Turismo Religioso - religious tourism in Italy

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Hello Everbody,

I wanted to begin to write some paragraphs about a theme I find today, may be useful if we want to focuse our attention on the motivations for a visit into our country of Italy and this argument is the religious tourism or as it is called in Italy Turismo Religioso. I live in Rome that is a main destination of the Christianity and so, maybe these following words may help you to enjoy better this specific kind of travel.

Italy from the religious point of view is a unique destination to plan and visit from the North to the South. Usually the main cities visited are Rome, Florence and Venice, but if you just read some other books or just drive around by car through Italy you will see and notice a large number of churches and a religious spirit among the Italians. If we stop on Italy's main tourist destinations of religion, we must consider first of all Rome with at least 6 million visitors, than San Giovanni Rotondo in Puglia (Padre Pio), Assisi (San Francesco d'Assisi), Loreto (Our Lady of Loreto), Pompeii (Our Lady of Pompeii), Padova (for St. Anthony of Padua).

Religious tourism may be defined as an instrument for peace and dialogue among civilizations. Even from the social point of view tourism bring always on two ways of influence, the first from the side of the tourist towards the people who welcome him as guest; and from the other side by the host country with all its chances of meeting the guest or tourist or travele, at a Bar, in a restaurant, in a shop, in a taxi car; both will came out richer if the experience was positive and in conseguence of this they will bring a positive message of that country when they come back home. So a journey is an occasion to gave the maximum valour for both parties.

The Italians are generous people and with a great sense of humanity, that has favored the presence of many saints who have distinguished themselves for their service and charity to the next. In a so difficult moment where the economic crisis seems to persist, to find the forces in the spirit of the religion and in the specific in the Christianity it may the way to live peaceful our everyday living.

A recent survey (surveys are often done and their result can be usefuel to inspirate us on certain matters) shows that the Italians are Catholics, but only a small percentage of the total, deepen religious arguments and so the majority of Italians do not reflect enough about the benefits that brings religion into their lives.

This does not surprise me too much since the Christianity is based on a simple word: "I Believe" something that seems to be easy to say but this awareness for a person would completely changes his attitude towards life. People who reflects deeply on the Christian belief and begin to believe in Jesus Christ, in the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit are completely different persons. This believe may be something that strucks you, you may fall to the ground on yours knees, as happened to St. Paul on his Damascus road. Today it is more common to see and hear religiouse practices carried out consistently, but it brings also to the question how much is their awarness of what they are doing. When you cross with a person who truly believe, you may stay astonished and amazed for his natural believing and you can say "this is one who believes" and who may becomes a lumen of light to other people.

Before your departure to Italy prepare yourself about the Christianity

So Before undertaking a journey for religious reasons, I suggest to prepare and to reflect on the religion and so on the Cristianesimo; in this way if the journey is adequately prepared it will be a wonderful and deep experience to repeat several times.

Below I give the result of my personal reflections of what I understood (so it's only a one personal point of view) and that can help you to get closer to the Christian religion.

The principles are very simple, even if some points may takes the whole life to internalize.

God is Love and Love is the standard by which everything moves. For Love God sent his son and gave him to the humanity so that we have an example to see and not only to read the words of the law. Jesus did everthing with Love and in practice it is manifested in mercy, charity, forgiveness, obedience to father and then his sacrifice to save the humanity for love. After his Resurrection Jesus sent the Holy Spirit later, again for love and it may be in people as the inner consciousness, consciousness of the heart of every man, even for a nonCatholic.

The basis of Christianity is based on the prayer. The Virgin Maria herself, insists on the prayer, saying, "Pray, pray, pray" Jesus himself prayed before every event and the Evangelium has left us only few prayers including the Lord's Prayer and the Magnificat since it always focused more the attention on the importance of a continuous prayer and not on the words used. A prayer done with the heart and with perseverance as the manifestation of love toward God, who can donate us for that a Grace, even if the sense of a prayer is not to achieve something but to feel and show love. With a constant prayer done with the heart you reach and increase your faith and bring you to a confidence in God and finally opens the door to the hope. The person who achieved this hope lives with more joy and will have no more any fear, and reflect his love to God and for the next one, specially for those who are in sufference. Following the lives of saints and of Jesus, prayers are done in silence and with heart; a regular fasting and the material and spiritual poverty may help to pray better.

