Friday, April 11, 2025
- Start: Pisa, Italy
- End: Altopascio
- Distance Traveled: 26 km (via rail from Pisa to Lucca)
- Distance Walked: 5 km in Pisa + 18.5 km on the Via Francigena
I’d done my best to be quiet when I arrived at the hostel in Pisa after 10 pm last night. There were two guests already asleep in the room, and the lights were out. So rather than showering off the ickiness of a full day of travel (and potentially waking my roommates), I just settled in and went to sleep in the dark room.
My efforts to be stealthy were for naught. Seemingly minutes after I’d fallen asleep, three other guests rolled into our 6-bunk room. They halfheartedly tried to be quiet. But all three of them were using the white lights from their phones to settle into the room. Then they took turns showering in the ensuite bathroom, repeatedly going in and out of the door immediately beside my assigned bed, and I didn’t fall back to sleep until nearly 1 am.
Despite this nocturnal interruption, I was up around 7:30 am. I showered and packed up my gear before heading down to the hostel’s little bar to grab a cappuccino and “cornetto” (croissant). Yet, I had one more critical task to check off during breakfast before I could leave..
Thanks to the faulty outlet beside my bunk, my phone’s battery was critically low. I hadn’t been able to charge my phone overnight. I needed to locate a functioning power outlet in the breakfast room to get my phone back up to at least 75% before I had any chance of finding my way around Italy.
Pisa
Although I’d woken up in Pisa, this wasn’t the starting point for my trek on the Via Francigena. It was just the closest city with an airport. I still had to travel another 26 kilometers inland to Lucca, Italy, before I could begin my 430-kilometer walk toward Rome.
Nevertheless, catching the morning train to Lucca without first going out to see one of the most iconic and recognizable buildings in the country would have been plain silly. I’d seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa once before, but it had been nearly 15 years since my last visit. So, I set out on foot for a quick 2.5-kilometer detour to the “Piazza di Duomo,” to cast my eyes (once again) on the “Torre di Pisa.”
Even though it was still early, the piazza was already thronged with tourists taking photos of themselves. At least half of them seemed to be humourously posing with their arms out as if they were trying to hold the tower up from falling.
Beside the tower stood the Pisa Cathedral with a giant banner welcoming pilgrims for the Jubilee year of 2025. This celebration was one of the reasons I almost didn’t walk in Italy this year. Jubilee occurs every 25 years and is a designated holy year for the Catholic Church. It’s also a time when many Catholics make a pilgrimage to the Vatican.
I’d worried that walking to Rome during the Jubilee might mean I’d be fighting unrelenting crowds on this journey. Nevertheless, I decided to take my chances and walk the Via Francigena anyway. Only time would tell if this was an unwise choice.
After taking my own selfies near the Tower of Pisa (which were a bit less cringy and didn’t involve fake attempts to keep it from falling), it was time to backtrack to the Pisa train station and find my way to Lucca.
Since this was my first day on the Via Francigena, I planned a shorter-than-normal distance. I only needed to walk 18.5 kilometers (11.5 miles) between Lucca and Altopascio today. This “stage” seemed like a nice, easy start, and I didn’t need to feel any pressure to rush to my destination. Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to hang out in Pisa forever.
I should have walked faster through town, though, because I missed the train to Lucca by one minute. Luckily, I hadn’t bought my ticket yet, and I was on a popular route. This time of year, the trains ran between Pisa and Lucca twice an hour. I just needed to cool my heels for the next half hour and maybe find myself another tasty coffee to fuel my adventure.
Lucca
The train to Lucca only cost me €3.90, which was a pleasant surprise. That was about half the absurd cost of last night’s 1-kilometer ride from the airport to the train station on the PisaMover. And barely half an hour after departing Pisa, I was stepping off the platform at the Lucca train station, looking for where I was supposed to head into the walled city.
Like many political and financial hubs of ancient Italy, Lucca’s city center was situated within a walled fortress. It’s considered one of the best-preserved Renaissance fortresses, with a wide rampart running approximately 4 kilometers around the city. There are several gates (large archways) leading in and out of the city center and the maze of streets inside. What a fantastic place to start this Italian adventure!
I’d researched where to get my pilgrims’ passport (“credenziale“) before leaving home. As with the Camino de Santiago in Spain, pilgrims walking the Via Francigena carry a small booklet known as a pilgrim’s passport, and they get ink stamps inside it at various places along their journey.
