1.
Martin of Tours
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St. Martin of Tours was Bishop of Tours, whose shrine in France became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints, sometimes venerated as a military saint. As he was born in what is now Szombathely, Hungary, spent much of his childhood in Pavia, Italy and his life was recorded by a contemporary, the hagiographer Sulpicius Severus. Some of the accounts of his travels may have been interpolated into his vita to validate early sites of his cult. He is best known for the account of his using his sword to cut his cloak in two, to give half to a beggar clad only in rags in the depth of winter. Conscripted as a soldier into the Roman army, he found the duty incompatible with the Christian faith he had adopted, Martin was born in 316 or 336 AD in Savaria in the Diocese of Pannonia. His father was an officer in the Imperial Horse Guard, a unit of the Roman army, later stationed at Ticinum, in northern Italy. The date of his birth is a matter of controversy, with both 316 and 336 having rationales, at the age of ten he attended the Christian church against the wishes of his parents, and became a catechumen. Christianity had been made a religion in the Roman Empire. It had many adherents in the Eastern Empire, whence it had sprung. Christianity was far from accepted amongst the higher echelons of society, although the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and the subsequent programme of church-building gave a greater impetus to the spread of the religion, it was still a minority faith. As the son of an officer, Martin at fifteen was required to join a cavalry ala. At the age of 18 around 334 or 354, he was stationed at Ambianensium civitas or Samarobriva in Gaul and it is likely that he joined the Equites catafractarii Ambianenses, a heavy cavalry unit listed in the Notitia Dignitatum. Jacques Fontaine thinks that the biographer was somewhat embarrassed about referring to long stint in the army and he was charged with cowardice and jailed, but in response to the charge, he volunteered to go unarmed to the front of the troops. His superiors planned to take him up on the offer, but before they could, the invaders sued for peace, the battle never occurred, and Martin was released from military service. Martin declared his vocation, and made his way to the city of Caesarodunum, where he became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers and he opposed the Arianism of the Imperial Court. When Hilary was forced into exile from Pictavium, Martin returned to Italy, according to Sulpicius Severus, he converted an Alpine brigand on the way, and confronted the Devil himself. Having heard in a dream a summons to revisit his home, Martin crossed the Alps, there he converted his mother and some other persons, his father he could not win
2.
Pope Sylvester I
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Pope Sylvester I, whose name is also spelled Silvester, was pope from 31 January,314 to his death in 335. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Catholic Church and his feast is jubilantly celebrated as Saint Sylvesters Day among the Western Christian Churches on December 31, while Eastern Christian Churches commemorate it on January 2. Sylvester did not attend the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and these also appear in the Donation of Constantine. The Pope, in return, offered the crown of his own good will to Constantine, such a useful legend quickly gained wide circulation, Gregory of Tours referred to this political legend in his history of the Franks, written in the 580s. Pope Sylvester II, himself a close associate of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, in the West, the liturgical feast of Saint Sylvester is on 31 December, the day of his burial in the Catacomb of Priscilla. This is the last day in the year and, accordingly, in German-speaking countries and in some close to them. In other countries, too, the day is referred to as Saint Sylvesters Day or the Feast of Saint Sylvester. In São Paulo, Brazil, a running event called the Saint Silvester Road Race occurs every year on 31 December. According to it, Pope Sylvester was offered the imperial crown, lu Santu Papa Silvestru, a story in Giuseppe Pitrès collection of Sicilian fables, recounts the legend as follows, Constantine the king wants to take a second wife, and asks Sylvester. Sylvester denies him permission, calling on heaven as witness, Constantine threatens him, not long after, Constantine falls ill, when he is desperate of ever regaining his health he has a dream which commands him to send for Sylvester. He obeys, and Sylvester receives Constantines messengers in his cave and swiftly baptizes them, whereafter he is led back to Constantine, whom he baptizes also, in this story, Constantine and his entourage are not pagans but Jews. Another legend has Sylvester slaying a dragon and he is often depicted with the dying beast. List of longest-reigning popes List of Catholic saints List of popes Gisela Schmitt, Pope St. Sylvester I CE Francesco Scorza Barcellona, SILVESTRO I, santo. In, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Template, LThK Horst Fuhrmann, Konstantinische Schenkung in, vol.5, Artemis & Winkler, Munich/Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-8905-0, Col. 1385–1387. Papst in, Lexicon of the Middle Ages, vol.7, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7608-8907-7, Col. 1905–1908. Opera Omnia by Migne Colonnade Statue in St Peters Square Legenda Aurea
3.
