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All Roads Lead To Rome
Here's Italy's PM Romano Prodi on plans to restore the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome:
"The pathways of our ancestors are a great heritage. It really makes me angry that we do not have pilgrims walking towards Rome any longer.
"To rebuild the great pilgrims' path we do not need great investments, but heart. I am pressing everyone to make it happen."
EURSOC reported earlier this week how Prodi's government plans to spend 10 million euros restoring the Italian part medieval pilgrimage road, which threads through France, Switzerland and Italy. Nearly ten percent of the Italian segment is dangerous for walkers. Whether this is due to crumbling footpaths or the fact that some stretches need to be walked along busy carriageways because the original route is inaccessible is unclear.
One group who will find out is a team of 27 cyclists who are presently cycling from Canterbury to Rome to raise money for Canterbury Cathedral.
The 27, which include a high court judge, a professor of music, the chief executive of a local council and a canon in the Church of England are making the 1,200 mile (1931 km) trip hope to draw attention to the plight of crumbling historic buildings, while raising £100,000 from local sponsors for the Cathedral.
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, says 50 million pounds must be found to "save" the 900 year old Cathedral, which is the spiritual home of the world's 75 million Anglicans. Pollution, weathering and low-quality repairs carried out after the WW2 bombing of the Cathedral have left it in a perilous state, the Cathedral's administrators say.
