Area 04 Centro ENG

Center Area

Arezzo – Roma
km 333, 14 stages

We loved all the places we passed through and the people we met, but we can’t help but be even more excited in view of the final destination: the Tomb of St. Peter, kept in the eternal city, Rome. This stretch of the Via Romea Imperiale crosses three regions in the area that was also anciently called the Byzantine Corridor, that is, those territories that remained, even during the period of the barbarian invasions, under the dominion of the Western Roman Empire. It can be divided into two parts, with a watershed in Perugia. We first travel through the splendid Val di Chiana, famous for the delicious meat of white cows, with which the best Florentine steaks are cooked. We are in the places dear to Saint Francis, in rather wild natural areas, with some tiring climbs to reach panoramic ridges, such as the one overlooking Lake Trasimeno. We encounter cities with an illustrious past such as the Etruscan Cortona, Castiglion Fiorentino and the Templar Magione. Perhaps the most important historical event in the area is the Battle of Trasimeno, in which Hannibal defeated the Romans. The distance from Arezzo to Perugia is over 106 km, and partly coincides with the Via delle Celle di San Francesco, a path conceived and managed by Giovanni Roberto Gallastroni, the legendary hospitaller of Rigutino. Arriving in Rome the classic closure of the ancient pilgrimages took place by making the Tour of the Seven Churches; we think that even our current romei would have a pleasant appendix that combines both the devotional aspect and the merely touristic one; in addition to the visit to the seven churches of the classic “tour” announced by San Filippo Neri, we suggest also passing by the Tiber Island, where the Church of San Bartolomeo is located, where the mortal remains of our Patron Saint are kept.