PARMA - From Parma to Reggio Emilia, from Modena to Ravenna, from Forlì to Rimini on October 17th and 18th the "Open monasteries" event returns, an initiative of the Emilia Romagna Region in collaboration with the Episcopal Conference and the association of Walk, to discover over 30 sacred places along the Via Emilia. In addition to visits with art experts in places that are generally closed to the public, there are some events such as trekking along the pilgrim paths, meetings with the cloistered friars and nuns, organ concerts and medieval writing workshops . To participate in the event it is necessary to make a reservation (Percorsiiemiliaromagna.it/monasteri-aperti-2020) and comply with all the anticovid safety regulations. Here are some of the monasteries to discover and the most interesting initiatives to participate in.
In Parma it is possible to visit the monastic complex of San Giovanni Evangelista where university teachers will illustrate the history and artistic treasures of the sacred place, born around the year 1000.
For the occasion, you can also admire the cloisters, the library and the restoration of some frescoes.
The visits will last 45 minutes and there will also be an evening tour on Saturday.
On October 18 in the cathedral of San Donnino di Fidenza, in the heart of the Via Francigena in the province of Parma, you can attend an evening concert of medieval music with the Oktoechos Ensemble.
It will also be an opportunity to admire the sculptural facades of the church and to visit the rich museum of the Duomo.
The Palazzo Vescovile di Reggio Emilia will be open to the public with its artistic treasures, the historical archives and the precious museums of the Palazzo della Chiesa: the appointment is in the heart of the Emilian city and, accompanied by a guide, we will move between Palazzo dei Canonici and Episcopio, the Cathedral and the diocesan museum.
Also in the historic center you can visit the Basilica della Ghiara where a new lighting has made the splendid interiors, the frescoes of the high vaults and some masterpieces of painting that make the basilica magnificent, a pilgrimage destination more visible.
On the Reggio Apennines, you can enter the abbey of Marola, where the hermit Giovanni, councilor of Matilde di Canossa lived: the Benedictine monastery is located in Carpineti, 33 kilometers from Reggio Emilia, and is a wonderful place of peace, all to discover.
About fifty kilometers from here to the north you arrive at Campagnola, on the banks of the Po, where the abbey of the Holy Trinity will be opened for the occasion, a simple country church rich in history and atmosphere.
In the heart of Modena there are three special events scheduled in the millenary abbey of the Benedictine Fathers of San Pietro: a guided tour by an art historian from the University of Bologna, who will tell about the commissions ordered by the friars in the Renaissance;
a concert at 9 pm in collaboration with the "Amici dell'Argano Johann Sebastian Bach" association with the sixteenth-century pipe instrument;
Sunday afternoon a journey into art to discover the sixteenth-century sculptor Antonio Begarelli and his wooden statues in the abbey.
In Nonantola, in the province of Modena, during the guided visit to the abbey basilica of San Silvestro, founded in 752 by Sant'Anselmo, and to the Benedictine and Diocesan museum it is possible to participate in a medieval writing workshop.
The course teaches the basic techniques of the medieval manuscript code: the production of the parchment, the manufacture of the inks, the collation of the sheets, the binding of the booklets to form the code, the miniature and the writing with ink and quill.
The guided tour of the whole complex is scheduled on Saturday and Sunday and lasts three hours, but also on Saturday evening you can participate in a guided tour of the abbey's epigraphs.
This year Comacchio, in the province of Ferrara, celebrates the 400th anniversary of its patron saint, Santa Maria in Aula Regia: the sanctuary dedicated to her is located in a baroque church that can be reached by passing under a colonnade of 142 arches.
In the province of Ravenna, Brisighella, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, houses some places rich in art, such as the Collegiate Church of San Michele Arcangelo from 1700 and the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli with the Osservanza convent.
During the visit we will pass on the Via degli Asini, a suggestive medieval road.
On Sunday, however, a visit to the millenary and fascinating Pieve del Tho is scheduled with the crypt and archaeological finds.
In the province of Forlì, the medieval hermitage of Montepaolo will be open to visitors, the first residence of Saint Anthony of Padua when he arrived in Italy from Portugal, where he was born, in 1221. It is a sacred place on top of a hill in the woods , seven kilometers from Dovadola.
The great art historian Giorgio Vasari lived in a convent outside Rimini, in the abbey of Santa Maria Annunziata Nuova di Scolca, on the panoramic Covignano hill.
Here he painted the altarpiece depicting the Adoration of the Magi, found in the choir;
Saturday, from 10 to 12, it is possible to admire it in the company of the abbot.
Also here, on a hill overlooking the sea, is the sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, guarded by the friars of the convent who will guide on a double visit at 3.30 pm and 4.30 pm.
In the center of Rimini, however, you will enter the monastery of the Nativity of Mary where the Poor Clares live in the cloister, but for the occasion they will guide the visit.
In the hinterland, in Santarcangelo di Romagna, you can enter the convent of Saints Catherine and Barbara accompanied by the nuns who will tell you how to live in the cloister.
About ten kilometers away you arrive at Villa Verucchio where in the cloister of the Franciscan convent you can see the cypress planted by St. Francis, when in May 1213 he stopped on his way to La Verna.
You can also visit the convent of Santa Croce with the masterpieces of the fourteenth century in Rimini and, finally, in Pennabilli, a small village on top of the hills, you can spend a day among monasteries, sanctuaries and museums.
The stages include the ancient monastery of Sant'Antonio da Padova of the Augustinian nuns near the ancient walls of the Rocca dei Billi;
the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie and the Diocesan Museum of Montefeltro which collects works of art and objects of liturgical use from 400 to today.
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