Cammino di San Jacopo

Along the 170 kilometres of the Cammino di San Jacopo (as Saint James is called in Italian), visitors will discover many of the wonderful art cities of Northern Tuscany while dipping into the distant past and the glorious events that shaped the culture of this region. The Way is rooted in the history of an ancient Roman road built over two thousand years ago – the Via  Cassia–Clodia – that connected Rome and Florence with the strategic port of Luni via Florence.

Pistoia, the little Santiago

However, the events that made these routes famous date back to the Middle Ages, when many pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela or Rome stopped over in Pistoia to venerate the relic of the apostle James the Great, brought to Pistoia from Galicia in 1144 and still safeguarded in the Cathedral of Saint Zeno. This heartfelt cult became so widespread that Pistoia was nicknamed “Little Santiago”. To strengthen the bond that unites the two cities, Pistoia was donated a “cippo”, a stone marking the distance from the Tuscan city to Santiago the Compostela, where the mortal remains of Saint James are kept. The two cities also share the symbol that identifies their Ways, a scallop shell with nine ribs that has become a general symbol of pilgrimage.

A crossroads for walks and ways

Centred on Pistoia and its relic, the Cammino di San Jacopo exceptionally connects the  Tuscan paths with international walks such as the Via Francigena, the Via Romea Strata and the Via Romea Germanica leading to the most important destinations of pilgrimage: Santiago, Rome and Jerusalem. After an extraordinary path amid Tuscany’s artistic, natural and religious treasures, pilgrims can reach the port of Livorno and board a ship to Barcelona. Then, walking along the Jacobean routes in Catalonia and the French Way, they can arrive at Santiago de Compostela and pay homage to a centuries-old tradition.

The Cammino di San Jacopo is in the process of certification by Tuscany Region.
For technical details about the difficulty of each stage, advice on backpack, information on public transport, you should contact the reference association.