Italy - KIERAN'S VOYAGES

St Francis Way Tuscany: Italy’s Beautiful Camino Walk

June 27, 2026

St Francis Way Tuscany Walking Italy’s Beautiful Camino Through Tuscany Spain is normally associated with the Camino and perhaps France or Portugal. However, we were fortunate to try out a more recent route where Irish walkers are now heading – the Italian St Francis Way. This magnificent walk takes you through the stunning landscape of Tuscany in Northern Italy. While the original pilgrimage route stretches from Canterbury to Rome via Assisi, the Tuscan section lies just north of Assisi and offers some of the most rewarding walking in Europe. Camino Ways organised the trip and we were part of a special group led by Philip Cawley of Today FM. Philip also organises annual walking tours, including another planned for the autumn from Sarria on the final 120km of the famous French Camino to Santiago. It proved to be one of the finest walking holidays I have ever experienced. Related Reading: Read our guides to Lucca, Siena, and other Italian destinations on the blog. Arrival in Lucca The first day saw an early Aer Lingus flight to Pisa before transferring by coach to Lucca, our base for two nights. Lucca is an ancient city enclosed by magnificent medieval walls stretching almost five kilometres, even larger than the famous walls of Derry. The historic streets offered welcome shade from the afternoon sun while its impressive cathedral and piazzas invited leisurely exploration. There is also an Irish connection through St Frediano (St Fridianus), originally an Ulster prince who became Bishop of Lucca during the 6th century. Visitors can also climb the Guinigi Tower for panoramic views over the city. Beginning the St Francis Way The following morning we travelled by coach for over an hour to San Miniato, where the Italian Camino truly began. Our opening stage covered approximately 25km to Gambassi Terme, a famous spa town. Although challenging with several steep climbs, every member of the group completed the route. The Tuscan countryside constantly changed around us with vineyards, wheat fields, olive groves, walnut trees and pine forests creating magnificent scenery. With very few cafés along the trail, carrying plenty of water and snacks proved essential. Earlier that morning we had collected our official St Francis Way passport from the tourist office in San Miniato before setting off. That evening we returned to Lucca for dinner, having also gained a quick education in enthusiastic Italian driving! Through Vineyards and Medieval Villages Day two was a gentler 15km walk towards the magnificent medieval town of San Gimignano. We passed vineyards, olive groves and thermal springs before stopping at the village of Pancole, where a charming guesthouse served lunch in beautiful gardens. Nearby stands the Sanctuario di Pancole, associated with a local legend of the Madonna appearing to a deaf child during a devastating drought. According to tradition, the child regained both speech and food, while rain finally returned to save local families. The rich Tuscan countryside, lined with cypress trees and rolling vineyards, made this one of the most memorable sections of the journey. By late afternoon the famous skyline of San Gimignano appeared before us, its medieval towers rising dramatically above the surrounding hills. Colle Val d’Elsa and the Elsa River Our next destination was the delightful medieval town of Colle Val d’Elsa, where we stayed at the excellent Hotel La Cartiera Vecchia. The town itself receives far fewer tourists than neighbouring San Gimignano yet possesses tremendous charm and a long tradition of glassmaking. One of the highlights of the week came the following morning as we followed the River Elsa. We crossed rope bridges, stepped across river stones and admired crystal-clear blue-green waters coloured by nearby thermal springs. Waterfalls, fishing spots and shaded woodland created a magical landscape unlike anything else on the route. Along the way we stopped at family-run cafés and agriturismo restaurants where local hospitality matched the outstanding scenery. Monteriggioni and Siena Day four brought us to the magnificent fortified village of Monteriggioni, originally built to defend Siena. The forest approach echoed with the sound of thousands of crickets before we climbed into the medieval village for a welcome Italian ice cream. Nearby Abbadia Isola Monastery, dating from the 8th century, provided spectacular countryside views and remains an important retreat centre today. Our final destination was Siena, famous worldwide for the annual Palio horse race held in its remarkable Piazza del Campo. Unfortunately our last walking day ended dramatically as a thunderstorm swept across the Tuscan hills. Lightning forced our guide Ana to cancel the final section for safety reasons, and after sheltering beneath a farmhouse archway we eventually reached Siena by taxi. Despite the rain-soaked ending, it somehow provided a fitting conclusion to an unforgettable week of sunshine, history and spectacular scenery. Fellow Walkers Mary Hearne, originally from Rathgormack, County Waterford and now living in Dublin, described the Camino Ways tour as one of the best walking holidays she had experienced. Margaret Ward, originally from Kilkenny and now with The Irish Times, also thoroughly enjoyed the route and said she would happily return for another Italian walking adventure. Final Thoughts The St Francis Way offers everything you could wish for in a walking holiday — spectacular scenery, medieval villages, fascinating history, excellent food, wonderful wines and genuine Italian hospitality. Whether you are an experienced Camino walker or simply looking for a memorable active holiday, Tuscany delivers an unforgettable experience. More stories on Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena and Tuscany’s medieval villages will follow in future articles. Travel Information Getting There Aer Lingus flights to Pisa Guided tour organised by Camino Ways Tour leaders: Philip Cawley (Today FM) and Karl Bradshaw (Camino Ways) Useful Outbound Links Camino Ways: https://caminoways.com Via di Francesco: https://www.viadifrancesco.it Visit Tuscany: https://www.visittuscany.com Italia.it Tourism: https://www.italia.it

