Category Archives: History

Feast of St. Anne at Paradiso place

In Paradiso place, a town near Assisi, and close to the Park of Mount Subasio, in July, there is a festival whose origins are lost in the memory: the Feast of St. Anne.

It is thought to date back it to the seventeenth century. The writer Vittorio Falcinelli in the book “Per ville e castelli di Assisi” handed down an ancient legend about it. In a far July 26, some of the faithful of St. Anne who lived in Petrata (town near Paradiso), while on their way to the nearby celebration, Continue reading Feast of St. Anne at Paradiso place

July 10th, 2019

Feast of Pardon at the Porziuncola of Santa Maria degli Angeli

For over seven centuries the 1 and 2 August, in Santa Maria degli Angeli, it is celebrated the Feast of Pardon, one of the highlights of the year for the entire community of Assisi. Visiting the Porziuncola in these two days, the pilgrims can receive the gift of the plenary indulgence, the forgiveness of all their sins.

Tradition says that one night in 1216, St. Francis, as he was praying in the little church of the Portiuncula, saw above the altar Christ and the Virgin Mary, surrounded by angels. Continue reading Feast of Pardon at the Porziuncola of Santa Maria degli Angeli

July 2nd, 2019

St. Clare, the Patron Feast and Palio of Saint Rufino

August 11 is the anniversary of two important saints for the city of Assisi: St. Clare, female mirror of San Francesco and favorite sister of the Saint, and S. Rufino, the first bishop of Assisi, martyr, preacher, promoter of Christianity in Umbria and Patron citizen.

Of the many episodes in the life of Clare Offreducci, founder of the Poor Clares, in the folk tradition two of them remain etched in memory. The first is the liberation, with the intercession of God, of Assisi from the Saracen troops Continue reading St. Clare, the Patron Feast and Palio of Saint Rufino

July 2nd, 2019

Satriano Cavalcade from Assisi to Nocera Umbra

The Cavalcade of Satriano is one of the most characteristic manifestations of Mount Subasio.

The event was created in 1923, when the podestà Arnaldo Fortini established, together with other eminent colleagues as Gabriele D’Annunzio and Guglielmo Marconi, the formation of the “Company of the Knights of Satriano” to remember the last days of the life of St. Francis.
Continue reading Satriano Cavalcade from Assisi to Nocera Umbra

August 25th, 2017

Hispellum and the Roman era: gladiators, rites, pageants and banquets

Hispellum is an event that reminds an important part of the history of Spello, when in the fourth century A.D., under the reign of Constantine, the city experienced a moment of prestige, becoming the federal capital.

At that time, the communities of Umbria, although administered by the Roman Empire, maintained a strong sense of attachment to their traditions, preserving cults and rituals characteristic of their people. In the “Rescript of Constantine” Continue reading Hispellum and the Roman era: gladiators, rites, pageants and banquets

June 21st, 2019

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Patron Saint of Italy – October 4

The October 4 it’s celebrated St. Francis Patron of Italy and, in his hometown Assisi, it is a particularly felt recurrence.

It commemorates the death of one of the most beloved saints in the world, who took off everything to marry “Lady Poverty” and to live in imitation of Christ. Francis is one of the precursors of Italian literature with the Canticle of the Creatures, he is the protagonist of one of the most beautiful chants of Dante’s Paradise, and he has the merit of having saved the Catholicism Continue reading Feast of St. Francis of Assisi Patron Saint of Italy – October 4

September 20th, 2019

Blessing of the animals – Saint Anthony’s Dish

The Subasio is a land with a strong tradition in forestry and pastoral activities. It’s particularly felt here, as in all of Umbria, the devotion to Saint Anthony Abbot, hermits of Egyptian origin (251 – 357 AD) that the entire Christian civilization considers protector of domestic animals. Praying Saint Anthony helped prevent diseases of the beasts and, in all farming villages, it took place a big feast on the day of its recurrence January 17. Continue reading Blessing of the animals – Saint Anthony’s Dish

January 13th, 2020

Valentine’s Day, feast of lovers in Umbria

Saint Valentine, patron of lovers, was Umbrian and in Umbria this feast is deeply felt.

The present Valentine’s Day is inspired by the ancient Lupercali on February 15, the feast of the Roman period linked to the purification of the fields and fertility rites. In order for the year was favorable, that day, women and men, followers of God Lupercus, were chosen by lot to forming new couples, who had to live in intimacy for a whole year. The next year it took place a new draw, and it blessed new couples. Around Century V, the Pope annulled the pagan ceremony and he proclaimed, the day before the feast, a new festival in honor of boyfriends, lovers and betrothed, entrusting to St. Valentine, the saint of that day, their care and protection.

Continue reading Valentine’s Day, feast of lovers in Umbria
February 5th, 2020