RELIGIOUS ITINERARIES HOTEL LA SIESTA
LANCIANO
Lanciano is a town and comune in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 36,304 inhabitants as of 2011.
The city is also known for the first recorded alleged Catholic Eucharistic Miracle.
The ancient Roman name of Lanciano was Anxanum, a city of the Frentani Italic tribe. The city is said to have been founded in 1181 BC by Solimus, a Trojan refugee arrived in Italy along with Aeneas. Legends aside, archaeological findings have shown that the area was settled from the 5th millennium BC.
According to tradition, Lanciano is also the birthplace of Longinus the Roman centurion who thrust his spear into Jesus' side during the Crucifixion: Lanciano in Italian means "of the Spear".
Among the main places of interest there is the Chiesa di San Francesco (1258), built over a pre-existing 7th-century church. The high altar houses the relics of the Eucharistic Miracle.
Source: Wikipedia
FOSSACESIA
Fossacesia is a city in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The town is located on a small hill on the left of the Sangro River's mouth, about 2 kilometres (1 mi) from the Adriatic Sea.
The main attraction of the neighbourhood is the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere. The town is home to the Romanesque church of San Silvestro, dating to the 11th century.
Source: Wikipedia
GUARDIAGRELE
Guardiagrele is a town and comune in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is in the foothills of the Maiella mountain at an elevation of around 576 metres (1,890 ft). Its population numbers about 10,000.
Captivated by the beauty of the panoramic views of the mountains and valleys of the Maiella visible from some points in the town, the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio nicknamed Guardiagrele 'la terrazza d'Abruzzo ("Abruzzo's terrace").
Guardiagrele is the seat of the Maiella National Park, and was part of the club "Borghi più belli d'Italia" (Most beautiful burghs in Italy).
Known throughout Abruzzo for its wrought-iron craft, copper craft and gold-work, Guardiagrele was the home of the great goldsmith and sculptor Nicola da Guardiagrele, who was born there in the late 14th century.
Source: Wikipedia
CASALBORDINO
Casalbordino is a typical village in the province of chieti famous for its sanctuary dedicate to the Virgin of the Miracles, whose origins are linked to the apparition of the Holy Virgin in 1576. The celebrations in her honour are the 10th and 11th of June.
In 2010 Pope Benedetto XVI gave to the Church the dignity of a minor Basilica. It preserves a library, founded in 1929 but opened to the public only in 2004: here there are 50.000 modern books and 5.000 ancient books.
THE WALK OF THOMAS THE APOSTLE
“The walk of Thomas the Apostle, whose relics are preserved from 1258 in the Cathedral in Ortona, is characterized by the holiness of the places and of the characters that it is possible to meet along the walk. It is a religious-cultural itinerary of about 450 km that joins faith and culture, art, nature, popular traditions and cooking, giving to the pilgrimage of the third Millennium a new meaning.”
The walk
The walk reaches among the others the city of:
- Vasto: well known above all because it preserves in the Santa Maria Maggiore Church a precious relic, a thorn from the Christ crown that the Holy Friday is covered by a white fluff.
- Monteodorisio: it is famous for its Madonna delle Grazie Sanctuary, built in 1895, that has original frescos in Liberty style.
- Casalbordino: it is known thanks to the Madonna dei Miracoli Sancturay; the Virgin Mary is celebrated every year on the 10th and 11th of June.
- Fossacesia: here you can find the San Giovanni in Venere Abbey, that overlooks on the stunning Venere Gulf.
- Lanciano: this is the city of the first Eucharistic Miracle in all the Christian history, that happened in the VIII century.
- Ortona: this is the last city of the walk, the city of Saint Thomas the Apostle, where are preserved his relic, that arrived here in 1258.
(fonte: www.camminoditommaso.it)
