in antiquity Abruzzo was famed for its witches, wizards and snake-charmers, members of a tribe called the Marsi. Even today snakes feature in a bizarre religious festival in the mountain village of Cocullo :
(Greek: ruling angel)
In its wider meaning, any angel of higher rank, thus all the higher orders of angels.
In the Italian context, a patron saint is one that firstly man has inherited or adopted either through family, an occupation/trade/profession, or a geographical location, and then over time the saint has proven through their track record of intercession on man's behalf that they are indeed connecting. Only once the saint has proven themselves to be more than a 'one hit wonder' do Italians bestow upon them the honour of 'patrone'.
E’ tratta dall’Epistola VIII di questo santo scrittore latino che nacque verso l’anno 200 a Cartagine. E’ sempre un efficacissimo strumento di protezione in molte difficoltà della vita: leggiamola in latino, una delle “lingue magiche” per eccellenza, e portiamone sempre una copia con noi.
ROGEMUS PACEM MATURIUS REDDI, CITO LATEBRIS NOTRIS ET PERICULI SUBVENIRI, IMPLERI QUAE FAMULIS SUIS DOMINUS DIGNATUR OSTENDERE, REDINTRGRATIONEM ECCLESIAE, SECURITATEM SALUTIS NOSTRAE, POST PLUVIAS SERENITATEM, POST TENEBRAS LUCEM, POST PROCELLAS ET TURBINES PLACIDAM LENITATEM, PIA PATERNAE DILECTIONS AUXILIA, DIVINAE MAJESTATIS SOLITA MAGNALIA, QUIBIS ET PERSEQUENTIUM BLASPHEMIA RETUNDATUR ET LAPSORUM POENITENTIA REFORMETUR, ET FORTIS ET STABILIS PERSEVERATIUM FIDUCIA GLORIETUR
By Laura Stortoni-Hager, from L'Italo Americano, January 2004
Capanilismo in Italian signifies absolute love and allegiance to one's own "campanile" (bell tower), to one's own "quartiere," one's own city, one's own region. Italians, as Luigi Barzini noted in his famous book, "The Italians," do not have a deep concept of national unity. A Venetian feels different from an Abruzzese, a Lombard feels very different from a Sicilian.
by Rudolph J. Vecoli
"Pagan! Heathen! Idolator!" These were among the epithets hurled at the Italian immigrants around the turn of the century. In addition to being viewed as potential mafiosi or anarchists, the sons of Italy had the further onus of being regarded as the bearers of anti-Christian beliefs and practices. The "Italian Problem" in its religious manifestation had been discovered by American churchmen, both Catholic and Protestant, well before 1900. In the following decades much energy, money, and ink were expended in efforts to find solutions to this "problem." What exactly was the nature of the Italian Problem? With few exceptions, American Protestants and Catholics agreed that the Italian immigrants were characterized by ignorance of Christian doctrine, image worship, and superstitious emotionalism. In short, they were not true Christians.(1)
Celebrating 20 Years of seamlessly blending the Sacred and the Profane.
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