Italian candidate promises to revive old pilgrimage route

BBC is reporting that Italian opposition leader Romano Prodi promises to revive a Medieval pilgrim route, the Via Francigena, if elected prime minister. The route dates all the way back to the 10th century and stretches from Cantebury in England through France and Switzerland and ending in Rome itself.

The article doesn't specify why Prodi wishes to carry out this project. Most likely he wishes to increase tourism to Italy. I like how the article mentions that many pilgrimage sites throughout Europe still attract thousands of visitors each year. In fact, I made mention of this in a previous post; which actually leads me along with others to question how far secularism has prevailed within Europe. And I certainly plan on commenting on this issue further in another post.

The proposed plan is said to be welcomed by Italy's Catholic voters, as it should. I certainly hope Prodi has more than just merely commercial concerns in proposing this project. Hopefully there's an element of geniune faith and concern for Italy's(and indeed all of Europe's) spiritual heritage at work here as well.