Walkers: tales of pilgrims on the path of San Francesco

Ryszard Kapuscinski – one of the most important reporters of the last century – said that travel is a sort of virus, “an essentially incurable disease” for those affected by it. Of course, not all trips are the same and not all travelers set off with the same motivations. Also thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism in recent years is changing: travel, especially for younger people, must be characterized by authenticity and sustainability (including economic). In short, the key word is “slow”. Here, from this perspective, an experience like that of a pilgrimage becomes an opportunity for discovery, reflection and inner research. And if over the years the Camino de Santiago has established itself as a leading destination for this type of journey, recently many of the ancient Italian paths have also been repopulated with pilgrims. Above all, the Via di San Francesco which stands on the roads traveled in the 13th century by the poor man of Assisi. The data, in this sense, certifies the exponential increase in pilgrims between Umbria and Tuscany with a +26 percent of walkers on the Franciscan paths compared to the years before the pandemic. In 2023 alone, over 4,200 travelers reached the Statio Peregrinorum in Assisi with backpacks on their shoulders and credentials in hand.
But what are the reasons that push people to undertake a pilgrimage? What moves their steps and what do they hope to encounter in this very simple (but at the same time so introspective) form of movement? In the documentary produced by Gedi Visual, those who respond are the travelers who reach Assisi on foot from La Verna. Together with their testimonies, the voice of the journalist and writer Paolo Rumiz will lead us along the main stages of the journey, telling us why human beings feel the need to move slowly and rediscover contact with the earth that flows under their feet. Custodians, hospital workers and volunteers who dedicate their lives to the poor welcome of pilgrims are further witnesses of a humanity on the move that passes through hermitages and sanctuaries leaving traces of its passage and its questions.