News and curiosities
A “Benedictine” baptism
On Monday 18th
of June at 1pm, in the Horti Sallustiani conference centre (Adrianea Hall) in
Roma, during the press conference for the Routes of Faith project,
representatives from the regions of Lazio and Umbria, along with the APT of
Rieti, who initiated the project, were treated to a preview of the new website
dedicated to the Benedictine Way. The site was very well received by all, who
appreciated its informative approach and the easy access to all the content.
ROUTES OF
FAITH: NATURE, ART AND RELIGION IN LAZIO AND UMBRIA
The
Benedictine Way and the St. Francis Walk represent the recovery of the ancient
traces of the footsteps of the Patron Saint of Europe and the Patron Saint of
Italy.
The “Routes of
Faith” (from an idea of the Rieti Tourist Board) make up a unique spiritual,
tourism and cultural project that originates from the two fundamental figures
in the development of Christianity – St. Benedict, Patron Saint of Europe and
St. Francis, Patron Saint of Italy – and in which nature, art and religion
meet.
From the
upland plains to the mountains, from history to art, from silence to the voices
of the past: there is something to interest everyone. It is not important if
one is a believer or not: it is worth just following these trails for the peace
that invades your soul and for the rare opportunity to encounter different
people and landscapes and to experience a new dimension in travel.
The
Benedictine Way (www.viabenedicti.it),
starts in Norcia (birthplace of St. Benedict around 480 A.D., with, just
outside the main gate, known as the Roman Gate, a square, statue and church from
the 1300s, all dedicated to the saint), then passes through Subiaco (where the
saint retreated to a cave and began life as a hermit, with the Monastery of the
Sacro Speco, at an altitude of 640 metres, clinging to the slopes of Mount
Taleo, inside the Regional Park of the Simbruini Mountains and the monastery of
St. Scholastica with its beautiful bell tower), crossing the Sabine region
(with the Abbey of Farfa, not far from Rieti), in the municipality of Fara
Sabina, stopping off in Rome (the Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, the
largest of the four Catholic basilicas in the capital after St. Peter’s) and
the Valley of the Aniene and finishing in Montecassino (province of Frosinone).
Here Benedict founded the Abbey of Montecassino in 529, (www.officine.it/montecassino),
at around one kilometre and a half from the town of Cassino, building it on the
base of a pagan acropolis from Casinum. The Abbey can be considered the
headquarters of the Benedictines (it was completely destroyed during the Second
World War and then reconstructed). Here the Benedictine Regula was drawn up
with its indications for order and for the balance between prayer and work,
which was followed in all the European monasteries. The visitor enters via the
cloister and immediately perceives a strange magnetism, which fills the heart
with vitality: your attention is drawn to a bronze sculpture group, in the
centre of the garden, depicting St. Benedict at the moment of death: “standing
supported by monks” (a work by the sculptor Selva in 1952 and a gift from the
German Chancellor Adenauer). The Cloister of Bramante is an impressive size: it
is 30 metres wide and 40 metres long, including the staircase that joins the
portico to the higher cloister. From the balcony there is a wonderful view of
the splendid Valley of the Liri and, on the horizon, the Ausoni Mountains. We
are in Ciociaria (the current province of Frosinone) where the message of St.
Benedict has left many traces in the Monasteries, Abbeys and Caves.
Info:
Tourist Board
of the Province of Rieti
Via Cintia, 87
tel. +39 0746
201146 or 0746 201147
www.apt.rieti.it
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