Giovanni and The Camino of St. Francis

Anna swore she would never go back to her hometown of Assisi; but a serendipitous encounter with a book draws her back to walk the Italian Camino of St. Francis. There, she meets a mysterious stranger who may hold the key to healing her wounded spirit. Anna, an Italian immigrant living in Portland, OR, was shunned from her hometown of Assisi at age 16. She vowed she would never return to the family who cast her away, but one day while browsing a bookstore, a guide to the Camino of St. Francis falls from a shelf and knocks her on the head. Reluctantly, she answers the call to return to Italy and walks in the steps of the humble Saint in an attempt to reconcile the wounds of her past. Arriving in La Verna, Anna’s heart is hard and her defenses are high. It is then that she meets a young stranger named Giovanni, who seems to show up during her moments of greatest need (including a tumble down a steep hill into a ravine). The two begin walking in the footsteps of St. Francis together, Anna finds her heart softening as she listens to Giovanni’s parables—and begins to observe the miracles that surround them wherever they go.