Category Archives: 100DaysOnTheWay

100DaysOnTheWay, History and Legends, Pilgrim, Travelogue

Prologue: from Home to the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan

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It is true that we live in Segrate only since 2012 and I do not really feel to be “from Segrate”, but I always say that I’m from Milan. It is true that I was born 500 metres from the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio and that I’ve always been bound to my diocese, which is particular, autonomist, innovative and often frowned upon… In short, the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, where the Archbishop who did not hesitate to scold the emperors rests, was the natural place from which to start my walk.

But… but… now I live here… and so? So, today I’ve walked from my home to the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio with Alessandro, my husband. It’s only a short prologue of 12 km and something more, but it was important. We went out of the door and we started walking on our Way. It was good and right to start it together, in the same way we will finish it, together, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean…

What did we see?

The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio was built by Bishop Ambrogio from 379 to 386 AD: the Bishop wanted to dedicate it to the martyrs who suffered persecutions under the Romans and took the name of Basilica Martyrum. Only after the Bishop’s death, when his remains were buried under the main altar along with the remains of the Martyrs Gervaso and Protaso, the church was rededicated in his honor. The Basilica was rebuilt at the end of the XI century, according to the canons of the Romanesque, and the works were wanted by Bishop Anselmo, another great bishop of Milan. The new building maintained three naves and three apses, and didn’t have a transept.

The altar of Sant’Ambrogio is particularly ramarkable: it is a Carolingian masterpiece made in gold, silver gilt, enamels and precious stones. It lies just above the relics of the saints, placed under the altar itself and visible through a window on the back side. The altar was made by the Masters of the Stories of Christ (who decorated the front side), and the Master Vuolvinio (who decoradet the back side), between 824 and 859. The Basilica is, today, an isolated case of the Lombard Romanesque style, as other contemporary examples (such as the Cathedrals of Pavia, Novara and Vercelli are now destroyed or have undergone major transformations.

A curiosity: on a granite column, presumably Roman, inside the Basilica, stands Moses’ Snake, who escaped the inconoclastic wrath of King Hezekiah. It is a bronze sculpture (in the past it was believed to be the Moses’ original one) donated by the Emperor Basil II in 1007. Prayers are directed to the snake to ward off certain types of ailments and it is said that the end of the world will be announced by its descent from this column.

Pilgrim, Practical Information

What should I put in my backpack?

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The backpack is the balance between our fears and our desire for freedom… That point usually moves towards the freedom, as long as te backpack rests on our shoulders: and the backpack gets empty.

Personally, my opinion is that what is needed for a week’s walk is neither more nor less than what we need for a month: the essentials.

It is therefore necessary to think that you will spend a long period of time in which everything that you need is to be transported on your shoulders, therefore, all the unnecessary should stay at home! Here is a list of the essentials for those who start walking in spring and summer.  I recommend to  avoid the temptation of adding too many things to this list: remember that the ideal weight should be less than 10% of your body weight!

  • 1 backpack, 40-45 liters , light, should distribute the weight on your hips and possibly be equipped with side pockets for water
  • 1 shell, symbol of the pilgrim
  • 3 short-sleeved shirts (or 2 short-sleeved and 1 long sleeve ) for them as well as everything else, you shall prefer the technical materials, which dry as quickly as possible because the laundry is done at the end of the daily walk and must be dried in the morning before leaving
  • 1 or 2 pairs of shorts
  • 1 pair of throusers (if you find those trekking throusers with the removable lower part of the leg, you can also leave at home the second pair of shorts )
  • 1 fleece or microfleece depending on the season and the regions you want to cross
  • 1 poncho that covers your backpack
  • 3 pairs of technical socks reinforced toes and heels ( not the sponge !)
  • 3 pairs of pants
  • 2 pairs of bras ( for ladies )
  • 1 pair of slippers for the shower
  • 1 pair of hiking shoes for the mountains: there are many solutions on the market; I prefer lightness and protection for my foot. If you start in the spring and summer, in my opinion, you can leave at home the Gore-Tex and prefer breathable materials that dry quickly
  • 1 lightweight sleeping bag (you will hardly sleep outdoors , unless you wish, but the sleeping bag will help protect you from what might be hiding in the mattress ) or 1 sheet sleeping bag
  • 1 mat: if you plan to leave in the summer, sometimes albergues will be crowded enough to force a solution on the floor and a night under the stars could also be an experience you might want to try
  • 1 torch front for departures before sunrise and in the evening so as not to disturb if you want to read before sleeping
  • Marseille soap (both for clothes, shower and hair), wire for hanging (3-4 meters ) and a few safety pins for the laundry
  • the necessary – just enough! – for the toilette (mind the weight: if you set off in 2 or 3, share shower gel and toothpaste! ) In which I include ear plugs , needle, cotton thread, scissors and betadine to treat blisters, arnica cream, ointment feet , electric epilator (or shaving kit but only if you can not help it)
  • 1 shower towel, microfiber , lightweight and compressible
  • a pilgrim’s guide of the Way (bought or packaged by you with the information found on the internet, but do not leave at home information on historical and cultural heritage which you shall not fail to admire! )
  • 1 wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, and sunscreen
  • 1 bottle or 2 lightweight plastic bottles of 0.5 l .
  • pen and notebook for travel notes
  • a case to be kept with them containing identity card, pilgrim’s credential, money, credit cards / debit cards, health cards
  • camera.

Not really essential but still important for someone: cell phone, mp3 player eventually, walking stick or telescopic poles, a pair of hiking sandals for resting time and sometimes even to walk, a handkerchief of cotton or other fabric.

This time I’ll leave in a still fresh period, then I will add it to this list a long sleeve technical shirt and a lightweight waterproof and windproof Gore-Tex jacket.