This “credenziale” serves as a souvenir of the journey. It also provides proof at the end of the pilgrimage that the pilgrim walked at least 100 kilometers and is entitled to a “testimonium” (certificate of their pilgrimage from the Catholic Church).
Lucca is one of the more popular starting points on the Via Francigena, which makes it easier to find a “credenziale” upon arrival, rather than having to acquire one in advance. Many pilgrims walk the stretch from Lucca to Siena (145 kilometers) and get their “testimonium” at the Lucca Cathedral.
But pilgrims with more time can opt for the picturesque walk from Lucca to Rome. I planned to be in this group and hoped to complete my 430-kilometer journey to the Vatican within two weeks’ time, so I could begin a second spring pilgrimage in Spain before returning home to the U.S.
Upon purchasing my “credenziale” for €8 at the museum adjacent to the Duomo di San Martino, I got my inaugural (but somewhat smudgy) ink stamp inside the booklet. Then I set out to tour the cathedral itself. Construction on this Duomo began in 1063 AD, and the magnificent arches on the front of the facade were absolutely breathtaking.
The artwork inside was equally impressive, featuring blue-painted ceilings, colorful murals, mosaic tilework, and marble sculptures. There was even a special entrance into the Duomo for pilgrims with a doorway marked with the Jubilee 2025 symbol that I’d see over and over again during this journey in Italy. I also received my second (much clearer) ink stamp in my “credenziale” from the woman checking visitors in at the church’s entrance.
Time to Get Walking
After a respectable time appreciating the sights in Lucca, it was time to begin my journey south toward Rome. It was already noon by the time I left town, and the day was turning warm and humid.
Getting out of Lucca’s walled city was probably the trickiest part of my day. The streets seemed to wander and curve, and there weren’t any Via Francigena signs or markings that I could see. The whole experience made me long for the exceptionally well-marked Camino de Santiago routes in Spain.
Thank goodness I had the foresight to create a GPS track on Gaia to guide me on this adventure. I’d used the hodgepodge of tracks on the mediocre Via Francigena app to create a single route, and then downloaded it to my phone before leaving home. Without this tool, I’m pretty sure I would have gone in circles looking for where to go!
Honestly, I had no idea how other people were finding their way on the Via Francigena. Were they following a guidebook? Or was there another navigation app I didn’t know about? I had to ask the other pilgrims when I met them.
After about 30-45 minutes of following faded “bumper sticker style” stickers on lightposts, Lucca’s sprawling suburbs gave way to its exurbs. Today’s route was mostly on sidewalks next to the busy “Via Romana” road heading south. There was a lot of vehicle traffic and noise.
The frequency of route markers seemed to be increasing as I headed further south, but there were so many different varieties that I never knew what marker might appear next. Maybe my eyes weren’t accustomed to the markings yet, but once again, I missed the Camino with its consistent yellow arrows and scallop shells.
Today’s route wasn’t at all what I expected when I envisioned walking a pilgrimage route through Tuscany. I’d hoped for rolling hills and vineyards, not cars and barking dogs as I wove between stucco homes, industrial areas, and busy roadways.
I was pretty sure I spotted my first two pilgrims right before I reached the town of Cappanori. Two women were walking ahead of me with small packs and trekking poles. But they were speaking Italian to each other, so I didn’t feel brave enough to strike up a conversation with them and find out for sure.
The day continued to warm into the early afternoon, and I was glad I’d packed a sunshirt with a hood for the bright Tuscan sun. Last Christmas, I asked Santa (aka my husband) to get me a Triple Crown button-down sunshirt from Jolly Gear. This was the first trek I was wearing it on too.
This sun hoodie was a bit more expensive than my typical hiking attire. But its button-down, collared shirt style seemed a bit more polished than my other sun shirts (like the REI Sahara shade hoodie and the Mountain Hardwear Crater Lake hoody). It already made me feel a lot less “hiker-trashy” while traveling in Europe, but only time and miles would tell whether this was ultimately a good gear swap.
After two hours of walking, my stomach was grumbling. I’d picked up an onion focaccia and some fruit before grabbing the train in Pisa. But there didn’t seem to be anywhere to stop to eat it along this stretch of the trail. No parks. No benches. Nothing. So I kept walking and walking, hoping to find a good place to stop.
