Great pilgrimages marked the history of Western Christianity, and particularly one of the most popular: the pilgrimage to Rome. Gradually, well-established routes were put in place, allowing the "Romés or Romieux" to benefit from a network of hospices run by religious. Thus, a Roman road opened by Julius Caesar in 58 B.C. already connected France to Rome through Burgundy.
The oldest written itinerary of an Anglo-Saxon pilgrim is that taken in 990 by Sigéric, Archbishop of Canterbury, who traveled to Rome on foot to meet Pope John XV and receive the pallium (the mantle of investiture). The route he took crossed Guines, Thérouanne, Bruay, Arras, Laon, Reims, Besançon, Pontarlier, Lausanne, St-Maurice, and passed over the Great St. Bernard Pass, descending to Aosta, Pavia, Lucca, Siena, to arrive in Rome.

This itinerary was called "Via Francigena" for the first time in 876, indicating that the flow of travelers came from the Kingdom of the Franks (Belgium, Netherlands, Northern France). It quickly became a major pilgrimage route, a commercial and military transit route where thousands of people from all walks of life intersected, from emperors to common folk. This route greatly facilitated cultural exchanges across Europe.

The term "Via Francigena" refers to the collective paths followed by those who, during the Middle Ages, traveled between England, France, and Italy, with Rome as their main destination. This network of roads crossed the current territories of France, Switzerland, and Italy, from Piedmont to Lazio. This route was also called via Romea, meaning the road traveled by the Romieux, the pilgrims heading to Rome, who often continued their journey to Jerusalem, to San Michele del Gargano, or to Mont-Saint-Michel... However, it would be misleading to identify the Via Francigena solely with the route taken by Sigéric, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who made the journey in 990 and left a description of it in a document summarizing his 81 stages on the return trip from the Eternal City to the seat of his diocese. However, Sigéric's journey allows us to give a face to the millions of pilgrims who traveled to Rome from the various French provinces.

Since 2017, it is the VFVS association (Via Francigena - Voie de Sigeric) that manages the reception of pilgrims on a scale across Haute-Marne.

VFVS Association
3 rue Delettre - 52120 Blessonville
06 22 78 90 95
fmusrp@orange.fr