This past weekend we went to Naples for an overnight visit. In July we were there to catch a ferry to Sicily, making my view of Naples one with lots of traffic and a bustling port. Walking the streets and strolling the piazzas as we explored the center of Naples has given me a very different feeling about this city.
On Saturday afternoon we made our way to Via San Gregorio Armeno for the Christmas Market. This long narrow cobblestone street is filled with little shops and bancarelle (stalls) that are filled with terra cotta and plastic figures Nativity scenes.
There are stables and empty village scenes for people to buy and fill with the Holy Family, angels, shepherds, wise men and animals. The street was crowded with tourists and Neapolitans who have come to buy new pieces to add to their precipio displays at home.
Several years ago I started my own small precipio with parts I bought in New York City. In 1990, while visiting Mexico City, I got an Italian made figure of two children with a mother, representing my two kids and their mother. Two years ago in Rome, I added a musician for Vincenzo and last year I added a small rabbit for his pet, Zic. This year, on the Via San Gregoria Armeno, I have added figures representing three special people in New York. My friend Paul is a nurse, and I found a figure holding a touch, making me think of Florence Nightingale. I found two figures as images for John and Michael: a young shepherd for John and a slightly older shepherd for Michael. They are a very caring couple, like shepherds. (And then for me, I found a chubby guy sitting down with his pants rolled up.)
Dinner on Saturday night was at a fun restaurant.
I have never seen so much buffalo on a menu. Our appetizer was buffalo mozzarella served with sliced cherry tomatoes and basil. My main course was a buffalo fillet with a mixed salad and potatoes. I ended the meal with a dessert of buffalo cheesecake. (It was not a New York cheesecake, but with the buffalo ricotta it was delicious!)
On Sunday we made our way to the Church of Santa Chiara. For me the cloister behind the church is a real jewel of Naples. It was built in 1740 and was part of the enclosed convent of the Poor Clares. The columns and benches are covered with colorful majolica tiles. While the frescoes on the inner walls of the cloister (from the 1600's) show scenes from the Bible and the life of the Franciscans, the tiles in the cloister represent what happens outside the monastery.
On the benches and walls there are rural countryside scenes of hunting, work and play. There are also mythological episodes depicted on some of the tiles. The tiled columns that are decorated with vines, oranges, lemons, bananas and figs enhance the restful nature of the cloister.
Let me close with an Italian song from the 1940’s. In the refrain an immigrant talks about the Santa Chiara monastery. He says that his heart is sad and heavy because every night he thinks about how his city used to be.
Go to: http://www.italiamerica.org/Munasterio_'Santa_Chiara.htm
It reminds me of the American song "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano."
Windows of the building designed by Richard Meier to protect the Ara Pacis, an altar to peace, commissioned by the Roman Senate in 13 BC.
A view of Rome from a window of the Scuderie del Quirinale, originally built as the Papal Stables by Pope Innocent XIII. It is now a gallery for art exhibitions.
The Church of the Holy Face of Jesus, Via della Magliana, Rome
Today, one of my students brought in a package of cookies for our class from her grandfather, who is a baker in Tuscany. Her grandmother is visiting her family here in Rome. The cookies were on a nice gold foil cardboard tray, making them easy to serve "right out of the package."
Last Sunday, assisted by a recently purchased navigation system, we set off to find the Basilica of San Lazzaro in Borgo. Our journey got us to the small church just as the Mass was finished and we were able to go in and enjoy a recently restored Romanesque basilica dedicated to St Lazarus, patron of lepers. 
And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:3)
Our wandering took us to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four principal basilicas in Rome and one of the seven medieval pilgrimage churches. (Many have heard of my New York City seven church pilgrimage on Holy Thursday. This tradition is based on the pilgrimage to seven churches in Rome.) Santa Maria Maggiore has long been famous for the acheiropoieton (not created by hand) picture of the Madonna, the relic of the holy crib, and a precipio that was described by English pilgrims in 721.
This is a photo of pines and palms outside of my classroom window.
On Saturday we were at dinner in the apartment of friends as they celebrated 32 years together. There were eleven people at the dining table and it seems like there were eleven courses of food! On Sunday afternoon we traveled about 30 km south of Rome, near the sea, to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday. Everyone contributed song to the evening. I was asked to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and a song by the Beach Boys.
This past weekend we went to Naples for an overnight visit. In July we were there to catch a ferry to Sicily, making my view of Naples one with lots of traffic and a bustling port. Walking the streets and strolling the piazzas as we explored the center of Naples has given me a very different feeling about this city. 
Several years ago I started my own small precipio with parts I bought in New York City. In 1990, while visiting Mexico City, I got an Italian made figure of two children with a mother, representing my two kids and their mother. Two years ago in Rome, I added a musician for Vincenzo and last year I added a small rabbit for his pet, Zic. This year, on the Via San Gregoria Armeno, I have added figures representing three special people in New York. My friend Paul is a nurse, and I found a figure holding a touch, making me think of Florence Nightingale. I found two figures as images for John and Michael: a young shepherd for John and a slightly older shepherd for Michael. They are a very caring couple, like shepherds. (And then for me, I found a chubby guy sitting down with his pants rolled up.)
I have never seen so much buffalo on a menu. Our appetizer was buffalo mozzarella served with sliced cherry tomatoes and basil. My main course was a buffalo fillet with a mixed salad and potatoes. I ended the meal with a dessert of buffalo cheesecake. (It was not a New York cheesecake, but with the buffalo ricotta it was delicious!)
On the benches and walls there are rural countryside scenes of hunting, work and play. There are also mythological episodes depicted on some of the tiles. The tiled columns that are decorated with vines, oranges, lemons, bananas and figs enhance the restful nature of the cloister.