Posts

Showing posts with the label Youth in Action

Sermugano (Italy) – the place where people live in a castle

Image
    Being a part of Castiglione in the Teverina district, this small village has at the bottom the rivers ‘il Fosso Cieco’ (or di Vionica) and ‘il Rio Chiaro’ (or Fossatello), which are situated 346 meters from the sea, near to the city of Viterbo.       In the village there is an ancient castle which is still inhabited by some of the village’s population. Even though there are no more than 100 persons living in the village, it has three small churches, two open until 10 PM, pubs, and one shop (where you can buy both vegetables, detergents, clothes and other household items).   Around the castle, there are ancient houses built by stones which are still very well kept. Each place is surrounded by flowers. The inhabitants are old (as their children moved out to Viterbo, Rome or other cities), kind and friendly.   If you learn a little bit of Italian and are able to say ‘hi’ to them, you can be invited inside their home fo...

Bitola. It's all about history here

Image
Thanks to Youth in Action programme again, I came across an old, historical, Macedonian city called Bitola. Situated in the S-W part of Macedonia, Bitola settles at the foot of Baba Mountain and it is crossed by the Dragon River.   The place represents an important junction between the Adriatic Sea, the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. You would never guess, but this city has an impressive history.     It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis (City of Hercules upon the Land of the Lynx) in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon and it was an important settlement from the Hellenistic period until the early Middle Ages. Then, the Romans conquered this part of Macedon in 148 BC and destroyed the political power of the city. Still, the city remained prosperous because of the Via Egnatia Roman road which passed by the city. In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre and bishops l...