Showing posts with label Saints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saints. Show all posts

4 February 2024

Saint Maria De Mattias - educator

Woman trapped by wealth who set up religious order

Maria De Mattias left behind a life of relative prosperity
Maria De Mattias left behind a
life of relative prosperity
Maria De Mattias, whose ambition to serve Christ and to see women given the chance to receive a formal education led her to set up a religious order, was born on this day in 1805 in Vallecorsa, a village in a mountainous region of southern Lazio.

De Mattias, who died in Rome in 1866, was beatified in 1950 by Pope Pius XII and made a saint in 2003 by Pope John Paul II. 

The Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ, which she established in 1834, now has a membership of more than 2,000, with communities in South America, the United States, Southeast Asia and Africa as well as Italy.

During more than 30 years travelling throughout Italy to help establish communities of her Sisters, De Mattias founded nearly 70 schools, often in remote towns and rural areas of Italy.

The young Maria had an upbringing said to have been happy for the most part but subject to constraints that children and adolescents in the modern world would find difficult to tolerate.

This had less to do with any restrictions imposed on her by her parents, though they had a strong faith that her father, Giovanni, passed on to her through his reading of the scriptures, than the political and social climate at the time.

About 30km (19 miles) south of the small city of Frosinone, and approximately 115km (71 miles) south of Rome, Vallecorsa sat close to the border of the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, on the edge of a geographical region known as Ciociaria.

Territorial disputes across the area gave rise to frequent outbreaks of violence between competing factions. Gangs representing one side or another would often establish strategic bases in mountainous areas and terrorise local people, stealing food and demanding money.

Vallecorsa is built on a hillside in the rugged terrain of mountainous southern Lazio
Vallecorsa is built on a hillside in the rugged
terrain of mountainous southern Lazio
Since Maria’s family was moderately wealthy - her father was for a time Mayor of Vallecorsa - they were targets for kidnap, a favoured method of raising funds for the bandit gangs. As a result, she and her siblings were not allowed to play outside, where they would be especially vulnerable.

Although she was a restless and lively child, who enjoyed playing with her brothers, Maria spent much of her time inside the house, often in her room with the curtains closed so that no one outside could see her.  

Despite her confinement, she was said to have been somewhat vain, fond of brushing her long, blonde hair and admiring herself in the mirror.  It was while doing this one day, at the age of 16 or 17, that she is said to have undergone a dramatic change.  Struck by the emptiness of her life - her father did not believe in girls receiving a formal education - she was suddenly repulsed by her own face in the mirror and looked away, her eyes falling instead on the painting of the Madonna above her bed, to which she had never previously paid much attention.

Drawing herself closer to the painting, she said that she sensed the Madonna was speaking to her and soon decided that if there was to be a purpose to her life, it would be one dedicated to God.  

She somehow taught herself to read, poring for hours over the contents of the many spiritual books on shelves around the family home. In 1822, she listened to a sermon delivered by Gaspar del Bufalo, founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, who was visiting Vallecorsa.

Del Bufalo’s words on devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus inspired Maria to see Christ's life as a model for self-sacrifice. The following year, one of Del Bufalo’s close followers, Giovanni Merlini, returned to the village to assist in the founding of a House of Mission. 

The Order continues to help build new schools, such as this one in the city of Mysura in southern India
The Order continues to help build new schools, such
as this one in the city of Mysura in southern India 
Merlini was a handsome young man and the shy Maria found it hard to approach him at first, but eventually they began to have conversations and what would prove an enduring friendship developed. Maria became more and more involved in the work of the Missionaries, particularly working with women and girls.

In 1834, with Merlini’s help, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ to bring a focal point to this work. 

The religious order was founded as an apostolic order, an active teaching order, rather than a monastic one. After establishing a first school in Acuto, another town in the Ciociaria area of Lazio, the new order received papal approval in 1855. 

De Mattias was tireless in her travelling throughout Italy establishing communities of her Sisters, often walking long distances or making treacherous journeys on donkeys, and preaching in towns as she came across them. 

The women drawn to her communities were often poor but by the time De Mattias died in Rome in August 1866, at the age of 61, the community had created more than 70 schools in Italy, with some in Austria, Germany, and England.

Her followers wanted her to be buried in the church of Santa Maria in Trivio, a few steps from the Trevi Fountain, which was the mother church of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, but such burials at the time were not allowed on the grounds of hygiene.

Instead, she was buried in Rome's Campo Verano Cemetery, her tomb donated by Pope Pius IX.

Although it is customary for a saint’s feast day to be held on the anniversary of his or her death, there are exceptions to this rule. Maria De Mattias is one, her feast being celebrated on her birthday, February 4. 

The statue of Maria De Mattias in Vallecorsa
The statue of Maria De
Mattias in Vallecorsa
Travel tip:

Vallecorsa, the home village of Maria De Mattias, occupies a hillside location at the foot of Monte Calvilli, at 3,661ft (1,116m) the highest peak of the Monti Ausoni, which themselves are part of the Volsci range of the Lazio Apennines.  Sometimes known as la città dell'olio - the city of the oil - it is notable for the growing of olive trees on terraces cut into the hillside and kept intact with stone walls. The area is popular for trekking and mountain biking. The town itself is characterised by steep, winding streets which on the perimeters often emerge into small squares offering sweeping views over the surrounding countryside. Street names such as the Via Santa Maria De Mattias and the Via San Gaspare del Bufalo acknowledge the history of the village. There is a statue of Maria De Mattias in Piazza Plebiscito at one end of the Via Santa Maria De Mattias; at the other is a museum housed in what was the family’s home.



