medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Saturday, October 22, 2005, at 5:54 pm, Phyllis wrote:
> Today (23. October) is the feast day of:
> John of Capistrano (d. 1456)
This somewhat well known saint of the Regno (thanks in part to a city in
California named after him and now famous for its swallows) was born in
Capestrano (AQ), the tiny seat of a rural county of the same name (and
spelling) that in 1284 became part of the Acquaviva domains in today's
Abruzzo, that in 1318 was given to the counts of Celano, and that in
1463 passed to the Piccolomini dukes of Amalfi, under whom it became a
marquisate that lasted until 1584, when its new owners, the Medici of
grand ducal Tuscany, elevated it to a principality. 'Capistrano' seems
to go back to the Latin of J.'s earliest Vitae; however traditional that
may be in this instance, perpetuating the toponym's 'i'-spelling (as
Phyllis' source and many others continue to do) is misleading: this is
non-standard for the town itself and may also suggest to those to whom
the saint is _not_ particularly well known that he came instead from
Capistrano (VV), down in Calabria.
Capestrano is a strategically placed, walled hilltown overlooking the
valley of the Tirino:
http://tinyurl.com/bywnu
http://tinyurl.com/a9f6p
http://tinyurl.com/8zukl
Dominated at one end by its castle (which assumed its present form --
apart from the modern windows -- in the later fifteenth century under
the Piccolomini):
http://tinyurl.com/97476
http://tinyurl.com/7gjl2
, it has an old quarter
http://tinyurl.com/938b2
that includes a house now shown as that of J. Interior views of this
are here:
http://tinyurl.com/aa9nd
and here:
http://tinyurl.com/88tkw
Outside of the town proper is the formerly monastic church of San Pietro
ad Oratorium, once a property of San Vincenzo al Volturno. In its
present form it is a very late eleventh- and early twelfth-century
structure notable for for, among other things, the carvings of its
portal, its ciborium, and its partly preserved frescoes. A few views
(expandable) are here:
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/eccip/images/san%20pietro/index.htm
An English-language discussion (click on the Italian version for help
when things become unclear) with expandable thumbnails is here:
http://www.abruzzoheritage.com/magazine/2002_03/0203_a.htm
And an Italian-language discussion with expandable views (especially
good for the carvings) is here:
http://tinyurl.com/dmw4r
Also in the vicinity is the monastery of San Giovanni da Capestrano,
founded by the saint in 1447 and containing in its museum a variety of
objects once in J.'s personal possession:
http://web.tiscali.it/capestrano/convento.htm
Much rebuilt in the early modern period, it retains elements of the
original construction in its cloister:
http://tinyurl.com/78vkv
http://tinyurl.com/8ce7o
Best,
John Dillon
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