ViaFrancigena.bike is a project of Movimento Lento Network, in cooperation with itinerAria and Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene (AEVF).

Our goal is to promote the cycling travel along Via Francigena, offering for free to the general public an itinerary travelable with travel bicycles equipped with bags. 

Hence we analyzed the official walking itinerary in details, both to find valid alternatives to the non cyclable traits and to identify an itinerary that is as enjoyable and accessible as possible for the ones who travel by bicycle. 

The itinerary.

Compared with the walking itinerary, which privileges unpaved roads the cycling itinerary include many secondary, little trafficked asphalted roads, and avoids as much as possible the unpaved, rough roads. 

The itinerary is asphalted for more or less the 70% of its lenght, and the unpaved traits are for the most part on “dirt roads”, with stabilized ground. 

The beauty of the Via Francigena itinerary remains untouched, and the historical accuracy mantained. The result is a journey of more than 1000 km from the Great Saint Bernardo pass to Rome, which can be cycled by medium trained people in 23 legs, with an average lenght of more or less 50 km.

The first part of the itinerary, until Fidenza, is carachterized by minimal height differences, and is quite easy to cycle. The second part, which includes the Appennines overpass of Cisa and especially the continued up and downs of Tuscany and Lazio, is quite challenging, and requires a good training.