The Stadio Benito Stirpe, home of Frosinone Calcio, is one of the city's more modern buildings
The Stadio Benito Stirpe, home of Frosinone
Calcio, is one of the city's more modern buildings
Travel tip:

The ancient city of Frosinone, which was Gens Fursina in Etruscan times and Frusino under the Romans, is located on a hill overlooking the valley of the Sacco about 75km (47 miles) southeast of Rome, with the wider city spreading out across the surrounding plains. The Roman writer Cicero had a villa in Frusino. The city is part of a wider area known as Ciociaria, a name derived from the word ciocie, the footwear worn by the inhabitants in years gone by. Ciociaria hosts food fairs, events and music festivals as well as celebrating traditional feasts, when the local people wear the regional costume and the typical footwear.  Visitors can see the remains of a Roman amphitheatre from Viale Roma, while churches of interest include the Baroque Chiesa di San Benedetto in Via Cavour Camillo Benso, which also contains a small art gallery.  A much more modern edifice in the city is the Stadio Benito Stirpe, the 16,000-capacity home of Frosinone Calcio, which was built between 2015 and 2017 at a cost of around €20 million after the football club was promoted to Serie A for the first time in its history.

Also on this day:

1667: The birth of painter Alessandro Magnasco

1676: The birth of composer Giacomo Facco

1875: The birth of patriot and irredentist Cesare Battista 

1892: The birth of playwright Ugo Betti

2014: The death of soldier and writer Eugenio Corti


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29 May 2023

Saint Bona of Pisa

Pilgrim was unusual for travelling extensively in 12th century

Saint Bona of Pisa led pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain
Saint Bona of Pisa led pilgrimages to
Santiago de Compostela in Spain
Tour guides and flight attendants might wish to raise a glass today to Saint Bona of Pisa, whose feast day is celebrated every year on May 29.

Pope John XXIII canonised Bona in 1962 and made her the patron saint of her native city of Pisa, as well as the patron saint of Italian tour guides and flight attendants.

This was because Bona, who was born in 1156 in Pisa, used to take parties of pilgrims on the potentially dangerous journey to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, where James the Great, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, is honoured.

Bona was born in the parish of San Martino in Guazzolongo in Pisa. When she was three years old her father left home and never returned, leaving her family in financial difficulties.

It is said that when Bona was about seven years of age, the figure on a crucifix in a church held its hand out to her. A few years later, at another church, she saw a vision of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and three saints. She was frightened by the light around these figures and ran away. One of the saints, James the Great, followed her and led her back to the image of Jesus. Bona was to remain devoted to James the Great for the rest of her life.

By the age of ten, Bona had dedicated herself as an Augustinian tertiary to follow the Rule of Saint Augustine and lead a life of penance and fasting.

When Bona was 14, she made the first of her many overseas trips, to visit Jerusalem. On the way home, she was captured by Muslim pirates in the Mediterranean and was wounded and imprisoned.

Saint Bona's remains are preserved in a glass case in the church of San Martino
Saint Bona's remains are preserved in a
glass case in the church of San Martino
After being rescued by other travellers, she was able to return home, but it was not long before she went on her first pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. During the long journey she supported her fellow travellers when they became discouraged, provided them with medical aid and encouraged them to pray with her.

Afterwards she was made one of the official guides along the route by the Knights of Saint James and she took groups of pilgrims on the journey nine times, travelling mainly on foot.

She also made pilgrimages to Rome and to the shrine of Monte Sant’Angelo sul Gargano.

Bona died in Pisa in about 1207 in a room near the Church of San Martino and her remains are to this day still kept in the church.

The facade of the church of San Martino in Pisa
The facade of the church
of San Martino in Pisa
Travel tip:

The Church of San Martino in Piazza San Martino on the left bank of the River Arno in Pisa dates back to at least 1067 when it belonged to the Augustinian order. It was rebuilt in 1331 and again during the 17th century. A painting by the 13th century Pisan artist Enrico di Tedice has been conserved in the ceiling of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament. Near the side entrance of the church, a large glass case preserves the bones of Saint Bona.

The sanctuary of Sant'Angelo sul Gargano in Foggia is believed to be the oldest shrine in western Europe
The sanctuary of Sant'Angelo sul Gargano in Foggia
is believed to be the oldest shrine in western Europe
Travel tip:

Monte Sant’Angelo sul Gargano is a shrine to Saint Michael the Archangel on Mount Gargano in the province of Foggia in Puglia. It is believed to be the oldest shrine in western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael and has been an important place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages when Bona took her tour groups there. The shrine became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2011.





Also on this day:

1568: The birth of noblewoman Virginia de' Medici

1926: The birth in Florence of TV presenter Katie Boyle

1931: The death of anarchist Michele Schirru

2013: The death of actress Franca Rame


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19 March 2023

Festa del Papà - Father’s Day

Italian celebration this year coincides with Mothering Sunday in UK

While today marks Mothering Sunday - or Mother’s Day - in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the Italian tradition is that celebrations on this day in the religious calendar are for Father’s Day.

La Festa del Papà in Italy owes its history to La Festa di San Giuseppe - St Joseph’s Day - the annual celebration that has been held since the Middle Ages to recognise the role of Joseph, the husband of Mary, as the legal if not the biological father of Jesus Christ.

In Catholic tradition, Saint Joseph is the embodiment of the ideal father, a strong, pious character perfectly suited to fulfil his role as protector of and provider for his family. 

For many years, the Festa di San Giuseppe - which always falls on March 19, regardless of whether it is a weekday or a weekend - remained a largely religious celebration. But, thanks to the growth of commercialism around family celebration days, it has taken a lead from Father’s Days around the world, and in particular the United States, and expanded into something bigger.

So nowadays, in common with Father’s Days around the world, La Festa del Papà is an occasion for children to show their appreciation and affection for their own fathers by making cards and giving treats and gifts.

