The LightFoot Companion is an optional partner to the LightFoot Guide.to the via Francigena A step-by-step guide to the history and culture of the via Francigena of Sigeric and the via Francigena Montana or via degli Abati in Italy with introductions to the famous, and sometimes infamous, personalities, associated with the route. Whether you want to put your toe in the water of the pilgrim experience, add colour to the landscapes of your journey or reminisce over a past journey the Lightfoot Companion is there to help. A light read, for anyone, anywhere, anytime.
An indispensable guidebook to the final 400km of the Via Francigena from Lucca to Rome. This is the most popular stretch of the pilgrim route connecting Canterbury to the Vatican City. Crossing Italy's heartland, this last section of the Via Francigena goes through two of Tuscany's loveliest cities, Lucca and Siena, and visits medieval San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Radicofani. Divided into 18 day stages, the route is suitable for any averagely fit walker. Full stage directions are accompanied by maps showing the route line and the facilities available at different locations. Accommodation listings give invaluable information on low-cost pilgrim hostels and where to stay. There are useful city maps for Lucca, Siena, Rome and Viterbo, and a stage planning table lists intermediate distances between accommodation, so you can customise your own walking schedule. Containing a wealth of advice on planning, preparation and tips for making the most of the walk, this is a must-have guide for any pilgrim. One of three volumes covering the complete Via Francigena.
This book contains case histories intended to show how societies and landscapes interact. The range of interest stretches from the small groups of the earliest Neolithic, through Bronze and Iron Age civilizations, to modern nation states. The coexistence is, of its very nature reciprocal, resulting in changes in both society and landscape. In some instances the adaptations may be judged successful in terms of human needs, but failure is common and even the successful cases are ephemeral when judged in the light of history. Comparisons and contrasts between the various cases can be made at various scales from global through inter-regional, to regional and smaller scales. At the global scale, all societies deal with major problems of climate change, sea-level rise, and with ubiquitous problems such as soil erosion and landscape degradation. Inter-regional differences bring out significant detail with one region suffering from drought when another suffers from widespread flooding. For example, desertification in North Africa and the Near East contrasts with the temperate countries of southern Europe where the landscape-effects of deforestation are more obvious. And China and Japan offer an interesting comparison from the standpoint of geological hazards to society - large, unpredictable and massively erosive rivers in the former case, volcanoes and accompanying earthquakes in the latter. Within the North African region localized climatic changes led to abandonment of some desertified areas with successful adjustments in others, with the ultimate evolution into the formative civilization of Egypt, the "Gift of the Nile". At a smaller scale it is instructive to compare the city-states of the Medieval and early Renaissance times that developed in the watershed of a single river, the Arno in Tuscany, and how Pisa, Siena and Florence developed and reached their golden periods at different times depending on their location with regard to proximity to the sea, to the main trunk of the river, or in the adjacent hills. Also noteworthy is the role of technology in opening up opportunities for a society. Consider the Netherlands and how its history has been formed by the technical problem of a populous society dealing with too much water, as an inexorably rising sea threatens their landscape; or the case of communities in Colorado trying to deal with too little water for farmers and domestic users, by bringing their supply over a mountain chain. These and others cases included in the book, provide evidence of the successes, near misses and outright failures that mark our ongoing relationship with landscape throughout the history of Homo sapiens. The hope is that compilations such as this will lead to a better understanding of the issue and provide us with knowledge valuable in planning a sustainable modus vivendi between humanity and landscape for as long as possible. Audience: The book will interest geomorphologists, geologists, geographers, archaeologists, anthropologists, ecologists, environmentalists, historians and others in the academic world. Practically, planners and managers interested in landscape/environmental conditions will find interest in these pages, and more generally the increasingly large body of opinion in the general public, with concerns about Planet Earth, will find much to inform their opinions. Extra material: The color plate section is available at http://extras.springer.com
The contest between Arthur Phillip and Jean-Francois Laperouse to get to Botany Bay first and to claim rights to sovereignty of either Britain or France over the Australian continent
This is a walker's guide to the 643 km medieval pilgrim road from Oslo to Nidaros (Trondheim) Cathedral, where Saint Olav (king of Norway, and responsible for much of the conversion of the country to Christianity) was buried. His shrine was the focus not only of many miracles but also of the fourth most important pilgrim route in Europe ......
This guidebook describes the Way of St Francis a 550km month-long pilgrimage trail from Florence through Assisi to Rome. Split into 28 day stages, the walk begins in Florence and finishes in the Vatican City. Stages range from 8km to 30km with plenty to see, including ancient ruins, picturesque towns, national treasures, and stunning churches. This comprehensive guidebook fits in a jacket pocket or rucksack, and contains information on everything from accommodation and transport in Italy, to securing your credential (pilgrim identity card), budgeting, what to take, and where to do laundry. Stories of Francis of Assisi's life are also included. Although the route includes climbs and descents of up to 1200m, no special equipment is required - although your hiking boots and socks definitely need to get along. Following the steps of heroes, conquerors and saints on this pilgrim trail is manageable all year round, but is best done from April to June and mid-August to October. Route maps are given for every stage, and basic Italian phrases are included in the guidebook.
This is the second volume in a two volume guide for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders travelling the via Francigena - the ancient pilgrim route from Canterbury in England to Rome. The second volume covers the 942 kilometres from the summit of the Great Saint Bernard Pass on the Swiss-Italian border to St Peter's Square in Rome. Each volume contains detailed routing instructions, route schematics, listings of accommodation and services and descriptions of the history of key locations along the route. Purchasers of the book are entitled to receive GPS waypoint data and periodic route updates.
Guidebook to the Via Francigena pilgrim route from Lausanne to Lucca. Starting at Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), this 725km section crosses the Alps at the historic Great Saint Bernard Pass, descends the Po Valley, then climbs to cross the Cisa Pass into Tuscany. Described in 32 stages, with information on facilities and pilgrim hostels.
Author and journalist Brian Mooney returns to Italy, the country where some 30 years earlier he reported on the deaths and elections of two Popes, and the kidnap and murder of its former Prime Minister, Aldo Moro. He travels on foot, setting out from his home in Essex, and going via London so that he can walk from St Paul's Cathedral to St Peter's Basilica. His journey is for enjoyment, but is also a quest to find out what kind of a pilgrim he is; Hilaire Belloc's classic, The Path to Rome, helps him come up with some surprising answers. Belloc's and Mooney's journeys could not be more different. Belloc, pilgrim staff in hand, set out in the early 20th century to celebrate Christianity; Mooney, with Visa card, BlackBerry and St Luke's Gospel in his rucksack, journeys through a much changed secular Europe. A Long Way for a Pizza is a picaresque and at times provocative narrative of a 1,300 mile walk through France, across the Jura and Alps and down Italy, and a cheerful account of the people Mooney meets and places he visits.
