Religious tourism

Cammini, Francis’s unique route designed to rival Santiago de Compostela

Presentation of the project: 1,546 km of routes across six regions

by Riccardo Ferrazza

30 July 2026

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Mazzi "Cammino di Francesco pronto, unificati percorsi di sei regioni"

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Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Spanning a total distance of 1,546 km across six regions (Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Marche, Tuscany and Umbria), the Way of St Francis has been established: a project that brings together, under a single name, the numerous Italian routes inspired by the saint, identified on the basis of a historical and critical validation carried out by the National Committee for the eighth centenary of Italia’s patron saint. All of them have Assisi as their final destination.

Competition on the Camino de Santiago

The aim is to catch up with the world’s most famous religious pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago – a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 – which in 2025 recorded an all-time high of 530,987 pilgrims. This experience is much loved by Italians, who remain in second place worldwide in terms of the number of pilgrims (surpassed only by the Spanish): 14,482 arrivals were recorded in the first six months of the year. After all, the stages leading to Santiago were the focus of Checco Zalone’s latest film, Buen Camino (which grossed a record 76.5 million euros).

Bocelli as brand ambassador

“We may have got off to a later start than the Spanish, but we dream of improving within a few years,” said Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi at the presentation of the unified system of Franciscan itineraries at Palazzo Chigi, just a few days before Pope Leo’s visit to Assisi for the GO! Franciscan Youth event.

To mark the launch of the project, the Ministry of Tourism has produced a promotional video, also in English, featuring the voice of Andrea Bocelli. The Minister of Tourism noted that Bocelli had previously produced an audiovisual project on the Via Francigena. The Ministry has invested a total of 40 million euros.

Mazzi: a great spiritual journey

‘With the launch of the “Way of St Francis”, Italia has been enriched by a great spiritual route that winds its way for over a thousand kilometres, through the places and values that have made St Francis a figure of global significance. We are doing this in the year marking the eighth centenary of his death and the nomination of the nativity scene for World Heritage status, and to coincide with the Pope’s visit to Assisi for his meeting with young people on 6 August. It is Italia itself that becomes a journey. It is the soul of the nation telling its story to the world through Francis,” commented Tourism Minister Mazzi. He pointed out that in Italy, in 2025 alone, over 300,000 people walked the Italian pilgrimage routes.

Profile of the ‘Franciscan’ traveller

Figures from the Ministry of Tourism show that the majority of travellers on the Franciscan routes are Italian (84 per cent). They are followed by foreign tourists, mainly from Europe, with Germany in second place (2 per cent), whilst France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, Poland, Spain and Austria each account for 1 per cent of the total.

In particular, as regards Italian tourists, demand is concentrated mainly in the regions directly served by the routes. 22 per cent of travellers come from Lazio, followed by Umbria (14 per cent), Emilia-Romagna (10 per cent), Lombardy (9 per cent), Marche (8 per cent) and Tuscany (7 per cent). At provincial level, the main areas of origin reflect the regional trend, with Rome in first place (18 per cent) and Perugia in second (13 per cent).

The economic impact

According to estimates from the Ministry of Tourism’s Statistical Office, a walking holiday lasts an average of 7.4 days and involves daily expenditure of 87.29 euros. Based on these figures, the walking trail sector is estimated to generate at least 2,476,880 overnight stays per year and direct expenditure of 216,206,836 euros, corresponding to an estimated total economic impact of at least 336.4 million euros on the local economy.

Riccardo FerrazzaVicecaposervizio
- @riccferr
Luogo: Roma
Lingue parlate: Inglese, tedesco
Argomenti: Politica
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