Schools will often devote time in the week leading to March 19 by setting aside craft lesson time to making cards and gifts, with students encouraged to fill the card with their own verses.

And naturally, being Italy, gifts often take the form of food, with a number of different cakes and pastries becoming traditional on Father’s Day.

An example of Zeppole di San Giuseppe, one of Italy's traditional Father's Day treats
An example of Zeppole di San Giuseppe, one of
Italy's traditional Father's Day treats
This is thought to originate in a story in the Gospel of St Matthew in which Joseph and Mary were visited by an angel and warned to flee to Egypt so that their baby son would be kept out of the clutches of King Herod.

When they arrived, Joseph is said to have helped support the family by making and selling sweet pancakes.

The classic Italian Father’s Day pastries are Bignè di San Giuseppe, fried cream puffs filled with custard and dusted in icing sugar. Although Bignè di San Giuseppe are available throughout Italy all year round, they are made in particular quantities around Father’s Day.

In the south of Italy, the equivalent is the Zeppole di San Giuseppe, a similar concoction to Bignè, made with puff pastry, custard and icing sugar, topped with a glazed cherry.

A recipe for these zeppole appeared in Cucina teorico-pratica, a 19th century cookery guide compiled by Ippolito Cavalcanti, a food-loving aristocrat who went under the title Duke of Buonvicino, first published in 1837 and still being reprinted today. The book is considered something of a bible of Neapolitan cuisine.

In Sicily, meanwhile, the Sfincia di San Giuseppe is filled with sweet ricotta, candied fruit and chopped pistachio nuts, while shops in the north of Italy might have Ravioli di San Giuseppe - ravioli made with shortcrust pastry and filled with jam.

The Festa di San Giuseppe in Sicily is also celebrated in some households with the preparation of a soup called maccu di San Giuseppe, made with crushed fava beans, also known as broad beans.

Another part of the gift-giving element of the Festa del Papà is thought to come from Saint Joseph’s role as the patron saint of carpenters. Originally, wooden toys and trinkets were exchanged between all relatives on Festa di San Giuseppe, the practice evolving into one in which children gave wooden gifts to their father. 

An overhead view of Zaha Hadid's extraordinarily  futuristic Stazione Napoli-Afragola
An overhead view of Zaha Hadid's extraordinarily 
futuristic Stazione Napoli-Afragola 
Travel tip:

Ippolito Cavalcanti, the aristocratic gourmet who described Zeppole di San Giuseppe in his cookery guide Cucina teorico-pratica, was born in Afragola, a city today of almost 65,000 people but subsumed into the sprawl of greater Naples. Situated around 10km (6 miles) northeast from Piazza del Plebiscito, Afragola’s history is thought to date back to around 300BC when it was settled by a tribe called the Samnites, although remains dated as of Bronze Age vintage, thought to have been buried in an eruption of Vesuvius, were found in 2005.  Today’s Afragola, sadly, is an area of social problems, high unemployment and high crime rate, yet it is home to one of Italy’s most futuristic railway stations, the extraordinary Napoli-Afragola station designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid and opened in 2017 for a new high speed line from northern to southern Italy.

Iginio Massari's Pasticceria Veneto is consistently recognised as one of Italy's best pastry shops
Iginio Massari's Pasticceria Veneto is consistently
recognised as one of Italy's best pastry shops
Travel tip:

The best pastry shop in all Italy - and there is plenty of competition - is generally reckoned to be the multiple award-winning Pasticceria Veneto in Via Salvo D'Acquisto in the northern city of Brescia. Opened in 1971 by the Brescia-born pastry chef Iginio Massari, Pasticceria Veneto has dominated the pasticcerie section of the annual Gambero Rosso awards since 2011, receiving the coveted Tre Torte mark from the food magazine every year.  The store, often described as a pastry laboratory rather than simply a bakery thanks to 80-year-old Massari’s constant innovation, has been stocking a number of treats in anticipation of Father’s Day. The chef’s own creation for the occasion is a caramelized millefeuille.


Also on this day:

1661: The birth of musician Francesco Gasparini

1816: The death of physician and businessman Filippo Mazzei

1914: The death of seismologist Guiseppe Mercalli

1923: The birth of cartoonist Benito Jacovitti

1943: The birth of technocrat PM Mario Monti


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25 March 2021

Saint Catherine of Siena

Pious woman from ordinary family helped the Pope reorganise the church

Tiepolo's 1746 painting of St Catherine, in  the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna
Tiepolo's 1746 painting of St Catherine, in
 the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna
Caterina Benincasa, who was one day to be canonized as Saint Catherine of Siena, a patron saint of Rome, Italy and Europe, was born on this day in 1347 in Siena in Tuscany.

She is remembered for her writings, all of which were dictated to scribes, as she did not learn to write until late in life. While carrying out Christ’s work in Italy, she wrote about 380 letters, 26 prayers, and four treatises of Il libro della divina dottrina, better known as The Dialogue. These works were so influential and highly regarded she was later declared a Doctor of the Church.

Caterina was the youngest of 25 children born to Lapa Piagenti, the daughter of a poet, and Jacopo di Benincasa, a cloth dyer. She is said to have had her first vision of God when she was just five years old and at the age of seven, Caterina vowed to give her whole life to God.

She refused to get married when her parents tried to arrange it, cut off her hair to make herself look less attractive and began to fast. She did not want to take a nun’s veil, but to live an active life full of prayer in society, following the model of the Dominicans.

When she was in her early 20s, Caterina said she had experienced a spiritual espousal, or mystical marriage, to Christ, and she began serving the poor and sick in Siena and attracted a group of followers.

Alessandro Franchi's 19th century painting depicts a young Caterina cutting off her long hair
Alessandro Franchi's 19th century painting depicts
a young Caterina cutting off her long hair
She started to travel around Italy to promote church reform. She strongly believed the return of Pope Gregory XI to Rome was the best way to bring peace to Italy and she went to Avignon to be an unofficial advocate of this. She was then sent by him to negotiate peace with Florence.

