The Path to Rome is British-French writer and historian Hilaire Belloc's first travelogue. It describes the pilgrimage he took to Rome as the result of a vow he made while visiting his hometown of Toul, in Lorraine, France. In his own copy of the book, dated May 29, 1904, he notes: "I wrote this book for the glory of God."
Belloc walked "two and a half hundred leagues" to Rome, over twenty-two days, and arrived in time to hear Mass on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. As he walks, he quickly discovers the difficulty of keeping every vow he made before starting, as the days are long, the mountains steep, and his finances stressed. But the book is far more than a simple travelogue; alongside the narrative of the journey, Belloc wanders into topics as varied as the art of writing, life in the military, his Catholic faith, the middle class, literary criticism, music, poetry, and more. His unique politics and personality shine in his many digressions and asides.
The Path to Rome sold very well, and many critics have viewed it as the book that made Belloc's name. His great friend G. K. Chesterton said of it in The World: "The Path to Rome is the product of the actual and genuine buoyancy and thoughtlessness of a rich intellect. ..."
Perfect for readers who love spiritual journeys and European travel adventures, this classic pilgrimage memoir combines Belloc's wit, faith, and keen observations into an unforgettable walking tour across three countries. Whether you're drawn to religious literature, travel writing, or simply enjoy following one man's remarkable vow to reach Rome on foot, this timeless account will inspire your own sense of wanderlust and spiritual discovery.
The source for this public-domain ebook is Standard Ebooks (standardebooks.org). Ebooks from other sources often have typos, inconsistent spelling, missing accent marks, and missing punctuation. Ebooks from Standard Ebooks are proofread line by line against a scan of the original printed pages, then proofread again from cover to cover. They are also formatted and typeset following a professional-grade style manual, resulting in new editions supporting state-of-the-art ereader technology: automatic hyphenation, popup footnotes, complete and consistent metadata, high-resolution and scalable vector graphics, and ereader-compatible tables of contents. All of this makes the finished ebooks accurate, functional, and beautiful, a pleasure to read. (Waking Lion Press is not affiliated with or endorsed by Standard Ebooks.)
