Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Venue Confirmed: The Diocese of Evansville is going to perform at the Chiesa Santa Maria Goretti in Mestre on September 22

The beautiful gem you see on the picture is the Chiesa Santa Maria Goretti in Mestre. There, the travelers of the Diocese of Evansville will perform on September 22 on their Pilgrimage with Incantato Tours.
In 2010 the parish is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Inside there is a great Formentelli Organ, renewed just a few weeks ago.
Barthelemy Formentelli, born in France, is working and living in Italy. His first teacher for church music and keyboard was Marcel Thomas, Meaux Cathedral Master. When Formentelli was 14 years old, he started learning the Organ Builder Art. At the age of only 20, he restored the Dammarie Les Lys Organ. Today he is well known as a Master of Organ Art and Formentellis masterpieces are to find in many Italian churches.
Mestre is a town in Veneto, northern Italy, a part of the commune of Venice. The city is connected to Venice by a large rail and road bridge, called Ponte della Libertà (Freedom Bridge). Mestre is the largest city in Italy not to have the status of autonomous commune. The picture is from the official website of the church.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Facts about Vatican City


In September the members of the Diocese of Evansville are going to explore Vatican City with Incantato Tours. Here are some facts about this very special little 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.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Explore Tuscany with Incantato Tours

Tuscany is a region in Central Italy. It has an area of 22,990 square kilometres (8,880 sq mi) and a population of about 3.6 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its beautiful landscapes, its rich artistic legacy and vast influence on high culture. Tuscany is widely regarded as the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and has been home to some of the most influential people in history, such as Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci and Puccini. Due to this, the region has several museums, most of which (such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace) are found in Florence, but others in towns and smaller villages. Tuscany has a unique culinary tradition, and is famous for its wines (most famous of which are Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino). Six Tuscan localities have been designated World Heritage Sites: the historical center of Florence (1982), the historical center of Siena (1995), the square of the Cathedral of Pisa (1987), the historical center of San Gimignano (1990), the historical center of Pienza (1996) and the Val d'Orcia (2004). Furthermore, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves. This makes Tuscany and its capital city Florence very popular tourist destinations, attracting millions of tourists every year. Florence itself receives an average of 10 million tourists a year by placing the city as one of the most visited in the world.