Bologna, Italy Considering its relatively small size, the city of Bologna boasts a surprisingly large number of architecturally spectacular and historically important churches. Home to over a half-dozen basilicas, one of the largest numbers in any city outside of Rome itself, Bologna has been a major pilgrimage destination since the Middle Ages. For most of this period, … [Read more...]
ABBEY OF MONTE CASSINO
Monte Cassino, Italy Monte Cassino is considered by many to be the birthplace of monastacism in Western Europe. It was here in the 6th century that Benedict of Nursia founded the Benedictine Order, created the Benedictine Rule and established the first great monastery in Italy. Since its founding, the Abbey of Monte Cassino has grown into an immense affair, a masterpiece … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF ST. NICHOLAS
Bari, Italy Other than the fact that St. Nicholas’ body was moved here in the 11th century, Bari has virtually nothing to do with the great theologian. That said, the presence of the saint’s relics has prompted the city’s leaders to bequeath Bari with the nickname The City of Santa Claus, a claim challenged by St. Nicholas’ home cities of Patara and Myra in Turkey, not to … [Read more...]
LATERAN COMPLEX
Rome, Italy When most people think of the Papacy and the Church in Rome, first thoughts usually go to Vatican Hill which is now home to St. Peter’s Basilica and the vast complex of buildings, churches and palaces which make up Vatican City. But for the better part of 1,300 years it was not the Vatican Hill on Rome’s west side that was synonymous with the Church, but rather … [Read more...]
MILVIAN BRIDGE
Rome, Italy The City of Rome is overflowing with sites of Christian interest, from the Papal properties and the Vatican to the memorials and tombs of literally hundreds of Catholic saints. However, from an historical standpoint, there are few secular places in Rome quite as important to Christianity as the Ponte Milvio, or Milvian Bridge. It was here, on October 27, 312 … [Read more...]
ST. MARK’S BASILICA
Venice, Italy Thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated and clever Venetian merchantmen, the city of Venice came into possession of one of the worlds’s greatest relics in the 9th century. The body of Mark, one of most important early Christians and author of one of the four Gospels of the New Testament, is among the very few New Testament corpses that almost certainly … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF ST. PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALL
Rome, Italy The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall, so-called because of its location outside the old city walls of Rome, is one of the great churches of both Rome and Catholicism. Although overshadowed by St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican, it is nevertheless a beloved and popular pilgrimage destination. Aside from its antiquity, it is home to the grave of Paul, the … [Read more...]
CHURCH OF ST. PAUL’S SHIPWRECK
Valletta, Malta This tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean was the location of some of the adventures of the Apostle Paul as told in the Book of Acts. Paul visited the island sometime in the mid-1st century AD, and was instrumental in getting the local Christian community established. Much of the island’s Christian history is tied directly to Paul’s legacy, and … [Read more...]
ST. PETER’S BASILICA
Vatican City St. Peter’s Basilica is the great cathedral of the Vatican, the world’s smallest sovereign state, and the last surviving remnant of an immense Christian Empire that once spread to every corner of Europe. In the aftermath of the Islamic conquest of Jerusalem in the 7th century, the site of Peter’s martyrdom and burial became the most popular, or at least the … [Read more...]