Since ancient times, the paths have represented the main way of making pilgrimages. Over the centuries this practice has increasingly evolved to involve not only religious, but also sportsmen and ordinary people.
To date there are hundreds of itineraries in Italy and in Europe that at the end of each stage will assign the "Credential", that is the stamp that certifies the completion of the fraction, and, at the end of the long journey, the certificate of total or partial completion of the a path that, for example, for the Via Francigena is called "Testimonium".
Starting out means walking a minimum of 10km a day, even if they are generally double, with a backpack weighing about 8kg. It is therefore taken for granted that one cannot improvise physical preparation or neglect the slightest detail about the choice of material to bring.
Travel planning is as important as training and it is necessary to study each stage in detail to identify critical points and refreshment points, carefully choosing the departure time and assuming the arrival time. The goal is twofold: to avoid "staying in motion" for more than 5/6 hours a day (in order not to compromise the next stage); to know if you are respecting the schedule or not. Planning is even more fundamental if you decide to embark on the journey alone.
In this case, moreover, the journey can also be understood as an interior journey in contact with nature or, as the Japanese would say, a bath in the forest.
To increase the benefits you can also decide to do it by practicing the meditative walk.
Let's go now to discover everything there is to know, and to do, before and during the journey.
. The complete itinerary, which starts from the French town of Saint-Jean Pied de Port, is about 800km long, but to obtain the Compostela certificate you will have to travel at least 100km on foot or 200km by bicycle.
The total stages of the journey are 25 and the organization is very efficient: well-marked routes and refreshment points every 20km that allow you to stop for meals or to spend the night where you prefer, the paths are mainly flat. The Spanish version allows instead the starting from Bilbao, it has a slightly higher mileage than the French one and is considered more demanding than the previous one, not only for more undulating tracks and sometimes rigid temperatures, but also for reception facilities in some cases in poor condition. south of Portugal, you will have to travel about 50km less, as a "pro" we will have to cross numerous inhabited centers that may prove useful in case of unforeseen events; as "against", however, there are the strong differences in height, very demanding even for the most trained.
