Nomads of the new millennium will flock to Abbadia a Isola (Monteriggioni, SI) for the third edition of the Slow Travel Fest, taking place from September 22 to 24 in the small town and along the portion of the via Francigena that intersects it. This year’s theme, “the experience of discovery,” will set the tone for three days of excursions, conferences, art, music and outdoor adventure.
The festival celebrates “slow travel”—trips taken on foot or by bicycle—and its sustainability, as well as some of the movement’s pioneers and leading figures. Among them is writer, walker and translator Davide Sapienza, who will bring to life Jack London’s 1903 novel The Call of the Wild on opening night (9.30pm, September 22). In the lead up to Sapienza’s talk, the morning highlight will be an inaugural Welcome Walk along the via Francigena stretch between San Gimignano and Monteriggioni (participants will leave at 9.30am by bus from Abbadia a Isola).
Returning this year is Darinka Montico, guest of honor at the 2015 edition. An Italian blogger, photographer and explorer, Montico famously rode a bamboo bike across Italy, from Sicily to her hometown on Lago Maggiore, without a euro to her name or a single hotel reservation made. This year she will be on hand to discuss The Neverending Road (La Strada Infinita), a book compiling her experiences biking around the world and crossing oceans by sailboat (6pm, September 23).
Active adventuring opportunities make up the bulk of the remaining program: highlights will be exploring the Canale del Granduca, an underground tunnel, and an excursion to the Chiostraccio grotto, steeped in stalactites and stalagmites and famous for the human skeletons that an excavation there uncovered.
The festival is organized by Ciclica.cc, Andare a Zonzo and Movimento Lento, with support from the Tuscan Region, Toscana Promozione and the City of Monteriggioni. For the full program and to register for various events, see the website.
