Diary of ancient and modern pilgrims
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6.3 Diary of ancient and modern pilgrims
6.3.1 - Voices of the past: historical sources of the Micael pilgrimage
• Chronicles, legends and visions: the Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis
The oldest written source on the cult of St. Michael in the West is the Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, a hagiographic account written in Latin between the 6th and 8th centuries. The
text recounts three apparitions of the Archangel Michael on Mount Gargano, and lays the foundations of the micaelica devotion in the Lombard Mezzogiorno.
The tone of the text is epic and symbolic, mixing:
• miracles and apparitions;
• the fight against the enemy (represented by an infernal bull);
• the consecration of the sanctuary by the Archangel himself.
The Liber is not a travel diary, but it assumes a central role in the genesis of the pilgrimage, as it fixes the heavenly authority of the place, legitimises the pilgrim's journey and fuses topography and mystical vision. For centuries, pilgrims would refer to these narratives as the foundation of their journey.
Diary of Adalgiso of Benevento (8th cent.): a journey between faith and politics
Among the rarest but most valuable early medieval testimonies is the alleged 'diary of Adalgiso da Benevento', an epistolary document from the end of the 8th century, attributed to a Lombard official in the retinue of Prince Arechi II. The text, preserved in fragmentary medieval copies, offers a personal and political insight into the pilgrimage to Mount Gargano.
Adalgisa describes:
• the landscape traversed and the difficulties of the journey;
• the religious and dynastic motivations of the pilgrimage;
• meeting other pilgrims, wayfarers, clerics.
The diary shows how, already in Lombard times, pilgrimage was an instrument of political and religious legitimisation, and how personal experience could merge with service to power.
Evidence of monks and wayfarers between the 11th and 13th centuries
At the height of the Middle Ages, the Micael pilgrimage became a widespread practice, witnessed in
monastic chronicles, prayer books and travel accounts. Main sources include:
• hospitality registers kept at Monte Sant'Angelo and Montecassino;
• accounts of Benedictine and Cistercian monks, who travelled in groups for devotion or diplomatic missions;
• breviaries and 'pilgrim's books', which combined practical guidance with prayers and invocations to the Archangel.
One example is the account of a monk from the monastery of Santa Maria di Pulsano (12th century), who describes the penitential walk through the Umbra Forest, the stops, the fatigue and the sense of protection attributed to Michael: "I did not fear the shadows, for the angel fought with me".
Some texts, such as the miracula micaelica in vernacular Latin, show how the pilgrimage narrative had also become rooted in popular feeling, becoming part of the oral and spiritual heritage of the rural and urban communities of the time.
Recommended multimedia content
Images
• 15th century miniature depicting St. Michael on Mount Gargano
An artistic representation of the Archangel Michael in a 15th century miniature, taken from the codex Paris, BN, fr. 51.
• Façade of the Basilica di San Michele Arcangelo in Monte Sant'Angelo
Image of the façade of the historic basilica located on Mount Gargano, the central place of the Micaelic cult.
Video
1. Monte Sant'Angelo: Place of Miracles & Old Pilgrimage Site
A documentary exploring the history and spirituality of Monte Sant'Angelo, highlighting its importance as a pilgrimage site for over 1,500 years.
A journey through the apparitions of St Michael, from the miraculous event against the Heruli on the Gargano to the disappearance of the plague, illustrating the evolution of the micaelic cult.
3. Italy: journey into beauty - An archangel in the caves: the cult of St Michael in medieval Italy
An in-depth study of rock sanctuaries dedicated to St Michael, including Monte Sant'Angelo, analysing their relevance in the context of medieval religiosity.
4. Monte Sant'Angelo - Manfredonia, San Michele Arcangelo - the story
A historical overview of the Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo in Monte Sant'Angelo, highlighting its role in the Micaelic cult and Italian religious history.
5. The Sanctuary of St Michael Archangel
A detailed presentation of the Sanctuary of St Michael the Archangel, with a focus on its architecture and pilgrimage traditions.
