Treccani, two Christmas podcasts on the Jubilee and nativity scene

Treccani presents two Christmas podcasts to delve deeper into the Jubilee and the theme of the nativity scene: “Sacra Loca. Voices, places and spaces of pilgrimage in Rome” traces the history of pilgrimages from the first Jubilee of 1300 announced by Pope Boniface VIII to today; “TreCcose sul Natale” invites you to rediscover the essence of the holidays.

The podcast “Sacra Loca. Voices, places and spaces of pilgrimage to Rome” retraces in a light and documented way the journeys of Christians to Rome for reasons of faith, from the early third and fourth centuries up to the institution by Pope Boniface VIII of the first Jubilee in 1300. The first episode of the podcast (Re-imagining Christian Rome: the first Jubilee), produced by Edulia dal Sapere Treccani, with the patronage of Dicastery for Evangelization – Section for the fundamental issues of evangelization in the world, and of the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Rome will be available on 24 December on the occasion of the opening of the ordinary Jubilee of the Catholic Church of 2025 “Pilgrims of Hope” .

“Sacra Loca. Voices, places and spaces of the pilgrimage to Rome”, the result of Treccani’s collaboration with Andrea Antonio Verardi, historian and university professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, who conceived and wrote the program, allows through stories, voices, places and routes, more or less known, which have characterized Rome as a pilgrimage destination, to delve deeper into the themes and characters of the Jubilee, also through the encyclopedic and/or biographical entries present on the treccani.it and on the appropriate App.

“Christians have been going to Rome for reasons of faith since the 3rd and 4th centuries, but the significant step was the establishment by the Roman Church of the first Jubilee, in the year 1300. The reasons that pushed Pope Boniface VIII to undertake this initiative are different and historians still debate the real intentions of the pontiff”.

Through stories, voices, places and routes that characterized Rome as a pilgrimage destination, the public will be able to hear from the voices of witnesses of the time the ‘official’ and non-official reasons from which the practice of Catholic jubilees began and delve deeper into the theme of the Jubilee. The podcast will be distributed on all the main platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with the publication starting from 24 December of one episode per week for 9 weeks, with the narrating voice of Andrea Antonio Verardi and that of Daria Falconi for the extracts of the historical sources.

Treccani’s second Christmas podcast is dedicated to the “Nativity Scene – “Three Things about Christmas” – through a reflection by Don Luigi Maria Epicoco on the three iconic figures of the Nativity: Mary, Joseph and the child. Mary is the protagonist of the first episode, entitled Madre , where the value of motherhood and its unconditional love is explored, even in the face of the most arduous difficulties, Father, Giuseppe represents the humility and solidity of a parent who, without prevaricating, guides with discretion and trust. Finally, Son, the final episode, talks to us about the freedom and misunderstandings that every parent and child go through, also reflecting on the human dimension of the Holy Family.

The podcast, created together with Nico Spuntoni and hosted with Ilaria Bianchi, is produced by Edulia dal Sapere Treccani and is available for free on all the main streaming platforms.