A third in the Lower Valley in Pont-Saint-Martin. On the route of the European Association of the Vie Francigene: 6 and 7 August
IVREA. Among the 172 stages of “Via Francigena, Road to Rome 2021” two are in Canavese, Ivrea and Viverone, the third in Valle d’Aosta: Pont Saint Martin. The wait is for the beginning of August. The long European march from Canterbury Cathedral to Santa Maria di Leuca passing through Rome – Road to Rome, in fact – began last Tuesday to celebrate the 20 years of the European Association of the Vie Francigene (Aevf) and the 27th anniversary of the recognition of Via Francigena as a cultural itinerary of the Council of Europe. It is 3,200 kilometers across five countries and 172 stages that also include the Canavese: the pilgrim’s staff, the wayfarer’s staff that took the place of the Olympic torch for the occasion, will change hands as in a relay on August 6 in Pont -Saint-Martin, where he will take the direction of Ivrea, and from Ivrea to Viverone on the 7th, in a sort of collective party that will involve citizens and municipal administrations. From time to time, the walkers will be members of the group that set out from Canterbury at the beginning of the week, a group made up of representatives of the European Association of the Vie Francigene, journalists, bloggers, videomakers and pilgrims who will tell the journey day by day through the official digital channels of Aevf.
An opportunity also for the Canavese that pilgrims and slow tourism enthusiasts await as a memorable moment.
«Great opportunity – says Paola Lamborghini of Turismo Torino e Provincia – when slow tourism was not yet the same as today’s numbers, we believed in it, promoting it. Among other things, in order to make our route known to the locals, we intend to install a map panel next to the association’s headquarters in Ivrea ». That is in Corso Botta, just before Piazza Balla, where the Via Francigena di Sigerico Association led by Paolo Facchin opens every morning from Monday to Saturday, from 8 to 12.30, thanks to the availability of the volunteers who already take care of keeping clean and marked the paths, welcome pilgrims, dialogue with the municipal administrations and from the beginning of June return to organize excursions (for the moment only on foot in the narrow district of Ivrea, like next Sunday with the visit of San Bernardino which will be open for the occasion ).
Here the number of passages, although underestimated given that the Francigenous infopoint is only open for half a day, they say that yes, the pilgrims are back. «We counted 115 in a month – says Facchin – mostly Italians, many from Lodi, Genoa and Trentino. A minority from Belgium and France ».