The Path to Rome - Paperbackby Hilaire Belloc (Author) The Path to Rome is British French writer and historian Hilaire Belloc's first travelogue. It describes the pilgrimage he took to Rome as the result of a vow he made while visiting his hometown of Toul, in Lorraine, France. In his own copy of the book, dated May 29, 1904, he notes: "I wrote this book for the glory of God." Belloc walked "two and a half hundred leagues" to Rome, over twenty two days, and arrived in time to