© Copyright 2015

Istituto Paritario I.T.E. Amministrazione, Finanza e Marketing “Pitagora College”

Phone/Fax: 0882.602933 Mobile Phone: 333 8057328

Web Site: www.pitagoracollege.it

Via Antonio Ligabue, 24 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo (FG)

Italy

This informative brochure was carried out by the classes V A and V B in cooperation with the english teachers, Prof.ssa Coco Graziana and Prof.ssa La Porta Filomena. All rights reserved.

Comenius Project 2013-2015

“The Heritage of Cultures and Traditions in Pluralistic Society– Religious Traditions”

23-28 March

Gargano, a land to discover

WELCOME

To tell the story of Gargano and its traditions means describing the story of a land full of charm, faith, tastes and odors. It is a beating heart, a me-diterranean chest rich in treasures to discover, therefore is one of those places that you just have to visit at least once in your lifetime. In this land there are a lot of beautiful and different places to admire and discover, such as the beauties of wild nature and a marvellous landscape. You can also know a lot of popular traditions and a great artistic, historical and archaeological heritage. That’s why we are honored to introduce our earth and we are very happy to see everyone once again. You are not only our foreign colleagues in this long adventure, we consider you our friends! The experience that we will do this week is very important. I think there are a lot of advantages in this Comenius Exchange Program, it helps stu-dents achieve their potential through integration. It helps broaden their international horizons through interaction with their foreign partner speak-ing the most spoken language in the world: English. Students can learn about another culture, improve their language skills, gain experience for the future and look at their studies with a new perspective. It is an intellectual and personal growth and maturity through their hands-on in another culture: living as their host families live, seeing the differences during meal-time, seeing the differences on how other stu-dents study and what other schools have to offer, living other everyday activities are great opportunities. Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the fact that through this ex-change the students aren't the only one who benefit. Coordinators, col-leagues, and institutions also gain global leadership skills and experience by actively participating in and interacting with the international school network. We hope that this will be an extraordinary and endearing experience for everyone. We hope that when you return to your hometowns you will bring back a little bit of Italy and of this wonderful land with you and cherish all the moments you have experienced with your host families, Italian professors and your Italian friends. Welcome to Gargano and to Pitagora College.

The headmaster Mr. Donato Rispoli

Local Products

A herd of Podoliche cows grazing in the Gargano area is a show which cannot be forgotten. With their milk you can produce excellent cheese, including Caciocavallo Podoli-co. But Podoliche cows produce only a small quantity of milk.

It is probably the most famous kind of bread of Gargano: it is characte-rized by big rounds (with a diameter of 30 - 50 cm and a weight of 5, 6 kilos) which, according to a local tradition, can be found hanging out of the town bakeries. The bread is also the main ingredient for many thick soups like pancotto, a poor

but very tasty dish with olive-oil, potatoes and wild green vegetables. Orecchiette is the most common name for the characteristic pasta of Apulia. Once it was only home-made pasta with water, salt, and durum wheat bran. Orecchiette are shell-shaped. Inste-ad the Cicatelli is a short rolled pasta.

If you believed that the famous liqueur “Lemoncello” was ma-de in Naples, you are mista-ken: it was created between the citrus orchards of Gargano and Sicily. And if you are fond of wine, you have a wide choice: be-sides the classical d.o.c. you can find many others in each town of the province, including

sparkling wine.

Foresta Umbra, the green lung It is impossibile not to visit the Gargano heart, that characterizes, together with the sea, the most magical promontory in the mediterranean area. The

Foresta Umbra is the green lung of Pu-glia, the place where biological differen-ces are protected since 1800. It is not to be forgotten that the Gargano, even thought it represents the 0,7 per cent of the national territory, keeps the 40 per cent of the entire italian flora and the 70 per cent of birds in the Peninsula. Someone says that the name come f r o m o l d U m -

brian people who lived there, someone else says: “Umbra” because most of it is in the “ombra” shadow for very thick ve-getation. From a naturalistic point of view, the Foresta Umbra is characterized by many typical animals species: roe-bucks, deer, hedgeogs, wild boars, dormice etc. Trees are however the kings of the forest. The oldest beech is 700 years

old, 18 metres tall. Among the flowers, pay attention to the precious and unique Gargano wild orchids and to the holly and to the jasmine. About birds we have several woodpeckers: major and minor red woodpe-cker, mid red woodpecker and very rare woodpecker with whi-te back, who is only between oldest and most mature beech trees where it can pecks bet-ter.