To a prayer you need not so much words most of all counts the opening of your heart to God. An important prayer very dear to the Madonna (Virgin Mary) is the Rosary, it is a necklace of beads where you pray 1 Lord's Prayer 10 Hail Mary and at the end Glory Be, five times, meditating on an event of Jesus. That prayer begins with the Christian Creed.

Fundamental text is sure the Bible, divided into Old Testament, as a very nice expression of the relationship between man and God, and the New Testament that starts with the life of Jesus, easier but with a major impact, as the words of God has been manifested in the person of Jesus. Since I'm a devout of St. Francis of Assisi I hold dear to the book Franciscan Sources - Fonti Francescane", and I also have a Book of Novenas, that are prayers done throughout the year. Finally, I listen regularly to Radio Maria that is a radio program popular in Italy and available also in several countries around the world where you can pray in certain moments and listen and learn many things in the other houres.

Christianity is a religion based on love, the mercy and charity, but also addresses a very delicate and difficult argument to deal with: pain and suffering due to unpleasant events such as death, illness, or an unpleasant events. It 's a difficult argument to internalize; it is manifested in the simple word of the "FIAT", told by Holy Maria and as entrustment to God because he knows what is good for us and we may not always recognize it, sometimes it becomes clear years later. To Accept the Fiat, may be very difficult since you accept the suffering, not in the form of resignation, but accepting it and enduring it with patience, love, looking at the example of Jesus Christ. The main point is to give a sense on the sufference not to avoid it.

There is no guarantee that the problems are solved, the pain vanished, but Jesus guarantees that he gives us the strength to endure the suffering or also called as "the Cross - La Croce di Cristo".

The suffering can open the hearts of other good people, opening them to the fruit of mercy and charity. At the moment this is what I think it may be, even if it is also a mistery at all. The sense of suffering can not be understood unless you live it personally, but you can help people who suffer with a respectful silence and the concrete works.

After reading this paragraphs and in part have reflected on these topics, it will be more clearly and deeply to feel the places of pilgrimage in Italy, their churches where in the inner side are shown the lives of the saints as well as Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. The lives of the saints is the easiest way to understand the love of God, and towards what is called the Holiness, and it allow us to see and reach certain goals and to imitate the example of how they lived their lives. Their stories are wonderful, are staordinarie experiences, that could be reached only in a really believing in the love of God.

Visiting a church you have the opportunity to be part of an important moment for the Christians, the Holy Mass or to be more exactly the Eucharestia, in short terms the moment where Jesus, through the holy spirit, is closer to us. It 'a very sacred celebration that reminds to the last dinner when Jesus Christ prepares for his sacrifice, and makes clear that there is no greater love than to sacrifice his life for a friend.

If you are visiting Rome for a short vacancy (3 to 7 days)

Rome is sure one unforgettable place if you want to visit the churches; personally I prefer to visit small churches outside in regions like Umbria, the city of Assisi or around Rieti but visiting major operas may be imoressive (it is unforgettable to catch a wide photo from the distance of Piazza San Pietro and the church with above a blue blue sky). In Rome you can count hundreds of churches or sacred buildings that reflect a long history and the strong influence of Christianity over the city of Rome (until 1870 it was still called the reign of "Stato Pontificio" so less than 150 years ago).

Since a normal stay has a length of 3 nights till one week and a guest is planning to do several things in Rome I would sure suggest to take 2 days to visit at least these few ideas I’ve seen often:

a) Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (you can reach it at the Metro Stop A SAN GIOVANNI); it has empty spaces, beyond several other smaller churches; the majesty of the building is clear from the outside and from the inside; close to San Giovanni on the 1^st of May the Roman celebrate a famous national holiday “Festivity of the 1^st of May”; from this location you can even reach the Colosseo Area.

b) Santa Maria Maggiore: that is a nice great church, you can visit after San Giovanni Laterano, it has empty spaces and a big square, I was never inside but it always impresse me as church.

