themselves, or answers to questions.

Male Australian Aborigines used to undergo a journey during adolescence, a rite of passage, whereby they would venture into the bush for a period of up to six months; following in the footsteps of their ancestors took before them. They retrace paths or “songlines” as they are called, imitating the heroic deeds of those before them. 

On the other side of the globe in Europe, Celtic tribes and later Christians made long arduous dangerous journeys to places of religious importance; Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Rome in Italy, and Jerusalem in Israel.  These travelers were pilgrims; from the Latin word “peregrinusm” meaning stranger or foreigner and their journey that took called pilgrimages - journeys into the strange and the unknown.

Later the English coined a word called “wanderlust”; meaning “a crave for travel", derived from the German words for “wandern” (to hike) and “lust” (desire). Today, some of us call this “itchy feet,” an irresistible impulse to travel.

The routes they took were called by different names; paths or ways in England, camino or ruta in Spain, via or cammino in Italy; chemin in France and wanderweg in Germany and Austria. Back in Australia, those young Aborigine males followed tracks, a term still used today in Australia and New Zealand for modern day trampers. In North America, the routes are called trails, probably named after the legions of horses and wagons that crisscrossed the continent in the previous century, and now sometimes used by modern day hikers.

In the days ahead, we will discover several of those fascinating routes and learn about a few of the inspirational journeys taken by others.

Omnes Viae Romam Perducunt – All Roads lead to Rome

At one time all roads did in fact lead to Rome. The road system of the ancient Roman Empire was quite extraordinary. Roads went throughout most of the UK in the west, to the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers which is today Iraq in the east. The roads went as far north into central Europe from the Danube River and far south as North Africa. All these roads radiated out of Rome, the capital. So no matter which road you took, it would ultimately end in Rome.

The expression “All Roads lead to Rome” is attributed to the Milliarium Aureum or Golden Milestone, a gilded bronze monument erected by the Emperor Augustus Caesar near the temple of Saturn in the central Forum of Ancient Rome. All roads began from this monument and all distances in the Roman Empire were measured relative to that point.

However, the expression “All Roads lead to Rome” is also an ancient proverb. It means loosely “one can take different paths to the same goal.” In other words, it means that the journey you choose to take - is yours alone. The expression has a broader and higher meaning that surpasses the simple and obvious meaning that all roads did in fact physically arrive in Rome. Instead, the proverb suggests whatever path or road we take, by whatever means, we will arrive at the same destination. 

With this in mind, it is important to remember that the Via Francigena was a broad network of paths, trails and roads that went to Rome; not a single fixed route but a series of different routes that changed over time.

The official route in Italy that exists today is just one a many ways one could travel to Rome. For example, many other trails and paths connect with the official Via Francigena including the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrim path. There are other places (maybe, one dozen somebody told us once) where pilgrims would cross the Alps into Italy other than Gran San Bernardo. Moreover, there are half as many ways to cross the Apennines Mountains in order to reach Tuscany. And through Tuscany and Lazio, there are a number of alternative paths one can take in order to reach Rome. And there is a series of other trails that originated from the east via the Tiber River and from the south that made their way to Rome.

In the following blog entries, we will highlight and discuss some of the more interesting alternative routes one can consider; those that are actually navigable today and those that maybe should be remain left for another time.

Il Cammino dell’Arcangelo 24 Aprile 3 maggio 2009

Via dell'Angelo (Via Micaelica)

Historically, many pilgrims arriving in Rome continued to the southern Italian ports to set sail for Jerusalem. Others would branch off at the town of Troia to visit the shrine of St Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo. The roads of the time were still largely based on the Roman roads, principally the Via Latina and the Via Appia, together with its later southern variant, the Via Appia Traiana.
 
A long-term project is in progress to develop a series of modern walking routes from Rome south towards Bari. The first section of this route is a section from Rome to Monte Sant'Angelo, named the Camino dell’Arcangelo. It is also known as the Via Micaelica and historically as the Via Sacra Langobardorum.

The Via Micaelica or Via dell'Angelo is so named because it connects Rome with Monte S. Angelo, and ancient underground sanctuary of San Michele.  This southern route initially follows the route of the ancient Roman Via Latina (known more commonly Casilina or the Appian Way to Capua) and then along the Via Appia Traiana.

Between 1151 and 1154 the Icelandic abbot Nikulas of Munkathvera, went on a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem and wrote a detailed diary in which he described the main routes, alternate routes, the places he visited.  South of Rome, Nikulas followed the Via Latina and then the Via Appia. The route passed through the various towns including Frascati, Ferentino, Ceprano, Aquino, Capua, Montecassino, Benevento, Siponto Barletta, Trani, Bisceglie, Molfetta, and then finally Bari.

This route was not only used by pilgrims coming to Rome from southern Italy and other Mediterranean countries, but especially for pilgrims wanted to travel to Jerusalem.

The group “Terre Alte” del Club Alpino Italiano, since 2005 has been researching, documenting and mapping a route for the Via dell'Angelo that follows the ancient Roman roads, the Via Latina and the Via Traiana. An initial section of the route has been documented and mapped. The group will inaugurate this section of the route with an organized walk from April 24 2009 through to May 3 2009.

The organized walk departs from Benevento, (“Città Santa”) and arrives in Monte Sant’Angelo.  The section is approximately 200km and is divided into 10 stages.

Details of the planned organized walk:

Stage 01  24/04   Benevento - Accoglienza
Stage 02  25/04   Benevento – Pietrelcina
Stage 03  26/04   Pietrelcina – Buonalbergo
Stage 04  27/04   Buonalbergo – Aequum Tuticum
Stage 05  28/04   Aequum Tuticum – Troia
Stage 06  29/04   Troia – Lucera
Stage 07  30/04   Lucera – San Severo
Stage 08  01/05   San Severo – Santuario di Stignano
Stage 09  02/05   Santuario di Stignano – San Giovanni R.
Stage 10  03/05   San Giovanni R – Monte Sant’Angelo

For more information please visit the following links.

http://compostela.pellegrinando.it/sezioni.php?seid=1921

http://compostela.pellegrinando.it/upload/allegati/6683.pdf

http://compostela.pellegrinando.it/upload/allegati/6684.pdf

http://www.associazioneviafrancigena.com/public/documents/skedaOK.doc