The Centro Culturale di Ponte d’Arbia, named after Mons. Lorenzo Cresti, began in 1978, when the premises became a reception centre for refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1998, the building was offered to pilgrims walking the Via Francigena to Rome, Jerusalem, Assisi or, in the opposite direction, Santiago di Compostela. 

The word spread about stopping in Ponte d’Arbia. For pilgrims walking from Siena (about 25 km), it’s a mandatory stop. What they are looking for is simple: a roof over their heads, a bed and a hot shower. The accommodation is managed by volunteers in the village.