Facts about Vatican City

Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, the capital city of Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of just over 800.

Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929. It is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main Episcopal see of 1.147 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe.

Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the passports issued are very few.

Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state, ruled by the bishop of Rome - the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergymen of various nationalities. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace. The Popes have resided in the area, that in 1929 became Vatican City, since the return from Avignon in 1377.

Rieti: the Italian belly button and its story.

The MSS groups' first home in Italy, 

Rieti, is a wonderful city to explore the history of Italy, from the Ancient times until nowadays. It has remarkable monuments and remains from all ages – specially from the Middle Ages -, as you will see also in some other Italian cities.But what you will not find in other cities – including Rome – is the traditional centre of Italy!Even when it is not geographically exact – and they don’t care – Rieti has been always known as the Italian Belly button – the Umbilicus Italiae, from the times of the ancient Romans.

Already after the Romans domination, in the late 3rd Century BC, the village of Rieti became a strategic point in the Italian road network, dominating the “salt way” (Vía Salaria) that still nowadays runs all the way to Rome. At those times, Via Salaria had linked Rome to the Adriatic Sea through the Apennines. Then, Rieti could be found in the writings of Virgil and Pliny the Elder, described as the centre of the Italian peninsula.

According to the ancient historians di Alicarnasso and Varrone, lake Paterno used to lie where Rieti is. The lake had an island in the middle, which they referred to as the belly button of Italy. The two small lakes you can find today (Laghi Reatini) are what is left after the Romans made a cut on a hill near Marmore. The cut created the tallest Italian waterfall, called Cascata delle Marmore.

Along the Middle Ages, Rieti kept the title of Italian Umbilicus, as they believed that the distance from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian Sea was 104 Italian miles, and Rieti was the centre of this way. As it was also in the exact centre between Augusta Praetorio (nowadays Aosta) and Cabo dell’Armi (in Calabria), whose distance was 620 miles.

Rieti has been an important gastaldate during Lombard domination, a country capital during the Franks, a favorite Papal seat, and finally a provincial capital, but it has never lost the title of Italian Centre.

In the 19th Century, a granite stone was situated in the middle of the Piazza San Rufo, which was called the centre of Italy since then:

Piazza San Rufo Centro d’Italia.

Some years later, the granite stone was substituted by another stone in which you could read: Medium Totius Italiae. But this inscribed stone was stolen! So on March 29th 1950 they settled a plaque with the words “Centre of Italy” in 20 different languages, in the Piazza San Rufo Centro d'Italia.

And finally in the year 2001, the city received as a present a monument nicknamed the “Caciotta” (see the "map" pic above), which you will be able to see in your first days in Rieti, belly button of Italy, Europe… Even today, it is still called the Umbilicus Italiae. They even have a facebook group!

By the way, Cacciota is a young, mild and small artisan cheese from the centre of Italy – specially from Tuscany – which can be found in different varieties: saffron, garlic, mustard… yummy!

References:

Rieti

http://www.apt.rieti.it/eng/index.php

http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/lazio/rieti.html

http://www.rietidascoprire.it/home/home.html

Umibilicus Italiae

http://www.italytraveller.com/en/i/divine-revelations

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/127242/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26923968303

Cacciota cheese:

http://www.emmeti.it/Cucina/Lazio/Prodotti/Lazio.PRO.114.uk.html

http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--33101/caciotta-cheese.asp

Assisi: An Inspiring Journey

Dear Travelers, we hope you are having a great New Year!

Today we would like to tell you about the city of Assisi. This is not simple task, but so enjoyable! Thinking of what we should choose to highlight, I found myself simply missing to be there: the light, the brilliance in the air, its cleanliness, the travel through the centuries, the deep peace, the soul, the Umbrian landscape… and also the good Umbrian gastronomy! I enjoy these every single time I go there, no matter if Assisi is so busy or quite empty, no matter if too sunny (is there a “too sunny”?) or too cloudy, if it was all scaffold due to the 1997 earthquakes, or if I run all the way uphill to get some quick pizza before running down… I always found myself very much in calm, and also quite moved in Assisi: you can just breath deep, look up and around, and smile as some inspiration arises.

Assisi is not a big city: has some 30.000 inhabitants, but it looks small. It elegantly lies on a hill, with its two 14^th century Forts (Rocca Maggiore and Rocca Minore – Large and Small Forts) perched upon the hilltop. You can visit the Rocca Maggiore Fort, and enjoy some wonderful views. The city has an extension of 71 sq.miles, and it all looks as a middle age village: from the old gates and along the main Via de San Francesco, Assisi neighbors have taken very good care of this medieval look and religious feeling.

Being the home of several saints, and Saint Francis place, most of the landmarks in Assisi are religious: For sure the Basilica of Saint Francis is the most important building for the history, art and the religion it comprises: started to be built right after Saint Francis death, it is a World Heritage Site, and it divides in the Lower Church, from the 13^th century – you can visit the crypt of Saint Francis - with a wonderful blue ceiling and Giotto frescoes - and the Upper Church, with works by Cavallini. Again, look at the ceilings! Nowadays, an international religious study centre is run at the Sacred Convent.

The Basilica lies on the left corner of the city as you usually approach it, and from there you can just walk uphill along the Via San Francesco – or any of the parallel streets – to reach to the high main square. Around the city, scanty traces of the Roman times can be seen: remains of the city walls, and in the Piazza del Comune – main square – you can find the so-called Temple of Minerva: with six Corinthian columns of travertine, it was erected by Gaius and Titus Caesius in the 1st century B.C.. Now it is converted into a church.

