7 CATHOLIC HISTORIC SITES DECLARED BY UNESCO AS WORLD HERITAGE

 The Historic Gastaldaga

Italy's Heritage Sites; Remembering Rome's Defender

UNESCO Honors Lombard "Places of Power"

By Edward Pentin


ROME, JUNE 30, 2011 (Zenit.org).-
As U.N. agencies go, the Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization is arguably one of the body's more benign and popular
alphabet-soup named bureaucracies.  

UNESCO's stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by
promoting international collaboration through education, science
and culture. Unfortunately, in common with much of the United Nations,
that also means placing an emphasis on gender equality and "reproductive
health" -- code words for population control, contraceptives and
compulsory sex education in schools.

Yet, one very commendable function of UNESCO is its creation and
promotion of World Heritage Sites -- places of natural or historical
interest that have special cultural or physical significance, and which
it considers the international community should preserve. Italy is home
to the greatest number of these with 46 sites inscribed on the list. And
now it has one more, under the collective title: "The Longobards,
Places of Power."

On June 28, UNESCO designated seven groups of monasteries, churches
and fortresses throughout the Italian Peninsula as World Heritage Sites.
The historic buildings, dating from 568-774, testify to the great
achievements of the Lombards (also known as Longobards) who migrated
from northern Europe and developed their own culture across vast swathes
of territory on the peninsula. More interestingly, their influence
helped develop European monasticism so that it would form the basis of
the expansion of Medieval Christianity throughout the continent.

This is perhaps most visibly evident in the Lombards' ability to
synthesize architectural styles, from Antiquity to the European Middle
Ages, drawing on the heritage of Ancient Rome, Christian spirituality,
Byzantine influence and Germanic northern Europe. The seven sites,
awarded World Heritage status following recommendations made to UNESCO,
are said to embody the finest examples of Lombard architecture.

First on the list is the Gastaldaga area and the episcopal complex in
Cividale del Friuli, near Udine in north east Italy. The area includes
the Tempietto Longobardo ("the little Longobard Temple"), regarded as a
work of "unparalleled splendor" dating from the late Longobard period.
It's also thought that the city's Monastery of Santa Maria was founded
during the same era.

Another site is the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia,
located in Brescia, northern Italy. The Benedictine convent there was
founded in 753 by the last Lombard king, Desiderius, and his wife Ansa,
and was of great religious, political and economic importance, which
continued after the Lombards’ defeat by Charlemagne.

Also on the list is the castrum with the Torba Tower and the church
outside the walls, Santa Maria foris portas, located near Pavia, close
to Milan. The Lombards reconstructed the castrum (land and buildings
meant as a military defensive position in Roman times) as a main complex
for worship that includes the monastery and basilica of San Giovanni
Evangelista,with annexed octagonal baptistery. The Torba Tower, located
on the summit of the fortified site, was used as a convent in late
Lombard times.

The famous basilica of San Salvatore in Spoleto in central Italy is
next on the UNESCO list. Known as one of the oldest and most remarkable
churches in Italy, it dates from the late fourth century and was
originally built in the style of a Classical pagan temple. The Lombards
reconstructed the church in the eighth century and, despite several
alterations, its original architecture is still remarkably well
preserved.

Not far from the basilica is another of the new World Heritage Sites:
the Tempietto del Clitunno (Temple of Clitumnus), a small
paleochristian church between Spoleto and Trevi in Umbria. Originally
thought to be a pagan shrine dedicated to the river god Clitumnus, it
was a popular tourist attraction among ancient Romans who wished to
consult and worship the oracles of the river god. But recent studies
have shown the structure was, in fact, always a church, but built with
architectural fragments from one or more of the temples that stood
nearby. Its exact date of construction is unknown, but is believed by
some archaeologists to have been built by a Lombard duke of Spoleto,
perhaps in the late seventh century.

The sixth Christian Lombard site to win World Heritage status is the
Santa Sofia complex, close to Benevento near Naples. The architectural
composition of this cloister and church, with its unique star-shaped
ground plan and Byzantine influence, attracts great interest and is
considered to be one of the finest examples of Longobard architecture.
It has seen numerous and varied occupants: first, Benedictine monks,
then Benedictine sisters who dedicated it to Saint Sophia towards the
end of the 10th Century; then in 1592, the monastery was entrusted to
Jesuit priests, followed in 1778 by the Carmelites. During the Napoleon
requisition of 1807 up until 1938, the monastery was used as a civil
court.

Finally, UNESCO awarded World Heritage Status to the famous Sanctuary
of San Michele, otherwise known as the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo
sul Gargano. Situated in the province of Foggia, in Italy's southeast,
it is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the archangel
Michael. After reported apparitions there that saved the Lombards from
pagan invaders, it became popular among pilgrims of all backgrounds from
the 7th century, developing into the national shrine of the Longobards.
It deeply influenced the spread of the devotion for St. Michael
throughout Western Europe and became a model for the hundreds of
sanctuaries dedicated to the saint all over the continent. Located on
one of the last stages on the road that lead to the Holy Land, it ran
along the ancient route of the Trajan Way in southern Italy, which at
that time took the name of Via Sacra Langobardorum.

World Heritage Sites have sometimes been given the sobriquet "Oscars
for the Environment," such is their importance to the countries to which
they're awarded. Chosen sites not only gain added prestige but also
much needed revenue to help preserve them -- both from tourism and
UNESCO itself.

To the United Nation's credit, therefore, it has, in a relatively
small way, heeded Benedict XVI's frequent appeals to preserve Europe's
rich Christian heritage. Perhaps its other agencies might now consider
following suit, and show the same willingness to preserve the values and
principles that so inspired building these great monuments to the
faith.

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Edward Pentin is a freelance writer living in Rome. He can be reached at: epentin@zenit.org