Pilgrims to Rome
The Ordnance Survey have a 1:50,000 series of Landranger maps. The reference number for the Canterbury to Dover map is
In February 2010 the series (previously known as Série Verte) completed its revision to provide an even clearer presentation of small local roads and to include GPS coordinates.
Now based on IGN’s digital data used to produce the country’s topographic survey
at more detailed scales, presentation has been sharpened to make small local roads
stand out better. Contour interval varies according to the terrain, from 10m along
the coast to 40m in the mountainous areas, enhanced by relief shading. Additional
colouring shows different types of vegetation or land use (woods, vineyards, orchards,
etc). The maps have a 5-
The 1cm to 1km series of IGN maps is perfectly adequate for the route in France. There are larger scale maps available (1:25,000) but it would be a costly exercise to buy all of them!. It is not necessary to have all maps in advance as they are reasonable easy to get hold of in France. They are generally available in places that sell newspapers but be warned that they will only stock their own local maps. A 'libraire' in a large town or city will probably stock a complete set. The list of 1:100,000 numbers that cover the Via Francigena in France is as follows:
#101 -
#103 -
#104 -
#110 -
#120 -
#130 -
#137 -
Here you have a choice between 1:100,000 or 1:50,000 scales. Footpaths in Switzerland are very well waymarked and easy to follow. References for both scales are given below:
Swiss Survey 100K Topographic Maps 1:100,000
#40 -
#41 -
#43 -
Swiss Survey 50K Hiking Editions of Topographic Maps 1:50,000
#261T -
#272T -
#5027T -
As a country, Italy is not mapped as well and consistently as the others but there
are several Via Francigena-
As well as the Vademecums, the AIVF produce the Topofrancigenas, sketch maps showing the route from Canterbury to France, Switzerland to the Alps and the Alps to Rome. As pointed out in the Guides section, they do not now include the route in France.
Pisoni Guide
As already mentioned in the Guides section, the Pisoni Guide has separate maps for each stage. The maps are ‘plasticized’, have height profiles and give details of low cost (monastery/parish) accommodation details. Route instructions are on the back.
D’Atti & Cinti Maps
D'Atti, Monica and Cinti, Franco: La Via Francigena: cartografia e GPS dal Monginevro a Roma lungo l'itinerario storico
These are published separately from, but designed to accompany the guidebook written by the same authors. Unfortunately their route crosses the Alps at Mongenevre rather than the St Bernard Pass so if you wish to follow the Segeric route, these maps will only be useful from Vercelli. The maps are detailed, have height profiles, GPS data and show the types of roads/paths used.
Kompass Maps
Some sections of the route are covered by Kompass 50K Hiking series of 1:50,000 maps so the following may be of use.
85 Mont Blanc
86 Gran Paradiso -
646 Garfagnana -
660 Florence -
661 Siena -
653 Pienza -
Touring Club Italiano
This organisation has produced a series of maps covering all of Italy but unfortunately the scale is 1:200,000. The maps are very easy to read and places of interest are highlighted. Reference numbers covering the Via Francigena are
1 Piedmont -
5 Liguria
7 Tuscany
10 Lazio
Google Maps
There is a google map of the route from the St Bernard Pass to be found at the same location as the Italian Ministry of Culture Guide (see Links/About Routes).
Maps covering the Via Francigena
The route passes through four countries so maps have been categorised by country. Click on the links to each country below