The square is a nice meeting point where almost all streets converge. Around by the main streets you can do some nice shopping for small handicrafts and local specialties. You can also sit down and relax, knowing that beneath your feet lies the ancient Roman Forum of the Asisium Roman city, the place where people used to meet 2000 years ago keeps being the same! You can visit it form the Museo Civico, but some shopkeepers now open their basement for visitors.

Other highlights in Assisi are the Basilica di Santa Chiara, the cathedral of San Rufino (Duomo), and we of course cannot forget about the very typical pasta called strangozzi, and the famous black truffles from Norcia. As you can see, there are all kinds of inspiration in Assisi!

References and pictures are taken from:

http://www.assisi.world-guides.com/

http://www.assisionline.com/assisi_world_heritage.html

http://www.guideurope.eu/web/es/assisi/cucina.html

http://www.nickbooth.id.au/Pages/Norcia.html

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a Wonderful New Year!!

Dear friends, artists and family,

We wish you warm and fulfilling holidays, and the most wonderful new year in 2012!

We would love to accompany you during these holidays with the music of the Svenska Kammarkören, winner of the 2011 European Grand Prix for Choral Singing, held in Tolosa (Spain). Sweden and its choral ensembles are one of the top winners of this important prize. May their voices inspire you, make you happy and move these dates! We hope you enjoy it!

We look forward to make you happy in this coming 2012!!

Best wishes,

Incantato Team

Welcome to Italy!

Italy is located partly on the European Continent and partly on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary, with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within the Italian Peninsula, and Campione d'Italia is an Italian enclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers 301,338 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.2 million inhabitants, it is the sixth most populous country in Europe, and the twenty-third most populous in the world.

The land known as Italy today has been the cradle of European cultures and people, such as the Etruscans and the Romans. Italy's capital, Rome, was for centuries the political centre of Western civilization, as the capital of the Roman Empire. After the Roman Empires decline, Italy would endure numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Normans and later, the Byzantines, among others. Centuries later, Italy would become the birthplace of the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.

Through much of its post-Roman history, Italy was fragmented into numerous kingdoms and city-states (such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Duchy of Milan), but was unified in 1861, a tumultuous period in history known as the "Risorgimento". In the late 19th century, through World War I, and to World War II, Italy possessed a colonial empire, which extended its rule to Libya, Eritrea, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopia, Albania, Rhodes, the Dodecanese and a concession in Tianjin, China.

Modern Italy is a democratic republic and the world's eighteenth most developed country, with the eighth or tenth highest quality of life index rating in the world. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Italy is also a member of the G8 and G20. It is a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, the Council of Europe, and the Western European Union as well. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power, alongside the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia. Italy has been classified in a study, measuring hard power, as being the eleventh greatest worldwide national power. The country has a high public education level, high labor force, is a globalized nation and also has 2009's sixth best international reputation. 

Italy also has the world's nineteenth highest life expectancy and the world's second best healthcare system. It is the world's fifth most visited country, with over 43.7 million international arrivals and boasts a long tradition with several achievements in the arts, science and technology, including the world's highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to date.

Incantato Impressions: Culinary Italy

Visit Monte Cassino

Monte Cassino is a rocky mountain approximately 80 miles southeast of Rome. Saint Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery here, the source and foundation of the Benedictine Order, in 529. The monastery stands as one of the few territorial abbeys remaining within the Catholic Church.

According Gregory the Great’s biography of Saint Benedict, the monastery was constructed on an older pagan sight, a temple of Apollo that originally crowned the hill. The biography claims that Benedict’s first act was to smash the sculpture of Apollo and destroy the pagan altar. He then reused the temple, dedicating it to Saint Martin, and built a new chapel which he dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Once established at Monte Cassino, Benedict never left. There he penned the Benedictine Rule, which ultimately became the founding principle of western monasticism. Monte Cassino became the model for future Benedictine developments throughout the world. 

Unfortunately the Abbey has fallen target to numerous military insurgencies throughout the years, including the infamous 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino. On February 15, 1944, the Abbey was almost completely destroyed by Allied air-raids after being mistakenly identified as a German stronghold. In fact, the Abbey was being used as a refuge for women and children attempting to shield themselves from the war. The Abbey was rebuilt after the war, financed by the Italian State, and was reconsecrated by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

Incantato Impressions: Rome

Rome: City Facts

• Rome's early history is shrouded in legend. According to Roman tradition, the city was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on 21 April 753 BC.

• Due to this centrality on many levels, the city has been nicknamed "Caput Mundi" (Latin for "Capital of the World") and "The Eternal City".

• Its rich artistic heritage and vast amount of ancient, notably architectural and archaeological sites, contribute to the city's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

• Rome is the third-most-visited tourist destination in the European Union.

• The city is an important worldwide hub of the cinematic and filming industry, home to the important and large Cinecittà Studios, which saw the filming of several internationally acclaimed movies as well as television programs.

• The Rome metropolitan area has a GDP of €109.4 billion (US$ 149.14), and according to a 2008 study, the city is the world's 35th richest city by purchasing power.

• The city hosted the 1960 Olympic Games and is also an official candidate for the 2020 Olympic Games.

• Rome is an important center for music, and it has an intense musical scene, including several prestigious music conservatories and theaters. It hosts the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (founded in 1585), for which new concert halls have been built in the new Parco della Musica, one of the largest musical venues in the world.

• A Jewish influence in the Italian dishes can be seen, as the Jewish people have lived in Rome since the 1st century BCE. Examples of these dishes include "Saltimbocca alla Romana" - a veal cutlet, Roman-style; topped with raw ham and sage and simmered with white wine and butter - and "Carciofi alla giudia" - artichokes fried in olive oil, typical of Roman Jewish cooking.