How Modern Slow Trekking was born in 990 AD thanks to Sigeric

At the turn of the year 1000 , the movement of the population was limited to the areas in which they lived and worked, there was no habit, nor probably the economic possibilities, to visit cities or places distant from one's residence.

Furthermore, the roads were unsafe due to brigandage and the long distances between one town and another, leaving travelers without the possibility of asking for help for a long time.

Life revolved around long hours of work in the fields or in some artisan shop or local market and, at the end of the day, the people had no other entertainment than visiting some tavern to drink wine and attending mass on Sundays.

When a person had to travel it was out of extreme necessity, knowing the dangers they faced and the long period of absence that would result.

The religious component was one of the reasons why people who could decided to move from their own countries, with the aim of making a pilgrimage to the sacred places that were identified as Rome, the Holy Land and Santiago de Compostela.

The journey was experienced, from a spiritual point of view, as a purification of the sins committed previously, in which one participated after having undergone a journey of repentance, such as making peace with the enemy, paying debts contracted and making offerings to the church.

The pilgrimage was felt to be not only a physical and geographical journey, but above all an internal one, in which fatigue was part of the path of redemption and where time had no value.

Based on the economic availability, the pilgrim decided his destination and the roads to reach the three cult destinations of the Christian faith.

Starting from the 10th century AD, Italy was crossed, for hundreds of years, by pilgrims from all over Europe who moved towards Rome to visit the tomb of St. Peter. Furthermore, the city acquired greater importance when Pope Boniface VIII declared the first jubilee , with the Bull Antiquorum habet trust relatio , issued on 22 February 1300.

On that occasion the Pope established a Plenary Indulgence for all pilgrims who visited, a certain number of times a year, the Basilicas of St.

Other pilgrims continued, always on foot, towards the Apulian ports to embark towards the Holy Land, with the aim of visiting the places linked to the life of Jesus, namely Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem.

At that time the Arabs held control of the areas of interest to Christianity, but being tolerant the pilgrims did not have major problems. When the Turks, considered rude and combative, settled in, armed escorts were decided to protect the pilgrims.

In fact, in 1095 Pope Urban II organized the first crusade to liberate Jerusalem from the Turkish invaders. This first crusade was simply an armed pilgrimage, and those who set out did not call themselves crusaders, but pilgrims.

The precursor of what we now call "slow trekking", of which many of the reasons why pilgrims set out on the journey are still shared today, was the archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric , who in 990 AD set off on foot from Canterbury, England , crossing France and Italy, arriving in Rome to receive from the hands of the Pope the Pallium , the liturgical vestment symbolizing the pastoral task reserved for some of the high ecclesiastical figures.

The archbishop, during his return journey to Canterbury, wrote a detailed diary, stage by stage, in which he wrote down his impressions, the inns where he rested and the route he took.

A historical document of exceptional importance was born which even today is a milestone for today's pilgrims.

Today the religious component of slow trekking is no longer the only reason, but the essence, secular or spiritual, for which one sets out on the journey, has a common value.

Leaving means above all being on a journey, not arriving quickly and at all costs, but enjoying the time you invest in this experience to be with yourself.

The importance of an introspective journey , in nature, without the distractions of modern life, takes you back to a dimension that you don't experience normally, in search of peace and without any necessity.

The motivations that push one to live this journey are the most diverse, but they have a common denominator which is the search for the best part of oneself, which cannot be searched for with the worry of time, because no one is in competition and everyone is looking for search for one's own balance, like the pilgrims of the Middle Ages.