A law that connects roads and routes to discover another side of our country, and to encourage a slower kind of tourism, is moving towards approval
A network of roads to travel slowly, without cars, or navigable rivers, to connect Italy in a different way, and to reconnect pilgrims, tourists and citizens to nature, to almost-forgotten villages, inland areas and hidden treasures. These are the Cammini d'Italia, which from now on will be recognised, organised and promoted thanks to a proposed law, approved unanimously this week in the Chamber of Deputies and needing just one final step to become law.
The cammini are itineraries that can be travelled primarily on foot – but also by bicycle or other forms of soft mobility – divided into daily stages and free from the ordinary use of motorised vehicles. They may be historical, cultural, religious, naturalistic or scenic in character. They are not simple footpaths, but genuine "slow journeys" that allow travellers to cross territories, discover widespread heritage and build relationships with local communities.
Italy is one of the European countries with the richest and most diverse network of cammini, many of which are also included in cultural itineraries recognised by the Council of Europe. The new law will recognise all the Cammini d'Italia already catalogued, as well as those European routes that pass through Italian territory.
Among the best-known and most established examples are the Via Francigena, one of Europe's great pilgrimage routes, which crosses Italy from north to south, linking the Valle d'Aosta to Rome (and continuing on to the ports of Puglia), passing through Piemonte, Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Toscana and Lazio; the Vie e Cammini di San Francesco, a network of paths connecting Toscana, Umbria and Lazio, touching symbolic places such as Firenze, La Verna, Assisi, Rieti and Roma; and the Romea Strata, an ancient medieval route that linked north-eastern Europe to Rome and which, in Italy, passes through Veneto and Emilia-Romagna.
And then there is the Cammino di San Benedetto, which retraces the places associated with the saint's life between Umbria and Lazio, from Norcia to Montecassino; the Via Appia-Regina Viarum, an ancient Roman axis now celebrated as a historical-cultural cammino running from Roma to Brindisi, and recently added to the Unesco World Heritage List, as has the Cammino Materano, which links Puglia and Basilicata all the way to Matera, itself a Unesco heritage site. Rounding out the picture are the Cammino di Santa Barbara, in Sardegna, tied to the island's mining history, and the Cammini lauretani, which lead to the sanctuary of Loreto through Marche, Umbria, Toscana and Lazio. Alongside these runs a constellation of regional and local cammini that bring out the best of inland areas, natural parks, lagoons, lakes and even stretches of river and coastline.
The law introduces for the first time a single national framework. Specifically, it establishes a Banca dati dei Cammini d'Italia, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, with a digital map and useful information for travellers (routes, stages, services, accessibility); it assigns the official designation of "Cammino d'Italia" to routes that meet quality, safety, signage and hospitality standards; it creates a national steering committee and a permanent roundtable to coordinate the State, Regions, local authorities and associations; and it provides for a national three-year programme for the promotion and enhancement of the cammini, accompanied by communication campaigns both in Italy and abroad. Last but not least, it strengthens attention to inclusion, accessibility and environmental protection, encouraging soft mobility and responsible use of the land.
The aim is to support a more balanced and sustainable form of tourism, in keeping with the emerging concept of "undertourism" that appears to have begun gaining traction as a reaction to the overcrowding of the trendiest destinations. The cammini encourage the spreading of tourist flows across different seasons, the revival of villages and inland areas, and new economic opportunities for accommodation providers, guides, artisans and local producers. But above all, they promote a more respectful enjoyment of the environment and landscape, and the enhancement of Italy's widespread cultural, religious and natural heritage.
