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The Vie dei Romei
The spiritual trails of ancient pilgrims
Documents show that the “Romei” travelers used several itineraries, so many in fact that now historians prefer to refer to them as "road groups." There were a number of routes which could be taken, by land or by water, from Venice and from the Brenner Pass through Romagna.
Travel adventures
Travelling was both dangerous and uncomfortable. Often merchants and pilgrims would make arrangements with others to join them for at least a part of the journey in order in order to help each other overcome the boredom and perils of the long trip.
Transportation and lodgings
Only noblemen and ecclesiastics travelled by horse, a delicate and costly means, which symbolised an elevated social rank. Along the routes, lodgings were provided by charity institutions: the “hospitals for pilgrims” (hospitalia).
