Via Francigena: From Canterbury to Rome

Around 990, Archbishop Sigeric journeyed from Canterbury to Rome and back, and wrote down the stops of his return. Today the Via Francigena starts where Sigeric's trip began: the zero milestone in the South Porch of Canterbury Cathedral. The cathedral was already a pilgrimage place in its own right, drawing travellers to the shrine of Thomas Becket after his murder. Pilgrims collect a pilgrim passport before setting off, then walk on towards Dover and the Channel crossing.

Visitor guidance: Pilgrim passports are available from The Beaney Museum or the cathedral information office.

Modern pilgrims walk out of Canterbury via St Martin's Church. It is known as the oldest English church building still in ecclesiastical use, and it forms part of the same World Heritage Site as the cathedral. Heading on, pilgrims pick up the first stamp in their pilgrim passport at the village church of St. Mary's in Patrixbourne.

Visitor guidance: A working parish church.

After crossing France and Switzerland, the route climbs from Saint-Maurice over the Great St Bernard Pass to Aosta. The pass stands at 2,469 metres, one of the most ancient crossings of the Western Alps, and the hospice at its summit was founded in 1049 to shelter travellers. It was one of three or four Alpine and Apennine crossings pilgrims might use depending on season and politics. The old road can still be seen above the modern one.

Location precision: The pin marks the pass summit; Sigeric's exact path through the mountains is not recorded in the source.

Visitor guidance: The hospice straddles the highest point of the road.

Lucca is one of the named stages on the Tuscan stretch of the route, between Luni and San Gimignano. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, is the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca.

Location precision: The sources list Lucca as a stage but do not say where Sigeric stayed; the pin marks the cathedral.

Visitor guidance: The cathedral is in Lucca's city centre.

Siena comes on the route after Poggibonsi and before San Quirico d'Orcia. The cathedral, begun in the early 13th century, has been central to Sienese identity ever since; builders kept expanding it until the Black Death halted construction in 1348.

Location precision: Siena is a listed stage, but no source says that Sigeric visited the cathedral itself; the pin marks it as a landmark.

Visitor guidance: The cathedral is in Siena.

Viterbo is the last major town before Sutri and Rome. It became the popes' favourite residence, and in 1266–1268 Clement IV, from the loggia of the Papal Palace, excommunicated the army of Conradin of Swabia as it passed along the Via Cassia. The medieval walls of the town are still mainly intact.

Location precision: The sources do not tie Sigeric to the palace; the pin marks the Papal Palace as the town's landmark.

Visitor guidance: The palace is in the old town.

The journey ends in Rome, once the goal of pilgrims who came to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul. Catholic tradition places Saint Peter's tomb directly below the high altar of St Peter's. Inside, one foot of the Saint Peter Enthroned statue is largely worn away by pilgrims kissing it for centuries. Beyond Rome, the path continued towards the ports of embarkation for the Holy Land.

Visitor guidance: The basilica is in Vatican City.