Saint Rosalia

Little Saint ended the plague in Palermo

Saint Rosalia, as envisaged by Anthony
Van Dyck in a 1625 representation

The Feast Day of Saint Rosalia is being celebrated today in Sicily, throughout the rest of Italy, in America, Venezuela and in many other countries.

Saint Rosalia, also known as La Santuzza, or the Little Saint, is the patron saint of Palermo as well as three towns in Venezuela.

Centuries after Rosalia’s death, the people of Palermo believed she ended the plague when what they thought were her remains were carried in a procession through the city.

Rosalia was born in Palermo in about 1130 into a noble Norman family that claimed to descend from Charlemagne.

She became devoutly religious and eventually went to live as a hermit in a cave on Mount Pellegrino in Sicily.

There is a story that she was led by two angels to live in the cave and that she wrote on the wall that she had chosen to live there out of her love for Jesus. She is believed to have died in 1166 when she would have been about 36.

In 1624 when Palermo was afflicted by the plague, Rosalia appeared first to a sick woman and then to a hunter to tell them where her remains were to be found. She told the hunter to bring her bones to Palermo to be carried in a procession through the city.

A statue of Santa Rosalia in
Monterey, California

The hunter found her bones in the place she had described to him and after they had been carried round Palermo three times the plague mercifully ended.

Saint Rosalia was chosen to be the patron saint of Palermo and a sanctuary was built in the cave where her remains were discovered.

Every year on September 4 it is traditional for people to walk barefoot from Palermo up to Mount Pellegrino.

In the United States a feast is held on September 4 in Brooklyn in New York and there is a statue of Saint Rosalia in Monterey, California, where her feast is celebrated every year by Italian fishermen.


Travel tip:

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, just off the toe of Italy’s boot. The ancient ruins, diverse architecture and wonderful cuisine enjoyed by visitors are all testament to the island’s colourful history. Watching over the island is Mount Etna, a volcano that is still active.

The Santuario di Santa Rosalia sits
on top of Mount Pellegrino

Travel tip:

Palermo, the capital of Sicily, is a vibrant city with a wealth of beautiful architecture, plenty of shops and markets to browse in, and a large opera house, the Teatro Massimo, which is the biggest in Italy. The Santuario di Santa Rosalia stands at the top of Mount Pellegrino, which overlooks the city.

(Photo of Santa Rosalia statue by Nheyob CC BY-SA 4.0)
(Photo of Santuario di Santa Rosalia by Giuseppe ME CC BY-SA 4.0)

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San Marino - world's oldest sovereign state

Republic founded in 301 as Christian refuge

The extraordinary fortress of Guaita in San Marino
stands at the top of one of Mount Titano's three peaks

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino, an independent state within Italy, was founded on this day in 301.

Situated on the north east side of the Apennine mountains, San Marino claims to be the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world.  Of the world's 196 independent countries, it is the fifth smallest, covering an area of just 61 square kilometres or 24 square miles.

It is also the sole survivor of Italy's once all-powerful city state network, having outlasted such mighty neighbours as Genoa and Venice.  San Marino grew from a monastic community, taking its names from Saint Marinus of Alba in Croatia, a Christian who had been working as a stonemason in Rimini when he was forced to flee Roman persecution and escaped to Mount Titano, where he built a church and founded both the city and state of San Marino.

A constitution was written in the 16th century and its status as an independent state was accepted by the papacy in 1631.

San Marino managed to survive the advance of Napoleon's armies in the late 18th century and then had its wish for continued independence honoured during the Italian unification process after offering refuge to persecuted supporters of Giuseppe Garibaldi.  It remained neutral during the First World War and although it spent the interwar years in the control of the Sammarinese Fascist Party, it was able to preserve its independence during the Second World War.

From 1945, it was home to the world's first democratically elected Communist goverment, which survived for 12 years. It is now a multi-party democracy in which the two biggest groupings are the Christian Democrats and the Party of Socialists and Democrats.

San Marino's own Statue of Liberty in front
of the Palazzo Pubblico

Although not a member of the European Union, San Marino is allowed to use the euro as currency, and has its own postage stamps. The republic’s football team compete in the World Cup.  Yet despite its independence, there are no border controls with Italy.

Tourism is a significant part of the San Marino economy, with two million visitors a year.  Its capital is the City of San Marino and its largest city is Dogana.   Most of the attractions are in San Marino city, including the Three Towers, the Cathedral of San Marino and the medieval Palazzo Pubblico.

Every year, a festival is held on September 3 to celebrate the founding of the republic in 301.

Travel tip:

The Palazzo Pubblico is the town hall of the City of San Marino as well as its official government building. The overall design, featuring battlements and corbels, is similar to the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, but on a much smaller scale.

