Rieti Off The Beaten Path

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Filippa Mareri (died 16 February 1236), an uncanonized saint from the Cicolano, southeast of Rieti, has no full or clearly contemporary "life"; but ironically her reality is in some ways more palpable than that of many canonized saints. The Franciscan nuns that inhabit the convent are some of the most delightful, accommodating and genuinely friendly you will ever meet. This original church and convent (with many additions) has thrived in spite of growth and change, a slight Napoleonic interruption, and movement up the hill from the dammed waters of the Salto.
The convent still preserves its archives and maintains an extensive and elaborate museum with medieval costums which stretch back to the time of the saint's life in addition to the reliquary in the chapel. Processions still move up the hill to the saint's cave. The wooden cup that once discreetly caught the saint's tears and sputum still is able (although in slightly confusing duplication) to lend its blessings to the afflicted. So is the sight of the saint's heart. In the twentieth century the saint has still been known to work miracles. The saint's relics, her cult, her effects, and her house are central to the life of her native region. Her nuns, now freed from the cloister to do the work of God in the world, in fact do that work in the Cicolano.

Museo e Biblioteca di Santa Filippa Mareri
Borgo San Pietro di Petrella Salto
Tel. +39 0746 558134 Fax +39 0746 558367
Ingresso con offerta libera
Orario:8.30-12.30/16.00-18.00 tutti i giorni su prenotazione - Visite guidate giornaliere