Italy promotes five ancient walking routes

Italy is bundling five long-distance walking routes into a single national tourism push as Rome tries to turn pilgrimage paths and rural trails into a more formal travel product. Euronews reported on May 18 that the campaign, branded “Antichi Cammini d’Italia,” is the first coordinated international promotion for the five certified routes. The effort pairs restored paths, common signage and packaged itineraries with a wider government push to frame walking as part of Italy’s cultural tourism offer. The rail arm FS Treni Turistici is also marketing heritage train journeys tied to the same slow-travel theme. ### Which routes are included in the new push? Euronews said the five certified routes are the Via Francigena, the Via di Francesco, the Cammino di San Benedetto, the Cammino di Santiago in Italy and the Appia Antica. The article described the program as a way to present Italy as a reference point for heritage walking in Europe. The Italian tourism ministry has been building the policy framework behind that pitch for months. In a January statement on proposed legislation for Italy’s walking routes, Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè said the ministry would have a central role in promotion through tools including a control room, a database, a permanent working table and a development program. (euronews.com) ### What is the government actually funding? The tourism ministry said in February that walking routes would receive 5 million euros over 2026-2028 and 1 million euros a year from 2029, on top of more than 30 million euros already invested in the sector. Santanchè said at the time that the routes were becoming “a strategic pillar” of national tourism policy. (ministeroturismo.gov.it) The same ministry statements said the law would formalize governance around the routes and support promotion and development of paths that can be used on foot or through “soft mobility.” That language aligns with the Euronews report that Italy plans restored trails, nationwide signage and packaged itineraries this year. (ministeroturismo.gov.it) ### Why is Italy pairing walking routes with trains? FS Treni Turistici, the tourism-focused rail company in the Ferrovie dello Stato group, is marketing vintage and heritage-style trips as part of a broader slow-travel offer. Its travel pages list Milan-Alba, branded around truffles and wine, as a historic-train journey through the Langhe using Gran Confort carriages and, on some dates, the Arlecchino trainset. (euronews.com) FS News reported earlier that the company had already been expanding autumn tourist rail links, including services to Alba and Assisi, to connect travelers with cultural destinations beyond Italy’s main city circuits. That rail component gives the walking-routes campaign an additional transport product that can be sold to visitors looking for lower-speed itineraries. (fstrenituristici.it) ### Is this tied to a bigger tourism strategy? Italy has been using the language of sustainability and “turismo lento” across multiple tourism channels. Euronews previously reported on Italy’s efforts to promote walking trails, trains and outdoor activities as a more sustainable way to explore the country, particularly as overtourism pressures have grown in major destinations. (fsnews.it) The ministry’s 2026 statements go further by treating the routes as a national asset with dedicated funding and a formal administrative structure. In those statements, Santanchè said the goal was to give the routes the recognition they had not previously received in national tourism policy. (euronews.com) ### What should travelers watch next? FS Treni Turistici is already publishing route pages for Milan-Alba and other cultural journeys on its booking platform. The tourism ministry, meanwhile, has linked the walking-routes program to 2026-2028 funding and to new national coordination tools, including a database and development plan, which are expected to shape how the five certified routes are promoted next. (fstrenituristici.it) (ministeroturismo.gov.it)