A friend and I would like to do a backpack walk from town or hamlet to town in Italy. I recently walked a portion of the Camino in Spain and would love to do something similar in Italy. I'd like to walk between 10 and 20 miles/day. I'm having no success finding a defined walk. Any suggestions.
Posted by
Berkeley CA
1307 posts
There is an American company called Country Walkers which offers expensive walking tours.
I'm not suggesting that you take one, but you could look at their itineraries for Italy for some ideas.
And there are probably other companies that do the same. I remember one out of Britain but don't recall the name, but perhaps someone else might.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16379 posts
There is a Pilgrims Path through Italy to Rome, the Via Francigena. It actually starts in England and crosses France and Switzerland before entering Italy.
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/mar/09/walking-path-rome-italy
Here is a company that offers the long walk from the Swiss border at St. Bernard's Pass tonRome, but perhaps they offer shorter sections as well.
https://worldwalks.com/walks/the-via-francigena-pilgrim-route-to-rome/
there are probably other companies as well. You can find reviews of the walk from Siena to Romenon Tripadvisor.
I have read a book written by a couple who did the walk on their own. They had considerable difficulty with route-finding and encountered some stretches on very busy roads, so you would want to choose your section to walk carefully.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Lola beat me to it. The Franciscan Way goes through some interesting towns.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15225 posts
Karen:
The website below is a famous Wikipedia style Italian trekking site. Trekking enthusiasts in Italy all contribute to the site. There are many itineraries from village to village suggested by trekking aficionados. Just click on the map (mappa) on the region you plan to visit under "percorsi" (paths).
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1883 posts
We did a self guided hiking tour in Umbria last year with another couple. Used https://www.nicholexpeditions.com/destination/italy-umbria-self-guided-walking/ Judy and Chuck are amazing at what they do, and can customize your tour. We added a cooking lesson at their suggestion and it was great.
If you are looking for the Via Francigena, you might try Mac Tours http://www.macsadventure.com/us/camino-tours/francigena/
Either company can offer you different hiking trips. We prefer self guided, out on the trial by ourselves, walking town to town with the promise of gelato on the way to our hotel.
They transfer your luggage, you simply walk with a daypack loaded with your water / rain gear and snacks...
Good luck finding a trip to your liking
Posted by
Massachusetts
715 posts
Bill Thayer has an excellent website on walking in Umbria with detailed accounts of various walks he took. Definitely check it out.
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Umbria/walking.html
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
1054 posts
Cicerone (a company in the UK) has books geared towards walking. I bought one for a trip to Lake Maggiore in 2016 to walk more between towns and up the moutains. They have books for different regions. Take a look at some of these
http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/index.cfm/cid/29/catalogue/italy