Minor basilica
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Minor basilica is a title given to some Roman Catholic church buildings. According to canon law, no church building can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom, presently, the authorising decree is granted by the Pope through the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In relation to churches, writers on architecture use the term basilica to describe a church built in a particular style, in the 18th century, the term took on a canonical sense, unrelated to this architectural style. Basilicas in this sense are divided into major and minor basilicas. Today only four, all in Rome, are classified as major basilicas. These external signs, except that of the cappa magna, are still seen in basilicas. It should be large and with an ample sanctuary. It should be renowned for history, relics or sacred images, many basilicas are notable churches, and often receive significant pilgrimages. In December 2009 the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico set a record with 6.1 million pilgrims in two days for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As of June 30,2013, there were four major basilicas and 1,748 minor basilicas in the world, of these 1,748 minor basilicas, three have the title of papal minor basilica and four the title of pontifical minor basilica. The three papal minor basilicas are Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, Rome, and the Basilica of San Francesco dAssisi, All four pontifical minor basilicas now have individual pontifical delegates. For the Bari basilica, which is a dependency of the Secretariat of State, for the basilicas of Loreto and Pompei, which are within their own territorial prelatures, the pontifical delegate is the local territorial prelate. Only for the Paduan basilica is the pontifical delegate distinct from the local bishop, the remaining 1,741 minor basilicas are all classified merely as such. Another such Italian church, recognized as a basilica. This name, qualifying it as both pontifical and royal, is confirmed by other sources. Others are the Pontifical Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Bitonto, one patriarchal basilica, namely the Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of St Mark in Venice, called patriarchal because it is the cathedral of the Patriarch of Venice, is a minor basilica. The minor basilicas form the vast majority, including cathedrals, many technically parish churches, some shrines. Some oratories and semi-private places of worship, have raised to the status of a minor basilica
4.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
5.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
6.
Monti (rione of Rome)
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Monti is the name of one of the twenty-two Rioni of Rome, rione I, located in Municipio I. The name literally means mountains in Italian and comes from the fact that the Esquiline and the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal and its logo consists of three green mountains with three tops on a silver background. Today the Esquilino, Castro Pretorio and Celio districts do not belong to it anymore, in ancient times the rione was densely populated, in Monti there were the Forum Romanum and the so-called Suburra, this was the place poor people lived, full of disreputable locals and brothels. In the Middle Ages the situation was different, the Roman aqueducts were damaged. Hence many inhabitants moved to Campus Martius, a level part. From the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century, Monti was not densely populated because of the lack of water and because it was quite far from the Vatican, the center of Christian culture. The area did not become abandoned thanks to the church of San Giovanni in Laterano, still in the Middle Ages the inhabitants of Monti, called monticiani, developed a strong identity, their Roman dialect was different from that spoken in the other rioni. Their main enemies were the people from the other rione with an identity, Trastevere. The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum is located in Monti History, maps and images of the rione
7.
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
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The Basilica is located at 34 Piazza dellEsquilino, some five blocks southwest of Stazione Termini. Pursuant to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, the Basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State and they prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman summer, in obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow. From the fact that no mention whatever is made of this alleged miracle until a few hundred years later and it would seem that the legend has no historical basis. The legend is first reported only after AD1000 and it may be implied in what the Liber Pontificalis, of the early 13th century, says of Pope Liberius, He built the basilica of his own name near the Macellum of Livia. Its prevalence in the 15th century is shown in the painting of the Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale. The feast was originally called Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae, and was celebrated only in Rome until inserted for the first time into the General Roman Calendar, with ad Nives added to its name, in 1568. A congregation appointed by Pope Benedict XIV in 1741 proposed that the reading of the legend be struck from the Office, no action was taken on the proposal until 1969, when the reading of the legend was removed and the feast was called In dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae. The legend is commemorated by dropping white rose petals from the dome during the celebration of the Mass. The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basilica or Santa Maria Liberiana, Liberiana is still included in some versions of the basilicas formal name, and Liberian Basilica may be used as a contemporary as well as historical name. This building was replaced under Pope Sixtus III by the present structure dedicated to Mary. No Catholic church can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom, St. Mary Major is one of the only four that hold the title of major basilica. The other three are the Basilicas of St. John in the Lateran, St. Peters, along with all of the other four Major Basilicas, St. Mary Major is also styled a Papal basilica. St. Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch, Philip Neri on 25 February 1552. It is agreed that the present church was built under Pope Sixtus III, the dedicatory inscription on the triumphal arch, Sixtus Episcopus plebi Dei, is an indication of that Popes role in the construction. The church retains the core of its structure, despite several additional construction projects. Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the first churches built in honour of the Virgin Mary, was erected in the aftermath of the Council of Ephesus of 431. Pope Sixtus III built it to commemorate this decision and these fines enabled the papacy to carry out through the 5th century an ambitious building program, including Santa Maria Maggiore
8.