Gargano, a sheer mountain protrudes to the sea Situated in Puglia, or the Apulia region, the Gargano Promontory juts out into the Adriatic Sea, and is sometimes called the spur on the heel of Italy’s boot. Much of Gargano is actually part of a 30,000-acre na-tional park. From a biological point of view, the Gargano promontory is actually an island, divided from the italian peninsula by the plain Tavo-liere delle Puglie. It is rich in karst structures like caves and dolines. While in the past the promontory was entirely covered with forests, now they represent only the 15% of its original surface area: the most important woodland in the park is Foresta Umbra that con-tains some of the country’s oldest trees. The area is filled with a mix of pine forest, green scrub and sea cliffs, and the 300 varieties of orchids make for lightly perfumed air. Moreover, Gargano has nearly 110 miles of shoreline with hun-dreds of sandy beaches, many of them all but unused. The coast surrounding the promontory seems permanently bathed in a pink-hued, pearly light, providing a painterly contrast to the sea, which softens from intense to powder blue as the evening draws in. It's one of Italy's most beautiful areas, encompassing white limestone cliffs, fairy-tale grottoes, sparkling sea, ancient forests, rare orchids and tangled, fragrant maquis. It is possible to see hills, shores, caves, characteristic little town, which are located on mountain or overlook the wonderful sea. The Gargano with its sacred routes is a cradle of culture, history and faith. From the V century, when the Archangel appeared in the Monte Gargano Holy Cave, the promontory is still at the centre if the world. The place is an obliged passage for Catholics. The Via Sacra Langobardorum and the Via Francigena are the sacred route that pilgrims would take to reach the most important sanctuary in the Middle Ages, Saint Michael’s cave in Monte Sant’Angelo. These roads still are a melting pot of people, a bridge between different cultures. So the Provence of Foggia is a land rich in colours, such as the golden wheat, the blue sea, the green olives, the red tomatoes, the white sa-line. You can discover its history through landscape: fields, hills, sanc-tuaries, castles, sea and forests.

San Giovanni Rotondo, place of prayer Around Monte Calvo, the highest mount of the Gargano, in a wide valley at 600 metres on the sea level, lays the city San Giovanni Rotondo. Once it was a simple agricultural suburb, todat is a destination of numberless religious pilgrimages. The name “Rotondo” derives from the round shape of the smail temple which goes back to the III century B.C. and it was consacrated to the pagan god Giano. Afterwards it was transformed into a Church and consacrated to Giovanni Battista by the Byzantines. According to the tradition, San Gio-vanni Rotondo was founded around the year 1000. Subsequently, the Emperor Frederick II of Swabia forti-fied the suburb surrounding it with walls and towers. Then, San Giovanni Rotondo was dominated by the Aragonese and in the 16th century it was the center of the struggle between Spain and France for dominance in Italy. There are different churchs, such as San Giuseppe Artigiano or San Nico-la, but the most important is the church of Sant’Onofrio dated back to 1200 with its gothic facade and two lions at the base of the portal. Today, the city is well known all over the world for Padre Pio, the Friar from Pietrelcina proclamated a saint on 16th of June 2002. He arrived to the little convent of the Capuchin 1916 where he stayed until his death on

23rd of September 1968. The impressive Via Crucis dedicated to him was ma-de by the scupltor Messina along the side of the mountain near the hospi-tal “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”, a work wan-ted by Padre Pio. The re-mains of San Pio lay in the Church of Santa Maria del-le Grazie whose first infor-mation go back to 1540.