In 1377 she founded a women’s monastery of strict observance in an old fortress outside Siena.

The next Pope, Urban VI, invited Caterina to Rome to help reorganise the church. She lived at the court meeting individual nobles to convince them to support the Pope and sending letters to other princes and cardinals urging them to obey him.

She tried to win back the support of Queen Joan I of Naples for the papacy, although Urban VI had previously excommunicated the queen for supporting the antipope. Being trusted by the Pope with such important work was rare for a woman in the Middle Ages.

By the time Caterina was 33 her habit of extreme fasting, eventually living just off the daily Eucharist, had made her ill. She became unable to eat and drink at all and lost the use of her legs. She died on 29 April, 1380 following a stroke. Her last words had been: ‘Father, into Your Hands I commend my soul and my spirit.’

Lorenzo Lotto's 1533 painting, St Catherine with the
Holy Family,
is in the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo
Pope Urban VI celebrated her funeral and her burial in the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva near the Pantheon in Rome. Her head and thumb were later entombed in the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena, where they remain.

Caterina had a spiritual adviser and friend from about 1374 until her death named Raymond of Capua. He wrote what is known as the Legenda Major: a Life of Caterina, which was completed in 1395.

Tommaso Caffarini, also known as Thomas of Siena, wrote an account of Caterina’s life and compiled a set of documents with testimony from many of her disciples as part of the process for her canonisation. An anonymous Florentine wrote Miracoli della Beata Caterina, about the miracles she performed.

The devotion to Caterina di Siena grew rapidly after her death. She was canonised in 1461 by Pope Pius II, who was himself from Siena and her feast day was established on 29 April. She was declared patron saint of Rome in 1866 and of Italy, together with St Francis of Assisi, in 1939. She was proclaimed patron saint of Europe in 1999 by Pope John Paul II.

Caterina’s Dialogue, letters and prayers have given her a prominent place in the history of Italian literature.

Caterina's home in Siena is now a shrine which houses a museum dedicated to her life
Caterina's home in Siena is now a shrine, which
houses a museum dedicated to her life
Travel tip:

Siena in Tuscany, where Caterina was born and lived for much of her life, has made a shrine out of the house she lived in with her parents. It has a museum dedicated to her life and is open to visitors in Vicolo di Tiratolo off Costa Sant’Antonio.  The nearby Basilica of San Domenico has a Cappella Santa Caterina where her head and thumb are housed. Siena is the venue for the historic horse race, the Palio di Siena. The race is contested in Siena’s Piazza del Campo, a shell-shaped open area which is regarded as one of Europe’s finest medieval squares. It was established in the 13th century as an open marketplace on a sloping site between the three communities that eventually merged to form the city of Siena.

Hotels in Siena by Booking.com

The Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, which houses Catherine's remains
The Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
in Rome, which houses Catherine's remains
Travel tip:

Caterina was buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which is in Piazza Minerva, close to the Pantheon in Rome. The basilica is the only surviving Gothic church structure left in Rome and has the original, arched vaulting inside. A sarcophagus containing the remains of Saint Catherine of Siena can be seen behind the high altar.  Among the works of art in the church are Michelangelo's statue Cristo della Minerva (1521) and the late 15th-century (1488–93) cycle of frescoes in the Carafa Chapel by Filippino Lippi. The basilica also houses the tomb of the 15th century the Dominican friar Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Blessed John of Fiesole, born Guido di Piero) better known as the painter Fra Angelico.

Also on this day:

1541: The birth of Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany

1546: The birth of courtesan and poet Veronica Franco

1927: The birth of ground-breaking politician Tina Anselmi

1940: The birth of Mina, Italy’s all-time best-selling female pop singer

(Picture credits: Caterina's house in Siena by Gryffindor; Basilica by sonofgroucho via Wikimedia Commons)


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4 December 2020

Saint Giovanni Calabria

Priest offered himself to God to save a Pope

Giovanni Calabria dedicated his life to the poor and sick
Giovanni Calabria dedicated
his life to the poor and sick
Giovanni Calabria, who dedicated his life to helping the poor and the sick, died on this day in 1954 in Verona.

Roman Catholics throughout the world will celebrate his feast day today as a result of his canonisation by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

When Pope Pius XII became ill in 1954, Calabria offered himself to God to die in the place of the Pope. Pius XII began to get better and went on to live for another four years, but Calabria died the next day. After the Pope recovered he sent a telegram of condolence to Calabria’s congregation.

Giovanni Calabria was born in 1873 in Verona. He was the youngest of the seven sons of Luigi Calabria, a cobbler, and Angela Foschio, a maid servant.

Calabria was only a young child when his father died but he had to drop out of school to become an apprentice.

However, a rector at his local church saw his potential and gave him private tuition to prepare him for an exam that would determine whether he could begin studying for the priesthood.

But first Calabria had to serve in the army where he converted his fellow soldiers and was renowned for the strength of his faith. After completing his military service he resumed his theology studies with the intention of becoming a priest.

The letters between Calabria and CS Lewis have been published
The letters between Calabria and
CS Lewis have been published
One winter’s night in 1897 he returned from visiting the sick in hospital to find a child on his doorstep who said he was running away from violence and so Calabria gave him shelter in his own home.

The following year he founded a charitable institution to help sick and impoverished people and started a home for abandoned young people.

Calabria was ordained as a priest in 1901 and then appointed as a confessor and a curate at a church in Verona.

He became the rector of San Benedetto al Monte in 1907, where he helped care for soldiers.

Later that same year he founded the Poor Servants of Divine Providence. Three years later, he formed a female branch, the Poor Women Servants of Divine Providence.

