They used to travel in a group, mainly on foot, covering between 20-25 km a day. At the beginning of the 11th century, a multitude of souls "looking for their Lost Heavenly Home" took to the habit of traveling across Europe and the Middle East. The pilgrims were fundamentally driven by devotion: the pilgrimage to the Holy Sites of Christianity, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Jerusalem in the Holy Land.

In 2000 years the paths leading to the holy sites do not serve for pilgrims anymore; at any rate they still attract thousands of people interested in new and different ways of traveling and meeting other people. Indeed, the paths, besides serving as catalysts for sustainable tourism and economic development, are meeting and connection points for people of all faiths and cultures, which invites them to remember humanity’s common origins and to respect cultural differences.

Building on these potentialities for dialogue and understanding, the UNICRI Lab is working on a twinning project between the Via Francigena (the path leading to Rome from Canterbury) and the Abraham Path (the path which follows the footsteps of Abraham / Ibrahim through the Middle East).

On 6th July 2009, the draft project “Paths of Dialogue” was unanimously approved by the Board of Direction of the European Association of the Via Francigena. At the beginning of November, the project will be presented at in Lucca an occasion that will be marked by the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. On this occasion it is envisaged that meetings and debates will be held on the theme of intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.

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