Don Bosco is often remembered as the "Turin saint", because it is in Turin that he carried out most of his activities, or as a "Piedmontese saint", referring more widely to his origins and to his human and vocational path. But several particular episodes in his life took place during his numerous travels outside Turin and Piedmont. And among them, undoubtedly, the majority had Rome as their goal: 20.
But why did Don Bosco go to Rome so often?
- Out of love for the Pope.
- Out of love for the Eternal City.
- For the approval of the Rules of the Salesian Society.
- For the appointments and temporalities of Bishops.
- To disseminate the Catholic Readings.
- To find the means for his various works.
In two years of time and in a "restricted" Rome, like the one at the time, he had the opportunity to visit many sites. Many of those locations, unfortunately, no longer exist today as they were demolished in the city's subsequent urban restructuring. But for those who, visiting the Eternal City (or even living there), wondered what sites related to the Saint "of the Young", a guide has been produced that helps to know and find them all, and to discover the circumstances in which Don Bosco went there. The publication is: "Un piemontese a Roma", by Fr Michele Novelli, currently available only in Italian.
To give a certain logical unity to the publication, the places visited by Don Bosco have been divided into three parts, each of which includes the explanation and, above all, the citation of the pages of the "Biographical Memoirs" which refer to each single place. The three parts refer to:
- Don Bosco's residences in Rome
- The Saint's most visited and dearest sites
- Possible Salesian houses in Rome
On the occasion of the restoration of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and Don Bosco's rooms in Rome, in 2011 the Central Italy Circumscription of the Salesians also promoted a video, made by "Missioni Don Bosco" in Turin and available in multiple languages (Italian - English), which follows the same structure.
