Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Catholic Church”
A picture-postcard medieval village, Morano Calabro lies within the Pollino National Park in the very north of Calabria along the Basilicata border. Its tightly packed houses along a maze of lanes wrapped around a hill appear like a fairytale, often likened to a nativity scene, in Italian il Presepe del Pollino.
Calabria is particularly blessed with panoramas that take your breath away – mozzafiato, as they say in Italian. The Santuario di Santa Maria dell’Isola in Tropea is perhaps the most famous of them all. The particular combination of emerald-green water, white sand, blue sky and the little church on its rocky perch is irresistible.
An anchor in the midst of Calabria’s Sila Mountains, San Giovanni in Fiore gained its foothold with the establishment of an abbey and remains forever tied to its founder Gioacchino da Fiore. A visit to this mountain town, the Sila’s largest population center, blends the story of an extraordinary monk together with innumerable generations of hardworking inhabitants who followed.
This past week I happened to be in Reggio Calabria for the Procession of the Madonna. The festival is a constant for the city, not only in religious terms but with regard to families, neighbors, friends and between fellow Calabresi. As I followed the celebrations, I realized that the procession has also been a constant for me over the years …
Are you familiar with Mattia Preti, the Italian Baroque artist known as the Cavaliere Calabrese or the Calabrian Knight? The paintings of this important exponent of the Neapolitan School grace churches and museums around the world. His hometown in Calabria also boasts numerous of the artist’s masterworks, and a visit to Taverna opens a window on his long and noteworthy …
Every town has its legends, some from recent history and others reach back several historical periods to a time when the stories were passed down verbally. These accounts become part of the collective history of a place, a narrative that today’s generation often seeks to record and archive for the future. The story of the wooden ecclesiastics of the Catanzaro …
Although a ruin, the remains are a beautiful reminder of the great abbey that once was, an institution that nurtured the likes of Gioacchino da Fiore, the famous Italian theologian. The Abbazia di Santa Maria di Corazzo or the Corazzo Abbey lies in Calabria’s Sila Piccola, an atmospheric mountainous plateau in the Province of Catanzaro. My visit was greatly enhanced …
Growing up, I had a certain conception of Easter – the Easter bunny, colored eggs and the first wearing of a new spring dress, but there was also the Easter story and Easter Sunday in church, which always seemed like a very joyous occasion. When living in Italy, I had a number of opportunities in which I was able to experience …
Before visiting the Museo San Paolo housed in Reggio Calabria’s Palazzo della Cultura, I was under the impression that it was just the usual collection of a couple pieces of silver, a few religious paintings and an old frock. How many times have I paid the Euro and gone through a side door past a heavy velour curtain to view …
EARTHQUAKES, PLAGUES, WARS AND FAITH The devastation of the recent earthquake in Amatrice reminds me of the precariousness of life. The town had been preparing for its annual festival celebrating the world-renowned sauce that bears its name – the “amatriciana” would instead be celebrated all over the world. The region of Calabria is likewise no stranger to hardship, and in …