Arrone, Italy, Dec 20 (RHC) Activists of the Bridges of Love project based in the United States, Italians, Cubans living in Italy, and a Bolivian friend of the island are walking from Assisi to Rome to demand an end to the U.S. blockade against Cuba.

This Monday, they began the second stage of the pilgrimage to the city of Rieti.

The group's participants told Prensa Latina that they are determined to cover the 30-kilometer route along the path of St. Francis of Assisi, despite the cold and the threat of rain.

Before leaving, the coordinator of Bridges of Love, Carlos Lazo, delivered inspirational words. He highlighted the value of actions such as this to raise awareness about the need to eliminate unilateral coercive measures against the Caribbean nation and its people.

The president of the Agency for Cultural and Economic Exchange with Cuba, Michele Curto, spoke in the same vein, exalting the significance of the help provided by Cuban health collaborators to Italy in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

If we are here today, it is to modestly repay the support received from Cuban doctors and nurses, who with their work built bridges of love in the most challenging moments of the pandemic when the battle was against an unknown enemy, said Curto.

  "Camino de amor" is the initiative also sponsored by the Coordinadora de Cubanos Residentes en Italia and other organizations, which contemplates various activities until the 23rd, including a walk of almost 100 kilometers to the Italian capital.