The Cesta tops Monte Titano's highest peak

Travel tip:

The Three Towers of San Marino are a group of towers located on the three peaks of Monte Titano. The Guaita is the oldest of the three towers, and the most famous, constructed in the 11th century, and served briefly as a prison, the Cesta is located on the highest of Monte Titano's summits and includes a museum to honour Saint Marinus. The Montale, the only one of the three not open to the public, was built in the 14th century and was also once used as a prison.

More reading:

Little Tony - the Elvis of San Marino

(Photo of Guaita by Max_Ryzanov CC BY-SA 3.0)
(Photo of Cesta by Radomil CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Giuliano Gemma – actor

Talented Roman became award winning film star

Giuliano Gemma (left) with fellow Italian actor Alberto Sordi
pictured in a scene from the film Venezia, la luna e tu

Actor, stuntman and sculptor Giuliano Gemma was born on this day in 1938 in Rome.

He started working in the film industry as a stuntman but was then offered a real part in the film Arrivano i titani, The Titans Arrive, by director Duccio Tessari.

After this his career took off and he appeared in Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo, The Leopard, as Garibaldi’s General.

Gemma starred in many spaghetti westerns, such as A Pistol for Ringo, Blood for a Silver Dollar, Wanted and Day of Anger. He sometimes appeared in the credits of the films under the name Montgomery Wood.

For his portrayal of Major Matiss in Valerio Zurlini’s The Desert of the Tartars, he won a David di Donatello award.

Gemma had many other film roles, often appeared on Italian television and also worked as a sculptor.

His daughter, Vera Gemma, also became an actor.

Giuliano Gemma died in October 2013 following a car accident near Rome. He was taken to a hospital in Civitavecchia but pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.

Travel tip:

Cinecittà in Rome, the hub of the Italian film industry, is a large studio complex to the south of the city, built during the fascist era under the personal direction of Benito Mussolini and his son, Vittorio. The studios were bombed by the Allies in the Second World War but were rebuilt and used again in the 1950s for large productions, such as Ben Hur. These days a range of productions, from television drama to music videos, are filmed there and it has its own dedicated Metro stop.

Bernini's Fontana del Tritone

Travel tip:

One of the most stunning sights in Rome is the Fontana del Tritone in Piazza Barberini in Rome’s centro storico - the historic centre - which was sculpted by Bernini between 1642 and 1643 and has remained intact over the centuries as the square’s centrepiece.

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Tullio Serafin – opera conductor

Toscanini’s successor furthered the career of Callas

Tullio Serafin

The man who helped Maria Callas develop her singing talent, musician and conductor Tullio Serafin, was born on this day in 1878 in Rottanova near Cavarzere in the Veneto, on the Adige river just south of the Venetian Lagoon.

Serafin studied music in Milan and went on to play the viola in the orchestra at Teatro alla Scala under the baton of Arturo Toscanini.

He was later appointed assistant conductor and then took over as musical director at the theatre when Toscanini left to go to New York.

Serafin conducted at La Scala between 1909 and 1914, from 1917 to 1918 and then returned briefly at the end of the Second World War.

He became a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1924 and stayed with them for ten years before returning to Italy to become artistic director at the Teatro Reale in Rome.

During his career he helped the development of many singers, including Rosa Ponselle, Magda Olivero and Joan Sutherland.

Serafin’s most notable success was with Maria Callas, with whom he collaborated on many recordings. He is credited with helping the American-born singer achieve a major breakthrough in 1949 when he persuaded her to take over from the leading belcanto soprano Margeritha Carosio at the opening night of Bellini's I Puritani at La Fenice in Venice after Carosio was forced to withdraw through illness.

Callas protested that she was inadequately prepared but her performance received rave reviews, giving her the confidence to expand her repertoire.  Thereafter, success followed success.

The conductor was also responsible for reviving 19th century operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti and establishing them in the 20th century repertoire.

Serafin died in 1968 in Rome at the age of 89.

The bell tower of the Duomo and the
Palazzo Barbiani in Cavarzere

Travel tip:

Rottanova, where Serafin was born, is a small hamlet on the outskirts of Cavarzere, a comune situated about 35km south of Venice in the Veneto. Cavarzere dates back to before Roman times when it was a military outpost. It later became a refuge for people escaping from the barbarians after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Travel tip:

Teatro alla Scala, where Serafin conducted for so many years, is in Piazza della Scala in the centre of Milan across the road from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. La Scala has a fascinating museum that displays costumes and memorabilia from the history of opera. The entrance is in Largo Ghiringhelli, just off Piazza della Scala. It is open every day except the Italian Bank Holidays and a few days when it is closed in December. Opening hours are from 9.00 to 12.30 and 1.30 to 5.30pm.

HomeHome.30 to 5.30 pm.