In the early evening of 4th June 1901, Hilaire Belloc set off from Toul on pilgrimage to Rome. The following year he would publish his account of that journey in his book The Path to Rome. Belloc regarded the book as the best he ever wrote. Readers have ever agreed, and today it is regarded as a classic.
Every year I read The Path to Rome between 4th and 29th June. It has no chapters. Fortunately, Belloc is very good at marking when one day begins and ends so I am able to read that day's 'entry' pretty accurately.
The Path to Rome is first and foremost a travelogue. It is also a comedy, a drama, a play, poem, and pastiche, Belloc ruminates, philosophises, sketches, and prays. Belloc at prayer, at play, in hardship, and at ease.
Long since out of copyright, The Path to Rome remains in print thanks to numerous publishers. You can also, however, read it for free on-line, for example, here. Whatever you know about Hilaire Belloc, put it one side when you open this book. It will surprise and entertain you, make you think and, I shouldn't wonder, make you want to follow in Belloc's footsteps to the Eternal City!
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