Mons. Gino Romanazzi
Regional Representative of the Episcopal Conference of the Apulia region
luigiromanazzi@virgilio.it
1)
From a socio-anthropological standpoint tourism is a
social activity
peculiar to Western
industrialized societies;
2)
Some ethnographers believe that tourism is a sort of
rite of passage
, a crucial moment of change and
renewal for those who practise it;
3)
Tourism symbolises the
quest for truth
, a sort of lay version of the quest for the sacred, the spiritual
journey dating back to the Middle Age;
4)
Tourism is mainly
a form of imperialism
speeding up the dissemination of imperialist anti-ecological
and consumeristic practices to the detriment of the natives, thus destroying their cultural eco-system
Tourism is an issue of the outmost interest for the volume of business it produces and the number of
people it involves; mass tourism is one of the main causes and effects of globalization and as such media
have given great attention to it!
Pilgrimages
CEI (1998)Il pellegrinaggio alle soglie del terzo millennio. «Venite, saliamo sul monte del Signore», Bologna: Ed. Dehoniane. Lavarini R. (1997)Il Pellegrinaggio cristiano. Genova: Marietti.
Mazza C. (1999)Santa è la via. Pellegrinaggio e vita cristiana, Bologna: EDB.
A
pilgrim
is a person
leaving usual
things
and
places
to start walking and
seeking places that are passageways
to the divine
. The pilgrim comes back
to the “places of memory” such as
tombs
of
martyrs,
places
where
supernatural things occurred to find a
door to Eternity, an anticipation of
heaven, a piece of sky.
Jerusalem, the Holy Sepulchre
Gargano Region, the holy grotto where St Michael appeared
Rome, St Peter’s Basilica
Religious tourism
is meant as a
kind of tourism aiming to visit
religious places such as shrines,
convents,
churches,
abbeys,
hermitages and holy places in
order to discover not only the
"
Genius Loci
", i.e. the religious
soul of the places but also their
cultural and artistic value.
Religious tourism
Religious tourism and the pilgrimage are two different realities,
although they may appear to be very similar
Carnival in Putignano - (BA) The procession of the so-called
“perdune”in Taranto
Gargano Region Fresco of the Madonna in the
internal atrium outside the grotto.
The traces of religious tourism in Apulia
The holy grotto where St Michele appeared Shrine dedicated to St Michele
Together with Rome, the Holy Land and St Michael’s in Normandy, the sanctuary of St Michael on Monte Gargano is one of the most important holy destinations in the Christian world.
Empiric documentation of
religious tourism
in
Apulia
can be found in the
places
where it is
implemented
. Apulian
artistic
and
historical heritage
can be
a tool to explain a religious, liturgical and
eucharistical phenomenon
but it can also be
a reality cultural tourism
will rely on.
Documentation of religious tourism in Apulia
In Apulia
cultural tourism
also means
religious tourism
and plays a key role in the National and regional
scenario.
Local culture is deeply rooted in the territory , in particular in the Gargano, in San Marco in Lamis, Monte
Sant’Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo.
Religious tourism in Apulia is at present an important cultural phenomenon witnessing the
evidence of living faith
.
Apulia as a land of faith
The presence of a great number of churches in Apulia
testifies to the striking religious and artistic cultural
heritage of the region!
Sanctuary of the Madonna di Stignano in San Marco in Lamis (FG), 1500
Sanctuary of the Madonna Incoronata in Foggia,1965
Sanctuary of St Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo (FG),
1956-1959
Sanctuary of St Matteo
in San Marco in Lamis (FG), ~ 1000
Sanctuaries in the Province of FOGGIA
Sanctuary of St Maria di Siponto in Manfredonia (FG), 1117
Sanctuary of St Pio
in San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), 1994-2004
Apulia as a land of faith
Sanctuary of St Maria dello Sterpeto in Barletta (BAT), 1977
Sanctuaries in the Province of BARI and Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT)
Sanctuary of Madonna del Pozzo in Capurso (BA), 1738-1746
Sanctuary dedicated to the Saints Cosma e Damiano in Bitonto (BA), 14thcentury
Sanctuaries in the Province of BRINDISI
Apulia as a land of faith
Sanctuary dedicated to St Oronzo in Ostuni (BR),
end of the 17thcentury
Sanctuary of St Maria del Belvedere in Carovigno (BR), 1500
Sanctuary of St Cosimo alla Macchia in Oria (BR), 9thcentury
Apulia as a land of faith
Sanctuary of St Maria della Grottella in Cigliano (LE),
end of the 16thcentury
Sanctuaries in the Province of LECCE
Sanctuary of Crocifisso della
Neo-Gothic Sanctuary of Madonna della Coltura in Parabita (LE),
14th century
Apulia as a land of faith
Sanctuary of St Maria Mutata in Grottaglie (TA), 17thcentury
Sanctuaries in the Province of TARANTO
Sanctuary of Madonna della Scala in Massafra (TA), 1735
Sanctuary of Mater Domini in Laterza (TA), 18thcentury
The BASILICAS and CATHEDRALS
in the province of FOGGIA
Cathedral of St Vergine Maria di Merino in Vieste (FG), 11thcentury.
Basilica of St Giovanni Battista in Foggia, 1714 - 1725
Basilica-Cathedral of Natività della Vergine Maria in Ascoli Satriano (FG), 1500
The BASILICAS and CATHEDRALS
in the province of BARI and BAT
Basilica of St Nicola in Bari, 1087-1197
Cathedral of St Nicola Pellegrino in Trani (BAT), 1179
Cathedral of St Maria Assunta in Ruvo (BA), 12th-13thcentury
Basilica-Cathedral of Maria SS. Assunta in Oria (BR), 1750
Cathedral of St Giovanni Battista in Brindisi, 1089-1143
Cathedral of Maria SS. Assunta in Ostuni (BR), 15thcentury
The BASILICAS and CATHEDRALS
in the province of BRINDISI
The BASILICAS and CATHEDRALS
in the province of LECCE
Basilica of St Croce in LECCE, 1549
Basilica of St Caterina di Alessandria in Galatina (LE), 14thcentury
The BASILICAS and CATHEDRALS
in the province of TARANTO
Basilica of St Martino in Martina Franca (TA), 1747-1763
Cathedral of St Cataldo in Taranto, 1071
The modern Gothic-style Cathedral (Concattedrale) of Gran Madre di Dio
Procession of the ‘Fracchie’ at San Marco in Lamis (FG)
The translation of St Nicola in Bari
The rites of the Holy Week in Taranto
ROCK SETTLEMENTS IN APULIA
St Nicola dei Greci
Rock dwellings are worth seeing
as an important part of the
artistic and historical heritage of
Apulia.
Rock
dwellings,
scattered all over the region,
testify
to
the
life,
language,
religion
and
culture
of
rural
communities as well as the role
played by the region in the
Middle age as a bridge between
Eastern and Western traditions.
Gravina of Mottola (TA)
CONCLUSIONS
Apulian artistic expressions are a unique blend of spirituality, art and culture.
Apulia has been a land of faith since the dawn of civilisation: Mount Gargano played a key
role in Christian devotion starting from the High Middle Age; later on with Lombard
domination, sanctuaries became the stopovers of a spiritual itinerary, crossed by the
pilgrims coming from Northern region to embark on a quest for the Holy land to find
forgiveness for their sins and save their souls.
Apulia can be defined as a Land rich in faith and religion. Cathedrals, basilicas, rock-hewn
churches and sanctuaries all of them testify to the artistic development influenced by
different powerful conquerors.
