Would you ever believe that Via Francigena, a pilgrims’ route towards Rome might be digitized in an App? Thanks to the Foundation of the Jubilee Itineraries you can now welcome “The Via Francigena in the South”, a first official Application of the sacred route in Latium created for the smartphones and tablets, featuring the Italian, English and Spanish version and free to download. A rich audioguide that promotes the itinerary of the ancient Prenestina, from Piglio (Frosinone,) to the Capital, across Serrone, Paliano, Genazzano, Cave, Palestrina, Zagarolo and Gallicano nel Lazio.
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All the priceless particulars of the App created by Nova ICT and of the itinerary will be presented on the 16th of April (at 16.30) during a convention that will be held in the Pontifical Lateran University (Pontificia Universita’ Lateranense) in Rome (Paul VI hall). The meeting will be attended by such illustrious personalities, as: H.E.Msgr. Enrico da Covolo, The Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University; H.E. Msgr. Domenico Sigalini, The Bishop of the Diocese of Palestrina; Msgr. Paolo Asolan, the Professor of the Pontifical Lateran University; Dino Gasperini, the Cultural Assessor of Rome; Livio Augusto del Bianco, The Head of the Foundation of the Jubilee Itineraries; Rodolfo Lena, The Counselor of the Latium region.
The Foundation analyzes the route that leads to Rome from the South. A path that is seen not only from the point of view of pilgrims that had been leaving the Capital heading the South, but also as a commemoration of the last part of walk of two great Faith Witnesses who would reach and die in Rome and eventually become the Saint Patrons of the Capital
According to Livio Augusto Del Bianco, Head of the Foundation of the Jubilee Itineraries: “The Foundation analyzes the route that leads to Rome from the South. A path that is seen not only from the point of view of pilgrims that had been leaving the Capital heading the South, but also as a commemoration of the last part of walk of two great Faith Witnesses who would reach and die in Rome and eventually become the Saint Patrons of the Capital. Del Bianco reports: “It is not essential to prove if St. Peter or St. Paul had ever walked through Via Prenestina or Via Appia to reach Rome, but it is more important to crystallize two distinct historical moments that are distant in the course of time but complementary in the meaning of faith, two opposite directions of the same itinerary, one that brings to the birth of the early church, another one that leads to the discovery of the Holy Land”.
In particular, the Via Francigena represents the route that Sigerico, the arch-Bishop of Canterbury undertook in 990 from the Northern Europe in the direction of Rome, the theatre of the martyrdom of the Saints Peter and Paul, that at a later stage became the official route for the pilgrims that, from the Middle Age on, used to walk through toward the capital of the Christianity.App.
The App “The Via Francigena in the South” contains all the stages of the last 90 kilometers of the pilgrimage towards Rome. All of them are geo-located and divided into paths to be walked through daily. They contain the summaries of the inner towns of the municipalities crossed by the itinerary and a rich collection of the points of interest relative to the archeological, architectural and historical resources of various villages. Together with the audio/visual aids, maps, photos and texts, they play the role of a tour guide over the territory and of the geographical locator to all those who wish to walk through a defined itinerary as well as the source of information to all those who want to organize the trip from home.
The project is supported by: Roma Capitale (Cultural Councillorship), The Province of Rome, The European Association of Vie Francigene, The General Directorate for Libraries, the Cultural Institutes and the Copyright (MiBAC), The Diocese of Palestrina, The XI Mountain District, Colline Romane, The Municipalities of Gallicano nel Lazio, Palestrina, Cave, Valmontone, Zagarolo, Piglio and Paliano.
