Spiritual Umbria

by mirko

Umbria is a region linked to religion and spirituality. With the advent of Christianity, the territory has become the crucial center of great saints, such as San Francesco, Santa Chiara, San Valentino, Santa Scolastica and Santa Rita da Cascia. Over time, Umbria has become the cradle of spiritual movements, which have helped to build celebratory places of great importance.
In the city of Todi, we can admire the Cathedral of the Annunziata, which acquired this shape following the earthquake of 1246. Among the works preserved, on the counter-façade, a Universal Judgment of the sixteenth century. of Ferraù di Faenza. 6 km from the city, stands the Sanctuary of the Merciful Love of Jesus, awarded the title of Basilica in 1982 by Pope John Paul II. On August 18, 1951, Mother Speranza Alhama di Gesù came to settle. Designed by the Madrid architect Giulio Lafuente, in 1965, it meant that the recurring element of the Sanctuary is water, thus allowing the sick to immerse themselves. An example of Umbrian Renaissance, is the Temple of Santa Maria della Consolazione, built between 1508 AD and 1607 AD
Gubbio houses the Church of Francesco, by the architect Fra'Bevignante, it was built where the residence of the Spadalonga family, friends of Francesco who hosted him when he left his father's house, was located. In the 500th century Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo, restored in the XNUMXth century, and where the “Ceri” are kept as well as the body of the patron saint of the city.
Umbria cannot be said to be visited if you do not stop in Assisi, the birthplace of San Francesco and Santa Chiara. To see the Basilica of Santa Chiara, where there is the crucifix that spoke to San Francesco in 1205 AD. Originally it was placed in the Church of San Damiano, where the saint hid from his father; in the "cappannuccia of mats in a corner of the house", he wrote the first draft of the "Canticle of the Creatures" and Santa Chiara from 1212 AD lived her monastic experience and founded the order of the Poor Clares. The day after the canonization of San Francesco, on 7 July 1228, the first stone was laid by Pope Gregory IX, for the construction of the Basilica of San Francesco, a place that is now recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. Next to it is the Bosco di San Francesco, of the FAI with 64 hectares and 800 years of history. Not far from the Basilica there is the Church of San Pietro whose first documents date back to the 1255th century. whose appearance today is the result of a heavy restructuring of 1226 AD Many other Franciscan places are also located outside the walls, such as the Eremo delle Carceri, where St. Francis and his followers retired in prayer and where he wrote "The rule of life in the hermitages "; while in Santa Maria degli Angeli we will find the Porziuncola where the Saint found refuge there after abandoning his wealth and where he died in XNUMX.
The birthplace of Saints Benedict and Scholastica is Norcia. The Basilica of San Benedetto, built between 1290 and 1338 on the pre-existing crypt, is one of the most important spiritual places in the Region. Named after St. Benedict, patron saint of Europe and father of Western monasticism.
To conclude, a visit to the Sanctuary of Santa Rita, a building born in the twentieth century. inside which the remains of the Saint are preserved.

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