From Fidenza towards a time suspended in the air

The door of a convent that swings open is not just a passage through space, but a leap into a time that stands still. Over the first two weekends in October, the region once again reveals its most secret side with the eighth edition of ‘Monasteri Aperti’, an initiative promoted by Apt Servizi Regionale in collaboration with the Episcopal Conference and the Cammini network, dedicated this year entirely to St Francis on the 1900th anniversary of his death. The ideal itinerary begins in Fidenza, the ancient village of San Donnino, where you can walk in the footsteps of the ‘Poverello’ amongst 14th-century frescoes, concluding the experience with a traditional loaf baked according to an ancient, miraculous recipe. But it is a crescendo of wonders that extends all the way to the Monastery of Santa Maria Assunta in Castione Marchesi, amidst precious medieval polychrome mosaics and an aperitif at sunset, or to the Abbey of Torrechiara with its concerts of early music. The event takes in extraordinary sites such as the refurbished Sanctuary of San Francesco del Prato in Parma, featuring a moving narrative tour led by friars and volunteers, and the Church of San Bernardino in Rimini, home to the ancient sacristy housing the 18th-century crucifix by Innocenzo da Petralia. The journey through Franciscan history then branches off to Fontevivo, where the ‘Voci Negate’ project combines the story of Ranuccio I Farnese with a social commentary against gender-based violence. It moves on to Busseto for a convivial lunch in the 16th-century cloister of Santa Maria degli Angeli and to Argenta, where a previously unpublished pilgrim’s plaque depicting the saint is examined. The journey then continues to Toano, amongst the archaeological excavations of the Romanesque parish church and local culinary recommendations, before concluding in Sant’Agata Feltria at the cloistered monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena, along the paths leading to the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines.