| Following St. Francis of Assisi This itinerary abounds with wonderful sceneries: here, in the area between the Valley and the surrounding heights, you will discover the power of love of nature of St. Francis of Assisi. Surrounded by ancients woods, there are four Franciscan shrines in the Reatina Valley. |
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| The tour starts from Rieti, the capital of
the Sabines, located on the slopes of Mount Terminillo, in the geographic
centre of Italy. Of the roman city, Reate, remain the ruins of the ancient bridge (II b.C.). The historic centre goes back to the medieval age: the Duomo, consecrated in 1220 with his Romanesque bell- tower, the Palazzo Vescovile with loggia erected in 1288 and Palazzo Vicentini, attributed to Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. Three miles far from Rieti is the Convent of Fonte Colombo, the Franciscan Sinai, one of the most important holy sites where, in 1223, St. Francis dictated the finale Rule of the Order received from Christ. The shrine complex, surrounded by an ancient ilex wood, consisting of the church consecrated in 1450, the S. Francis' hermitage and the small chapel dedicated to the Virgin, called the Maddalena, the Sacro Speco, a holy cave, where Francis had the vision of Christ. On the west Reatina Valley there is the Convent of Greccio, the Franciscan Bethlem: here, in 1223, Francis portrayed for the first time the nativity of Christ, the Live Nativity. You will visit the first monks' dormitory, the cell where Francis slept on the rock and the oratory of St. Bonaventura (1260). The next convent is Poggio Bustone, surrounded by an ilex forest, where Francis found two caves and prayed in penance. Two miles far from Rieti is the last shrine, the Convent of Foresta, founded in the XIII century in a place of solitude and prayer, consisting of the Church of St. Fabiano and the Church of S. Maria. Here, in a green forest, Francis composed the Song of the Creatures. |
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