Rome & Assisi: Centres of Devotion

Summary

For millennia, people have travelled long distances to places which are sacred to them in order to obtain salvation, or in the hopes of having their prayers heard, or even in thanksgiving for prayers answered. These pilgrims have travelled to destinations either together or individually on long established routes, drawn to centres which help to define their existence or quantify their faith. This tour explores the qualities that make a holy space and how pilgrims have been drawn to them in different ways over time. As the city which held the relics of Saints Peter and Paul, the fathers of Christianity, Rome has always been a centre of pilgrimage, particularly with the advent of Islam and the increased difficulties of travelling to the Holy Land. The way in which this centre of Christianity has been a place of veneration, however, has changed over the years. While worship in the Paleo-Christian period was centred around the many catacombs which were repositories of relics, with the uncertainties of the 6^th century, pilgrimages began to be focused on churches within the Aurelian walls and, as a consequence, basilicas became grander. During the Carolingian Renaissance, many of the catacombs were emptied and the relics were deposited in newly aggrandised churches. This tour explores this evolution of Rome as a centre of pilgrimage, starting from the stunning catacombs, which contain some of the earliest examples of Christian art, to the beautiful early Christian churches aggrandised in the Carolingian period and, finally, to the monumental Papal Basilicas. In addition, the tour explores another centre of pilgrimage, Assisi, the home of St. Francis, whose revolutionary charisma has drawn pilgrims to his city since his death in the 1226. Here we will explore the Basilica of Saint Francis, beautified by Giotto and Cimabue, as well as the Porziuncula, where Francis founded his order.

Tour highlights:

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• Explore the stunning Catacombs of Priscilla and San Callisto, which contain some of the earliest Christian art
• Examine the ancient necropolis under the Basilica of St. Peter with its superbly preserved tombs
• Visit the exquisite Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, with its important Proto Renaissance frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto