On Sunday, October 4th, eight hundred years after the death of Saint Francis, Matera celebrates "The Canticle of the Creatures, a multilingual oratorio for spiritual resistance," with two performances in the courtyard of the former San Rocco Hospital:
- 7:30 PM
- 9:00 PM
🗣️ The words with which Francis calls the sun, water, and earth brothers and sisters become a choral reading. Francis of Assisi composed the Canticle in the Umbrian vernacular, the language spoken by his people, so that he could reach those who did not know Latin. In the courtyard, a parachute caught on the railing of the gallery opens above a circle of turf and becomes the screen for Diego Maragno's video work, accompanied by original music by Francesca Ferri. The stage installation is by Bruno Soriato. The show opens with a prologue by actress Luciana Paolicelli, featuring readers Narjes Zakaria Ahmad Al Asaad, Jolante Scogoleva, Anna Verozub, Marketa Senkyrik, and the students of the Infinite Natural History series.
ℹ️ Conceived by the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation, curated by the Teatro dei Sassi APS Association, which oversees the entire production, with dramaturgy and direction by Massimo Lanzetta, and under the patronage of the National Committee for the Celebration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi. Produced with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the event is held in collaboration with the National Museums of Matera. During the evening, the museum's collections can be visited with tickets purchased on-site.