Kazimierz Nycz
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Kazimierz Nycz is a Polish prelate, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Warsaw, having served as Bishop of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg from 2004 to 2007. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Archbishop Nycz to the status of Cardinal in the consistory of 20 November 2010, kazimierz Nycz was born in Stara Wieś. Nycz was educated at the school in Stara Wieś, Lyceum of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Czechowice-Dziedzice where he graduated in 1967. He received the diaconate from Cardinal Karol Wojtyła on 8 May 1972, from 1973 to 1975 he was a vicar in a parish of Saint Elisabeth in Jaworzno. On 14 May 1988, Nycz was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Kraków and he received his episcopal consecration on the following 4 June from Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, with Archbishops Jerzy Ablewicz and Stanisław Nowak serving as co-consecrators. On 3 March 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Nycz, who was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the time, Wielgus abruptly resigned on 7 January after admitting to his former collaboration with the Służba Bezpieczeństwa, the Communist secret police in Poland. Nyczs appointment was welcomed, and his installation as Archbishop of Warsaw took place during Palm Sunday on 1 April 2007. In addition to his role as Archbishop, he was named Bishop to the Eastern Catholics in Poland on 9 June 2007. He holds a doctorate from the University of Lublin, was vice-rector of the Major Seminary of Kraków from 1987 to 1988, records of Służba Bezpieczeństwa show that Nycz had repeatedly refused to enter their services. He was created and proclaimed Cardinal-Priest of Ss, silvestro e Martino ai Monti on 20 November 2010. On 29 December 2010 Nycz was appointed a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and he was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis
9.
Alfonso de la Cueva, 1st Marquis of Bedmar
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Alfonso de la Cueva-Benavides y Mendoza-Carrillo, marqués de Bedmar was a Spanish diplomat, bishop and Roman Catholic cardinal. He was born in Bedmar, in what is now the province of Jaén, alfonso was the son of Luis de la Cueva-Benavides, 2nd señor of Bedmar, and Elvira Carrillo de Mendoza y Cárdenas. Alfonso was born at Bedmar, now Bedmar y Garciez, province of Jaen, at an early age, he pursued a military career at the side of his father, who was the captain general of the Canary Islands. After 1590, he took his fathers place in his absence, after the death of his father in 1599, he became the 3rd lord of his house and became a commander of a Cavalry company. On 23 December 1606 King Philip III of Spain made him the Spanish ambassador to the Republic of Venice and this was an important position due to the amount of information concerning European affairs which passed through the hands of the Spanish representative. On 16 April 1610 King Philip III awarded him the title of Knight of the Order of Alcántara, in 1614, aged around 42, he was made Marqués de Bedmar, which he would resign when promoted to the cardinalate. In 1618 king Philip III charged him with the devolution of the territories conquered by the Spanish forces in Piedmont to the duke of Savoy, in 1616 Venice concluded an alliance with France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to counter Spains power. The scheme was to be carried out on Ascension Day in 1618 but was revealed by the French, after the fiasco of Venice, Bedmar went to Flanders as president of the council. In 1622 he received the red hat of a cardinal, later, he became the ambassador extraordinary and counselor of Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia and the Junta of War in Flanders. The authorship of a work, Squitinio della libertà Veneta. He became a Cardinal Priest, receiving the title of San Martino ai Monti on 18 July 1633, de la Cueva opted for the title of Santa Balbina on 9 July 1635 and participated in the Consistory of 1644. De la Cueva opted however for the order of bishops and the see of Palestrina. He was consecrated on Sunday 23 October 1644 and he died in Málaga and was buried in the Cathedral of Málaga
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