I am Italian,  32 years with a past in the world of marketing and communication. Andrei is Romanian, 37 years old and he studied sacred music compositions. We have different opinion and points of view on several issues. Consequently, the Novice Master – with formative purpose disguised as malice – chooses us as comrades for the third novitiate experiment: the Pilgrimage without money . Over 300 km of walking without a euro in our pocket. The itinerary is one of the most striking in our country: La Spezia – Perugia.

Beginning with the adventure, the first words of” The Way of a Pilgrim” resound in the mind: “By the grace of God I am a Christian man, by my actions a great sinner, and by calling a homeless wanderer of the humblest birth who roams from place to place. My worldly goods are a knapsack with some dried bread in it on my back, and in my breast-pocket a Bible. And that is all. ”
In the area of ​​La Spezia we start with the first request. Timidly we ring a bell: a massive dude comes to the door. He seems suspicious. “Maybe I should let it go” … Good thing I ignore this instinct and shivering I ask something for two poor pilgrims. Immediately, he calls his wife. She will bring us a simple but abundant lunch (bread, cheese, apples and tomatoes) that we enjoy as if it were salmon and caviar. Okay, maybe we will not starve. The evening is the time for the second request, the most difficult: the hospitality for the night. Now it’s dark, the no we receive are countless … “no, I do not like that”, “mmm” “I have no place”, “go to the priest” etc … etc … Let’s do the last attempt: it is the winning one. Two elderly people with a young heart host us for the first night.

After this beginning – well aware that generous people do exist – we continue the journey with curiosity and spirit of adventure, enjoying the disarming beauty of the landscape and the amazing creativity of the Lord: with tenderness and humor offers us situations every day different.
The culinary richness sometimes remembers the variety of a gourmet tour for refined tourists: from a fish dinner and a breakfast of sweet wine and biscuits on the shores of Lake Trasimeno to a glass of Brunello di Montalcino in the heart of the val D’Orcia, from a delicious pulled pork in the center of Lucca to a wonderful breakfast in a 5 star relais near Pienza, from a fantastic pizza near Sarzana to an ice cream winner of prestigious international awards at the Shadow of the towers of San Gimignano.

The charm of the territory is awesome, we are speechless. It is a true “tuscany experience”, we move into an amazing picture, rich in medieval villages, gentle hills, forests, vineyards and sunflowers. Nature and culture give us moments of true beauty; You want to stop and shout “Thank you Lord !!”

Casual encounter, confrontation with various people and unexpected situations is another of this pilgrimage gifts. While picking some wild plums I hear screaming “Helloooooooo !!!!! How are you ???? “… So for a day we walk with an English girl at the end of her gap year around the world.
At Pietrasanta we meet a Danish father and son on the way to Siena on the Via Francigena; We meet them several times before arriving in San Gimignano.
One morning we find shelter from a violent thunderstorm, jumping in a small nursery, an enchanted atmosphere. The owner welcomes us with joy by offering us a great pasta that moves us for some moments a few meters above the sky.
At Chianciano Terme we are hosted by two Franciscans who welcome us as if we are the reincarnation of St. Francis: we have a wonderful dinner talking in perfect joy.
Also in Chianciano Terme, we receive a DVD that will highly contribute to the cultural level of the novitiate video library: 8 ½ of Fellini.
Interesting and fascinating – in terms of reception and immigration – the generosity of two North African guys. One invites us to take what we want in a coffee bar – he would pay the bill – the other gives us without hesitation a big smile and the money we miss for the return bus ticket to Genoa. For a moment we ask who welcomes and who is welcomed …
At Fucecchio we end up in Indro Montanelli’s birthplace. The current owner gives us two copies of the cultural niche magazine “Erba d’Arno” whose publishing house belongs to her family. A little editorial jewel.
And the Umbrian priest who offers us a marvellous fish and wakes us with sweet wine and biscuits? The opportunity to hear his opinions and stories about the difficult situations of today’s church is a moment of great interest.

All this reminds of the beautiful words heard during a Mass with a community of Bose monks encountered by chance, one of the many surprises of this journey: “In the pilgrimage of our life on earth every day is a new gift of the Lord’s love.” There are no better words to express the importance of this experience: for two weeks we are really aware of the greatness of the gifts we receive every day. At the end of the day, the strongest feeling is a deep sense of gratitude for the people who have welcomed us, an expression of an ardent thank to the Creator who invisibly handles the threads of life on earth. After all, these are the benefits we enjoy everyday, without realizing it .. And so, instead of thanking for the people we meet and that we could listen with more attention, for the soft bed and the roof that hosts us every night, for the Good food – often great – that gives us joy, we focus on the inevitable difficulties of life.
To learn how to live every day as it is the last – not so much because sooner or later you get it right (as Woody Allen says), but to put it all in the right place – it may be another of the teachings of this pilgrimage.

The generosity received in the course of our journey has astonished us; Now more than before the desire to participate actively in the chain of solidarity, warmth and willingness that has supported us is pressing. How can we remain indifferent and closed in ourselves after receiving so much? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to define this experiment as “pilgrimage in abundance”: in simplicity we have been filled with what really enriches: smiles, relationships, encounters, generosity, welcome and prayer (a dimension that has always accompanied our path). Because, as Mujica – the former president of the Uruguay known for his essential lifestyle – says ” It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor .” It comes to think of the misery of so many today’s situations where wealth is synonymous with real poverty and suffering.

In addition, to recognize the joy of those who help us makes an ancient axiom evident: the greatest favor that one can do to a person is to ask him/her for help. Is not this a proof, not scientific but rational, of man’s aspiration to that communion with God-Love that makes life a joyous march? Believers or not, Christians or of other religions, the radiant light in the eyes of the people who welcome us reminds us that a life lived exclusively for oneself does not make too much sense. And this is also the Gospel.
Let me conclude by thanking the Lord again for all that he has given us and is continuing to offer, and Andrei, my friend and traveling companion, so far, so close, with whom I was happy to share an extraordinary and unforgettable adventure.