Admittedly, I still needed to find my mealtime rhythm out here on the Via Francigena. Much like Spain, people in Italy tend to have their big meal at lunchtime and then eat a more modest dinner in the evening.
I prefer not to have a big meal when I still have hours of walking ahead of me. So I needed to determine if there was an option to purchase a smaller lunchtime meal at the bars along the way or if I should plan to frequent grocery stores and pack a picnic lunch each day instead.
As I headed into the town of Porcari, I kept my eyes peeled for a nice place to stop and eat my food. But my visual efforts were interrupted when I saw two horseback riders heading toward me on the paved road. I didn’t expect that today, not in this semi-urban area. I hadn’t seen a single horse or any livestock in any of the fields thus far, so where these riders came from (and where they were going) was a genuine mystery.
Too early to judge
After 8 miles of non-stop walking, I finally found a shady park with some empty benches in the small town of Porcari.
As I sat down, I had the immediate realization that I should have taken a break earlier. I was famished and parched. The warm afternoon was making me tired and hangry, and I felt like I was running on empty. All I’d eaten today was the cornetto and a cappuccino at the hostel this morning. This was not a good way to begin a long trek. I needed to fuel my body and remember to take regular breaks if I hoped to make it to Rome.
Consequently, I vowed to take a long break in Porcari. I took off my shoes and sat under the cool shade of a tall tree while eating my late lunch. I also spent a bit of time thinking about this pilgrimage and how it compares to my other European treks.
I know it’s too early to judge this hike. But I’m not immediately in love with the Via Francigena. Today had some real highlights – like Pisa, the beautiful Duomo in Lucca, and the wildflowers blooming everywhere. But it isn’t exactly blowing me away thus far with its flat walking and paved sidewalks.
I know I wasn’t giving the Via Francigena a fair shake. I’d only walked 13 kilometers of this 430-kilometer trek so far. I was barely 3% of the way into this journey. So it was too early to judge this adventure on the merits. I needed to give it a few more days before forming a real opinion. Every route has its highs and lows.
Altopascio
After 45 minutes of resting in the shady park, I felt ready to take on the final 5.6 kilometers to my hotel in Altopascio. But I didn’t even make it out of town before I stopped again. A local bar was advertising an ink stamp for pilgrims, so I naturally had to stop in for a refreshingly cold Coke (with ice even!), and acquire my third stamp of the day.
Returning to the Via Francigena 15 minutes later, I was ready to put my head down and crush the remaining distance to Altopascio.
The route finally left pavement as it detoured past a vineyard and a “hospitale” (pilgrim welcome center and hostel). As I walked by the orange stucco structure, I saw the two women walkers from earlier this afternoon. They were definitely pilgrims if they were staying here. But there didn’t seem to be anyone else around.
For all my fears about the Jubilee making the Via Francigena crowded, that didn’t seem to be the case. Tomorrow would be the real test, though. I’d be leaving town in the morning like most of the other pilgrims. If there was a “pilgrim parade,” ahead of me, that’s when I’d see it, for sure.
Crowds of people
As I reached the edge of Altopascio, a hearse passed me on the road. I’d seen lots of sights in Europe while walking. But a hearse was never one of them. They certainly have to exist here in Italy, though, right? People die every day. Nevertheless, a hearse isn’t something you expect to see on your hiking bingo card.
Shortly afterward, small clusters of people started trickling down the sidewalk and walking toward me. After 250 meters of dodging more and more people, I reached a church, where a sizable crowd of mourners was dressed in black. I’d clearly stumbled my way into the end of a funeral on this Friday afternoon.
I negotiated my way through the crowd on the sidewalk as respectfully as possible. Yet, I didn’t have any inkling that this moment was foreshadowing something major yet to come on my walk on the Via Francigena.
Then I made my way to my hotel in Altopascio proper. This was my first stop on the trek, and it was a bit different from walking in Spain. The network of pilgrim hostels and albergues I was used to encountering at the end of each stage of the Camino didn’t seem to exist here on the Via Francigena.
There didn’t seem to be any pilgrims in sight. Walking the Via Francigena felt like I was essentially just another tourist in Italy. I wasn’t feeling the spirit of this pilgrimage route. Not yet, at least.
