Bobbio - Pontremoli

http://www.viadegliabati.com/

There was an older path of the Via Francigena that passed through the mountains and was already used from the 7th century, especially by those traveling on foot, as a shorter route from Pavia to Lucca and towards Rome.
This Via, already used by Lombard rulers before the conquest of the Cisa, controlled by the Byzantines, also touched the Abbey of Bobbio, in the heart of the Apennines, where pilgrims heading to Rome and coming from France and the British Isles would stop to venerate the remains of Saint Columbanus (+615), a great Irish abbot and, together with Saint Benedict, father of European monasticism.

The route was similarly followed by the abbots of Bobbio going to Rome to see the pope, to whom the abbey was directly subject.
The ancient itinerary was rediscovered towards the end of the 1990s by Giovanni Magistretti, a scholar from Piacenza, author of several reports on the route and member of the Association, and was published in May 2011 in a Cartoguide of the Via degli Abati, made in collaboration with students and teachers of the "Tramello" Surveying Institute of Piacenza, local CAI sections, and also thanks to the involvement of local administrations.
The Cartoguide presents the entire route, 125 KM long, divided on two sheets with four color pages, at a scale of 1:25,000, with added historical, artistic, and environmental information about the territories crossed, including the municipalities of Bobbio, Coli, Farini, Bardi, Borgotaro, and Pontremoli. The route is indicated on the maps and on the terrain with the initials VA and CAI signs.
To request the Cartoguide, consult the page: http://www.viadegliabati.com/prodotti/cartoguida-in-pdf/

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No responsibility is assumed for the information given, which is purely indicative. More updated information and direct contacts should be sought with the relevant tourist offices or individual establishments. More information:
http://www.viadegliabati.com/dove-dormire/tratta-bobbio-pontremoli/