During World War II, Calabria helped a Jewish doctor to hide among his female congregation for 18 months, under the name of Sister Beatrice.

His longing for Christian unity led him to correspond in Latin with the British writer and theologian, CS Lewis, who spoke on the religious programmes broadcast by the BBC from London while the city was suffering air raids.

After offering himself to God to spare the life of Pope Pius XII, Calabria died on 4 December 1954 and was buried in his congregation’s motherhouse in Verona.

Pope John Paul II named Calabria as venerable in 1986, beatified him in 1988 and canonised him in 1999.

The balcony that featured in the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet attracts thousands of visitors
The balcony that featured in the Shakespeare play
Romeo and Juliet attracts thousands of visitors
Travel tip:

Verona, where Giovanni Calabria was born and carried out his Christian works, is famous throughout the world as the setting for Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, ‘in fair Verona where we lay our scene’. You can visit the home of the real life Juliet, Casa Giulietta, and see the balcony where the famous scene with Romeo took place. Verona is also famous for its Roman amphitheatre, L’Arena di Verona in Piazza Bra, where operas and music concerts are performed in the open air.

Calabria was rector of San Benedetto al Monte in Verona
Calabria was rector of San
Benedetto al Monte in Verona
Travel tip:

The Church of San Benedetto al Monte, where Giovanni Calabria served as rector from 1907 to 1912, is in Vicolo Monte, just a short walk from Piazza Erbe in the centre of Verona. The church dates back to the year 1000 but was rebuilt in 1617. The 11th century Romanesque crypt, which has recently been restored, still has some Roman remains visible as it is located next to the site of Verona’s ancient Roman forum.

Also on this day:

1154: The election of Pope Adrian IV

1798: The death of physicist Luigi Galvani

1927: The birth of architect Gae Aulenti

1956: The birth of golfer Constantino Rocca


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30 January 2020

Hyacintha Mariscotti – Saint

Noblewoman gave up luxurious lifestyle to help the poor


Viterbo-born Domenico Corvi's painting of Saint Hyacintha Mariscotti
Viterbo-born Domenico Corvi's painting
of Saint Hyacintha Mariscotti
Hyacintha Mariscotti, an Italian nun of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, died on this day in 1640 in Viterbo in Lazio.

Pope Pius VII canonised her in 1807 and her feast day is now celebrated on 30 January every year.

Hyacintha, known as Santa Giacinta Marescotti in Italian, was born in 1585 into a noble family living in the castle of Vignanello in the province of Viterbo and was baptised as Clarice.

Her father was Count Marcantonio Marescotti, who was descended from Marius Scotus, a military leader who served Emperor Charlemagne. Her mother was Countess Ottavia Orsini, whose father built the famous gardens of Bomarzo.

The young Clarice was sent with her sisters to the monastery of Saint Bernardino to be educated by the nuns of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. When their education was complete, her elder sister, Ginevra, chose to enter the community as a nun, becoming Sister Immacolata.

Clarice had set her sights on marrying the Marchese Capizucchi, but he chose her younger sister, Ortensia, instead. Following her disappointment, she entered the monastery at Viterbo taking the name Hyacintha (Giacinta). She admitted later that she did this only because she was upset and was not prepared to give up the luxuries she was used to.

She kept a private stock of extra food, wore a habit made from the finest material and went out to see people and received visitors as she wished, although she always retained a strong religious faith.

Pope Pius VII made Hyacintha Mariscotti
a saint in 1807
After ten years she became seriously ill and was visited in her cell at the monastery by the priest serving as her confessor, who was bringing her Holy Communion.  When he saw the extent of the luxuries she was keeping there he admonished her and told her to observe more closely the way of life she had committed herself to.

Hyacintha completely changed her life, wore an old tunic and went barefoot, frequently fasting on bread and water.

During an outbreak of plague in the city she became devoted to nursing the sick.

Hyacintha went on to establish two confraternities, whose members were Oblates of Mary, often referred to as ‘Sacconi’. They provided aid, such as food, clothes and bed linen for sick, poor and elderly people, and prisoners.

Hyacintha is said to have worked numerous miracles and had the gifts of prophecy and discerning the secret thoughts of others.

When Hyacintha died on 30 January 1640 she had established a reputation for holiness. During her wake her religious habit had to be replaced three times because pieces of it were constantly being snipped off by people wishing to keep the scraps of material as relics.

Hyacintha was beatified by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. She was canonised by Pope Pius VII in 1807. Her remains are preserved in the church of her now defunct monastery, which has been named after her, the Church of Santa Giacinta Marescotti.


A giant turtle carrying a statue of a woman - one of the  bizarre sculptures in the Gardens of Bomarzo
A giant turtle carrying a statue of a woman - one of the
bizarre sculptures in the Gardens of Bomarzo
Travel tip:

The Gardens of Bomarzo, created by Hyacintha’s grandfather, are in Bomarzo in the province of Viterbo. Also known as Park of the Monsters, it was created during the sixteenth century in a wooded valley beneath the castle of Orsini. It has grotesque sculptures and small buildings set among the natural vegetation. The garden was created by Pier Francesco Orsini as a way of coping with his grief after the death of his wife, Giulia Farnese. Over the centuries the park became overgrown and neglected, but in the 1950s, after the artist Salvador Dali did a painting based on the park and made a short film about it, there was a major restoration project and today it is a tourist attraction.



The Piazza della Rocca in Viterbo, with its fountain designed by the 16th century architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
The Piazza della Rocca in Viterbo, with its fountain designed
by the 16th century architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Travel tip:

The walled city of Viterbo is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Rome in the region of Lazio. The historic centre is one of the best preserved medieval cities in central Italy and is unusual because of the many buildings with ‘profferli’ - external staircases - that remain intact. A main attraction is the Palazzo dei Papi, which hosted the papacy for 20 years during the 13th century. The Church of Santa Giacinta Marescotti is close to Piazza del Plebiscito in the centre of Viterbo.


