Stage 10: Valfabbrica - Assisi

After the long days of walking, between fatigue and joy, uphill climbs and descents, your journey to Assisi in the footsteps of St Francis is about to reach its end.

This stage requires a final effort to tackle the differences in gradient. The route begins in the silence of the hills and woods and then, from Pieve San Niccolò, the landscape opens up to the valleys lined with olive groves and vineyards.

The first stretch is in the woods, where you will have to tackle some challenging climbs.

This stage is a compendium of the route you have travelled: climbs, descents and a few steep gradients, but the proximity of Assisi gives your legs extra courage.

Suddenly, you will see the harmonious and imposing ensemble of the Sacred Convent and the Basilica of St Francis with the city of Assisi. This is one of the most beautiful moments of the pilgrimage, which gives you a foretaste of the joy of your arrival.

On reaching the foot of Assisi, in the locality of Ponte de Galli, you will find the lower entrance to the FAI Forest of St Francis (admission by donation), which you can take as an alternative to the asphalted road uphill.

You enter Assisi through the St James gate, from which pilgrims left the city to go to Santiago de Compostela.

The majestic sunlit façade of the Basilica of St Francis is the first reward of your pilgrimage.

The great moment has arrived: all that remains is to reach the Tomb of the Saint. Here, in the dim light of the perpetual lamp, pilgrims can gather in prayer and meditate on the journey they have made.

Next to the entrance to the Lower Basilica is the Statio Peregrinorum, where you can collect the well-deserved Testimonium (for those who have walked 100 km or cycled 200 km) or the Chartula Peregrini, to remember your pilgrimage forever.