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Day Twenty-Three on the
Way of St. Francis ~
Monte Sacro to Rome, 15.3 Kilometers (9.5 Miles)
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Our final day on the Way of St. Francis from Monte Sacro to Rome was a joy-filled jaunt on mostly bike paths and pedestrian ways, winding gracefully into the heart of the Eternal City. After many miles of pilgrimage, these last fifteen kilometers felt light and sacred, a rhythmic meditation that carried us straight to the majestic embrace of St. Peter’s Basilica!
“Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning.”
- Giotto di Bondone, Renaissance painter
“Oh Rome! my country! city of the soul!”
- Lord Byron, English Poet
I couldn't decide on a quote for this final stage, so I included both of them. Indeed, Rome is the "City of the Soul."
🙋♀️ Why Trust Us at the Pilgrimage Traveler?
We’re not a travel agency ~ we’re fellow pilgrims! (See About Us)
We've trekked Pilgrimage Routes Across Europe since 2014!
💬 We’ve:
- Gotten lost so you don’t have to. 😉
- Followed waymarks in the glowing sunlight, the pouring rain and by moonlight. ☀️🌧️🌙
- Slept in albergues, hostels & casa rurals. Ate and drank in cafés along the way. 🛌 😴
- Created comprehensive and downloadable GPS maps and eBook Guides, full of must-have information based on real pilgrimage travels. 🧭 🗺️
- Shared our complete journeys, step by step to help YOU plan your ultimate pilgrimage and walk with your own Heart and Soul. 💙✨
Every detail is from our own experiences. Just fellow pilgrims sharing the Way. We have added a touch of spirituality, heartfelt insights and practical guidance from the road ~ offering a genuine connection to the spirit of pilgrimage. Tap into the wisdom of seasoned pilgrims!
Ultreia and Safe Pilgrimage Travels, Caminante! 💫 💚 🤍
Maps and Stats, The Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to Rome
Here is the interactive google map of the day. Of course, there is everything you need on this stage. The only proble is the selection process!
There is no elevation change to speak of for this day. Just relax and enjoy the easy day!
Elevation Profile, Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to Rome, Day Twenty-ThreePhoto-Rich Travelogue, The Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to Rome
Begin the day in the Piazza Sempione in front of the Chiesa Santi Angeli Custodi, see day twenty-two for photos. Walk westward along the Corso Sempione, staying on the right side of the street and cross two major intersections until coming to a bridge.
The photo below shows how the street looks from the left side of the street.
Along the Corso SempioneCross the Aniene River on the bridge and immediately on the other side, take the first right turn onto the Via Valsolda. This turn, I think, is a bit tricky to find waymarks.
Pass some kiosks and a pergola over the next 100 meters or so, and notice a bike path begins on the right. This is the Aniene River bikeway that you will follow for almost three kilometers. Notice there is a water fountain at the beginning of the path.
This is a wonderful, shady way to walk into the large metropolis that is Rome! There are plenty of brown signs, painted yellow and blue waymarks.
We walked with our German friend until the street where we turned for our apartment, La Casetta, several blocks along the bikeway. As you can see in the photo below, a cloudburst has just passed, fortunately while we were at lunch! And you can also see that the Way of St. Francis shares this bikeway, with lots of different signage.
Aniene River BikewayIt is easy to follow the bike path winding through the suburbs, paralleling the Aniene river. Arrive at the first overpass, shown below, after about 1.5 kilometers.
Bikeway Under RoadwayAs you wander onward, you may walk through some places where the tall grass will be a bit overgrown, as it was for us.
The next landmark is an elevated rail line to your left, with yellow girders, see photo below.
Elevated Railway to the LeftA few hundred meters after the bikeway parallels the railway, it abruptly turns to the left, and crosses under it through a tunnel, lined with grafiti.
After the tunnel, follow the elevated railway, now on your right, on top of a concrete wall, with more decorative grafiti.
The bikeway now bends to the left, leaving the path of the railway, but continuing along the river. However, about 1/3 kilometer later, it climbs a small hill, leaving the Aniene behind, and joins the SS4 Via Salaria, at its huge clover leaf interchange with another major highway.
It is easy to follow the bike path, it is well-waymarked, and is nicely protected behind the barrier shown below, when it reaches the level of the roadway.
Bikeway Leaves the Aniene River and Joins the SS4Follow the pathway around the long bend to the left as it follows the interchange. The path will come to a crosswalk after about 100 meters and cross the street. You can just see this crosswalk in the background of the photo, above.
After crossing the intersection, the Way follows the bikeway, on another large bend to the left, until it comes to a T-intersection with another street. You can see that the barriers and the signs prevent you from going anywhere but to the right.
T-Intersection with Right Hand TurnFollow the bikeway to the right, that parallels the roadway and walks under a big highway through a tunnel.
