Way of Saint Anthony: From Padua to La Verna Among Franciscan Sanctuaries and Venetian Hills

Saint Anthony was born in Lisbon in 1195 but died in Padua in 1231, and in Padua his body remains, in the basilica that bears his name. La Verna, in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, is where Francis of Assisi received the stigmata in 1224 — and the place Anthony venerated above all others in Italy. The Way of Saint Anthony links these two poles of Italian Franciscanism over 430 kilometres, through a landscape that changes radically every fifty kilometres: first the volcanic Euganean Hills, then the Ferrara plain, then the hills around Bologna, and finally the sacred forest of La Verna.

The Euganean Hills and the plain

The first part of the walk is the most surprising for a pilgrim accustomed to mountains: you walk among the vineyards of the Euganean Hills — Moscato Giallo, Fior d'Arancio, Serprino — with views of the bell towers of Padua and the distant profile of the Dolomites on clear spring days. Arquà Petrarca, where Francesco Petrarca spent his last years, is one of the stops: his red Verona marble sarcophagus stands in the small churchyard, freely accessible. The transition to the plain passes through the Po Delta, with its endless embankments and the silhouettes of flamingos over the fishing lagoons.

The Apennines and La Verna Sanctuary

After the Ferrara plain, the trail climbs toward the hills of Bologna and then toward the Apennine ridge. The final stretch, from the Calla pass to La Verna Sanctuary, crosses one of Italy's oldest and most imposing beech forests: centuries-old trees, brilliant green moss on the rocks, silence broken only by the wind. La Verna Sanctuary is a Franciscan complex perched on a rocky ledge at 1,128 metres, still inhabited by friars who welcome pilgrims in the hospice for 30 euros a night. The Chapel of the Stigmata, partly carved into the rock, is the devotional heart of the place.

Logistics and practical tips

The trail is walked in about ten stages. The credential is collected at the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua; the trail association publishes a detailed guide with GPS tracks and partner lodgings. The ideal months are April to June and September to October: in summer the plain stretch is stifling, in winter the Apennine section can be snow-covered. The Venetian cuisine of the first stages gradually gives way to Emilian fare — tortellini, mortadella, aged Parmigiano Reggiano — and then to Casentino cooking: ribollita, Casentino cured ham, local wine in the taverns of Bibbiena.