The Way

The start is at the statue of Hasekura Tsunenaga, a few steps from the Rocca fortress. After about a kilometre and a half the route passes the Church of the Holy Japanese Martyrs. You leave the town along the coast, pass below the Odescalchi castle of Santa Marinella and among the ruins of Castrum Novum, as far as Santa Severa Castle, where the mission ended its first day of walking.

From the castle and the Sacred Area of Pyrgi you continue along the Cerveteri coast, between the Macchiatonda Nature Reserve and the seafront of Marina di Cerveteri, to the ruins of Torre Flavia and its marsh, a refuge for migratory birds. Arrival in Ladispoli.

You skirt the Palo Oasis and the Odescalchi castle along the Passeggiata di Caravaggio, then cross the Palidoro countryside with Torre Perla and the memorial to Salvo D’Acquisto, the Passoscuro dunes and the Maccarese tower, as far as the pine forest of Fregene.

You leave Fregene through the pine forest and along the cycle path, cross the land of the great reclamation works and reach Fiumicino; then the route turns towards Parco Leonardo, where the countryside gives way to the city.

You reach the Tiber and follow it for a long way, past the grounds of the former Tor di Valle racecourse, as far as EUR. For the night there is the Casa per Ferie Seraphicum (Via del Serafico 1): you leave the track at around km 93.5 and the next day you set off again from the same point.

The last stage enters Hasekura’s Rome: Trastevere with Santa Maria dell’Orto, St Peter’s and Castel Sant’Angelo and finally the Quirinal, where Paul V received the embassy. Here the Way ends, and with the last stamp you unlock the certificate.