(11 November, 2016) “Franciscan architecture in Italy: among hermitages and convents. Itineraries to discovery a ‘minor’ Italy among nature, art and history”. This is the title of the course offered by the Italian Cultural Institute of Munich in collaboration with Forum Italia e.V. from November 21 to December 12. Architect in the field of architectural restoration, Massimo De Angelis (Florence, 1956) will be leading the course. He collaborates with various Institutes and Universities in research programmes on history of architecture and in particular with the Antonianum Pontificial University of Rome. “Saint Francis and the creation of Mendicant Orderes in the 13th century, greatly shaped the history of the Middle Ages in Europe. In central Italy in particular, many sites tied to the spiritual experience of the Saint from Assisi and his first disciples were established: hermitages, convents and churches that were very important for cultural and religious history. They also became important exemplars of Italian art and culture”. The proposed itinerary develops through the historical and photographic description of some Franciscan sites. From Assisi, Valle Reatina, Verna, the great Medieval cities of Viterbo, Rieti, Orvieto and Rome where these religious structures miraculously remain standing in natural environments that are still uncontaminated or in the ancient urban fabric of Italian art cities.
