A place of relaxation

A place of relaxation

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Capistrano

It was suggested that I give a little more information about the Capistrano, so here is a blurb from a website:
San Juan Capistrano is the site of a Catholic mission for which it is named, Mission San Juan Capistrano. When the Mission was founded in 1776, the region was populated by the Acjachemen band of Indians, called JuaneƱos by the Spanish. The mission was named after the Franciscan saint Giovanni da Capistrano (1386-1456).
The city is the site of California's oldest residential neighborhood, Los Rios. It is also the home of the oldest in use building in California, the Serra Chapel in the Mission. The area was the site of both the first vineyard and first winery in California.
In the 1830s Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of the classic Two Years Before the Mast visited the area as a sailor engaged in the hide trade on board the ship Pilgrim. Describing the locale, which then included what is now the neighboring city of Dana Point, he gushed, "San Juan is the only romantic spot in California." The area was also the locale of the first Zorro novella, The Curse of Capistrano, published in 1919 (later renamed "The Mark of Zorro" after the sucess of of the film of the same name).
San Juan Capistrano is also known for its Cliff Swallows. The protected birds are reputed to return from migration on St. Joseph's Day (March 19) each year, a day celebrated by the city's annual Swallows' Day Parade and other festive events. The are reputed to leave on October 23, the former feast day of St. John of Capistano.

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