“In His Image” discovering Lecce

On Saturday 22 June at 4.00 pm on Rai1, the journey of “A Sua Immagine”, Rai Cultura’s religious in-depth program, continues, to discover the most beautiful places rich in tradition, history and spirituality in Italy.
The protagonist of this episode is Lecce, one of the Italian Baroque capitals. The common thread will be the patron saint: Sant’Oronzo.
Lorena Bianchetti will begin her journey from Porta Napoli and then admire the embroidery carved into the stone of the extraordinary Basilica of Santa Croce, where a relic of the wood of the crucifixion is kept. It will then be the turn of the art of ancient and ecclesiastical embroidery, of the Cathedral, of the Bell Tower to reach Piazza Sant’Oronzo where, a few months ago, the statue of the saint has returned to shine after an important restoration. And again the art of papier-mâché with the correspondent Paolo Balduzzi, the art of ceramics remodeled in a pop key with the medallions of Oronzo Urso, the pizzica in the frame of Palazzo Vernazza, the remains of the Roman theater discovered, in 1929, behind of the church of the Poor Clares. Among the gastronomic traditions, born in a religious context, we will listen to the story of the lamb and the almond paste Easter fish made, with a 300-year-old recipe, by the Benedictine nuns of the city. Finally, in the center of Piazza del Duomo, we will meet a true Lecce native: Lele, guitarist of Negramaro, accompanied by his wife Clio. A moment of friendship and sharing in the most important place of Lecce spirituality.
The summer cycle of “The reasons for hope” conducted by Don Marco Pozza also continues, for the commentary on the Gospel of Ordinary Time. The third episode of “The reasons for hope” moves east of Asunción, to the Circuito de Oro, characterized by a series of small splendid towns such as Luque, known not only for its goldsmith’s art but also for its devotion to the Virgen del Rosario, tradition brought by the Franciscans in the second half of the 18th century. Typical dances, the Paraguayan polka, performed by the Repubblica Saraki artistic company, will make us enjoy the beauty and harmony of the dance and their typical ñandutí costumes which in Guaranì means spider’s web. Lake Ypacaraí is the place of inspiration for the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of “The Little Prince” and the ideal setting for commenting, by boat, on the Gospel of Mark which narrates the episode of the rough waters of the sea of Galilee in storm.