Slow Travel Fest Monteriggioni returns from September 21 to 23 for three days of talks, hikes, culture, food and music in the splendid monumental complex in Abbadia a Isola and a packed program of excursions on foot and by bike for fully experiencing the Tuscan via Francigena and Montagnola Senese. Three days celebrating slow travel and aimed at all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts. Slow Travel Fest brings Monteriggioni and the Via Francigena to life.
This year’s highlights include walks and hikes along the via Francigena and beyond; rafting, cycling, caving and orienteering experiences for outdoor enthusiasts; workshops and talks; and concerts. Every day enjoy local food and unwind in the relax area with yoga and massages.
Join us for the opening walk along the via Francigena or for the Elsa River Park hike in an unexpected oasis of emerald waterfalls. Explore the Montagnola Senese for an orienteering workshop or try the Japanese practice of forest bathing. Cycle along the historic train trail from Colle dell’Elsa to Poggibonsi. Don’t miss our talks on travel and outdoor, workshops on narration and storytelling, clown and circus shows, and experimental music concerts by Ooopopoiooo and Su Realistas.
This year’s special guest is Andrew Price, a famous figure in the world of bushcrafting. He has travelled extensively all over the world to study the traditional skills of indigenous peoples including the Orang Astli people of the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, as well as the native inhabitants of Australia and Canada. Price regularly writes for specialist magazine Bushcraft and Survival Skills and has been featured in the Guardian.
He has presented television programmes and radio shows for ITV and the BBC.
The Slow Travel Fest – sponsored by Comune di Monteriggioni and Regione Toscana, in collaboration with Toscana Promozione Turistica – has grown year-on-year to include more festival locations along the Via Francigena and more numerous and increasingly diverse events at each festival. It has also been listed among the events of the European Year of Cultural Heritage by MIBACT (Italian Ministry of Culture and Tourism) thanks the way it promotes the Via Francigena as a shared resource, raising awareness of the route’s history and encouraging engagement on a local and European level.
Getting to the festival
Slow Travel Fest Monteriggioni is held in Abbadia a Isola, about 15 km from Siena and 60 km from Florence | On foot or by bike: a day’s walk from Siena and San Gimignano, 5 from Lucca, 13 from Rome and 18 from Milan along the via Francigena| By train: Castellina in Chianti-Monteriggioni (Castellina Scalo) train station, along the Florence-Empoli-Siena line, is located about 3 km from Monteriggioni (linked via a cycling path) and Abbadia a Isola. | By camper van: in Monteriggioni, park in the Cipressino parking area (about 250 metres from the walls) | By bus: Monteriggioni can be reached along various bus lines, also direct buses from Florence | By car: Firenze-Siena highway Monteriggioni exit
Where to stay
Stay at the hostel located in the abbey cloister in Abbadia a Isola (shared rooms available) or at the campsite on the via Francigena outside the village.
By purchasing the festival’s official card, you get a 10% discount on camping, hostels and experiences listed in the program.
Free festival events
Stay update on the Festival Facebook page
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
Francigena Welcome Walk
A long walk to celebrate the start of the festival along the via Francigena from San Gimignano to Monteriggioni.
Bocca Baciata: the Decameron according to Riondino
David Riondino reads, narrates and puts the Decameron to music.
Coqò Djette
Female DJ set, from suitcases to vinyls
Visions of the Francigena in movement
Videos narrate the contemporary side to the via Francigena, the result of an artist residency in Tuscany, with young filmmakers from all over Europe.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Hiking the via Sacra Etrusca
Explore extraordinary traces of the Etruscan civilization around Casole
d’Elsa, Monteriggioni and Sovicille.
Water, the heart of Elsa
Hiking in the Elsa River Park, surrounded by emerald waterfalls and river symphonies, in the land of the Francigena
Francigena mountain biking
Hop on your bike for a ride down the via Francigena and fantastic trails.
Wilderness & bushcrafting
Learn simple survival techniques for living in the wilderness alone and safely with Andrew Price’s workshop. In English only.
The Marcolfa and miraculous herbs
Itinerant theatre and botanical performance
Montagnola Experience
Trekking through history and Monteriggioni’s unexpected natural resources
Little Pocket Circus
Circus and juggling workshop and performance
Walk’s Lab
Education and a walk: expanding your horizons
Storytelling trail
An appointment and workshop with Marco Vichi about storytelling
Rushing to North Cape
A talk with Andrea Toniolo, 4,300km through Europe to recalibrate himself and the everyday
Feet, maps and backpacks
Three writers talk about walking
The Human Comedy
Literary performance dedicated to the masterpiece by William Saroyan
Electromagnetism and freedom
Performance by Ooopopoiooo, surreal music on theremin and electroacoustic knick knacks
Su Realistas
Italy-Argentina, a Tropicália pop match in concert form
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Pilgrim for a day
Hiking in the footsteps of pilgrims in the Siena countryside
Monteriggioni Abbadia
Hiking through history, art and nature
Biodiversity in the Montagnola
The most beautiful trails in the Montagnola Senese and the organisms that live there
Wilderness & bushcrafting
Learn simple survival techniques for living in the wilderness alone and safely with Andrew Price’s workshop. In English only.
Montagnola orienteering
One of the most exciting outdoor activities for having fun
A bike train
Experience what it was like to ride the rails in the late-19th century
Forest bathing
A Japanese practice that improves our well-being
Open Walk with Sloways
An easy hike through nature
Rio Boom Boom
The exhilarating and bizarre performance by Ugo Sanchez Jr.
