From Rieti to Arezzo. The national attention of Franciscanism will have La Verna as its spiritual capital this year. But the institutions are also collaborating with each other so that the eight hundredth anniversary of the Franciscans is a single great moment for Italy.
“From Greccio to La Verna with Francis towards the Jubilee” it is the initiative that the national association City of Nativity Scenes proposes towards the eight hundredth anniversary of the stigmata as the date of 17 September approaches. The appointment is for Saturday 25 May in Arezzo in the basilica of Saint Dominic. Starting at 2.30 pm, the passage will be held in the place where Cimabue’s crucifix is contained. institutional of the witness on the anniversaries between Greccio and La Verna.
Delegations from the two countries led by their respective mayors will be present for the occasionEmiliano Fabi for Greccio And Giampaolo Tellini for Chiusi della Verna. The institutional importance is confirmed by the presence of the President of the Regional Council of Tuscany Antonio Mazzeo and the invitation to participate addressed to municipal administrations of the province of Arezzo.
“The figure of Saint Francis is more relevant than ever in offering us a sober lifestyle, attention to nature, but above all for his renewed invitation to dialogue and peace. Especially in this particular historical moment in which, in the words of Pope Francis, “the piecemeal third world war is a global conflict and the world is being crossed by a growing number of conflicts”. – Mazzeo explains. “The 800th Franciscan anniversaries are an opportunity to rediscover the places of Saint Francis in Italy, like a journey that unites Greccio, La Verna and Assisi, and then opens up to many other municipalities until it becomes an opportunity to rediscover the territories of Tuscany through new forms of sustainable tourism”.
And for world peace an appeal and prayer will be made during the afternoon.
This will be followed by a cultural moment that involves the capital and many towns in the province. The bishop of the Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro Msgr. Andrea Migliavacca will present Federico Andreini’s book “Saint Francis: iconography of the stigmata. Journey to the land of Arezzo”. In his note inside the volume the bishop explains how “starting from the sanctuary of La Verna, the signs of devotion and spirituality linked to the stigmata of Francis multiply and spread, marking spiritual places, expressions of art, popular prayer. The book is a useful tool for setting out on the trail of the memory of the stigmata of Saint Francis, finding depictions and representations that art, in its various expressions, has been able to collect and express. It will be a journey through Arezzo, Cortona and Biturgen to discover treasures of spirituality and memory of lived faith, becoming an incentive for the pilgrim or visitor to let themselves be touched by the testimony of Saint Francis and the strength of his wounds”.
The third moment is the presentation of the main events of the Francesco 4.0 festival which will take place from June to September in La Verna and organized by Città dei Presepi. Artistic, cultural, traditional and devotional initiatives will be proposed which will involve associations and institutions from all over Italy. Among the proposals aimed at groups and movements and those who want to have a pilgrimage experience, here is an itinerary in seven stages to reach the parish church of San Michele di Chiusi della Verna, up to the sanctuary.
Pilgrimage which will also involve the Misericordie and the volunteers who work there with a specific and specific day dedicated to it. For the artistic part, the Unione Cattolica Artisti Italiani will propose a series of exhibitions: the life of Saint Francis interpreted today, an exhibition on angels, a contemporary via crucis and an artistic study to tell today the link between Florence and La Verna. Among the most anticipated events is the representation of the donation of Mount Verna to San Francesco by Count Cattani, organized by the Pro Loco Verna, the exhibition of Easter nativity scenes and Jubilee nativity scenes.
The presence of Pietro Berti, responsible for religious tourism of Republic of San Marino will allow us to reconnect the Franciscan threads between the Adriatic and the province of Arezzo. A work already begun together with Città dei Presepi last Christmas and which is continuing. The Republic is also working to have Francis’ ways recognized as a European cultural itinerary.
But how will the “institutional witness” that will arrive in Arezzo and then in Verna be represented and which will be the sign of the Franciscan anniversaries in the country concerned?
This is the figure of Saint Francis made of double-sided mosaic, approximately two meters high, with opaque Venetian glass enamel tiles used for the robe and flesh and transparent with gold mosaic in the halo. A remarkable work that comes from Friuli Venezia Giulia and it is part of the Spilimbergo mosaic nativity scene (Pordenone). The artist is Alessandro Serena author of the cartoon sketches and many parts of the figures of the famous nativity scene. He created the Mosaic Nativity for the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican for Christmas 2023, the eight hundredth anniversary of the invention of the first nativity scene by Saint Francis.
