40th Marlenheim Wednesday

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. - Cultural and Tourist Center

On Foot, from Wangen to Rome, by Jean-Paul Blottier

To kick off their new season, Les Mercredis de Marlenheim have invited Jean-Paul Blottier. We recall that this tireless walker, inexhaustible storyteller, and humanist—full of wisdom and humor—enchanted the Mercredis audience in February 2024 with his illustrated account of his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, completed two years earlier.
This time, instead of walking from Wangen to Santiago de Compostela (2,368 kilometers in 4 months), he undertook another journey—on foot, of course: the Via
Francigena, which takes pilgrims from Canterbury to Rome via France and Switzerland. While the Camino de Santiago attracts
more than 350,000 walkers each year, the Via Francigena sees only 4,000, and there were times when Jean-Paul Blottier found himself alone on the trail.
It is then, with his 12-kilo backpack on his back, amidst magnificent landscapes, that the time for introspection arrives: “Ask the right
questions, and the path will answer you.”
From the Saint Bernard Pass to St. Peter’s Square, passing through the Aosta Valley and Tuscany, our Wangemer will above all embark on an inner journey that he’ll share with us—along with his wife Marie—through the many photos he’s taken.
What a wonderful way to kick off our sixth year of “Wednesdays in Marlenheim”!