More reading:

Compassionate nun Saint Veronica Giuliani

Saint Agatha of Sicily - Christian martyr

Frances Xavier Cabrini - the first American saint

Also on this day:

1629: The death of architect Carlo Maderno

1721: The birth of landscape painter Bernardo Bellotto

1935: The birth of actress Elsa Martinelli

The Feast of Saint Martina of Rome



17 June 2019

Saint Joseph of Copertino

Flying friar now protects aviators


Painter Ludovico Mazzanti's 18th century  depiction of Saint Joseph levitating
Painter Ludovico Mazzanti's 18th century
depiction of Saint Joseph levitating
Saint Joseph, a Franciscan friar who became famous for his miraculous levitation, was born Giuseppe Maria Desa on this day in 1603 in Copertino, a village in Puglia that was then part of the Kingdom of Naples.

Joseph was canonised in 1767, more than 100 years after his death, by Pope Clement XIII and he is now the patron saint for astronauts and aviation.

Joseph’s father, Felice Desa, had died before his birth leaving large debts. After the family home was seized to settle what was owed, his mother, Francesca Panara, was forced to give birth to him in a stable.

Joseph experienced ecstatic visions as a child at school. When he was scorned by other children he had outbursts of anger.

He was apprenticed to a shoemaker but when he applied to join the Franciscan friars he was rejected because of his lack of education.

He was accepted in 1620 as a lay brother by the Capuchin friars only to be dismissed because his constant ecstasies made him unfit to carry out his required duties.

Forced to return home he pleaded with the Franciscan friars near Copertino to be allowed to work in their stables.  After several years he was admitted to the Order and he was ordained a priest in 1628.

The Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino in Piazza Gallo was dedicated to St Joseph
The Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino
in Piazza Gallo was dedicated to St Joseph
He began to experience more ecstasies and it was claimed he began to levitate while participating in Mass, remaining suspended in the air for some time. He gained a reputation for holiness among ordinary people but was considered disruptive by the Church authorities, who found that even piercing his flesh or burning him with candles would have no effect on him while he was levitating. He was eventually confined to a small cell and forbidden to join in any public gatherings.

Joseph was denounced to the Inquisition because flying and levitation were then considered to be a type of witchcraft.

On the Inquisition’s orders, he was transferred from one friary to another to be kept under observation. He lived under a strict regime, eating solid food only twice a week.

In 1657 he was at last allowed to return to live in a religious community and was sent to a friary in Osimo in Le Marche, then part of the Papal States, where he died six years later at the age of 60.

Joseph was beatified in 1753 and made a Saint in 1767.

People sceptical about the reports of Saint Joseph’s levitating or seeming to become airborne have suggested he was either a very agile man who leapt into the air or was perhaps suffering convulsions as a result of consuming bread made from infected grain, which was common centuries ago.

Nevertheless, many pilgrims now visit Joseph’s tomb to pay their respects at the Basilica of Saint Joseph of Copertino in Piazza Gallo in Osimo.

Copertino Castle, built in 1540, has tapered ramparts in each of its four corners
Copertino Castle, built in 1540, has tapered ramparts in
each of its four corners 
Travel tip: 

Copertino, where Saint Joseph was born, is a town in the province of Lecce in the Puglia region of south east Italy. Red and rosé DOC wines are made in the area around the town. Copertino Castle, built in 1540 on the site of an older fortress, is one of the biggest fortifications in the entire region. It has a distinctive design, built on a quadrangle plan with a tapered rampart at each of the four corners. There is also a sanctuary dedicated to Saint Joseph in the town.

The main square in Osimo, the town in Le Marche where Saint Joseph died in 1663
The main square in Osimo, the town in Le Marche where
Saint Joseph died in 1663
Travel tip:

One of the main sights in Osimo, where Saint Joseph died, is the Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino, which was founded as a church dedicated to Saint Francis but was later rededicated and refurbished to house Saint Joseph’s relics.  There is also a restored Romanesque-Gothic church has a portal with sculptures of the 13th century. A town of more than 35,000 inhabitants, Osimo is located approximately 15km (9 miles) south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea.

Also on this day:

1691: The birth of painter Giovanni Paolo Panini

1952: The birth of Sergio Marchionne, businessman 

1964: The birth of racing driver Rinaldo 'Dindo' Capello


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30 January 2019

Feast of Saint Martina of Rome

The day Pope Urban VIII’s own hymns are sung


Saint Martina as portrayed in Pietro da Cortona's Saint Martina Refuses to Adore the Idols
Saint Martina as portrayed in Pietro da Cortona's
 Saint Martina Refuses to Adore the Idols

The feast day of Saint Martina of Rome, who was martyred by the Romans in 228, is celebrated every year on this day.

Martina is now a patron saint of Rome and the patron saint of nursing mothers.

She was the daughter of an ex-consul, one of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, but became an orphan while still young.

Described at the time as a noble and beautiful virgin who was charitable to the poor, she openly testified to her Christian faith.

She was persecuted during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus and arrested and commanded to return to idolatry, the worship of false gods.

When she refused she was whipped and condemned to be devoured by wild beasts in the amphitheatre. When she was miraculously untouched by the animals she was thrown on to a burning pyre from which she is also said to have escaped unhurt. Finally she was beheaded.

Afterwards it was claimed some of her executioners converted to Christianity and were also later beheaded.

