Il Progetto via Francigena in Toscana

This historical, archaeological and artistic itinerary is thought of as something truly new and profoundly different from the many tourist routes that flourished around the Via Francigena. Like all medieval routes, the Via Francigena was not even properly a road, but a "bundle of roads," that is, a set of alternative routes, only partially known in detail, that connected northern Europe with Rome, the center of Western Christendom. Over the years, this has led to bringing under the umbrella "Via Francigena" an endless series of sites more or less connected to these different (and largely hypothetical) routes. The choice made by the curators of this project is completely different. Indeed, the choice has been made to bring the visitor closer to the fascinating theme of pilgrimage and, more generally, travel in the Middle Ages.

Traveling, in contexts as complex, politically fragmented and also rather insecure as the medieval ones, was certainly no small affair. Travelable roads and trails presupposed someone to take care of their maintenance, which was anything but trivial in centuries when there was no central state power. But above all, those who embarked on journeys that lasted months or years needed accommodations and assistance that would welcome, refresh, and protect them. The visitor to the portal has the opportunity to learn about the history of great abbeys and hospitals (the Abbey of S. Salvatore on Mount Amiata, the monastery of Abbadia a Isola, the Hospital of S. Maria della Scala in Siena, and many others) that from their origin had among their missions the maintenance and surveillance of stretches of road considered strategic, and the reception and care of pilgrims and travelers, a function that led them over the centuries to acquire considerable political, economic and social importance. Some of these sites are little known to the general public, and excluded from mass tourism itineraries. Visitors have the opportunity to learn about the historical events that involved them, and to acquire in-depth information about their artistic, architectural, and archaeological heritage. He or she can also, thanks to the files compiled by historians, art historians and archaeologists, make the acquaintance of little-known personalities - members of aristocratic lineages linked to monasteries, abbots, emperors, mythical founders... - and approach topics usually reserved for specialists, such as forms of political power, the management of landed estates, the different expressions of religiosity.

But the portal routes also allow-and this is the second perspective the editors have chosen to adopt-to look at the journey through the eyes of the medieval pilgrim. Churches and shrines marked the stages of his journey. Relics, devotional objects, and pictorial representations constituted the material embodiment of the sacred, which was the very foundation of the pilgrimage experience. Pilgrimage insignia(signa peregrinorum)-lead or tin plaques with the image of the venerated saint that were sewn on robes, cloak, headgear or bag-represented a sign of recognition of pilgrim status, guaranteed heavenly protection, and later preserved the memory of the extraordinary experience. Finally, an exceptional site such as the Hospital of S. Maria della Scala allows, with its perfectly preserved structures and also thanks to the artifacts returned by archaeological excavations, to immerse oneself in the daily life of pilgrims, the sick and other caregivers. In short, the visitor can, through close contact with the objects of pilgrimage, experience firsthand the unforgettable experience of the devotional journey.