Day 1 - La Verna to Pieve Santo Stefano
- Pilgrim Nick
- May 8
- 2 min read
Walking the Via di Francesco offers a unique blend of natural beauty, spiritual reflection, and charming Italian towns. The first day, from La Verna to Santo Stefano, sets the tone well.
The walk begins at the Sanctuary of La Verna, a place that immediately captures your attention. Perched on a rocky plateau, the sanctuary is famous for its peaceful atmosphere and religious significance as the site where St. Francis received the stigmata. It's a big, active monastery with a rabbit warren of chapels and corridors.
La Verna has spectacular views - one is certainly closer to God in metres.
Every afternoon, there is a procession from the main church to the chapel of the Stigmata. I was amused to see that they take no chances here - anyone who fancied disrupting the event would to have to face armed police officers.
I stayed in La Foresteria which is a simple but very pleasant guesthouse. On arrival one is allocated a table at which to eat breakfast and dinner and, in a welcoming way, the evening meal included half a bottle of wine per pilgrim. There was a bar as well which did panini take-outs on arrival and also to take for lunch the next day.
The walk from La Verna to Santo Stefano was glorious; high mountains (for a Brit at least) with stunning views when not masked by forest. The high point was Mount Calvano at 1254m (some 90m short of Ben Nevis).
It was clear on day one that this was going to be a much busier route that the Rome to Assisi option. A party of 19 Irish walkers with day packs blasted past me within a mile of leaving La Verna. After stopping for lunch at some well-posiitoned tables, I met an Italian lady with her little dog, Margot, who was walking the route. It seemed very appropriate to see a dog doing the way of St Francis!
Arriving in Pieve Santo Stefano, the choice of accommodation was limited to Hotel Santo Stefano so I wasn't surprised to find the place catered for pilgrims. Across the road from the hotel was a bar Europa which did not only beer but also ice-creams, a truly perfect combination for a pilgrim. The hotel did a good dinner - the only restaurant in town was Il Portico which was the name of the hotel restaurant.
Santo Stefano itself is not that exciting. There is an misleadingly named old bridge and a unexciting town centre. However, the modern buildings hide a grim history - in August 1944, the population was evacuated by the Germans who then thoroughly destroyed the town. The old bridge used to be an old bridge...
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