• Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Italian Notes
  • HOME
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardia-Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Molise
    • Piemonte-Piedmont
    • Puglia – Apulia
    • Sicilia
    • Toscana-Tuscany
    • Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • FOOD
    • Antipasti
    • Primi piatti
    • Secondi piatti
    • Dolci
  • PR/ADVERTISING
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Perugia satellites - Italian Notes

Perugia satellites

Signals from heaven

In the Umbrian capital Perugia satellites for TV reception sport images of Christ. Makes you wonder if the owners have discovered a brand new way to communicate with God.



Booking.com

The minimetro climbed steadily up towards Pian di Massiano in the centre of Perugia and stopped 439 metres above sea level, and looking out over the rooftops I suddenly found myself a lot closer to heaven than expected.

I’ve heard Bob Dylan ‘Knocking of Heaven’s Door’. Manhattan Transfer asked the operator to give them ‘Jesus on the line’. And Led Zeppelin tried to find a ‘Stairway to Heaven’. But I’d never thought of God as communicating via satellite, until I discovered the image of Christ on the satellite dish of an ordinary looking house in the Umbrian capital.

Perugia satellites - Italian Notes

If you study the picture closely you’ll find Biblical imagery in different colours on several Perugia satellites

Christ in Colours

Up to then I’d though religion was broadcast by means of miracles, church bells and burning bushes, but the good people of Perugia have obviously kept their communication lines more up to date. Cause when I looked around again – after I’d pinched my arm and rubbed my eyes – I found the same design in various red, green, yellow and purple versions all over the place.

Strange to think that game shows with half naked dancers and bitchy reality programmes enter people’s living rooms through the eyes of the Savior, but it seems to be the case.

And now I cannot help wondering whether this in itself is a sign. And if so – of what?

More on Umbria

Pilgrim trails: A brick for Assisi

Undiscovered Umbria

Orvieto: A city in platform shoes

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
Maps were disabled by the visitor on this site. Click to open the map in a new window.
12 replies
  1. Marc Alan Di Martino
    Marc Alan Di Martino says:
    June 4, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Perhaps it’s a sign of a robust sense of humor! On a similar note, aren’t the powerful radio antennas of Radio Maria reputed to be damaging to people’s health?

    I’ll have to look for these next time I take the minimetro.

    Reply
  2. Eric
    Eric says:
    June 4, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    Well, it seems like a sensible precaution: Whatever passes through that dish must be approved by the highest authority.

    Reply
  3. Leigh
    Leigh says:
    June 5, 2012 at 5:49 am

    Love the assortment of colours. All you ever seem to see in Canada in grey or white. And communicating with God via a satellite dish is something that hasn’t yet hit these shores.

    Reply
  4. Cathy Sweeney
    Cathy Sweeney says:
    June 5, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Perhaps the people in Perugia are on to something. Hmmm… I have no insight on if this is a sign of something big, but thoroughly enjoying the whole idea. Fun discovery!

    Reply
  5. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    June 8, 2012 at 9:09 am

    Italians making fun of their own religion? Whatever it means, what a fun find.

    Reply
  6. AdriBarr
    AdriBarr says:
    June 8, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    I do not know what it means. but I love knowing about it! What a find!

    Reply
  7. Laurel
    Laurel says:
    June 10, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    Wow, I had no idea that God was so into modern communication. Not sure what that signifies either, but is definitely interesting!

    Reply
  8. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista
    Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista says:
    June 11, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    This is one of those quirky things I love finding when traveling! This one probably causes a lot of double takes to make sure you really are seeing what you think you’re seeing.

    Reply
  9. Juliann
    Juliann says:
    June 11, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    This is so unusual. I love your pictures! It actually reminds me of a stretch of road in Kentucky where the yards are full of Virgin Mary statues; almost as though they each tried to outdo the other with their devotion.

    Reply
  10. Christine
    Christine says:
    July 10, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    That is definitely an interesting find!

    Reply
  11. mjskit
    mjskit says:
    July 13, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    That’s oldies but goodies that you pulled from the music box! :) What an interesting thing that people do to announce their faith. I bet the person that came up with the idea is making a fortune. Here is the southwestern US people are always seeing Jesus’ face on a tortilla. If someone can actually make it happen on purpose, he or she would become quite rich! What a great story you’ve shared!

    Reply
  12. admin
    admin says:
    July 16, 2012 at 8:51 am

    What a great idea for a business venture – If you can make Jesus show on a satellite dish, it must be possible to bake him on a tortilla as well.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Followon TwitterSubscribeto RSS Feed
Discover Rome - Italian Notes

Discover Rome

Discover Florence - Italian Notes

Discover Florence

Discover Venice - Italian Notes

Discover Venice

Discover Puglia - Italian Notes

Discover Puglia

Discover Sicily - Italian Notes

Discover Sicily

Discover Piedmont - Italian Notes

Discover Piedmont

Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsHide notification onlySettings

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Accept settingsHide notification only