Bologna

We recently had a vacation in the Renaissance city of Bologna. Places like Florence and Venice get huge number of visitors but we found Bolognaa pleasant surprise that is not over run with visitors. Bologna is the oldest university city in Italy and the university there still has a great tradition. Bologna was also part of the Papal States, prior to the unification of Italy, the city has many outstanding churches and Cathedrals. We also found the architecture and amazing Renaissance streets and retail shops within magnificent porticos. Food & Culinary Highlights Food is also a great attraction. Spaghetti Bolognese comes from there and lasagna, so there are also great culinary delights. The markets were brilliant, fruit and vegetables, SIMONI pork butchers’ displays, pasta makers at work, local wines and crafts. The food is mainly from the Emilia Romagna region as are the wines. Lambrusco is a local grape, and this is also used in vintage balsamic vinegar that can be matured in old oak barrels. Nearby Modena is the home of balsamic vinegar and is worth a visit too. Find Via Castiglione for the pasta displays, “Gnocchi” is worth checking out and tortellini, a popular Christmas dish. Artichokes and chicory were recommended as good for the liver and served in salads. Great clothing shops too for Italian design with many luxury designers. History, Culture & Architecture Bologna tourism office organise daily tours in English at 11am for two hours, and the guide covered much ground, although not a native she had great historical knowledge of the city from the Roman times, to the middle ages, the many churches built by various religious orders. Also played a leading role in Italian and European education. The model of the university started in Bologna and would by a forerunner ofmany other great universities from the UK, Cambridge and Oxford to France, Germany and across Europe, Trinity in Dublin would be our oldest one on this island dating to the 1ate 1500s. Many ages of history are here, from the Roman times to early Christian and Renaissance to the current times. It was saved devastation in world war two in the old city, but industrial suburbs were heavily hit and the railways. We visited many churches, one had soldiers outside due to one of the images having an image in relation to Muslims that proved controversial today. WE liked most of all the amazing restored porticos where streets have the upper floors over the footpaths for residents and the lower passage if for pedestrians keeping out the sun and rain depending on the season. lovely shop displays with low key logos including McDonalds and other international brands. They were built from the 1500s and continued the structured style up to the early 1900s and are really fabulous. The pedestrianized areas are enlarged at the weekends, The starting point for the tour is at Piazza Maggiore at Bologna Welcome Tourism office, close to the main square, Piazza Maggiore and the statue of Neptune, where a controversy arose over the male parts and a conservative clergyman, but is sill there. San Petronio is the famous cathedral that took a generation but had to be cut short before it became bigger than St. Peters in Rome. Nearby a fine old building converted to a library and a place for civic weddings of which there are many. Transport & Getting Around Bologna can be reached with Ryanair from Dublin, brilliant mono rail to the main square over ground that cost a lot to build but the 12 euro plus fare gets you there in less than 10 minutes. What a dream to have such an overground rail from Dublin Airport to Heuston or Connolly stations. Bologna is a true transport hub, with links to Rome and Munich Germany, Milan and Switzerland and is in large valley so great road connections too.We drove to Florence and Siena afterwards that is not for the faint hearted.Italian drivers have a certain hurried style where they drive close to the next car, an unpleasant habit, but as were told they dislike driving and would rather be at their destination drinking having more time for a coffee. Bologna was on the Roman road north, we would later go by train to Munich via Verona, Trento, Brenner Pass and Innsbruck.Bologna is the largest Italian train station after Milan and is a huge transport hub. 70 euro train from Bologna to Munich. University Life & Local Vibe However in Bologna city the vibe was good notably in the university area, where we queued with students for ice cream in Via Mascarella,at the Cremeria Mascarella and the nearby pub Ortical for craft beers and organic wines. The university was also famous for its early medical school that attracted medical students from around the world. Dante came here as did Erasmus from Rotterdam, Holland, thus Bologna has had an international reputation for centuries in many fields from medicine to literature and philosophy. back in the old days students could choose their professor, who they wished to study under. Hospitals here have been linked to the university in medical research for a long time. Engineering is another great skill here and the industrial region here boasts many famous car brand names like Lamborghini,Ferrari, Bugati and Masserati. During the period we were there, the Emilia Romagna grand prix was held here. The Red City The rich has rich stone work from marble coming from Verona and the Aline region and sandstone terra cotta, giving a dark red image, Bologna is known as the red city, also politically, it is left also and we noted on the Ring Road Stalingrad road and Marx roads too. The city has a long history, not as much as Rome or Napoli, but in its heyday was bigger than Paris or London in the middle ages and Renaissance periods. Great gardens too and flea markets nearby at Piazza Agosto Montagnola.. Dining Recommendations Visitors will not be disappointed, do book accommodation early as