Sources and references
Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis (ed. critica G. Morin)
V. von Falkenhausen, Longobards and Michaelic Pilgrimages
P. Delogu, Journey and Devotion in Medieval Italy
R. Bartlett, The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism
Manus online (ICCU): https://manus.iccu.sbn.it
6.3.2 - The emotions of the journey: writings of modern pilgrims
• Contemporary diaries: spirituality, fatigue, discovery
Today, the micael pilgrimage manifests itself through personal stories that interweave spirituality, physical challenge and inner discovery. Modern pilgrims share their experiences in diaries, blogs and forums, offering an authentic insight into the journey.
"Every step is a breath. St Michael's sword is not threatening, but seems to point me in the right direction, whenever I doubt. I cried in the rain, but then laughed in front of the panorama of the Umbra Forest. This path is teaching me to listen."
Lucia G., pilgrim 2021
These narratives highlight how walking is a way to find oneself, away from the hubbub of everyday life. Difficulties - swollen feet, unmarked roads, cold nights - are transfigured into opportunities for understanding and personal growth.
Pilgrimage as therapy: inner reflections
For many, the walk represents a form of spiritual and emotional healing. Some undertake the pilgrimage in response to bereavement, existential crisis or life change.
"I was coming back from a long illness. I was not looking for miracles, but for direction. St Michael's path made me breathe, regain my rhythm, accept fragility. I left my fears in the cave."
Lorenzo T., therapist and pilgrim
Mental health professionals recognise the therapeutic value of the walk as a ritual of passage and reconnection, where the ritual element (beginning, walk, arrival) takes on a strong symbolic and psychological value.
Walking with St Michael today: experiences between silence and community
In addition to solitary walking, shared pilgrimage experiences are multiplying, such as:
• journeys organised by dioceses or parishes;
• interreligious and secular paths;
• youth groups, scouts, spiritual walkers.
Along the Saint Michael's Way and its European variants, one finds moments of profound silence, alternating with shared dinners, vigils in mountain chapels, and chance encounters with other pilgrims.
"We said nothing to each other for two hours. Just walked together. Then he pointed to a cross on a tree and said, 'This is where I realised I was no longer alone'."
Testimony gathered by a volunteer at the Sacra di San Michele
The figure of the Archangel Michael, protector and guide, is still perceived as a silent and powerful presence, accompanying those seeking justice, balance, truth.
Recommended multimedia content
Images
• Meeting the pilgrim on the Camino di San Michele
Photograph of Loredana Francinelli, pilgrim on the Camino di San Michele, during a meeting in Giaveno.
• Cover of the book 'Pilgrim's Diary' by Maria Francesca Lucanto
A collection of personal experiences and reflections along the way.
Graphic representation of the Saint Michael's Path route through Italy.
Recommended videos
• Saint Michael's Paths - Interview with Sandro Vannucci
Interview with Sandro Vannucci, President of the 'San Michele Cammino dei Cammini' Promoting Committee, who discusses the importance and development of the micaelico paths.
• The Archangel's Path - From Benevento to Monte Sant'Angelo
Documentary exploring the route of the Archangel's Way, highlighting the experiences of pilgrims along the way.
• Walking with the Archangel with Andrea Cogerino and Winki
Conversation on the meaning of pilgrimage and personal experiences along the Saint Michael's Path.
Sources and references
• Walking Heals, edited by A. Capone, Terra di Mezzo Editore
• St. Michael's Path Project - www.camminodisanmichele.org
• Pilgrim diaries forum - www.pellegrinando.it/contributi/diari/
6.3.3 - Pilgrimage images: words, faces, landscapes
• Letters and stories: the path seen through different eyes (women, lay people, foreigners)
Today's Michaelmas pilgrimage is filled with multiple voices, reflecting the richness and variety of those who set out. Alongside priests and experienced walkers, we find women in search, lay people in silence, young internationals, mature couples, spiritual walkers.
Their testimonies, collected in letters, blogs, messages left in shrines or shared on social media, offer alternative views:
• "I am not a believer, but I felt the strength of the place. The cave didn't ask anything of me, just listened." - Amina, photographer from Berlin.
• "Walking alone scared me at first. Then it became my sacred space. Michele was with me in the wind." - Federica, Tuscan educator.
• "I am from Poland. The Micael pilgrimage made me feel European in a new way." - Piotr, Erasmus student.
