Postcard from Castelpetroso

The Sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Addolorata stands right over the Castelpetroso Pass. She is considered the Patron of the State of Molise. Tradition tells that the Virgin Mary appeared to two young shepherds, Serafina and Bibiana, on March the 22th of 1888. The construction of the sanctuary started on 1890, but it was concluded only on 1975. 

Many pilgrims visit the Sanctuary each year.

A few kilometers down in the valley travelling southbound you can find a second attractor for a very different kind of "pilgrimage". Delizie del Molise is a bakery right aside the road on the left. They sell a fragrant bread made with natural yeast and with the addition of boiled potatoes, following the ancient local recipe. It is a fantastic bread which deserves a stop just to taste it. 

Postcard from Maniago

The small and elegant church of S. Mauro is the Duomo of Maniago in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia near Pordenone. The D'Attimis Palace and the ruins of the Castle are worth a visit too.

Maniago is very famous for his high quality knives, exported all over the world. It is a centuries old tradition, whose best results are showcased at the fascinating Knives Museum. You may spend hours inside there! Knives for historical movies are very often crafted in Maniago.

You can taste very good wine by the glass almost everywhere in Maniago... and you really should!

Postcard from Sauris

Sauris is a small touristic town in the Italian Alps (Friuli-Venezia-Giulia). Wonderful place and even better food: the Sauris smoked ham of Prosciuttificio Wolf is a delicacy renowned in all the world. 

Postcard from Sarsina

This is the main square of Sarsina, a small town on the mountains of Emilia-Romagna in Italy.

Sarsina is famous because Titus Maccius Plautus, the most important Latin playwriter, was born there. Every Summer there is an important theater festival.

You can visit also a small but delicious Roman museum and admire Lucio Cangini's modern artwork  in a few spots of the town.

Last but not least there is the Cathedral of St. Vicinio (in the pic on the left). Built in 997 A.C., it is one of the very few places authorized to hold exorcisms by the Catholic Church of Rome.

The Legend of Sisinnio

What I love the most in S. Clemente’s Basilica is the fresco about the legend of Sisinnio, otherwise known as the Second Miracle of S. Clemente. It dates back to XI century and you can admire it in the Lower Basilica. You already checked its floorplans here, did you?

It is not something that you would expect to find inside a church: its style is very dynamic and naive... funny, I may dare to say.

You can think about it like some educational comic book. This is quite an important point to remember when you visit ancient churches. Their paintings were not much intended to celebrate the Glory of God as much to teach to simple and ignorant people unable to read. To use modern language: common people were artist’s target not the local aristocracy or God Himself.

The story: we are at the end of the I century A.C. and Sisinnio was a praefectus in Rome, a civil official. Secretly S. Clemente managed to convert his wife Teodora to Christianity. Not only: the saint persuaded her into a chastity vow. You may imagine that Sisinnio could not explain it and he was not very happy about it! What would have you thought being in his shoes? He resolved to follow her with a few servants to surprise her with his lover. Imagine his shock when Teodora entered the underground catacombs and she finally reached the big hall where S. Clemente celebrated the Mass with many faithfuls. Sisinnio was furious. He ordered his servants to tie S. Clemente and to drag him to jail. But the Good Lord did not allow it and he made all of them blind instantly. So they got confused and tied a column instead of the Saint. Imagine again their frustration while they try to move “S. Clemente” away. This is the lowest of three scenes portrayed by the artist. If you observe it you can distinctly see Sisinnio shouting: “Traite, fili de puta”. Any Italian could easily understand it for “Pull, sons of a bitch!” 1,000 years later. Another one incites his fellows: “Albertel, trae” (“Pull, Little Albert”). A third one advise: “Carvoncel, falite dereto colo palo” (“Carboncel, leverage behind him with the pole”). It is worthwhile to notice that the dialogue could have been written by a Hollywood writer: the “bad guys” are dumb and speak the “vulgar” language typical of ignorant people at those times. The “hero” speaks a perfect and learned Latin: “Duritiam cordis vestri saxa trahere meruisti” (“You deserved to drag stones due to the unsensitivity of your hearts”).

