Cammino di Assisi

The Route

I walked the Cammino di Assisi in late August 2020, during the year of COVID: a unique period when travel meant caution and concern, and human contact was often met with fear.

I had originally planned to complete the Camino de Santiago, which I had started in 2018 and continued in 2019, but the evolving epidemiological situation, uncertainty in Spain, and doubts about accommodation availability led me to choose a pilgrimage route in Italy instead.

I was looking for a less commercial route, immersed in nature and challenging both physically and mentally. After gathering information online, I decided to set off on this journey. Official information is available on the Cammino di Assisi website.

It was a wonderful pilgrimage route, completed entirely on my own. During the walking days, I met very few people, almost exclusively at the end of each stage or while visiting hermitages, making the experience deeply immersive within extraordinary sacred forests.

The days started early in the morning: long ascents and descents through the mountains, significant elevation changes, packed lunches in isolated high-altitude meadows and arrival at the accommodation in the early afternoon.

Among the places that impressed me most were the sacred forest leading to the Sanctuary of La Verna, an untouched place filled with spiritual energy, and the landscapes near Poggio Scali, the highest point of the route at 1,520 metres. You can see one of those views in the photo above, taken in the Casentinesi Forest National Park. Places and natural scenery that will remain in my heart forever.

The route starts in the small village of Dovadola and ends in Assisi, crossing three Italian regions: Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Umbria.

The stages are essentially predetermined. There are some alternative variants that allow certain sections to be divided differently, but the route does not offer the same flexibility as the Camino de Santiago or the Via Francigena. For this reason, I strongly recommend booking accommodations in advance to avoid unpleasant surprises.

As for the weight and contents of the backpack, it was not very different from what I used on my other pilgrimage routes. You can find tips and more details here.

This route also has a credential, the document that certifies pilgrim status, accompanies travellers along the journey, and is stamped at the various stages. The credential can be collected at the Dovadola refuge after communicating your departure date by email, attaching the form available on the official website and receiving confirmation of bed availability. At the refuge, pilgrims also receive the guidebook, the list of shelters, a hat or the Tau symbol of the route and finally the logo pin: small objects that still represent wonderful memories of this pilgrimage today.

The official certificate (devotionis causa) confirming the completion of the pilgrimage is called the Assisiana. During the COVID year, it was sent directly to my home once I had completed the route. At the Basilica of Assisi, I was also given a specific testimonium dedicated to another Franciscan pilgrimage route, since I had followed the historical path of the route.

The table below shows the distance of each stage, and by clicking on a row you can view both the departure and arrival points directly on the map.

My Cammino di Assisi in numbers

Gallery

In this gallery, you will find a selection of photos taken along the 13 stages of my journey from Dovadola to Assisi. The images are organised in chronological order, and by selecting a photo, you can browse the entire gallery.