The Celestinian Forgiveness for seven hundred and twenty-two years has been a symbolic invitation to Peace among all peoples.
L’Aquila’s Perdonanza is the cradle of the universal value of spirituality that takes shape by passing through the Holy Door of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio. The solemn rite that Pope Celestine V, within a month of his election as pontiff, granted in 1294 to all the faithful in the basilica built by his own will.
The name Perdonanza derives precisely from the Bull of Forgiveness, kept in the armored chapel of the Civic Tower of the Municipal Palace until the 2009 earthquake. The ancient civic statutes wanted it to be the civic authority, in the name of the people, to call the Festa del Perdono in compliance with the will of Pope Celestine.
As the centuries passed, however, the event plunged into general disinterest so much so that by the second half of the 20th century the ceremony, also called Perdonanza due to Gabriele D’Annunzio’s medievalist term, was now limited to the religious function and little else.
The modern revival of the L’Aquila Forgiveness took place in 1983. Parallel to the religious events, the Historical Procession of the Bull that carried the centuries-old holy parchment, which had just been transferred to Palazzo Margherita from its old location in the Spanish Fort, to Collemaggio resumed life.
Today, the Forgiveness period, from late August to early September, is also a time of great tourist interest because of the whole contour of events that complement the program: exhibitions, cultural events, concerts, and seminars.
The focus is on August 28 with the historical parade.