Isole Tremiti, a pristine pearl

About 10 sea miles from the cosat there are Tremiti islands, a group of three small islands: San Domino, San Nicola and Caprara. They can be reached from Manfredonia, Peschici, Rodi Garganico, Termoli and Vasto. The beauty of these Islands has always benn known, as shown legends and poems dedicated to these places. The name may cames from the “shaking” of the very frequent ear-thquakes. San Nicola and San Domi-no are the isles living cen-tres. Human present is testified since the neolithic age. In the classical age they were called the

“Diomedee isles” celebrated by greek and roman poets. Accor-ding to the legend, here the greek hero Diomed arrived af-ter been offended by his wife, when he returned from the tro-yan war. The hero tomb is said to be here, protected by his friends who became birds (Avis Diomedee) and whose note sounds like crying. The origins o f

Church of Santa Maria delle Tremiti is in a crape of the IV century, which was rebuilt in 1054. The island of San Domino was called the “the paradise orchard” because is characteri-zed by luxurious pine trees and mediterrane-an vegetation; on its coast are extraordinary beaches and little coves like Punta di Pigno and Punta dell’Elefante. From 1989 the Tremiti isles are marine natural reserve. On 3rd october 1998 a Padre Pio’s statue, built by Domenico Norcia, was located to a depth of four metres near scoglietti area in Ca-prara.

Vieste, the capital of Gargano Located on the east coast, Vieste is well known as seaside resort. Its orin-gins maybe attibuted to the ancient town of Apeneste. It was subject to periodic incursions by Turks in 1477. Now, it is one of the most modern town of Gargano and its main activities are based on tourism, fishing, trading and farming and it is also an important seaport. Here you can admire the re-mains of the medieval village, which lies on a rocky promon-tory, with narrow streets and white houses.

On the highest part of the town there is the castle built by Fredrick II and the Cathedral, dated back to the XI century. A short distance there is the Piazzetta Ripe, little square in which you can see a Trabucco which is a wooden building used by fishers. You can admire a lot of caves, bays (Vignanotica, Baia dei Campi, Baia

Gattarella). Vieste is characterized by an attractive variation of sceneries: a long coast with a large beaches, the seaside with caves and cliffs, its surronded woods and white stack Pizzomunno which is the symbol of the town. According to a legend, Pizzomunno, a local young man was in love with Cristalda, the daughter of marine gods, and was turned into a rock by her parents. Every hundred years, during a moonlit night, Pizzomunno looks himself again to embrace a-gain his lover. Between Peschici and Vieste, among the caves, we see the Grotta of San Nicola, Grotta del Turco and Grotta dell’Acqua; after passing Vieste, we find the Grotta dei Marmi and Grotta del Serpente.

Instead the new monumental Church was projected by the famous ar-chitect Renzo Piano. In San Giovanni Roton-do t here are a lot of craftsmen, who make a great variety of statues, crucifixes, pictures, bio-graphical books related to Padre Pio’s life. Today, San Giovanni Rotondo is the second most visited shrine in the world with approximately 7 million annual visitors.

San Marco in Lamis, the land of the sacred fire

Located along the Holy Way, San Marco in Lamis lies on a great valley rich in woods. Its name de-rives from the latin word lamae which means fenlands. Its first name was San Giovanni in Lamis and its history is closely connec-ted with the Sanctuary of San Matteo. The convent occupies a splendid position, plunged in the greenery of the surrounding woods and at the foot of Monte Celano rises the first urban center. The original hamlet most probably dates back to the 10th-11th cen-turies, and it was built by shepherds who found refuge from the Saracen incursions in the marshland.

In the past, at the time of Saint Michael the Archangel’s apparitions, the convent was one of the stops of the "Via Sacra Langobardorum"; thus, it

was a place where pilgrims would rest and find temporary shelter before reaching Mon-te Sant'Angelo: it was a pro-per hospice. The Benedicti-nes changed the hospice into abbey and it remained one of the main stops for pilgrims. Then, in the 14th century, the convent became Cistercian and it was not until the year 1578 that it was run by the Franciscans. Towards the end of the 15th century and

the beginning of the 16th, a relic of Saint Matthew the Apostle was brought to the convent from the city of Salerno where the Apostle's body had been buried. From that moment onwards, the location was marked as the con-vent of San Matteo and no longer as that of San Giovanni in Lamis. It also became a center of philosophical and theological studies because it has a library with more than 60.000 volumes and a little museum. In terms of its external appearance and structure, the convent still preserves the typical simplicity of all Benedictine buildings and on the high altar there is a woo-den statue of Saint Matthew.

