medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Sunday, August 6, 2006, at 2:51 am, Paul Chandler wrote:
"S. Maria Maggiore has the unusual custom of ringing its bells late in
the evening (about 9 pm when I heard it; the exact time may shift with
the seasons). Inquiry about the reason elicited a story about a little
girl who had wandered off at dusk and could not be found, so that
family and neighbours feared for her life. So the church bells were
rung, she was guided back home through the dark by their sound, and the
evening bell has been rung ever since.
Does anyone know a source and/or time for this charming story? John? --"
****
You might ask the current archpriest: he has such a good record of
keeping children safe from harm.
Or, you could ask the guardian. The e-mail address of the sacristy
staff is given here:
http://www.vatican.va/various/sm_maggiore/index_en.html
And an impressive list of who's who at this basilica is here:
http://www.vatican.va/various/sm_maggiore/en/capitolo/capitolo.htm
There is another version of this story: one of the bells (La sperduta --
'the Lost One') is rung at 2:00AM in fulfilment of a votive offering
from a grateful pilgrim who had been prevented from getting lost one
night in the Roman Campagna by the sound of Santa Maria Maggiore's
bells. See:
http://www.medioevo.roma.it/saggi/campanili/html/html33.htm
****
One drawback to the use of the calendrically organized Saints of the
Day as a device for showing views of buildings and of other artifacts
related to medieval religious culture is that the enormous number of
Marian dedications and images not somehow related to another saint have
to compete for space on days with Marian feasts. Here, in rough
geographic order fron north to south, are views of other Santa Maria
Maggiores in Italy and, sometimes, of objects in them:
Invillino (UD), Friuli - Venzia Giulia:
http://www.consorziocastelli.it/icastelli/invillino
Bergamo (BG), Lombardy:
http://tinyurl.com/j6vzx
http://www.veridiano3.com/immagini/Bergamo/IMG_3571.jpg
http://www.veridiano3.com/immagini/Bergamo/IMG_3588.jpg
http://www.daltramontoallalba.it/luoghi/basilicasantamaria.htm
http://www.veridiano3.com/immagini/Bergamo/IMG_3587.jpg
Susa (TO), Piedmont. Deconsecrated; "romanesque" belltower; 15th-cent.
facade:
http://www.montagnedoc.it/img_popup.php?file=admin/imgschede/861.jpg
http://www.montagnedoc.it/img_popup.php?file=admin/imgschede/862.jpg
Lomello (PV), Lombardy:
http://www.medioevo.org/artemedievale/Pages/Lombardia/Lomello.html
Florence (FI), Tuscany:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Santa_Maria_Maggiore.JPG
http://tinyurl.com/holnl
Pisa (PI), Tuscany:
http://tinyurl.com/lxjke
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/pisa/pisacathedral.html
http://tinyurl.com/jltf9
Assisi (PG), Umbria:
http://www.terrainvisibile.it/assisi/doc/ing/cmaria.htm
http://www.ete.it/assisi/15120119.jpg
http://www.assisiweb.com/assisi_maggiore_it.html
Tuscania (VT), Lazio:
http://tinyurl.com/ljjql
http://www.canino.info/inserti/tuscia/luoghi/tuscania_santa_maria/
http://tinyurl.com/j6yfy
http://tinyurl.com/nw2e3
There's a helpful Italian-language description on this page:
http://www.arcobaleno.net/turismo/Tuscania.htm
Lanciano (CH), Abruzzo:
http://www.ipcdegiorgio.it/ipcturis/arte/artesmm.htm
http://www.lanciano.it/gallery/samu80/ago
http://tinyurl.com/l7h3q
http://www.abruzzonaif.it/novita.htm
Guardiagrele (CH), Abruzzo:
http://roccalett.tripod.com/Guardiagrele.htm
http://www.regione.abruzzo.it/turismo/images/tci_arte_guardiagrele.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/gh3lh
Tivoli (RM), Lazio:
http://www.tibursuperbum.it/ita/monumenti/s.mariamaggiore/
http://www.tibursuperbum.it/ita/monumenti/s.mariamaggiore/Storia.htm
Alatri (FR), Lazio:
http://www.globalgeografia.com/album/italia/lazio/alatri.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/qpdy9
Ferentino (FR), Lazio:
http://www.st-mariamaggiore.org/
(use menu bar near top)
http://www.nuovipanorami.it/italia/lazio/ferent.html
http://www.romeartlover.it/Gregfer3.jpg
Itri (LT), Lazio. Belltower; church destroyed by bombing in 1944:
http://tinyurl.com/flkhk
http://tinyurl.com/kvmqq
Montesantangelo (FG), Apulia:
http://www.mondimedievali.net/Edifici/Puglia/Foggia/Monte.htm
Siponto (FG), Apulia:
http://www.manfredoniaeventi.it/cultura/s_siponto/siponto/home.htm
http://www.manfredoniaeventi.it/cultura/s_siponto/siponto/index.htm
Barletta (BT), Apulia:
http://tinyurl.com/eefeh
http://www.itineraweb.com/it/gt/cr_barletta.php
http://tinyurl.com/fljd6
http://tinyurl.com/k9ph3
http://tinyurl.com/hnw4u
http://tinyurl.com/jyoff
Nocera Superiore (SA), Campania:
http://tinyurl.com/qfwo9
(about halfway down the page)
http://tinyurl.com/rqpyr
Teggiano (SA), Campania:
http://www.prolocoteggiano.it/proloco/storia/14.htm
Miglionico (MT), Basilicata:
http://web.tiscali.it/miglionico/chiesa_madre.htm
Best,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|