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The Pilgrim’s Museum in Campagnano di Roma: Where the Via Francigena Meets History
The Museo Archeologico del Pellegrino (MAP) is located in Piazza Regina Elena in Campagnano di Roma, stage 43 of the Via Francigena, the last before entering the capital. Inaugurated in 2022, it is the first museum along the Francigena route entirely dedicated to the journey and to pilgrimage. The building itself speaks to this vocation: the former stables of the Pontifical mounted Carabinieri who patrolled the Via Cassia in the 19th century.
From the Roman Mansio to the Medieval Village
The museum grew out of the discovery of the mansio Ad Vacanas, the Roman staging post unearthed in 1979 at the twenty-first milestone of the Via Cassia, in the Valle di Baccano. Built in the 1st century AD, and remaining in use until the 5th, it consisted of baths, tabernae and a paved forum. The two-colour mosaic with marine scenes, recovered from the baths, is one of the most important pieces in the collection. In the year 990, Archbishop Sigeric recorded Baccano as the third stage of his journey from Rome to Canterbury, the earliest written description of the Via Francigena.
A Museum Designed for Walkers
The itinerary unfolds on two levels: the history of the territory, and the culture of travel. It moves from Etruscan burials, presented as journeys into the afterlife, to amphorae bearing witness to commercial routes, and to pilgrimages to Christian shrines. The museum's logo reproduces the symbol of the mansio from the Tabula Peutingeriana, the medieval copy of an ancient Roman road map. A stamp to add to the pilgrim's credentials is also available at the MAP.