I can’t help to smile thinking that the first evidence of Italian language is a “sons of a bitch” painted by an artist inside a church. I think it says a lot about Italy...

To be honest erudites state that the first Italian sentence is “Sao ke kelle terre pe kelli fini trenta anni li possette parte Sancti Benedicti”. It is the declaration of a witness during a trial in 960 AC. He declares that the Monastery of St. Benedict had been owning a certain land for 30 years. Reality is that you can’t tell 100% which one came first. I guess that erudites feel more comfortable talking about lawyers instead of sons of bitch at workshops...

You can find an acceptable photo of the fresco here.

Should I suggest a single spot to visit in Italy...

Should I suggest one single spot to visit in Italy, I’d say the Basilica of S. Clemente in Rome. No doubt. 

So it seems just fair to me to start my blog from there. 

The Basilica shows you the very essence of Rome and, by some extent, of Italy too. We spend our daily lifes surrounded by an environment made of infinite material and cultural layers, deeply blended together, each one of them reminding or teaching us a lesson. Nothing is ever cancelled in Rome. Everything is added in a continuous process of death and rebirth. The Basilica of S. Clemente is the perfect and most fascinating example of it. Its visit is a time travel through Rome’s history and deep in its womb. 

You start at ground level, in the proximity of Coliseum, visiting a magnificent church rich with artwork since 12th to 17th century: mosaics, choir, the wonderful fresco of Masolino. 

But when you reach its right wing, a few steps underground and you are suddenly in the 4th century A.C.. The Basilica has been built over a previous incarnation, destroyed by the Normans leaded by Robert Guiscard in 1084 A.C.. 

After visiting the Lower Basilica, a few more steps down and you discover that it is just another reincarnation: it took the place of the ancient Roman titulus, where the early Christians celebrated their first Masses. But they were not the first ones to worship their divinity here: a few more yards and you are introduced to the temple of the dead oriental god Mithra. 

Again, Mithra was not the first god to inhabit this holy place. We lost the name of the older one, but we can still hear her angry voice, mumbling her disdain for the outrage of being stifled in a narrow conduit to let the tourists roam safely. It is the voice of the Nymph inhabiting the little stream which still runs nowadays between the walls of the Roman mansion. The ancient small waterfall is no longer there, but the flow is still strong. 

Yet the Basilica showcases not only how gods came to Rome to die and leave their holy places to younger and stronger ones. Here you can find also the very first historical evidence of the death of Latin language and its rebirth in the new “vulgar” Italian. It is a fresco in the Lower Basilica and you will learn that the first italian sentence was: “Pull, sons of a bitch!”

There are so many fascinating stories about S. Clemente. They deserve many posts, which will come soon. 

Meanwhile, I hope that I made you curious enough to follow these links and learn something more about the Basilica: http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/, http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-san-clemente.htm.

Let's start!

What’s Tweetaly?

I have been so lucky to be born in Rome, one of the most wonderful cities in the world.

And I have been so lucky to work all around italian mountains for several years (I still do).

With about 3,000 years of heritage, enogastronomy and art all around you in a still beautiful environment, you have a lot to learn when you travel if you are curious.

And I am very curious...

Now it is time to share what I learned, blending together my passion for Italy with my curiosity about social media.

I consider Tweetaly both a professional experiment and a hobby at this moment.

Time will tell what it will grow into.

Meanwhile, follow me daily on Twitter or read this blog.

You’ll find tips, stories, links, reviews... whatever surfaces on my stream of consciousness about the places I visited. 

I hope that it will stimulate you to visit Italy or to taste its marvelous goodies. But I’d be happy enough just to provide a few minutes of relax every day.

So... let’s start!

P.S. “Tweetaly” stands for “Tweet” + “Italy”. But I guess that you figured it out by yourself already :-)

Disclaimer: my English is good enough, but far from perfect. I know it. So please forgive the occasional mistakes in the name of my passion to share my discoveries about Italy with everybody. I know also that my construction of the sentence  is not alike the one an American or English would choose. That's intended.  My purpose is to try to express my own italian culture through a different language. The Italian way of thinking is different from the Anglosaxon one. I think it is important to attempt to show that difference. Even if it may sound weird or funny at times :-)