In 1173, Assisi was occupied by the Germans. It is then that a castle is built above this Italian city, on the slopes of Mount “Subasio” of the “Apennine” mountain range. It would serve as a fort to protect a future emperor. This castle is known as “Rocca Maggiore” (The Rock). The heir and future Roman emperor, Fredrik II, was just an infant when during a civil revolt of the town of Assisi in 1198, his entourage left the castle taking the child. During this revolt, the “Rocca Maggiore” suffered considerable damage. Continue reading “The “Rocca Maggiore” – Assisi”
In our tour of Catholic Europe, it has been very common to find many of the churches relatively close to each other. However, in our visit to Porto in Portugal, we find the so-called Twin Churches, separated by a few meters by the “Casa Escondida” (the hidden house).
Bordered by the “Avenida dos Aliados”, the old city meets the modern one at the “Praça da Liberdade” or Liberty Plaza. In what many consider as the center of the city of Oporto or Porto, surrounding the square are classic and modern buildings and, just a few steps away, the most emblematic historical places of the city. 
The “Igreja de São Roque” in Lisbon, Portugal, was originally a hermitage to keep relics of São Roque, Patron Victim of Plagues. In 1505, the city of Lisbon was infested by a plague, knowing that San Roque was the patron saint of the victims of plagues, the relics or remains of the Saint were obtained.
After strolling through the Jardim do Infante Dom Henrique, in Porto, Portugal, we headed towards the Igreja de São Francisco crossing the Rua de Ferreira Borges. As we climbed the stairs we could see the baroque facade of the Church with a rose window on the top and over the entrance a statue of Saint Francis. It was built between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The “Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco”, commonly known as the “Igreja dos Terceiros” in Braga, Portugal, is a small church very close to the Arcade and the Braga Tower on “Largo São Francisco”.