The Italian Embassy in Lisbon will mark the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi in 2026 with a cultural program that includes concerts, conferences and the presentation of a new book dedicated to the figure of the saint. The initiative aims to highlight not only the spiritual importance of Saint Francis for Italian tradition, but also the historical links between Italy and Portugal, in particular through the relationship with Saint Anthony. The celebrations begin this Saturday, March 14, at the Convento de São Francisco, in Coimbra, with a concert by the Italian Gran Duo, formed by musicians Angela Meluso (piano) and Mauro Tortorelli (violin). The same program will be presented a few days later, on March 18, at the Church of Nossa Senhora do Loreto, in Lisbon, known as the Church of the Italians. Both shows have free entry.
The Italian ambassador to Portugal, Claudio Miscia, explained to DN that the decision to promote these initiatives also has to do with the central role that Saint Francis occupies in Italian cultural and religious identity.
“The saint is the patron saint of Italy, so much so that this year, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of his death, the national festival of October 4th, the day on which he died, in 1226, was reinstated.”recalls the diplomat.
But there are also specific reasons for the celebrations to be held in Portugal. “An important aspect why we think the Italian Embassy in Lisbon should celebrate Saint Francis is that he had important contacts with Saint Anthony of Lisbon”highlights the ambassador, adding that, according to historical tradition, the young Anthony – who was not yet known as a saint – sought out Francis in Italy at the beginning of the 1220s.
“They met between 1221 and 1226, and Antônio asked permission to preach the word of order”, he states.
This meeting profoundly marked the trajectory of the future Portuguese saint.
“When Anthony moved to Rimini and then to Padua, he was considered a preacher of the word of Francis”adds the ambassador. For Claudio Miscia, this relationship explains the symbolic dimension of celebrations in Portugal: “The two became perhaps the most beloved saints for popular devotion, both in Italy and in Portugal and in many other parts of the world.”
The cultural program begins with a concert designed especially for this occasion. The Embassy commissioned Italian musicians to create a repertoire inspired by Franciscan spirituality, which includes works by Franz Liszt. The Hungarian composer and pianist had, in fact, a personal connection to the Franciscan tradition. In the last years of his life, he became closer to the order and became a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis.
The duo plays piano and violin, and the instrument used by Mauro Tortorelli has a rare peculiarity. “The violin is an exceptionally five-stringed instrument, built by luthiers from Calabria”, explains the ambassador, adding that “it has a particularly comprehensive sound, because it adds a string to the traditional violin”.
In addition to the artistic dimension, the diplomat highlights the relevance of the Franciscan message. From his perspective, São Francisco can be seen as a precursor of contemporary concerns, especially in the environmental field. “Saint Francis was the first environmentalist saint”, says Claudio Miscia. “He was the one who practically invented this idea of love for nature, for animals, for all creation.”
This vision finds expression in the famous Song of the Creaturescomposed at the end of the saint’s life, through which he celebrates elements of nature such as the sun, the moon or the wind. “It’s something of immense relevance”, observes the ambassador. The same relevance, he adds, can be found in the Franciscan reflection on poverty. “He took poverty to an extreme that today would be difficult to imagine, but we live at the opposite extreme, of continuous consumption and abundance. Maybe we can start to reflect that not all of this is necessary”, he adds.
The celebrations extend throughout the year with other cultural and academic initiatives. Among them, the presentation of the Portuguese translation of a recent biography of Saint Francis written by the medieval historian Alessandro Barbero, which will be published by Quetzal Editores, stands out.
According to the Embassy’s press officer, Paola D’Agostino, the book proposes a critical approach to traditional narratives about the saint of Assisi. The work “deconstructs many common places and stereotypes attributed over the centuries to Francisco’s personality”, he explains. The author draws on several medieval sources, often contradictory to each other, which reveal a more complex portrait of the historical figure.
“The first biographies, written by friars who knew him, offer divergent, sometimes irreconcilable portraits”, says Paola D’Agostino. Decades after the saint’s death, the Franciscan order itself tried to standardize this memory.
The subsequent rediscovery of some of these sources made it possible to recover a less idealized portrait of the saint. According to the advisor, the book returns “the density of an extraordinary man, at the center of spiritual tensions, inner conflicts and profound contradictions”.
In addition to the concert and the book presentation, the Italian Embassy also plans to dedicate this year’s edition of the Conferences on Portuguese-Italian Relations to the figure of Saint Francis, which is in its 15th edition.
For Claudio Miscia, these initiatives also aim to remember the cultural and symbolic dimension of the Franciscan legacy, which goes beyond national and religious borders. Among the traditions associated with the saint, the diplomat remembers one that is particularly widespread. “Saint Francis is considered the inventor of the nativity scene”, he says. “This year, perhaps we should remember this tradition more carefully and make our nativity scene at home”, he proposes.
The program can also be reinforced with new events throughout the year, always with free entry and open to the public. The objective, concludes the ambassador, is simple: keep alive a figure whose message continues to challenge the present. “The word of Saint Francis,” he says, “remains extremely current.”
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