Several meters after the tunnel, follow the bikeway, as it crosses the next exit ramp, takes a big bend to the right, and follows parallel to the elevated roadway ramp, replete with a lot of colorful grafiti.
Follow Wall of Elevated Roadway RampBend to the left after about 100 meters along the ramp, when you join the SS4 Via Salaria once again! This is a convoluted, but safe way to get through this complex interchange.
Continue along this parallel bikeway with the SS4 until the gas station, a few meters ahead, and cross over the next street, shown next. You will cross over the first street, then take an immediate right, to cross over the SS4 Via Salaria itself.
Cross SS4 Via Salaria, Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to RomeShortly after crossing the SS4 you will see a passageway, after about 4.1 kilometers into the day, leading down to the left, with perhaps some arrows or other waymarks telling to go left here. Do not take this passageway, pictured below.
Passageway to ShortcutThe passageway will drop you down onto the Via di Ponte Salario, a supposed "shortcut" that turns out to be shorter, yes, but quite unsafe! In fact the shortcut is barely shorter by about 200 meters only.
I sent Rich to map this way, and while he produced GPS tracks for me, he failed to take any photos. He said that the road it joined was very narrow, busy with rushing traffic and no sidewalk, nor a shoulder to be safe! He was so preoccupied with looking out for the traffic that he forgot to take photos. Plus, he saw no additional waymarks along the way! Of course, I do not recommend this shortcut.
The way to take, is straight onwards, where the bikeway continues along the ramp to join the busy street, the Viale del Foro Italico. Yes, it is loud and not so nice to walk along, but you can see by the photo below, that it is indeed safe. You will need to walk along this busy section for about 1.2 kilometer.
Straight and Onto the Viale del Foro ItalicoWhen the bikeway bends to the left at the first prominent intersection, after 5.3 kilometers total, follow it to the left and onto the Viale della Moschea. You will now follow this avenue for the next 1.7 kilometers.
After about 1/2 kilometer, you may notice a large mosque on the right, the Centro Islamico Culturale d'Italia. On the left is where the Via di Ponte Salario shortcut meets back up with the standard route. Here is where I saw Rich standing on the corner waiting for me.
Cross over the Via di Ponte Salario and continue along the well-marked bikeway.
After 6.3 kilometers total, pass the aquatic sports center called the Aquaniene, pictured below.
Aquatic Sports Complex, AquanieneAbout 200 meters later the Viale della Moschea comes to an end at the large intersection with the Viale Parioli.
At this intersection is where you will bend left towards the Viale Parioli, where the bike path appears to end. Turn right and cross over the Viale Parioli using the crosswalk. This turn may be tricky to find, but we saw a little sticker on the traffic light pole alerting us to the turn.
After joining the Viale Parioli, the bike path reappears along it, but it is best leave the path to take the very first crosswalk to the right, crossing over the Viale Parioli to the right (north) side. I found it to be confusing through here!
You really must cross the street in the next block, or you will be caught trying to get over at the next intersection which is much more difficult to cross, or the very worst, miss the turn altogether.
After crossing, along the right side of the street, the trees grow out of the middle of the sidewalk here and there is a tall metal rail fencing on the right.
Shortly, you will see a guiding brown Via di Francesco sign to assure you that you are going the right way!
Sidewalk Through the TreesWalk along this tree-lined street a few meters, when a narrow side street joins it from the right. Cross over and now begin a long walk by a huge city park on the right side.
The park is delineated by a low brick wall and iron railings above. A few meters along the wall, come to a double-posted gate, below. Do not enter the park through the gate, but continue to skirt it by staying straight along the roadway as it takes a strong bend to the right.
If you are not on the right side of the street by these gates, you really need to figure out how to cross over as soon as possible as the road bends to skirt around the park.
Villa Glori Park Entrance GateAfter the gate, stay walking to the far right, when a frontage type side road begins, along with another bike path.
Continue along this path that parallels the frontage road and arrive by another huge park gate next after another 1/2 kilometer.
Second Park GateThe bike path sort of peters out after the second gate, but then picks up later. Continue on the right side of the road, and when you come to the next intersection, do not cross it, but head to the right, and continue northward along the Via Giulio Gaudini.
Following this quieter road, along the bike path, come to a roundabout and follow it to the left and onto a street with a median, called the Via Pietro de Coubertin. We walked on the median, but the best way is to stay to the far left side of it, for the best route forward.
You are now entering a huge auditorium area, a concert venue called the Parco della Musica after about 8.0 kilometers. Stay to the left, passing the auditorium entrance area and the long line of brick buildings.
Parco della Musica Entrance GateYou will see the bike path continue, just before the big white overhead highway entrance gate to the park at the far end. You can take the bike path or just continue straight along the street, the Via Pietro de Coubertin.
