THEItaly has finally decided to take care of its oldest and most precious “veins”. With the approval of the Cammini bill, that tangle of paths, mule tracks and old dirt roads that crosses our peninsula, it stops being a set of forgotten paths or rely only on the good will of the volunteers. It becomes, officially, a national heritage to be protected, told and, above all, walked.
Italy on the move: a law to protect national paths
There are already over a hundred paths that crisscross the country today, itineraries that do not seek speed, but encounters. Just think about the Italian Pathcurated by CAI, the Italian Alpine Club, a giant that runs along the entire spine of the mountainsfrom the Alpine peaks to the Sardinian cliffs. Or again at Via Francigena, the “queen” of the pathswhich every year brings thousands of people to rediscover the thrill of arriving in Rome on foot, just like pilgrims did centuries ago.
Even the less traveled ones
However, the true soul of this law lies in the ability to give dignity even to lesser-known pathsthose that cross the internal areas of Italy. We talk about the old sheep tracks, the grass highways where shepherds guided their flocks during transhumance, or the paths that enter the abandoned mines of Sardinialike the Santa Barbara Mining Trail. Here, among ghost villages and tunnels dug into the rock, the path becomes a way to give new life to places that history seemed to have put aside.
From the Alpine peaks to the mines of Sardinia, the legislation brings order to the country’s paths. In the photo the Camino di Santa Barbara in Sardinia. (Facebook photo)
What does it mean to travel to a “walking compliant” country
For anyone who has ever tried to backpack, the new law represents a promise of peace of mind. Often the fear of those who leave is to find themselves at a crossroads with no indications or a path interrupted by a landslide. The new legislation intervenes right here, creating a common management between the State and the regions. The idea is to finally have uniform, clear and reliable signagewhich does not make the traveler feel lost as soon as he crosses the border between one province and another.
A welcome network
It’s not just a matter of putting up signs, but of creating a real welcome network. The law aims to recover public buildings that are no longer usedsuch as old stations or roadman’s houses, to transform them into shelters or rest points. It is a way to make the walker feel part of a community, guaranteeing safety standards and services that make the journey accessible to all.
The breath of the landscape, between villages and bodies of water
Those who walk know it, after all: there is a particular magic in those shorter walks, those that end in a few days but which remain with you for months. The Path of the Godsfor example, which crosses the Apennines between Bologna and Florence, or the Walk of the Silent Villageswhich is lost among the hills of Umbria, have in just a few years become the symbol of an Italy that still knows how to offer hospitality and smiles. The new law recognizes the importance of these paths that do not necessarily lead to a large sanctuary, but have as a goal the rediscovery of the quality of lifegood local food and the history of our small towns.
The water paths
Perhaps the most poetic novelty of this provision it is the attention to the water paths. For the first time there is official talk of itineraries that follow the banks of large rivers such as the Po, the shores of lakes or the profiles of lagoons. Walking next to water, in fact, requires different carea protection of fragile ecosystems that now becomes part of a national strategy.
The law on the paths is a bet on the future of the most ancient Italy
Protecting the paths ultimately means bet on the future of villages and mountains that risk depopulation. Every traveler who stops to sleep in a small Bed and Breakfast, or who buys a typical product in a village shop, contributes to keeping alive a part of Italy that would otherwise be destined to silence. This law is therefore an invitation to look at our country with new, slower and more attentive eyes to cherish our memory and hand it over to those who come after us.