In 1634 the relics of Martina were rediscovered by the artist Pietro da Cortona. They were in the crypt of a church originally built in the sixth century on the site of the ancient temple of Mars near the Mamertine Prison and Foro Romano in Rome.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's portrait of Pope Urban VIII, who supported the rebuilding of the church
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's portrait of Pope Urban
VIII, who supported the rebuilding of the church
Da Cortona had been elected president of the Academy of San Luca, the academy of painters, sculptors and architects in Rome, which had been given the church in 1588.  It was after Da Cortona had begun restoring the crypt that he discovered Martina’s remains.

The Pope at that time was Urban VIII, who visited the church with his nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini the month after Da Cortona’s discovery. They dedicated 6000 scudi towards the cost of rebuilding the church. The saint’s body was then returned to the church, which rededicated to saints Luca and Martina.

Da Cortona’s beautiful painting, Saint Martina Refuses to Adore the Idols, was probably painted for Cardinal Barberini. It is now in the Princeton University Art Museum in America.

It has been claimed Pope Urban VIII himself composed the hymns that are sung each year on Martina’s feast day.

The Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina, where Martina's remains are buried
The Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina,
where Martina's remains are buried
Travel tip:

The Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina, where Martina is buried, is in Via della Curia between the Mamertine prison and the Foro Romano. Two stairways from the upper church lead down to the lower church and the chapel of Saint Martina, which is below the high altar, is richly decorated with colour, marble and gilt bronze.

The Forum was the centre of life in Ancient Rome
The Forum was the centre of life
in Ancient Rome
Travel tip:

The Roman Forum, off Via dei Fori Imperiali, was once the centre of day to day life in Rome, the venue for public speeches, criminal trials and the nucleus of commercial affairs. It has the most concentrated array of excavated Roman buildings in the city. It is open to visitors from 8.30 am till one hour before sunset.

More reading:

How Pietro da Cortona decorated some of Italy's finest palaces

Francesco Barberini - the Inquisition chief who refused to condemn Galileo

Why Urban VIII's papacy ended in disgrace

Also on this day:

1629: The death of architect Carlo Maderno

1721: The birth of painter Bernardo Bellotto

1935: The birth of actress Elsa Martinelli


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27 December 2018

Saint Veronica Giuliani

Life of compassionate nun is still inspiring others


Veronica Giuliani was received into a monastery at the age of 17
Veronica Giuliani was received into a
monastery at the age of 17
Nun and mystic Veronica Giuliani was born on this day in 1660 in Mercatello sul Metauro in the Duchy of Urbino.

After she had spent her whole life devoted to Christ, the marks of the crown of thorns appeared on her forehead and the signs of his five wounds on her body. She was subjected to a rigorous testing of her experience by her bishop but, after he decided the phenomena were authentic, he allowed her to return to normal convent life.

The nun was made a saint by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839, more than 100 years after her death.

Veronica was born Orsola Giuliani, the youngest of seven sisters. By the time she was three years old she was demonstrating compassion for the poor, often giving away her own food and clothes.

When her father decided she was old enough to marry, she pleaded with him to be allowed to choose a different way of life and, at the age of 17, in 1677 she was received into the monastery of the Capuchin Poor Clares in Città di Castello in Umbria.

She took the name of Veronica and lived as a sister in the convent for the next 50 years.

A painting by an unidentified artist of Veronica receiving the stigmata
A painting by an unidentified artist
of Veronica receiving the stigmata
Sister Veronica was made novice mistress at the age of 34 and abbess at the age of 55. She improved the life of her fellow nuns by having water piped into the convent as until then they had no supply of fresh water.

When the marks of the stigmata appeared on her head and body, Veronica’s bishop removed her from ordinary convent life and kept her under constant observation. It was only when he was satisfied the marks were authentic that he allowed her back into the convent to continue her service.

Veronica died in 1727, aged 66, at Città di Castello. After her death a mark representing the cross was allegedly found on her body near her heart. She was beatified by Pope Pius VII in 1804 and canonised by Pope Gregory XVI in 1839.

In 1994, a Lebanese man came across her writings and was inspired to found a new religious order. Banners throughout the country proclaimed ‘A Saint rises up in Lebanon’ to herald the first church outside Italy dedicated to Saint Veronica Giuliani. It was consecrated on 9 July 2016, the date of Saint Veronica’s annual feast day.

The statue of  Saint Veronica in the village of Mercatello sul Matauro
The statue in the village
of Mercatello sul Matauro
Travel tip:

There is a statue of Saint Veronica in the village of Mercatello sul Metauro, her place of birth, which is about 50km (31 miles) south of Pesaro in the Marche region.  Mercatello’s Gothic Church of Saint Francis dates back to the 13th century and has a fine collection of paintings from the 12th to the 17th centuries.


Città di Castello's Capuchin Monastery, where Veronica Giuliani was resident for 50 years, is in Via XI Settembre
Città di Castello's Capuchin Monastery, where Veronica
Giuliani was resident for 50 years, is in Via XI Settembre
Travel tip:

The Capuchin Monastery in Via XI Settembre in Città di Castello is now named after Veronica Giuliani. The body of the saint lies inside an urn under the main altar of the church, which is named after Saint Martin of Tours and dates back to 1208. The church is open to the public from 6.30 to 12.30 and from 3.30 to 6.30 pm each day. A museum has been established on one side of the monastery’s cloister to offer an insight into the life of Saint Veronica and to house her relics.


More reading:

How San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio advanced the spread of religion

The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

The murdered nurse who was made a saint

Also on this day:

1888: The birth of operatic tenor Tito Schipa

1983: Pope John Paul II visits his would-be killer in prison

1985: Terrorists attack Fiumicino airport


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20 December 2018

San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio

Franciscan monk canonized in 1867


Leonardo survived a life-threatening  illness to devote his life to preaching
Leonardo survived a life-threatening
illness to devote his life to preaching
San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio, whose feast day is celebrated on November 27 each year, was born Paolo Gerolamo Casanova on this day in 1676 in Porto Maurizio, which is now part of the port city of Imperia in Liguria.

