Tag: Via Francigena
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The high towers of the town of San Gimignano
In Italian mid-13th century communes, the number and height of towers were a good indicator of the wealth of the place. In fact, although we could think of them as mere castellated defensive structures, they became from a certain moment on the prerogative of noble families. Basically, the tower-house was conceived, a housing type exclusive…
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Fidenza Cathedral and the Passio of Saint Domninus
Bibles of stones, sculpture manuscripts, tales and figures came to life from the hands of skilled Romanesque stonemasons at Fidenza Cathedral of Saint Domninus. Wise magisters whose power of symbolic knowledge made it possible to transform imagination into real form. But also humble people of faith who carved the stone giving it deep and unchanging…
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The village of Monteriggioni, story of a betrayal
An unconquerable, impenetrable fortification, so well perched that no one ever could conquer it with weapons. Along the wooded paths of the Via Francigena, near the glorious city of Siena, is the village of Monteriggioni. The last bastion of an ancient and heroic resistance, it lies on the verdant hills of Tuscany hinterland. A famous…
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The abbey of Saint Antimo, on the way to light
The abbey of Saint Antimo is reachable by following a straight path, which stretches slowly between the slopes of verdant hills, adorned with centuries-old olive and cypress trees, and expanses of green vineyards. These are the noble Brunello crops that spread out in the Montalcino sun, as in Castelnuovo dell’Abate. But the visitor’s path also…
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Saint Michael’s Abbey and the Portal of the Zodiac
On the summit of Mount Pirchiriano, like an ancient guardian protecting the valley, stands the marvellous Saint Michael’s Abbey. It is an ancient and admirable place of faith, towering 962 metres above sea level, almost seems to reach towards the sky: it can only be accessed by a steep climb. The ascent is a metaphorical…
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The town of San Quirico and the spiritual struggle of a pilgrim
The town of San Quirico stands out in the hills that mark the boundary between the Orcia and Asso valleys in Tuscany. These lands, shaped by verdant landscapes, still inspire suggestions of a distant and evocative past. There were echoes there of chivalric deeds, stonemasons at work, pilgrims dragging their weary steps over dusty paths,…
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The Knights of the Tau Cross in Altopascio
Along the Tuscan stretch of the Via Francigena, the ancient route that led pilgrims from France to Jerusalem, lies the beautiful town of Altopascio. Here, before 1084, stood the Spedale “edificatus in locus et finibus ubi dicitur Teupascio“. Such was in fact the structure used for the sustenance and care of the wayfarers who traveled…
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Lucca Cathedral, an extraordinary labyrinth of mysteries
During the Middle Ages, Lucca was a city with a great tradition of worship, located in the heart of the Via Francigena. Pilgrims on their way to Rome stopped there for refreshment and to pray at the presence of the Holy Face. This is a wooden crucifix that tradition says Nicodemus carved by divine inspiration.…