Photographic portrait of pilgrims: comparing generations and motivations
Faces and bodies of all ages cross paths along the Via Micaeliche. From the serene wrinkles of pensioners to the determined steps of adolescents on the way, every face is a story. Photography becomes an instrument of memory, art and testimony, capable of capturing the pilgrim in his inner time.
Photographic exhibitions and projects such as 'Faces on the Way' or 'Along the Angel Line'.
collect:
• excited looks upon arrival at the cave;
• tired but bright faces;
• small gestures of faith and care: hands intertwined, water shared, silences accepted.
The motivation changes: some walk to give thanks, to heal, to rediscover, some do it out of personal challenge or simply out of cultural curiosity. All, however, rewrite the meaning of pilgrimage in their own way.
Travelling emotions: poetry, art and spirituality on the road
The journey does not only generate memory: it often becomes creation. Many pilgrims express the experience through:
• verses written during breaks;
• drawings in the notebooks;
• music composed inspired by the silence of caves;
• modern icons and reinterpreted symbols.
"I wrote poems on the wooden stick. Every knot was an unspoken word, every scratch a prayer."
Davide R., poet on the road
Some shrines have opened exhibition spaces or notice boards where pilgrims leave their gifts: drawings, stones, prayers, small artefacts. It is a way to leave a trace, but also to entrust oneself to the Archangel through art.
Recommended multimedia content
Images
• Portraits of pilgrims on the Camino di San Michele
A collection of photographs capturing the faces and emotions of pilgrims along the Micaelico route.
• Photographic exhibition 'Faces on the way' - Gargano Project
An exhibition dedicated to pilgrims walking the Via Micaelica, with images telling stories of faith and determination.
• Pilgrims' notebooks and drawings - 'Art on the Way' exhibition
A selection of artistic works created by pilgrims during their spiritual journey.
Video
A documentary exploring the Via Micaelica, a road consecrated to the cult of St Michael the Archangel.
• 27-09-2022 - Walk on part of the Via Micaelica
A video documenting a stage of the journey on the Via Micaelica, showing landscapes and significant moments of the pilgrimage.
• 29-09-2022 - 3rd day of walking the Via Francigena Micaelica
A visual account of the third day of the walk, highlighting the experiences and reflections of the pilgrims.
Sources and references
• "Michaelic notebooks" - Saint Michael's Way Archives
• Voices on the road' collective diary
• Project 'Art and Spirituality in the Paths of Europe', 2023
• From ink to the web: evolution of the pilgrimage story
Throughout the centuries, pilgrimage has always been accompanied by the desire to recount the experience. It used to be done in letters, codices, handwritten diaries. Today, new technologies have transformed this gesture into an immediate and multi-channel narrative: blogs, vlogs, posts, podcasts.
Modern 'digital pilgrims' document their journeys on:
• personal blogs, often full of photos, reflections and practical advice;
• thematic forums, where milestones, emotions and routes are exchanged;
• official web pages, such as those of the Saint Michael Walk, which collect testimonies, maps, events.
This evolution has not erased the depth of the spiritual tale, but has multiplied its forms and broadened its audience.
Instagram, YouTube and TikTok: new forms of spiritual diary
Social platforms have given rise to a new kind of visual pilgrimage: the image, the short video, the real-time story become tools for communicating beauty, effort, discovery.
• On Instagram, one finds collections of photographs of the walk, accompanied by short reflections or prayers (#camminodisanmichele, #viaangelica, #sacradisanmichele).
• On YouTube, vloggers recount their pilgrimage day by day, alternating breathtaking views with moments of introspection.
• On TikTok, short clips summarise visual emotions: steps in silence, the sword of the Archangel, a sunset over Monte Sant'Angelo.
This type of narration, often immediate and fragmentary, helps to make an inner experience visible and shareable, offering inspiration to those not yet familiar with the path.
Digital communities of Michaelic pilgrims: connecting and sharing
True online communities have sprung up around the micaelico paths, where not only logistical information is exchanged, but also spiritual and human support.
Examples:
• Facebook groups like 'Pilgrims on the Archangel's way', where people share photos, thanks, prayer requests.
• Telegram channels for real-time updates during the walk.