Leonardo recovered from a serious illness developed soon after he became a priest and devoted the remaining 43 years of his life to preaching retreats and parish missions throughout Italy.

He was one of the main propagators of the Catholic rite of Via Crucis - the Way of the Cross - and established Stations of the Cross - reconstructions in paintings or sculpture of Christ’s journey to the cross - at more than 500 locations. He also set up numerous ritiri - houses of recollection.

Leonardo was a charismatic preacher who found favour with Popes Clement XII and Benedict XIV, who helped him spread his missions, which began in Tuscany, into central and southern Italy, inspiring religious fervour among the population.

The son of a ship’s captain from Porto Maurizio, the young Paolo was sent to Rome at the age of 13 to live with a wealthy uncle and study at the Jesuit Roman College.

He studied the humanities, rhetoric and philosophy at the Gregorian University and intended to follow a career in medicine. However, while studying he met some Observant Franciscans who lived at the Convent of San Bonaventura al Palatino - known also as the Riformella - and decided to join them.

Leonardo was a charismatic personality whose preaching persuaded many Italians to devote their lives to faith
Leonardo was a charismatic personality whose preaching
persuaded many Italians to devote their lives to faith
His uncle was not happy, but his father approved and, at 21, Paolo entered the novitiate at Ponticelli Sabino in the Sabine Hills, north of Rome, taking the name of Fra Leonardo - Brother Leonard.

Leonardo completed his studies at San Bonaventura and, after his ordination, he remained there as a professor. It was at that stage that he fell ill, with what has been described as a bleeding ulcer. He was sent back to his home town on the basis that the Ligurian climate might give him a better chance of recovery. Eventually, after being cared for at a monastery of the Franciscan Observants, he was restored to health, although it took four years.

He began to preach in Porto Maurizio and the vicinity before being sent to the monastery of San Miniato near Florence, called Monte alle Croci, shortly after Cosimo III de' Medici had handed it over to the members of the Riformella.

His missions to the people in Tuscany produced startling results, with a large number of conversions, and it was as a means of keeping alive the religious fervour he had awakened that he promoted the Stations of the Cross.

The Convent of San Bonaventura al Palatino, where Leonardo died, had been a constant in his life
The Convent of San Bonaventura al Palatino, where Leonardo
died, had been a constant in his life
In 1710 he founded the Convento dell’Icontro - the first of his ritiri - on a peak in the mountains about 7km (4 miles) outside Florence, where he and his assistants could retire from time to time after missions, and devote themselves to spiritual renewal.

By 1720, he was taking his celebrated missions into Central and Southern Italy, after which Clement XII and later Benedict XIV asked him to work in Rome.

Benedict XIV, in fact, gave him several difficult diplomatic assignments, in volatile Genoa and Corsica - then part of the Republic of Genoa - Lucca and Spoleto. In all cases, citizens expecting a rich cardinal as the papal emissary were taken aback that a humble, shoeless friar should be the man sent to help resolve their differences.

Leonardo was also at times employed as spiritual director by Maria Clementina Sobieska of Poland, the wife of James Stuart, the Old Pretender.

Amid rumours of his failing health, in November 1751 Benedict XIV recalled Leonardo from Bologna, where he was preaching, to return to Rome. He arrived at the monastery of San Bonaventura al Palatino on the evening of November 26 and died a few hours later.

His remains lie under the high altar there. Pope Pius VI beatified him in 1796 and Pope Pius IX canonised him in 1867. Nowadays, he is the patron saint of those who preach parish missions.

In 1873, one of the first Catholic churches in the United States to be built by Italian immigrants, in Boston, Massachusetts, was named in his honour.

Mist filling the valleys around Collevecchio, one of many beautiful towns in the Sabine Hills in Lazio
Mist filling the valleys around Collevecchio, one of many
beautiful towns in the Sabine Hills in Lazio
Travel tip:

The Sabine Hills around the city of Rieti, about 80km (50 miles) north of Rome, remains generally an unspoiled rural area, with characteristic rolling hills covered by olive groves and fruit orchards and dotted with medieval hilltop villages and castles.  Among the most beautiful of those medieval villages, all of which have impressive defensive walls, ornately decorated renaissance palaces and churches and picturesque piazzas are Toffia, Fara Sabina, Farfa, Bocchignano and Montopoli.  The area is famous for its extra virgin olive oil, the first in Italy to receive the DOP denomination (Protected Designation of Origin).


The shoreline of Porto Maurizio in Liguria, where Leonardo was born Paolo Casanova in 1676
The shoreline of Porto Maurizio in Liguria, where Leonardo
was born Paolo Casanova in 1676
Travel tip:

Porto Maurizio, where San Leonardo was born, lost its identity somewhat in 1923 when Mussolini created the city of Imperia by combining Porto Maurizio and Oneglia, towns on the Riviera Poniente separated by the Impero river, with several surrounding villages.  Imperia’s economy is mainly based on tourism and the food industry, as a producer of olive oil and pasta. Porto Maurizio was originally a Roman settlement, Portus Maurici. Napoleon Bonaparte stopped for a night in Porto Maurizio during the Napoleonic Wars.  The town has a classical cathedral, dedicated to San Maurizio, which was built by Gaetano Cantoni and completed in the early 19th century. The Convent of Santa Chiara was first established in 1365.


More reading:

Pope Clement XII and the competition that resulted in the Trevi Fountain

Bendict XIV - the intellectual pope

Luigi Guido Grandi - monk and mathematician

Also on this day:

1856: The death of Sicilian patriot Francesco Bentivegna

1947: The birth of singer Gigliola Cinquetti

1948: The birth of Giuliana Sgrena, war reporter


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