Saint Rosa from Viterbo

Saint Rosa is the Patron Saint of Viterbo, central Italy. On December 4th, 1250, this girl was sent away from Viterbo by the podestà (mayor) Mainetto Bovoli (Lieutenant of Emperor Frederick II) because he wanted to prevent her to profess and spread the Catholic faith. The same Pope Gregory IX had forbidden the apostolate to the laity. She first found shelter in Soriano nel Cimino, then in Vitorchiano before returning to Viterbo. The poor girl was suffering from a rare disease, which was the congenital absence of the sternum, and the sad exile she was forced to live was fatal to her life. She died in January 1251 at the tender age of seventeen. During her short life, Rose performed a few miracles, the reason why she is much-venerated by Viterbesi (inhabitants of Viterbo).

The Walk on the Way of Saint Rosa’exile is a series of excursions organized every year from September to December by “Take Off Association” chaired by Silvio Cappelli. These excursions want to evoke the exile of Saint Rosa from Viterbo in the 13th century walking along the same path that the Saint followed during her exile from Viterbo to Soriano nel Cimino and Vitorchiano. This trail leads through marvelous hamlets, fields in bloom, secular woods, and hidden archeological sites, always accompanied by the professional guide of Anna Rita Properzi.