The San Jacopo in Toscana Path was born with the intention of recovering the ancient transit and pilgrimage routes that led from Florence to Pistoia and Lucca, heading towards Santiago de Compostela, following the Cassia romana route.
In total it consists of four legs up to Lucca, that can be divided, if done by families or untrained hikers, or hit by everyday walkers, possibly residing in the areas included in the path, following the stylised image of the jacobean shell, along a mostly hilly route, connecting Tuscan art cities, providing pilgrims with the emotion of walking along the ancient roads, far from major communication routes and industrial plants.
The way out of Florence is along via San Gallo, old road north of the old town, heading west following the slight climbs and descents of the via Cassia track, interspersed with ancient tabernacles, Etruscan settlements, wonderful Medici villas, churches and convents, passing through the municipalities of Sesto Fiorentino and Calenzano so as to reach Prato, a city rich in art and historical heritage, but not well known in terms of tourism.
From Prato the route is mostly on trails, river banks and minor roads, running into Romanesque churches, abbeys, protected natural areas and fortifications, arriving to Pistoia, cornerstone of the path. The city of Pistoia has been housing for almost a thousand years a precious relic of San Giacomo (named San Jacopo in Toscana), hailing directly from Compostela, whose worship made the city famous all over Europe, so much that it was called "Small Santiago".
The leg that leads from Pistoia to Pescia allows you to discover interesting castles and villages, walking on the ancient cobbled routes.
The last stretch begins on the beautiful cobblestone road which leads to Collodi and Villa Garzoni and continues, through trails and minor roads, passing Romanesque parish churches, shrines and the wonderful Lucca villas and ending the path by walking through the walls of Lucca.
On this website in the Download section you can find a map of the hiking path