c) The Basilica of San Pietro (San Peter); the center of Catholic Christianity; a large big square where in any time hundred of people walk through, were they cath photos, take a rest, admire the building, the columns and the history that reflects from the surrounding buildings. To reach San Pietro (by Metro Stop at OTTAVIANO stop red line) you can choose to walk on the main street of via della Concilliazione (I got married there); on both sides there are several books shop and religious items shops and you will see a lot of religious people walking there. I often take a walk there, the spaces are good for a family and I often recommend a guest to choose these area that are better rated and from there you can easy reach Spanish Area, Trastevere and Navona area. There is also the Borgo Pio a quiet large street where you can take a rest. On Sunday you can listen to the Pope who usually speaks from the last windows on the right of the building facing on the square (even on each Wednesday he gave a message to the people); The people I see walking there are often happy and take relax, looking to the building or along the tiber. Even Castelsantangelo you can admire in his majesty, it's so wonderful how much history and religion is mixed together.

After you have seen the area the next step is sure the Church so the internal side; the silence and the feeling of sacred inside the church is the first impression you get, walking inside you can spend even a couple of houres (even visiting the Vatican Museum); don’t forget to go to the top of the church to take some good photos of Rome. The paints inside and sculpture are unique and you feel a great respect for everthing. Sure one entire day I would spend there and for lunch time there are also several restaurants in Vatican Area or even taken a nice rest in Borgo Pio Area.

d) Santuario del Divino Amore: this location is on the border of the east side of the city so consider it only if you like to go out of the center; that may be an unusual way to see the city but I suggest it, since if you take the route from the center, passing through the roman streets where common roman lives you may see also how the main people really live (the buildings, the shops the people themself) until you reach the Via Appia a famous ancient roman street that is very close to the Santuario del Divino Amore; in this way you can get a social view, a historical view and visit one famous roman church. In the first period it was only a small church in the countryside, while today more and more people come here to visit this church and even in the common speech it’s easy somebody say “Al Divino Amore”; Now since his importance grew a second much bigger church was built and several buses comes on the weekend from other cities of Italy. You can reach the places by car or by taxi or even by bus if you are smart with public transportations.

In addition to these 3 places I would not add one exactly places but I would let you free to see and visit other churches you may see along your stay in Rome, maybe while you have taken a lunch or you are on your way to the downtown to buy or do something; it’s simply and so wonderful how many churches appears even in small corners, and it may be so often to hear bell sounds throught the day.

Other nice places where to stay 5 minutes or catch a photo

If the journey as usually happens it has only few dasy here are the places where I would go, where I had good memories:

1. Piazza Venezia (Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II); this is a great and impressive building; I would at least take a photo ; so white, so big, so empty spaces;

2. Colosseo, Foro Romano and Monte Palatino: really good for ancient rome lovers;

3. A walk in the Isola Tiberina; a small island but so romantic in the late afternoon;

4. the Pantheon; in Navona Area a nice ice cream and of cours a good caffe in Via di Sant'Eustacchio

5. Fontana di Trevi and Trinità di Monti: a lovely route from the crowd of spanish sqaure to the woods at Trinità dei Monti

6. Piazza del Popolo and Villa Borghese; another good stop to feel Rome and take a rest, maybe walking through Villa Borghese Park (at the end you can reach even the Zoo); it may be a longer walk but for children if it's a sunny day I suggest it.

These may be few places I would add for a short stay in Rome; in this way you can include in your travel some or all of these places to feel the city

Ciao or as San Francesco said "Pace e Bene" - Peace and Well/Good.

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Photos

Engel
Engelsburg

Kirchen
Kirchen

Divino Amore
das Divino Amore

Sign of Religion
Under the Wall picture of Holly Mary

Pope
Sign of Influence of Christianity

Churches and Buildings
So often you can see churches and ancient or historical building around Rome

walking at the Divino Amore
Walk in the area of the Divino Amore

services at divino amore
At the Divino Amore there is also the chance to stay there for some days

landscape from Divino Amore
From the Divino Amore you can see the landscape or Roman Hills named Castelli Romani

Olive Trees
The area of Divino Amore is relaxing and the Olive Trees reinforce this mood