The third festival of the Via Francigena, or French Road, that took medieval pilgrims from Canterbury to Rome and thence onwards to the Holy Land, is being celebrated in many of the towns and villages in Italy along the route between the 17 th to 19 th April.

Since stretches of the road were re-opened a few years ago, the route has attracted an increasing number of  walkers, hikers, bikers and horse riders, keen to enjoy many of the tracts of unspoiled countryside far from noise and traffic.