Walking is not simply a way of moving from one place to another, but an ancient gesture that allows us to connect with places, history, and ourselves. Along the slow steps of pilgrims, wanderers, and curious travelers, cultures, stories, and landscapes have intertwined for centuries. In Aquileia — a city that since antiquity has stood at the crossroads of trade routes and pilgrimages between the Mediterranean and Central Europe — this spirit comes to life in the Festival dei Cammini, taking place from April 17 to 19, 2026.

The second edition of the festival, announced in Milan during Fa’ la Cosa Giusta, the fair dedicated to responsible tourism and slow travel, is promoted by the Aquileia Foundation in collaboration with Cammini d’Italia. Over three days, the event will bring together scholars, walkers, institutions, and sustainable tourism professionals to reflect on the value of walking as an experience of well-being, knowledge, and local development.

Aquileia is not a random choice. The Friulian archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is crossed by Romea Strata, one of the major European cultural routes connecting Central and Eastern Europe to Rome. This ancient pilgrimage path, which crosses seven countries, finds one of its symbolic junctions precisely in Aquileia, confirming the city’s historic role as a meeting point for cultures and travelers.

The festival will open on Friday, April 17, at Palazzo Brunner-Segrè with a morning of discussions dedicated to cultural policies and new development models related to walking routes. Experts, institutional representatives, and slow tourism operators will address themes such as trail accessibility, universal design of paths, and the sustainable management of walking networks. During the event, the new edition of the national report “Italy, the Country of Paths – 9th Edition 2026” will also be presented, offering insights into the numbers and trends of a phenomenon that continues to grow.

From the afternoon onward and throughout the weekend, the festival will extend beyond institutional venues, animating sites of art and archaeology, wineries, cafés, and green spaces. The aim is to create a direct dialogue between cultural heritage, local communities, and businesses.

Among the scheduled events are meetings dedicated to major European routes—from the Via Francigena, which runs from Canterbury to Rome, to the Camino de Santiago—alongside stories from travelers who have chosen to cross the world on foot.

The weekend will above all be an invitation to walk. Activities include guided walks along local routes, archaeological strolls through Aquileia’s waterways, nature experiences such as forest bathing, and workshops exploring walking as a practice of well-being and personal transformation. Activities designed for children will also be offered, recounting the story of the city and its ancient land and water routes.

With the Festival dei Cammini, Aquileia returns to what it has always been: a place of passage, encounter, and storytelling, where slow travel becomes an opportunity to rediscover landscapes and cultural heritage with a renewed perspective.