The Templars attracted literature and cinema for the aura of mystery surrounding them, and they also did important work in physical history by inventing some of the banking techniques that we still use today: it helped to sharpen their intelligence. The need was there, the aim was to better regulate the economic needs of the pilgrims in the Holy Land. After centuries of respectable military and religious service to the cross, the Templars have been erased from history, by the will of Philip the Fair of France, but not only his, given that the punishment was issued by a pope and other Christian kings. Went. (almost all) are in the queue.
Yet the story did not end here. We know that a small portion of the Templars have had a bad ending at stake, but everyone else? Some may have concealed themselves among the people, others have secretly merged with other chivalrous orders, some have taken refuge in the Islamic world, scoffing at the joy there for this historical servitude. There is also the suspicion (a well-founded suspicion, though nothing has been proven) that the main pole of attraction was the Scot of King Robert the Bruce, a character who plays a key role in the film “Braveheart”. Wherever they went, there are those who believe that they have cherished esoteric traditions and that the thread has never been broken and that it reaches our days.
This amalgam of history and legends is difficult to unravel but fascinating. The opportunity to talk about it is the first edition of the International Templar Festival, scheduled from 26 to 29 August in Alexandria, featuring historians as well as artists, to explain – four evening meetings-shows and three afternoon academics. With lessons – the true story of the Templars, which will prove to be just as surprising as their legend and which continues to fascinate millions of people around the world today.
The International Templar Festival is also on FB and Instagram. @festivaldeitemplari
Free Admission. Reservations required at the following email address: [email protected]
You enter with the Green Pass in compliance with the existing anti-COVID regulations.
Thursday 26 August
9.15am – Piazza Santa Maria di Castello, Alessandria
Conference-Show Templars Revolution
Knights, monks, wizards… who were the Templars really? What were their symbols? What determined his extraordinary rule? What is the paradox of him being religious and being a soldier at the same time?
Friday 27 August
5.30am – Palazzo Cattica’s conference room, Parma 1, via Alessandria
Meeting with Michel Ballard: Lectio Magistralis on the Expansion of the Genoese into the Mediterranean
9.15am – Piazza Santa Maria di Castello, Alessandria
convention-show plot
Who is the enemy to the Templars? What was his relation to Islam? Why did the French king Philip the Fair conspired against the Templars?
Saturday 28 August
5.30am – Palazzo Cattica’s conference room, Parma 1, via Alessandria
Meeting with Simonetta Cerini, Philippe Joserand and Julian Théry, Templar Dialogues
9.15am – Piazza Santa Maria di Castello, Alessandria
convention-shows we always ship
How did the wealth of the Templars match up with the likes of their poverty? The Templars were also workers. How did he manage his economy? Did he really invent the Bearer check?
Sunday 29 August
5.30am – Palazzo Cattica’s conference room, Parma 1, via Alessandria
Two video interviews on the Templar by Alessandro Barbero and Franco Cardini, presented by Simonetta Cerini
9.15am – Piazza Santa Maria di Castello, Alessandria
Convention-shows at stake!
What was the real story of the Templar trial? Who was Jacques de Mollé, the last Grand Master of the Temple? How did his legend develop?
Coffee enthusiast. Travel scholar. Infuriatingly humble zombie fanatic. Thinker. Professional twitter evangelist.
