Over the past decade, Italy has witnessed a remarkable revival of its historic walking routes. Once associated primarily with pilgrims following ancient religious itineraries, as in the case of the Via Francigena or the Way of St. Francis, the country’s growing network of cammini now includes dozens of routes developed around history, landscape, and local culture: some follow medieval pilgrimage roads, others retrace Roman routes, trade paths, or monastic networks. Increasingly, however, new itineraries are being created to help visitors discover lesser-known regions of the country where history and landscape are deeply connected.
In this new generation of itineraries, we can count the Cammino del Cavaliere, whichwas officially inaugurated in 2022. The perspective it offers on the idea itself of cammino is quite different from most of its famous relatives because, rather than centering on a saint, a shrine, or a single historical event, it is rooted in a territory: the Piana del Cavaliere, a historic borderland between Abruzzo and Lazio.
