On sacred routes to discover your own self

A cultural journey that brings you back to your own soul. Religious tourism, as marketing experts call it, is much more than a visit to discover sacred sites. It is the chance to know something more about yourself, away from the noise of everyday life. A moment of silence and meditation, in settings that have witnessed faith, grief, and Christian passion.
The cities of the Circuito offer the chance to relive historic routes that become a sort of pilgrimage to be treaded in part or in full. Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna have all hosted important religious events and gave birth to Popes such as Giovanni XXIII (Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo) and Paolo VI (Concesio, near Brescia).
These places still preserve the signs of this religious history as well as the words of important protagonists. Today you can reach them quickly and easily, with services that meet the needs also of elderly people. Among the most significant routes there is Via Francigena, which starts from Vercelli and continues towards Lodi, Pavia, Piacenza, Parma, and Rome. A main route treaded in the past by pilgrims that wanted to visit the tomb of Peter the Apostle; in the Middle Ages, it was considered one of the three 'peregrinationes maiores' together with those to the Holy Land and Santiago de Compostela.
Particularly interesting is also Cammino di Sant'Agostino from Pavia or Monza. This pilgrims way reaches Genoa, with a stop in Pavia where you can visit the relics of Saint Augustine in the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro.
A more intimate approach is needed for Via degli Abati, in Piacenza, a trail through monasteries, castles and traces of early medieval settlements that goes from Bobbio to Pontremoli through to the ancient estates of Bobbio Monastery. Spirituality, devotion and art await you in Sacro Monte di Crea (Alessandria), a place that boasts - apart from the sanctuary - 23 chapels built in two phases in the 17th and 19th centuries, and 5 hermitages, since 2003 part of UNESCO World Heritage List. Every moment of these experiences, every stage or final destination becomes a chance to meditate and feel new emotions.