Little Green Tracs

"An Italian Odyssey" available on Amazon’s Kindle

A delightful travel memoir blends one couple's experience of a journey along the Via Francigena through Italy, with the wonderful food, wine, culture and history, one footstep at a time.

Canadian authors Julie Burk and Neville Tencer share their story in their new book  "An Italian Odyssey: One Couple’s Culinary and Cultural Pilgrimage" about their great adventure — walking 1,000 km on the Via Francigena, an ancient, elusive pilgrim trail through the heart of Italy.

In the book "An Italian Odyssey,” the couple’s initial plan was to walk and eat their way through Italy using their own homemade guide and map books. But their adventure takes on a life of its own as they face unexpected challenges. With both themselves and each other, they struggle with the constant physical and emotional demands and outcomes of navigating an arduous route. However, with dollops of Roman and medieval history, a dash of contemporary culture, plenty of sensual food and wine, and gracious Italian hospitality, they also share many romantic and magical moments.
 
Only after they endure sweat, tears, and frustration, when the strange concoction comes to a boil and the flavours and juices ooze out, do they realize and discover the true meaning of their journey.   In the end, the Italian Odyssey is a classic bittersweet tale of the couple’s experience of walking and eating through Italy — a unique culinary and walking pilgrimage. 

Editorial Praise

James Martin of “wanderingitaly.com” calls “An Italian Odyssey” a bittersweet journey…What you have here is the grubby truth about pilgrimage, the yin and yang of it, the supreme lows interspersed with moments of enlightenment. That’s what makes the book compelling.

Brandon Wilson, author of “Over the Top & Back Again: Hiking X the Alps” says “An Italian Odyssey” is uniquely personal exploit, told by both travelers in their own voices.

As usual, in our quest to discover the unknown, we learn just as much about ourselves. Blisters and all, it is a banquet to be slowly savored and best accompanied by a glass of Chianti and pasta with pesto.

** The kindle version of "An Italian Odyssey" includes additional images (and in color too - viewable using a color kindle enabled device).

To purchase your Kindle Edition of “An Italian Odyssey: One Couple’s Culinary and Cultural Pilgrimage”, please visit the following sites:

Amazon.com   
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de

The Path to Rome - Guided Walking Tour

Join us for an extraordinary opportunity to relive the religious and spiritual importance of the Via Francigena as a Christian pilgrim trail while enjoying the unique cultural and traditional culinary diversity of this special region of Italy.

Our guided walking tour will start in Siena September 24 and finish in Rome October 8. During the next 14 days and nights, we will visit significant religious, cultural and spiritual monuments of the Middle Ages. We will walk on old stone and gravel paths, along rolling hills of vineyards and wheat fields of the Val d’ Orcia, past medieval hilltop towns, and through the prehistoric Etruscan empire before arriving at the Vatican and the “Eternal City” of Rome. Each night we will enjoy fine foods that this particular region has to offer, eating in local ristoranti, trattorie and osterie.

Our guides will be Roberta Ferraris, Italian author of numerous walking guides of Italy, and Neville Tencer, Canadian author of An Italian Odyssey. La Compagnia dei Cammini (The Fellowship of Walks), an Italian eco-friendly organization that promotes walking and slow travel throughout Italy, will be hosting and organizing this special tour.

To learn more about the tour and the itinerary including costs and booking arrangements, please visit The Path to Rome website.

Please note: Registrations for this tour are only being accepted until July 31 2011.

Via Francigena in Italy

Historically the Via Francigena was a broad network of trails originating in ancient Francia (now France and western Germany), an ever-changing backbone of Roman and medieval roads leading to Rome. It also served as a pilgrim route as far away as Canterbury in England and in a sense it is the "mother road" for Christian pilgrims in Europe. For almost two thousand years, pilgrims from across Europe would trek across the Alps using the famous Saint Bernard Passes on their way to the pilgrim churches of Rome.

In the year 990, the English Archbishop, Sigeric the Serious of Canterbury, went to Rome to receive the pallium from Pope John XV. On his return trip to England, he recorded the route he took, providing the first written documentation of the Via Francigena.

The official route in Italy is also known as Sigeric’s route. Variations of the official route exist (namely the Abbott’s Way from Pavia to Pontremoli and through southern Tuscany) and plans are in place to expand these alternative routes. 

Officially, the Via Francigena starts in Italy at Great St. Bernard Pass at the Swiss/Italian border high in the Alps. From here it is approximately 1020 km (44 -48 stages) before you reach Rome Italy taking 6-7 weeks to complete

Pilgrim hikers from can also choose to start in Fidenza (home to the official association in Italy) or Parma: 636 km or 27-31 stages, or from San Miniato (just south of Lucca): 375 km or 16-18 stages. Many hikers just walk from Acquapendente to Rome in order to received their testimonium, a parchment in limited edition, available from the sacristy of St Peter's Basilica, to pilgrims who have walked at least from Acquapendente (130km) or cycled from Lucca (400km). 

Unlike the Camino in Spain, which sees approximately 150,000 people annually (250,000 in 2010) walking or biking the trail, the Via Francigena is barely discovered, an elusive and sometimes challenging trail to navigate. The result is approximately a thousand people have walked the entire route through Italy during the past decade. 

This said there is plenty of Etruscan, Roman and medieval history for the history buffs, a wonderful opportunity to witness Italian contemporary culture and bountiful sensual food and wine as the trail passes through half a dozen unique food and cultural regions.  

Guidebooks

LightFoot Guides to the Via Francigena 2010, 3rd Edition

Three Volumes covers the entire route from England, through France, Switzerland and Italy. Volumes 2&3 cover Switzerland and Italy

By Paul Chinn and Babette Gallard
Published March 2010
ISBN 9782917183120

This is the best guidebook and only English guide for the Via Francigena that includes detail maps, GPS points, updates, etc. Paul and Babette have biked, and by horse roade the VF twice and work closely with the Italian Ministry and various associations. http://www.pilgrimagepublications.com

Websites

Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene

Key Italian Association based in Fidenza (nearby Parma)
This English and Italian site provides (dated) detailed daily stage information, and accommodation maps, news, etc. www.associazioneviafrancigena.com

FrancigenaLibrari

The official Italian government site that covers the route through Italy from Gran San Bernardo at the Swiss/Italian Alps, all the way to Rome.

The multiple language website includes the official route plans and road maps of the route through Italy. Hikers can download Road Books (in Italian only) that provide detailed stage information and maps, GPS points and Google Earth maps, news, etc. www.francigenalibrari.beniculturali.it/index_en.html