This winter has been incredibly rainy. The dismal weather has encouraged the Tandem Spirits to spend more time closer to home. We did manage to venture out on a couple of nice days.
San Feliciano is the patron saint of Foligno. His feat day is celebrated on January 24th with Mass and a procession through town with a silver statue of the saint. In the past there was another procession that was held one week after the feast day, the Via Feliciano. This was a procession that started from the Cathedral of San Feliciano in the center of Foligno, wound its way to the church of Santa Maria in Campis and ended at the Church and Monastery of San Feliciano di Mormonzone in Sant’Eraclio.
This year, a group called Umbria Slow Life sponsored an urban hike following this route. We learned about it from our friend Pietro, who happens to be a medieval scholar who studies medieval graffiti. It was a beautiful day for a walk and we enjoyed listening to the leaders provide tidbits of information about Foligno.
The Church of Santa Maria in Campis
The church of Santa Maria in Campis is located just outside Foligno’s cemetery along the old via Flaminia, a Roman road. In all the years we’ve been here, we had not been to this church. What a surprise. It has a number of side alters with frescoes. Our friend Pietro spent some time showing us graffiti from pilgrims who stopped there on the way to Rome hundreds of years ago.
We continued on our way to San Feliciano in Mormonzone. This church is currently privately owned so we couldn’t go inside. It appears that renovations are being done.
On the walk back, we diverged from the group with Piero and our friend Simona to stop for a snack at Forno Santa Rita.
Lunch at Osteria Le Stelline
Last Sunday was also a sunny day, even if it was cold and a bit windy. We had lunch with Italian and English friends from the English language table we participate in. The restaurant was Osteria Le Stelline just outside of Montefalco. The food was very Umbrian, with appetizer plates with bruschetta, cheeses and various cured meats, tagliatelle with truffles, gnocchi in a sagrantino wine sauce, beef fillets. Everything was delicious.
The Santuario Madonna della Stella
After lunch we went to a nearby church, the Santuario Madonna della Stella. There was a priest and some elderly parishioners there saying the Rosary, so we didn’t stay long, but we did manage to snap a few photos. The church sits on the site of a chapel where the Virgin Mary appeared to a little boy from one of the frescos, which is now part of the altar in the church.
The Museum Complex of St. Francis - Montefalco
Our final stop for the day was to the center of Montefalco to the Museum Complex of St. Francis (Complesso Museale di San Francesco). We wanted to see a photography exhibit of works by Steve McCurry (remember the Afghan girl?) He has actually spent a lot of time in Umbra and this exhibit showcased photographs from around Umbria. It is a large and beautiful collection of images that show both special places and everyday life in our fair province.
The museum is connected to the former Church of San Francesco. We took some time to admire the Frescos, and our friend Piero looked for, and found some medieval graffiti on one of them.
Spring is coming. We’re looking forward to better weather and more excursions.
