The program conducted by Davide Banzato, broadcast on Canale 5, with the patronage of the Holy See, will start again on 8 January. Kenya, Turkey, Assisi, Padua, the Vatican, are some of the stages of this XIV edition between natural beauties and art, culture and spirituality, with the commentary also on current issues related to the places visited
Vatican News
Itineraries in Italy and around the world that will allow the viewer to live unforgettable experiences by visiting cities and territories rich in nature, history, art, beauty and culture and retracing the steps of some great saints who have marked the history of humanity. This will be the program “The journeys of the heart”, broadcast on January 8 on Canale 5, conducted by Davide Banzato, with the patronage of the Holy See, also visible on the international channel Mediaset Italia.
The parks of Kenya and the suburbs of Nairobi
The first stage of “The journeys of the heart” will be Kenya with its 56 parks and nature reserves that offer refuge to creatures now at risk of extinction. The country, reads the release presenting the television program, “is famous for being the place that hosts the Big Five: rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, lions and leopards, but also more well-known species such as giraffes and zebras”. However, the beauty of this territory does not erase the great poverty of its people. In Kenya, in fact, more than 15% of the population lives on less than 2 dollars a day. “The episode – explains the production – will be a real immersion in borderline situations, in contact with street children and young people, showing, thanks to Don Bosco Missions, how, with a long and patient process, one can get to the point accessible to the good of every young person to save him and give him a future”.
The travel companion will be the testimonial Fiona May, who has been working alongside the Salesian organization since 2019 and who has just visited the missions on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi, the fulcrum of this stage.
An image of the stage in Turkey
Turkey, the land of Saint Paul
The second episode will take the viewer to Turkey, a crossroads between East and West. We will start from Istanbul, “a modern city with a unique identity whose past coexists with its youthful exuberance”. As the Acts of the Apostles recount, Jesus’ message arrives here thanks to Christian Jews from Jerusalem. “It will therefore be a great emotion to travel to the land where Saint Paul was born and where – according to tradition – John and the Madonna lived. It will be a journey through the culture and history of Turkey, an inter-religious and multi-ethnic reality in which to be enchanted by the extraordinary beauty of a timeless city and then continue to discover other destinations in the country that have so much to tell and transmit”.
Discovering the Basilica and Piazza San Pietro
St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican will be the third stage of this edition. The program will tell the story and martyrdom of the apostle Peter, but also the path that led to the construction of the current St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica, for which masters such as Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo and Bernini worked. Among the guides of this itinerary, Cardinal Gambetti, vicar general of Pope Francis for the Vatican City and president of the Fabbrica di San Pietro.
Filming of the television format in Assisi
Assisi and Padua in the footsteps of St. Francis and his friars
The next stop in Assisi will make the spectator retrace the story of Saint Francis “in an unprecedented way – continues the press release – by following his steps and listening to life testimonies, immersing ourselves in the beauty of a city that attracts the whole world and people of every age, culture and religion”. Among the many guests, Fra Giulio Cesareo, director of the Communication Office of the Sacred Convent of San Francesco in Assisi. Continuing to follow the Franciscan story, even in Padua it will be possible to experience a journey full of surprises, starting with few known treasures. Starting from the Basilica of Sant’Antonio di Padova, the episode will tell the story of the saint in an unprecedented way, but we will also discover places such as Prato della Valle, the Scrovegni Chapel, the greatest fresco masterpiece by the artist Giotto. And again the Botanical Garden, “the oldest university scientific garden in the world to have kept its original site, with a large new space, where over 6,000 specimens find space, with 3,500 botanical species”, and still other places. The trip to Padua will also be an opportunity to tell the story of the venerable Father Placido Cortese who, during the Nazi-Fascist period, organized the escape of hundreds of people, including Jews, persecuted people and allied soldiers.
The guests of each episode
The founder of Nuovi Orizzonti, Chiara Amirante, the journalists of Famiglia Cristiana and the authors of Edizioni San Paolo will be present for each episode of this new series of “Travels of the Heart”. The TV format is conceived and produced by Elio Angelo Bonsignore of Me Production together with the producer for Mediaset RTI Consuelo Bonifati, directed by Matteo Ricca and Fabrizio Lo Presti. The authors are Davide Banzato, also in the role of conductor, Maria Amata Calò and Martina Polimeni.