NB: In case of rain, despite the cloak covering the backpack, it could happen that the clean clothes will get wet, making the pilgrim  feel uncomfortable. To prevent this, it is advisable to close the various clothes into transparent plastic bags (those for garments, which are also less noisy when handled). The same trick is also to be taken to store battery chargers and other electrical items as well as money and documents.

100DaysOnTheWay, Pilgrim, Practical Information, Travels

Stages and accomodation from Milan to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

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I finally managed to order alle the documentation I’ve collected in the last weeks and so, I made the first Excel sheet where I recap the itinerary that I mean to follow. I mean, since when you are on the Way, you never know what will happen… luckily! Anyway, this document outlines the stages, the foreseen date, total and partial km, difficulty level and the accomodation where I hope to sleep, with its characteristics.

If you cannot visualize the spreadsheet, you can download the PDF version of the document frome this link.

If you need some more information or wish to contact me, can write to sara.pellegrina@gmail.com.

 

 

100DaysOnTheWay, History and Legends

Mortara: hence passed Charlemagne

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One of the first places that I will cross during my walk, will be Mortara, a town near Pavia, along the Via Francigena. Mortara history is rooted in the centuries, so much that the existence of the town is already confirmed in the IV century AD, when Gaudenzio, Novara bishop, wanted to build two chapels at its entrance: one was sacred to Saint Peter and the other to Saint Eusebius. The latter started working as a parish for Mortara. Both chapels were built at about 1,5 km from the town and soon became an important stop for those on their way to Rome, or back home to northern and western Europe. Many important people passed from here: in 440 the future pope Leo, in 494 Saint Epifanio, in 574 pope Stephen II, in 575 pope Paul I, and, in the spring of 773, the Frank Ambassy coming back from the meeting with pope Adrian I.

The church of Saint Albino in Mortara

 

Not long after the passage of this group, the church of St. Eusebius finally came in History: on October 12, 773, in fact, just near the two chapels of St. Peter and St. Eusebius,  took place the final battle between the Franks led by Charlemagne and the Lombards guided by their king Desiderius. The battle was extremely bloody and both sides suffered heavy losses, but the Franks triumphed over the Lombards. Despite the victory, however, two of the Paladins of King Charles lost their lives: Amelius d’Auvergne, the king’s cupbearer, and Amicus Beyre, the royal treasurer.

Charlemagne ordered that they should be buried with all the honors, each under the altar of one of the two chapels: Amicus under St. Peter and Amelius under St. Eusebius. The next day, however, the remains of Amicus and Amelius were found both under the altar of the chapel of St. Eusebius, one beside the other. And so, the church of St. Eusebius passed into legend.

Charlemagne and his Paladins: miniature on parchment (XV century), National Library, Turin.

Afther these miraculous events, father Albinus, monk and adviser of Charlemagne, expressed his desire to found a monastery to be aggregated to the church of St. Eusebius, and the king gave it rich donations. The guesthouse of St. Eusebius was well adapted to accomodate the students of Albinus who settled here and took their vows when he became bishop of Vercelli. At his death, in 801, Albinus asked to be buried next to the two Paladins. The monks, all of Frankish origin, dedicated their monastery to Saint Albinus from Angers and adopted the rule of St. Augustine, while enjoying extensive autonomy. St. Albinus, from that moment until today, always remained a popular stop for pilgrims.

 

In the spring of 1999, two sarcophagi were discovered just below the altar of the church of St. Albinus, during the works for its restauration. One of them, as well as being consistent with the dating to the Carolingian period, contained the remains of a man of great prestige, buried with his legs crossed, according to custom adopted by the ecclesiastics of high rank and, later, by the knights of the Temple. Even today, the walls of the apse of the Romanesque church of St. Albinus, bear the engravings left by many pilgrims who found refuge here.

 

100DaysOnTheWay, Pilgrim, Practical Information, Travels

From Arles to Palavas les Flots via Saintes Maries de la Mer

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Today I’ve been working on the tracking of the route that we will need to follow (if we will decide to do that) to go from Arles to Saintes Maries de la Mer and, from there, to Palavas les Flots, walking through the heart of the Camargue. I wrote a small guide in Italian, with some detailed maps, that I will translate and publish on this page in the following days.

From this page, you can also access the GPS tracks, but beware: I still couldn’t verify them on the field, so, if you want to use them, be careful! Especially in the second stage, from Saintes Maries de la Mer to Le Grau du Roi it is enough to miss a crossroad and you’ll be on the wrong side of a pond and you’ll have to make a long detour, when you already had a long way to walk.

  1. GPS track from Arles to Saintes Maries de la Mer
  2. GPS track from Saintes Maries de la Mer to Le Grau du Roi
  3. GPS track from Le Grau du Roi to Palavas les Flots
100DaysOnTheWay, Pilgrim, Practical Information, Travels

Descriptive from Milan to Montgenevre

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The most complicated part of the journey that I will do this summer is maybe go backwards the Via Francigena until Monginevro, more complicated, at least conceptually, since there is no guide to this path in the direction I choose. So what? And then I soon the Via Francigena, which I mentioned in the post about the bibliography and I reworked the descriptive of the route from East to West. If anyone needs to follow it, here it is in PDF format:

100GiorniSulCammino-Milan-Montgenevre

Of course it is to be verified, but that will only do so when I get back. Having planned to take me anyway copy of maps of the Guide and the indications on places to visit, I did not include maps provided in this document, apart from some parts missing or unclear in the maps of the Guide, but I will insert them into a more advanced version, so you have it all together. So, if you need, keep in mind that will be coming soon!

Good Journey!