I'm Stefano, and I guide people through the Tuscany most tourists never see. Want to hike in Tuscany with me?
Last updated 27 August 2026
One of Europe’s great pilgrim routes starts in the Tuscan hills and ends in Rome. Almost nobody outside Italy walks it.
The Way of St Francis begins in Tuscany. From Florence it climbs through Camaldoli and La Verna, then crosses into Umbria toward Assisi.
You don’t have to be a pilgrim to walk the Tuscan beginning, and you don’t have to walk all of it. A day is enough.
Walking the Tuscan start of the Way of St Francis? Get a local’s read on your days in a written Expert Brief.
What the Way of St Francis Is
The route follows the places of St Francis of Assisi, born around 1181 and dead by 1226, and pilgrims have been retracing his ground ever since.
No single marked trail carries it. You follow waymarks along forest paths and old mule tracks, with stretches of quiet road in between.
It runs south from Tuscany through Umbria to Assisi, then on to Rome. The Tuscan stretch comes first, and it stays in forest almost the whole way.
The Tuscan Beginning, Step by Step
The northern half is the Tuscan half, and it’s the quietest, running through some of the oldest forest left in Italy.
- Florence. The usual starting point, in the city of the Franciscan basilica of Santa Croce.
- Camaldoli. A thousand-year-old hermitage and monastery, deep in the Casentino forest.
- The Casentino forests. Ancient beech and fir, now a national park.
- La Verna. Franciscan tradition puts the stigmata here, on this cliff-top sanctuary, in 1224. It’s the spiritual centre of the whole walk.
- Sansepolcro. The last Tuscan town before the route crosses into Umbria.
The Best Day Walks
You don’t need a backpack and two weeks. Several stretches work as a single day out and back.
- The forest around Camaldoli, among firs the monks have tended for centuries.
- The climb to La Verna, up through beech woods to the sanctuary on its crag.
- The Casentino ridges, which open out over the upper Arno valley after a morning spent inside the trees.
Pick one stretch and walk it slowly. You’ll understand the pilgrimage better than someone who hurried the whole thing.
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Walking It Well
A few honest notes from a guide who works the other side of these mountains.
- Go from late spring to autumn. Camaldoli and La Verna sit high enough that winter brings snow and short days.
- Book La Verna well ahead if you want to sleep at the sanctuary, especially around feast days.
- Short on time? Walk the Tuscan stretch and leave Umbria and Rome for another year.
I should be straight about my part in this. The Tuscan stretch runs through the Casentino, over in the east, and that’s not my corner of Tuscany: I guide private day hikes in the western Apennines and the Apuan Alps, on the other side of the region, so everything above is ground I’d send you to walk on your own rather than ground I work myself.
If a pilgrim trip brings you to Tuscany, a day in my hills pairs well with it.
Tuscany’s Other Pilgrim Roads
Two other old roads cross Tuscany. The Via Francigena is the famous medieval road to Rome, running through Lucca, San Gimignano and Siena. The Cammino di San Jacopo runs from Florence to Pisa, and almost nobody walks it.
The Bigger Picture
A pilgrim road asks you to slow down, and at walking pace the country around you stops being scenery and turns into something you move through, which is the whole difference between seeing Tuscany and walking it. That’s the part I care about most as a guide.
For the broader picture, start with my pillar guide to hiking in Tuscany.
Frequently asked questions
Add a Day in the Hills to Your Pilgrimage
I guide private day hikes in western Tuscany, away from the pilgrim routes. Want a day off the trail on your pilgrimage? Book the Expert Brief and I’ll recommend one that fits your trip. €65, independent advice, no commissions.