APULICA / WALKS

Way of St Francis of Paola

San Marco Argentano (Cosenza) → Monte Sant'Angelo in the Pollino massif, between Castrovillari and Morano Calabro (Calabria); the individual routes end at the sanctuaries of Paola, Paterno Calabro or Corigliano · 318.3 km in all according to the official site, as the sum of its four routes; italia.it instead gives 112 km with three variants, and a press review published by the Ministry of Tourism speaks of over one hundred kilometres. · 15 stages for the whole network: three on the Via del Giovane, three on the Via dell'Eremita, six on the Via dei Monasteri (its own page says six or seven) and three on the Via per la Francia.

Key facts

Start and finish	San Marco Argentano (Cosenza) → Monte Sant'Angelo in the Pollino massif, between Castrovillari and Morano Calabro (Calabria); the individual routes end at the sanctuaries of Paola, Paterno Calabro or Corigliano
Length	318.3 km in all according to the official site, as the sum of its four routes; italia.it instead gives 112 km with three variants, and a press review published by the Ministry of Tourism speaks of over one hundred kilometres. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) · Alla ricerca di fede e sostenibilità - rassegna stampa, Ministero del Turismo (dicembre 2024))
Stages	15 stages for the whole network: three on the Via del Giovane, three on the Via dell'Eremita, six on the Via dei Monasteri (its own page says six or seven) and three on the Via per la Francia. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dei Monasteri)
Credential	A pilgrim credential to be stamped along the way; on reaching a sanctuary after at least three stages you receive the Testimonium stamped by the Order of Minims. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Info (segnaletica, credenziale, Testimonium, come arrivare))
Regions	Calabria
Official website	www.ilcamminodisanfrancesco.it

Map, stages and elevation

Routes of the Youth, the Hermit and the Monasteries: 13 mapped stages, 250 km, 9334 m of ascent and 9363 m of descent computed on the terrain model. Official distances may differ: the figures published by the route prevail.

Stage	From – to	km	Ascent	Descent	Max altitude
0	Stazione di San Marco Argentano – San Marco Argentano	11.9	336 m	39 m	424 m
1	San Marco Argentano – Cerzeto	11.6	478 m	475 m	886 m
2	Cerzeto – Bosco Cinquemiglia	17.9	265 m	891 m	1253 m
3	Bosco Cinquemiglia – Santuario San Francesco di Paola di Paterno Calabro	19.5	1563 m	1349 m	1376 m
4	Santuario di San Francesco da Paola a Paterno Calabro – San Fili	21.0	1197 m	820 m	1190 m
5	San Fili – Cerisano	18.9	683 m	653 m	1171 m
6	Cerisano – Santuario di Paterno Calabro	22.0	667 m	593 m	777 m
7	Santuario di Paterno Calabro – Cosenza	18.5	271 m	697 m	676 m
8	Cosenza – Spezzano della Sila	19.5	813 m	234 m	910 m
9	Spezzano della Sila – San Pietro in Guarano	16.6	501 m	673 m	1132 m
10	San Pietro in Guarano – Rose	19.0	630 m	789 m	851 m
11	Rose – Acri	28.4	1200 m	924 m	956 m
12	Acri – Corigliano Calabro	25.2	730 m	1226 m	1027 m

Route: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Elevation: EU-DEM v1.1, Copernicus · Outlines: ISTAT · updated 2026-10-11

In brief

Four routes retrace the life of Calabria's patron saint: 318.3 km in 15 stages in all, according to the official site. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale)
The sanctuary of Paola, on the Tyrrhenian coast, is the goal of both the Via del Giovane and the Via dell'Eremita. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via del Giovane · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dell'Eremita)
The Via per la Francia ends on the summit of Monte Sant'Angelo (794 m), in the Pollino massif on Calabria's northern edge: it is not Monte Sant'Angelo on the Gargano. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via per la Francia)
The route is marked by milestones bearing the Sun symbol and by yellow-and-blue flags. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Info (segnaletica, credenziale, Testimonium, come arrivare))
You can walk it independently at any time of year or join one of the guided walks. (Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale)

Why walk it

It is a walk in the footsteps of one person: Francis of Paola, Calabria's most venerated saint, told stage by stage through the places of his youth, his hermit years, the convents he founded and his departure for France. The site describes it as a chance to get to know a man of faith who stayed close to his people and cared for the natural world.

The landscapes vary widely: centuries-old beech woods on the Catena Costiera, monumental chestnuts such as the "Patriarch" of Cerzeto, estimated at over a thousand years old, the small Laghicello lake that shelters a rare alpine newt, and then descents with views over the Tyrrhenian down to the sanctuary of Paola. On the Ionian side the Via dei Monasteri crosses the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere area of the Pre-Sila and ends among olive groves overlooking the Gulf of Corigliano.

Along the way you meet villages of old traditions, such as Cerzeto with its Italo-Albanian culture, and for meals the site has picked places serving simple, honest food. You walk at an easy pace, alone or on one of the scheduled guided walks.

Sources: Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via del Giovane · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dei Monasteri · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Info (segnaletica, credenziale, Testimonium, come arrivare) · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Ospitalità

The route

The Way of St Francis of Paola is a network of four routes in the province of Cosenza, each tied to a period of the saint's life: the Via del Giovane (Way of the Young Man), the Via dell'Eremita (Hermit's Way), the Via dei Monasteri (Way of the Monasteries) and the Via per la Francia (Way to France). All can be walked independently in any season; the official site says it is recognised by MiBACT, and the route appears in the Ministry of Tourism's catalogue of religious walks.