Both walk through the overhead entrance gate and the overpass of the highway above.
Continue past the next round building on your right, the PalaTiziano di Roma, a sports complex, where the Cammino joins the bike path.
Bikeway to the Sports ComplexTake the bike path as it turns to the right, after the sports building. About 2/3 kilometer later, arrive at this bridge, the 3rd century CE, Ponte Milvio after 9.25 kilometers into day twenty-three on the Way of St. Francis from Monte Sacro to Rome. Welcome to the famous Tiber River, the main waterway through Rome! This is a historically significant bridge, the site of the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE, which led to the imperial rule of Constantine (wikipedia).
Ponte Milvio, Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to RomeWhen we got to the other side of the bridge, where there is a nice coffee kiosk, called the Bar Chiosco, we stopped to have a nice break after just over nine kilometers. Perfect.
The Cammino, Via di Francesco continues, turning left to walk along the river on a lovely, wide bike path, paralleling the narrow frontage street for pedestrians only, called the Via Capoprati. We saw absolutely no signs or waymarks, other than small stickers, through the rest of this stage. The route will essentially follow the river all the way to the Vatican.
You could actually take the stairs down to the riverfront a few meters after the bridge, just before the roadway narrows and walk the entire route on the path right next to the river, if that appeals to you more. When you reach the Castel Sant'Angelo, take the long stairs up before the Ponte Sant'Angelo (bridge of angels), to return to the street level to finish the walk into St. Peter's Square.
We stayed at the street level for the remainder of the walk. Here is the initial bikeway along the Tiber that you will follow.
Bikeway Along the Tiber RiverAs you head south along the river, watch out for views of St. Peter's Dome! I spotted it soon after the Milvio Bridge!
After about 2/3 kilometers, the bikeway passes under the first bridge, the Ponte Duca d'Aosta through an archway. The next bridge, a bit more than 1/2 kilometer later, the Ponte della Musica rises squarely above your head, with stairways from underneath leading to the roadway above.
The bikeway will next leave the approximation of the river, where the Via Capoprati is no longer a pedestrian-only street. It climbs a small hill to a busy 5-point crossroads. For the first time since the Milvio Bridge, we saw a very small sticker on the traffic light pole, below, signaling a turn here, to the left to head back toward the river, still along a designated bikeway.
Small Sticker on Traffic Pole at IntersectionYou will now be walking along the street called the Lungotevere della Vittoria. The first landmark you will come to is the large gray building of the Museo del Genio - Istituto Storico e di Cultura dell'Arma del Genio, across the street to your right.
Next, a few meters later, to the left and down by the river is the Circolo Canottieri della Vittoria tennis club.
As you approach the first bridge after the tennis club the Ponte del Risorgimento, there is no crosswalk on the left hand side. To be safe, you should use the crosswalk to the right and crossover the road on the other side. Eventually, you can cross back over to the river side.
A few meters later, pass another tennis club called the Rome City Tennis Prati.
At the next bridge crossing, you may want to cross over to the other side again. For this one, I did an illegal mad dash instead of doing the extra steps needed to be safer. The bike path now ends, but the sidewalk along the street continues, below.
Along the Tiber RiverWhen you arrive at the Ponte Pietro Nenni, after 12.9 kilometers, the bridge itself impedes the way forward. You must walk up a set of stairs to the right, up and over on the other side.
In the photo of the bridge, below, you will notice the small Via di Francesco sticker on the bar on the left. You have to really look for these small stickers as they are few and far between! But just keep the river to your left, and you can't go wrong.
Ponte Pietro Nenni and Small StickerThe next bridge intersection is interesting. The street goes down and under the road from the bridge, but the walkway on the left side stays up at the same level.
The next bridge you will pass is the Ponte Cavour, after 13.8 kilometers, on the final big bend to the right. You can see the picturesque double domes across the river, below. These are of the Chiesa di San Rocco all'Augusteo (foreground) and the Basilica dei SS ambrosio e Carlo (background). You can really tell that you are arriving into the heart of the old city.
Ponte Cavour and Twin DomesAs you round the bend for the final home stretch, the unmistakable Chiesa Sacro Cuore del Suffragio, comes into view, not pictured. This modern, neo-gothic ornamental church was built in 1917.
Next up is the incredible Supreme Court building of Italy, the Corte Suprema di Cassazione, pictured next.
Corte Suprema di Cassazione, Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to RomeAfter the Supreme Court building, when the trees lining the walkway end, the view is now clear and St. Peter's Basilica comes into focus!
The large, round structure looming ahead on the right, known as the Castel Sant'Angelo is currently a museum, open to the public. If you have time to tour this site after your pilgrimage, you won't regret it. It was built in the 2nd century CE, as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian and his family, but has since been used by the Popes as a fortress and a castle.
Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Basilica AheadAnd across from the Castel Sant'Angelo is the Ponte Sant'Angelo, the bridge lined with angels, across the Tiber River.
It is just before this bridge that if you took the riverfront pedestrian path, that you will use the long stairway, back up to the level of the street for the final stretch into St. Peter's Square.
Ponte Sant'Angelo BridgeFrom the castle, the one-half kilometer final walk along the Via della Conciliazione seems very long!
Here is a photo showing our arrival into St. Peter's Square.
Entering St. Peter's SquareOnce inside the square, the bilateral colonnades, designed by the famous Italian 17th century baroque sculptor, Bernini, greet you. Supposedly, Bernini designed the elliptical-shaped colonnades into the square to appear as the church's open arms, embracing arriving pilgrims.
Colonnade of Embracing ArmsAs you continue towards the basilica, make sure you go to the far right side and the archway that you see in the next photo. It is this group entrance where the pilgrim's desk is located and where you will receive the testimonium.
As you can see in the photo below, there was a large set-up for the activities for the jubilee year.
St. Peter's Basilica Long EntrywayThe welcome center for pilgrims is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 07:30 to 18:00, and on Wednesday from 13:00 to 18:00." You will receive a very warm welcome!
When you arrive at the Basilica at the entry line, make sure your stamped credential is available. Show it to the guards and they will waive you right through the line. At the base of the basilica, do not go up the stairs to the left into the sanctuary, but go straight through the archway doors and inside at the lower level.
After entering the building, look for a desk a few meters away on the left and beyond any line forming. This is the pilgrim's desk. There is no wait for pilgrims! We felt very special getting preferred treatment. And there were no pilgrims lined up at the desk either!
If you are arriving with your backpack, you will need to check it at the pilgrim's desk before going on to the basilica!
And here we are after receiving the testimoniums. The greeter at the pilgrim's desk offered to take our photo, without any prompting! Just fabulous!
Rich and Elle with Testimoniums at Pilgrim's Desk, St. Peter's BasilicaAnd while I will not do any detailed overview of St. Peter's Basilica, I would be remiss in excluding the cathedral at the conclusion of our journey. It is an incredible sight.
Below is the famous altar under the main, central dome, called St Peter's Baldachin. It is essentially a large Baroque sculpted bronze canopy, done by Bernini, the 17th century sculptor.
High Altar, St. Peter's BasilicaOur pilgrimage way has ended here, but our prayers for the journey will always remain!
Reflections, The Way of St. Francis, Monte Sacro to Rome
This day was a perfect 15 kilometers of anticipation until finally... Rome. Entering St. Peter’s Square felt like a giant embrace after a long journey of rhythmic footsteps and breath that filled us with a deep presence and sense of purpose. We were so grateful for every step, every stranger-turned-friend, the peace of the path... and the path to Peace itself. 👣✨
If you’re waiting for a sign to lace up your boots, let this be it. The pilgrimage trail asks for your endurance, but it gives back a clarity that every day life rarely allows. Rome may be the destination, but the transformation is found in the earth, the trees, the olive groves, and the quiet chapels along the way. The journey is over, but the path to Peace has just begun.
The dust of the trail may be brushed off, but the Franciscan spirit - of simplicity, brotherhood, and radical joy - is the Way that we’ll be following for the rest of our lives.
Salutation
May your final steps along the Way of St. Francis from Monte Sacro to Rome, into the heart of the Eternal City be filled with sacred anticipation and profound peace.
As you enter the "City of the Soul," may you find your own spirit renewed, and may your prayers for peace and purpose follow you long after the journey ends. Buon Cammino!
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Way of St. Francis Stages
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🙋♀️ Why Trust Us at the Pilgrimage Traveler?
We’re not a travel agency ~ we’re fellow pilgrims! (See About Us)
We've trekked Pilgrimage Routes Across Europe since 2014!
💬 We’ve:
- Gotten lost so you don’t have to. 😉
- Followed waymarks in the glowing sunlight, the pouring rain and by moonlight. ☀️🌧️🌙
- Slept in albergues, hostels & casa rurals. Ate and drank in cafés along the way. 🛌 😴
- Created comprehensive and downloadable GPS maps and eBook Guides, full of must-have information based on real pilgrimage travels. 🧭 🗺️
- Shared our complete journeys, step by step to help YOU plan your ultimate pilgrimage and walk with your own Heart and Soul. 💙✨
Every detail is from our own experiences. Just fellow pilgrims sharing the Way. We have added a touch of spirituality, heartfelt insights and practical guidance from the road ~ offering a genuine connection to the spirit of pilgrimage. Tap into the wisdom of seasoned pilgrims!
Ultreia and Safe Pilgrimage Travels, Caminante! 💫 💚 🤍
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