The Francigena, the path taken by Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, to reach Rome and the main communication route used in the ancient world by princes, bishops, merchants and simple pilgrims, is the most important European route that crosses Italy and is recognized as Eurovelo 5 (EV5).
Today the Francigena is a popular cultural itinerary between nature, art and history. The bike path follows largely the route of the path but deviates in order to make it usable with tourist bikes or gravel.
There is an enormous amount of travel proposals on the Francigena that are easily available. The Sienese route, for its beauty and evocative capacity, constitutes a paradigm of the slow and curious way of traveling.
It is equipped with signs and uses a variety of roads: from low-traffic secondary roads, to dirt roads, cycle paths and paved urban sections.
Covering the 142 km that separate San Gimignano from Radicofani in a single stage is very challenging and therefore we propose a solution that involves stops at some of the main GATEs, without precluding anyone from being able to organize the trip at will by consulting the track provided.
The description of the stages is relative to the itinerary between San Gimignano and Radicofani.
Itinerario e Tappe
Already in the 10th century San Gimignano was an important road junction from where the road to the sea passed. The guest quarters of the monastery of San Girolamo and the Pilgrim's Village are two good references in the extraordinary city of Val d'Elsa.
The route reaches Poggibonsi where the Archaeodrome, located in the Fortress of Poggio Imperiale, is a sure attraction. It continues to Colle Val d'Elsa, the «daughter of the road», rich in ancient spinning mills, glassworks and paper mills.
Monteriggioni, an iconic medieval village adorned by intact walls with 14 towers, appears like a mirage. Just before Abbadia Isola offers excellent hospitality at the Hostel Contessa Ava.