• Apps for tracking and geolocation, integrating maps, points of interest and services. The pilgrimage, while remaining an intimate and transformative experience, is enriched with a
choral dimension, in which everyone can feel part of a greater journey.
Recommended multimedia content
Images
• Sacra di San Michele's Instagram post
The official Sacra di San Michele account regularly shares evocative images of the shrine and the pilgrims on their way.
• Blog "Viaggiastorie" - The Way of St. Michael
A detailed article exploring the Italian and European itinerary of the Camino di San Michele, enriched with photographs and historical insights.
• Art on the Move - Facebook page
A community dedicated to promoting art along spiritual paths, with images and stories of artistic experiences and pilgrimages.
Video
• Music and Painting - Art on the Move
A video documenting an artistic event along the way, where music and painting intertwine with the pilgrimage experience.
• "In Cammino - Tra Arte e Fede" - Rai 3 programme
A programme that explores places of faith, culture and art, with a focus on spiritual paths and the experiences of pilgrims.
Sources and references
• St. Michael's Path - Network of European Michaelic Paths: https://www.camminodisanmichele.org
• Project 'Spirituality on the Web' - University of Turin
• Blog and podcast: Walking with the Archangel, Stages and Traces of Light
• Official St. Michael's Path App (available for Android and iOS)
6.3.5 - The voice of the shrine: welcoming and remembering pilgrims
• Hospitality registers and signatures in the golden books of sanctuaries
Each sanctuary along the Via Micaelica preserves, alongside the ancient stones and votive frescoes, a silent but precious heritage: the pilgrims' registers. These books, sometimes simple notebooks, sometimes elegant bound volumes, hold the signatures, thoughts and prayers of those who have reached their destination.
From quick notes ('Thank you, Michael, for the strength') to more articulate texts, the gold books become
collective spiritual testimonies, where each voice adds meaning to the place.
In some sanctuaries, such as at Monte Sant'Angelo, Valle di Susa, or Mont-Saint-Michel, the registers are veritable archives of popular faith, often preserved and digitised to preserve their contents.
Testimonies collected by volunteers in sacred places
Alongside the books, the living voice of pilgrims is collected daily by those who welcome them to the sanctuaries: volunteers, religious, spiritual guides. These people become indirect witnesses to the journey of others, collecting emotions, tears, smiles, silences.
"There are those who arrive tired and do not speak, but then leave a note. Who hugs you without saying anything. Who comes back every year and calls you by name. We are here to welcome, not to judge."
Fra Giuseppe, volunteer at the Sacra di San Michele
Recent initiatives, such as the 'Pilgrimage Keepers' project, have collected interviews and reflections from those who serve in sacred places, highlighting the human and spiritual value of listening.
The caretaker's point of view: welcoming the pilgrim of yesterday and today
The guardian of the sanctuary, whether religious or secular, embodies the threshold between the world and the sacred. His role is not only organisational, but also symbolic: he represents the continuity of the place, the voice that has heard a thousand voices.
Among its tasks:
• open the door even to the pilgrim who arrives late;
• orientate discreetly, without imposing;
• recognise the essence of the path, even when it is not stated.
"Every pilgrim has his own way of knocking. Some seek an answer, others a place to shut up. Our task is to simply be there."
Guardian's Diary, Shrine of Mont-Saint-Michel
This relationship between pilgrim and custodian makes the shrine a living place, not just a destination, but the beating heart of the journey.
Recommended multimedia content
Images
• Sacra di San Michele volunteers on reception duty
Photographs showing the volunteers of the Associazione Volontari Sacra di San Michele during reception and support activities for pilgrims.
• Welcoming pilgrims at the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo
Images showing moments of welcome and interaction between pilgrims and shrine staff, highlighting the importance of spiritual hospitality.
• Pilgrim's House in Monte Sant'Angelo
Photographs of the accommodation facility dedicated to pilgrims, located next to the Grotto-Basilica, offering hospitality and moments of spiritual reflection.
Video
• World Youth Day: volunteers welcome pilgrims
A video documenting the enthusiasm and dedication of the volunteers in welcoming pilgrims during a major spiritual event.
Sources and references
• Sanctuaries and Hospitality - 'Living Stones' Project (2021)
• Saint Michael's Path Association - Voices and Golden Books Archive