Figures vary by source. The official site gives 318.3 km in 15 stages as the total of the four routes, which do not form a single line: the Via del Giovane and the Via dell'Eremita both converge on Paola. italia.it describes a 112 km route with three variants, without the Via per la Francia, and a press review published by the Ministry of Tourism lists it among the walks relaunched by the Ministry, at over one hundred kilometres.

The Via del Giovane has been certified by the Touring Club's walking-route scheme, which assesses over two hundred indicators ranging from waymarking to trail maintenance.

Sources: Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via del Giovane · Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) · Catalogo Cammini Religiosi - italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) · Alla ricerca di fede e sostenibilità - rassegna stampa, Ministero del Turismo (dicembre 2024)

The itinerary

Via del Giovane (49 km): San Marco Argentano - Cerzeto (11.75 km), Cerzeto - Bosco Cinquemiglia mountain hut at Fuscaldo (17.5 km), hut - Paola sanctuary (19.75 km). On the first stage you choose between a shadier valley variant and a ridge variant; on the last, the "Il Montaltino" detour leads to Montalto Uffugo.

Via dell'Eremita (62.7 km): Paterno Calabro sanctuary - Cerisano (22 km), Cerisano - San Fili (18.9 km), San Fili - Paola sanctuary (21.8 km).

Via dei Monasteri (135 km): Paterno Calabro - Cosenza (18.4 km), Cosenza - Spezzano della Sila sanctuary (19.3 km), Spezzano - San Pietro in Guarano (16.4 km), San Pietro in Guarano - Rose (27.7 km, 17.9 on the walkers' variant), Rose - Acri (28.2 km, which can be split with a stop at the Sambucina abbey in Luzzi), Acri - Corigliano sanctuary (25.2 km).

Via per la Francia (71.6 km): Corigliano - Terranova da Sibari (28.2 km), Terranova - Cassano allo Ionio (23.2 km), Cassano - Monte Sant'Angelo (20.3 km) via Castrovillari; the summit, at 794 m in the Pollino massif, lies between Castrovillari and Morano and can also be climbed on a separate day, overnighting in Castrovillari.

Sources: Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via del Giovane · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dell'Eremita · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dei Monasteri · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via per la Francia

Difficulty and terrain

Stages range from easy to difficult. On the Catena Costiera you walk through woods and along ridges, with single-stage climbs of over 1,000 m (1,300 m between Rose and Acri) and the highest point of the whole route at Cozzo Cervello, 1,389 m. The Via dei Monasteri alternates country tarmac and dirt in proportions that vary by stage; two stages pass no villages, so carry food and water, and in the valley between San Pietro in Guarano and Rose there is a ford that is hard in winter. On the Via per la Francia the heat and lack of shade make a dawn start advisable in summer.

Waymarking includes milestones at junctions, carved with the Sun symbol of the route, a yellow arrow and the kilometres left to the sanctuary, plus yellow-and-blue flags at forks and roughly every 300 m, signs in built-up areas and stickers. The Via del Giovane is marked in one direction only, towards Paola; the others in both.

The site warns that above 1,000 m fog can make route-finding hard and that phone coverage is patchy; it suggests guided walks for anyone without mountain experience.

Sources: Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via del Giovane · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dell'Eremita · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dei Monasteri · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via per la Francia · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Info (segnaletica, credenziale, Testimonium, come arrivare)

Hospitality and credential

The credential is the pilgrim's passport: it identifies the walker, gives access to the dedicated hospitality and is stamped at town halls, churches and other places along the way. It is valid for a single section, of at least three stages ending at a sanctuary, or for the whole route walked in one go. On arrival you receive the Testimonium stamped by the Order of Minims, at the sanctuaries of Paola, Paterno, Spezzano della Sila and Corigliano or, for the Via per la Francia, at the church of San Francesco in Castrovillari; each credential entitles you to one Testimonium.

For every stage end the site lists where to sleep and eat: B&Bs, hostels and home hospitality, plus floor space with a sleeping bag in scout style, such as the donation-based welcome at the San Marco Argentano start. The selected lodgings are in historic centres; contact them four or five days ahead and say you are walking the route. Backpack transfer is also available.

Paola lies on the Tyrrhenian railway line, with branches towards Cosenza, Castiglione Cosentino and San Marco-Roggiano; from Cosenza buses run to San Marco Argentano, Paterno, Corigliano and Castrovillari, and a shuttle links Lamezia Terme airport with Cosenza.

Sources: Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Info (segnaletica, credenziale, Testimonium, come arrivare) · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Ospitalità

History and meaning

Francis, born in 1416, bears the name of St Francis of Assisi, to whose intercession his parents credited his recovery from a serious eye malformation. To fulfil their vow he spent a year as a boy at the Franciscan convent of San Marco Argentano, then returned to Paola: this is the journey of the Via del Giovane. At just over fourteen he began life as a hermit in a cave near Paola, and the young men who chose to follow him gave rise to the Order of Minims.

Then came the foundations of Paterno Calabro (1472), Spezzano (1474) and Corigliano (1476), linked by the Via dei Monasteri. King Louis XI of France, who was ill, wanted the friar at his side; after Francis's first refusals Pope Sixtus IV ordered him to go, when he was 67.

Tradition holds that before leaving Calabria Francis stopped on the Pollino, perhaps on Monte Sant'Angelo itself, to bless his land one last time, and that his footprints remained in the rock. The stones bearing them are now kept in the church of the Maddalena in Morano and in the Paterno convent. He is the patron saint of Calabria.

Sources: Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - sito ufficiale · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via del Giovane · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via dei Monasteri · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - La Via per la Francia · Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola - Info (segnaletica, credenziale, Testimonium, come arrivare) · Discovering the Cammini di Calabria - italia.it (Ministero del Turismo)