{"id":2863,"date":"2016-07-06T12:57:49","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T16:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=2863"},"modified":"2016-07-06T12:57:49","modified_gmt":"2016-07-06T16:57:49","slug":"saturday-night-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=2863","title":{"rendered":"Saturday Night Special"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2016 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s Saturday night in Rome. \u00a0What to do? \u00a0What to do?<\/p>\n

A club? \u00a0The city’s hottest restaurants? Seeing the Coliseum aglow? \u00a0If you find yourself in the Circus Maximus area of Rome with nothing to do\u00a0and none of the above appeal to you…here’s a suggestion.<\/p>\n

\"Sign_at_shrine\"<\/a>Every Saturday night at midnight, a Pilgrimage starts at the southeast end of Circus Maximus (near the metro station and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) at the Piazza Porta Capena.\u00a0\u00a0This Pilgrimage heads on foot toward the Madonna del Divino Armore Sanctuary and arrives around five o’clock on Sunday\u00a0morning. \u00a0It\u00a0takes place from the first Saturday after Easter until the last Saturday of October and on December 7 at the eve of the Immaculate Conception. \u00a0\u00a0The route follows\u00a0the Old Appian Way until the church,\u00a0Quo Vadis (see my blog post “Where Are You Going?”) \u00a0is reached and a turn is made on to the Via Ardeatina. Here, the route continues\u00a0over the Catacombs of St. Callisto (see my blog post “Along the Appian Way”) and past the Mausoleum of the Ardeatin Caves, where personal intentions are brought to the feet of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n

The starting point is marked with a sign.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tower_leading_to_town\"<\/a>The reason behind the pilgrimages? \u00a0In the early 1700’s, on one of the towers of the Castel di Leva, there was a votive image of the Virgin Mary, portrayed as sitting on a Throne, holding the child Jesus in her arms and the Holy Spirit, descending upon her as a dove. \u00a0This image was considered extremely\u00a0holy by the local shepherds and many miracles were\u00a0attributed to the image on this site. \u00a0In September of 1740, the image was removed from the tower and transferred to a nearby estate called “La Falconiana” where a small church dedicated to St Mary ad Magos stood. \u00a0Five years later, the image was brought back to its original location where a church had been erected in its absence and was later consecrated by Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico, who later became Pope Clement XIII. \u00a0Shortly after, pilgrimages began and became more numerous, continuing until today.<\/p>\n

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Pilgrimage to the Madonna del Divino Armore Sanctuary<\/strong><\/p>\n