1. ‘ This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. ’

2. Throughout our national history there has always been an ethnic and cultural diversity. in the four geographic regions of Romania: Transylvania, Moldova, Walachia and Dobrudgea. The foreign travelers, particularly Catholic missionaries and especially the Franciscans, mentions the co-existence in these geographic regions, apart from the Romanian majority, of Saxons, Polish, Italians, Greeks, Hungarian, Armenian, Hebrew and later of Russian Lipovan and Gypsy.

3. We can find this information in the testimonies of the Christian missionaries and travelers present the characteristic aspects of daily life of towns cities and of people, their occupations, religion, traditions and customs. For example the words of Giovanni Maria Angioleti (1470) which accompanied the Sultan Mohammed II in Moldavian campaign against Stephen the Great or of scholar travellers such as Antonio Bonfini, Enea Silvio Picolorini, Sebastian Munzer, Johann Sommer, Marco Bandini. We can find this information in the testimonies of the Christian missionaries and travelers present the characteristic aspects of daily life of towns cities and of people, their occupations, religion, traditions and customs. For example the words of Giovanni Maria Angioleti (1470) which accompanied the Sultan Mohammed II in Moldavian campaign against Stephen the Great or of scholar travellers such as Antonio Bonfini, Enea Silvio Picolorini, Sebastian Munzer, Johann Sommer, Marco Bandini.

4. N. Iorga, the most famous Romanian historian, in his book: "Passengers, ambassadors and missionaries in our countries" mentions that "many apostles of the Roman Rite" (such as:Franciscan monks, Querini (Catholic Bishop of Arges county ), Rémond, Bakich and especially Bandini, bishop of Marcianopol, Gasparo de Nota, Francesca Maria Spera) arrived on our territory to increase the number of believers. They wrote reports to the Congregation of Propaganda Fide and to the Pope himself, pages about Moldovian and Romanian tolerance.

5. Also, the openess of the local rulers can be understood from the foundation of a famous school called: “Scola Latina” founded by the protestants who were specially brought by the voivode Despot Voda” (1561). The school was later taken under the guidance of the Jesuit monks(1585).