Trekking the Way of St Francis: From Florence to Assisi and Rome

This guidebook to the Way of St Francis describes a 550km month-long pilgrim trail through the green heart of Italy. The route begins at Florence and goes through Assisi before its climax in Rome, exploring the mountains of Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio on the way. The route is split into 28 stages, each graded from 'easy' to 'hard'. Some stages include steep climbs and descents, but no special gear is required.
Alongside a detailed route description, colour maps and accommodation information, the guidebook contains a concise biography of Francis of Assissi and stories of his life that relate to each location visited. Also included is a walking tour of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. This book is a trove of information that makes a perfect companion for anyone setting out to walk the Way of St Francis.
The Way of St Francis is one of the most popular pilgrim routes in Italy, and it offers a great range of sights: olive groves, vineyards, Renaissance Florence, the Casentino National Forest, hilltop towns, ancient ruins, mountains, the Marmore Falls, the Vatican City and more.

Sanford ’Sandy’ Brown is an activist, long-distance walker and ordained minister from Seattle, Washington. After reading ’The Pilgrimage’, by Paolo Coelho, he planned his first trek on the Camino de Santiago and since then has walked over 3500 kilometres on pilgrim trails in Spain and Italy. He records his pilgrim adventures in his popular blog, www.caminoist.org.

Sandy earned his MDiv at Garrett Theological Seminary, which honored him in 2006 as Distinguished Alumnus, and has a degree in medieval history. In 1997 he earned a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary in gender, sexuality and spirituality. He was executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and most recently was senior pastor of Seattle’s historic First United Methodist Church. In his spare time he enjoys yoga, sailing and piano. He has two grown sons and his life partner, Theresa Elliott, is a yoga master teacher.