Via di Francesco da Firenze a La Verna guide + carta 1:25.000

Two treks of 6 stages, from Florence to La Verna, Via di Francesco Nord to Pontassieve, Stia and Foreste Casentinesi and Via di Francesco Sud, to Rignano sull'Arno, Foresta di Vallombrosa and Poppi with attached 1 scale itinerary map: 25000 high definition. Francis went to Florence four times and to do so he used the routes existing at the time, traveling along the Apennine ridges and valleys, searching for the signs of God in nature and bringing his message of peace, humility and brotherhood to the people. The Ways of Francis traveled in this guide are, therefore, a set of historical paths created with the intention of connecting Florence to the many places linked to the life of Saint Francis in Tuscany and, in particular, to Verna. The Via di Francesco Nord, in its central stretch, from Pontassieve to Stia, roughly follows the route of an ancient connection between Val di Sieve and Casentino, known as the "Casentino mule track", of which there are some certain points of passage: the Castellaccio (the current Madonna dei Fossi), the Valle del Moscia, with the remains of the Romanesque bridge, the Valico della Matteraia, moved northwards compared to the Passo della Consuma, Gualdo and Castel Castagnaio. All places touched by the main route or its variants. In the guide, in addition to the detailed description of the main route, highlighted in the area by frequent white/red arrows with the writing "Vie di Francesco", numerous variations to the main routes are also described. Once in La Verna, for those who wish to complete a large loop and return to Florence with a different route, the Via di Francesco Sud is described in reverse. The Via di Francesco Sud, through Rignano sull'Arno, Vallombrosa and Poppi, follows the route of the ancient Via Ghibellina, a road, or rather a set of roads of Roman and medieval origin, which acquired fundamental importance during the 13th century for the connections, military and mercantile, between the Florentine Republic and the Casentino of the Guidi Counts. Later the route was used by numerous pilgrims who, having arrived in Florence from Bologna via the Via degli Dei, could continue to the Sanctuary of La Verna, passing through Vallombrosa. For this reason, along its route numerous hospitals and hospices for travellers sprang up. In the guide, in addition to the detailed description of the main route, numerous variants are also described, including links connecting to the Via di Francesco Nord and vice versa.