Cortona is within walking distance of Le Celle, a monastery founded by St Francis of Assisi 800 years ago. We met some friends from Austin, Texas and decided to hike there one Sunday afternoon. Once we arrived at Le Celle, the peace, beauty and solitude was tangible. Soon after we had visited the small chapel outside the cell that St Francis stayed in, we began to see vehicles arriving in great numbers. We were already aware that there would be a 800 year celebration in the piazza that night but soon learned that a procession was forming up at Le Celle and then the people would be walking over the mountain to the Bascillica of Santa Marguerita and then descending to Cortona. At 3 pm we were starting to think about walking back to Cortona when I said I wished we could hitch a ride back. Like magic, my daughter caught the eye of a man who opened his van doors when she asked"A Cortona?" and off we went. 
At 6pm we joined the throngs of people who gathered to celebrate this very special occasion in the piazza. We couldn't understand the history that was being recounted in Italian by a most enthusiastic Friar but we enjoyed hearing the music as the pilgrims arrived and it was wonderful to people watch that evening. Here are a few of the people pictures I captured that night. People of all ages and walks of life were gathered and it was fascinating to meet some of them and just be part of small town life in Tuscany.
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grazie!
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki;
Comfort Spiral
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Oh wow that is one place I love to visit. Thanks for the photos at least I can look at what St. Francis monastery look like, really awesome!
ReplyDeleteMosaic Monday
A very interesting post. What a wonderful experience you and your daughter had. Nancy
ReplyDeleteNice mosaic :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely tour. What a beautiful place to visit. Wonderful photos, have a great week!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the look at Cortona and surrounding area.
ReplyDeleteI did enlarge your mosaic to get a better look, the shot of the mother with her little girl is priceless.
Maggie
Shelia, what wonderful memories from your Cortona trip. Thanks so much for taking us along! The shots are great! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHello Shelia,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post about celebration in piazza. It's always fascinating to learn about other people and cultures. The pictures are nice.
I also liked your previous post about the tradition of town folks gathering in the piazzas. When I went to Spain in 2008, I observed a similar tradition there.
Congratulations on winning that wonderful cooking book!
Have a great week!
People watching in such a fun gathering must have been most interesting. I'm loving these glimpses of your trip!
ReplyDeleteHi Sheila,
ReplyDeleteOnce again, a great post, how wonderful to travel that far and come back with such lovely stories of local events and photos that depict them so perfectly.
I love these post that you are doing.
What an interesting place to visit, thank you for doing them.
Hugs, Cindy
I am certainly enjoying your holiday Shelia, it is lovely to see Italy through your eyes.
ReplyDeleteWhat a very special event to have participated in. The pictures are beautiful and the stories are interesting. And to hitch a ride...now that's an adventure!
ReplyDeleteI loved the building carved into the slope of the hill! What a wonderful celebration for St. Francis Assisi. It looked very well attended by the towns people.
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely old village and still keeping their old traditions. There is nothing better than being in a real life celebration rather than being a tourist.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Such a celebration and you got to be a part of it all! I've loved this little travelogue through Italy. (You got in a van with a stranger....I don't know that I'd have been so brave. I understand it is a different environment there, though. How nice of him to take you and your daughter along with him.)
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