Manfredonia, the fishing town

Situated along the biggest gulf of the centre southern adriatic, Manfredo-nia is the arbour town par excel-lence of the province of Foggia. It offers a striking view: on a side many kilometers of wide sandy beach of Siponto, a populated seaside resort. Its toponym co-mes from the Swabian King Man-fredi (1222-1266), who founded it in 1256 on the ruins of the ancient town of Sipontum. In 1620, after being sacked by Turks, it became the poorest town of Capitanata. Then became a fishing town and an important commercial port of the Adriatic. Manfredonia is an attractive tourist center, where industial activities are in rapid growth. There is a beautiful Swebian-Angevin Castle surrounded by towers. It was begun by Manfredi and consacrated to the Bishop Lorenzo Maiorano. A few kilometers there are the remains of the ancient walls of the town and the Romanesque Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto

and it arises from a Paleochristian motif. On the route to Foggia, there is the San Leo-nardo in Lama Voltara complex, another fine example of Puglian Romanesque, foun-ded in the XII century by the religious order of Sant’Agostino. In the archeological museum there are the Stele Dau-

nie, they are sepulchral symbols made of calcareous stones dated back to the VII century B.C. There are many culters activities such as Premio Manfredi Festival and on Fe-bruary you can admire the amusing car-nival masks.

Monte Sant’Angelo and Eremo di Pulsano

Monte Sant’Angelo is the highest town of Gargano and it dominates the plain below of the southern spur of the promontory. It is at an altitude of 843 metres above sea level. Its name derives from the Archangel who appeared in the cave between 490 and 493 B. C. and then the town developed a-round it. After Byzantine dominion it was under the rule of Longobard. Then the Emperor of Holy Roman Empire rebuilt the town devastated by wars. It is an important place, infact Popes, kings and Saint people like San Francesco d’Assisi came on pilgri-mage. The Sanctuary is one of the most ancient Christian places of worship and it is the most important monument of the town. It is composed of complex constructions around the grotto from various eras. The atrium facade and the left portal date back to the second half of the 19

th century, while the

valuable relief on the right portal dates back to the year 1395. A long stair-case carved in the stone starts from the atrium and leads down to the ro-manesque portal, its bronze door dating back to the year 1076. In the holy grotto, behind the altar, the statues of Saint Michael (work of Andrea San-sovino) dominates. Outside the sanctuary is a grand hexagonal bell tower built in 1274 and the eleventh-century Rotari’s tomb. The first houses we-were shelter for the pilgrims and they made up a suggestive medieval di-strict called Rione Junno.

Santa Maria di Pulsano Abbey is 9km from Monte Sant’Angelo. It was built on the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Calcante, a clairvoyant of greek mythology. Saracens destroyed it in 952, but the abbey was rebuilt under the direction of San Giovanni Salcione da Matera and named "Santa Ma-ria di Pulsano," a Benedictine Her-mitage for Pulsanesi Eremites. It quickly became one of the most powerful monasteries in Italy.

Then the ancient village was surrene to Franciscan friars and it was recognized a town in 1793. San Marco in Lamis is characterized by its historical city cen-tre called La Padula, with its terraced houses and typical mugnali. Its eco-nomy is based on farming, breeding and religious tourism. On the road to San Severo, there is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Stignano, a Church in romanesque style with two cloisters of the XVI century.

On Good Friday you can admire one of the most interesting customs of Gar-gano, that is Le Fracchie. They are huge conical tor-ches mostly made of wood chestnut and oak, up long 10 meters with a circumfe-rence of about 1.7 meters, which are mounted hori-zontally on steel wheels and after they are carried by many volunteers around

the town.

More than 2000 people of all ages partecipate in this procession and carry the Fracchie wearing peasant cloche, while members of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Sorrows accompain the Virgin who is looking for Her Son. Every year, the procession is looked on by 50.000 spectators. The frac-chia it is a popular devotion and it serves to light the path of the Virgin Mary. The transport of the fire, of course, han an important link with ancient rites of agricultural, forestry and pastoral traditions. This proces-sion is a collective ritual that shows how the population of a town can identify itself in its own traditions.