Rome Had Snow in August!

The date was August 5th. The year was 358 AD.

Today I attended Solemn Pontifical Vespers in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to commemorate the feast of Our Lady of the Snows, standing between two rows of monolithic marble columns, surrounded by 5th century mosaics, under a gilded 15th century ceiling displaying the first gold brought back to Europe after Columbus' voyage and donated by Ferdinand and Isabella the the Spanish Pope Alessandro VI Borgia.

The Roman Catholic Liturgical Calendar assigns this day to the Dedication of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Legend has it that Mary herself indicated in a dream to Pope Liberius (352-366) where her great church was to be built. She confirmed this by having snow fall on the site even though it was August.

Cardinal Bernard Law, former archbishop of Boston and now rector of this basilica, presided over the service. During the vespers I prayed for the victims of clergy sex abuse, especially those who suffered during the time Cardinal Law was archbishop of Boston.

The climax of the vesper service was a cascade of white rose petals from the ceiling during the singing of the Magnificat.

As I left the basilica workers were in the piazza below this column getting ready for an evening sound-and-light show that will include snow.

You can see some of the "trial snow" near the workers shoes.

Walking Sticks in the Abbey

One of the highlights of visiting the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore in Tuscany is experiencing the life of St. Benedict fresco cycle. The earliest paintings on the cloister walls are from Benedict's later life by Luca Signorelli. There are 27 panels by Giovanni Antonia Bazzi, called il Sodoma, and one painting of St. Benedict in Sicily by Bartolomeo Neroni, known as il Ricco, a pupil of il Sodoma.

Here are a couple "walking sticks"

to give you a peek at the frescoes.

From one of the frescoes of the life of Benedict(1505) by il Sodoma.

From a fresco of Benedict and companions

travelling to Monte Casino (1497) by Signorelli.

Around the corner from the cloister I found a hallway with some frescoes of the Desert Fathers (1440) attributed to Giovanni di Paolo.

This post is dedicated to Fr. John Baptist, CP,

a friend in Rome who is looking for a walking stick.

Bicycles of Buonconvento

The wall of Buonconvento towards the Via Cassia.

The medieval town of Buonconvento is most know for an amazing art collection from churches in the region that is housed in the Palazzo Ricci, including works by Duccio, Pietro Lorenzetti and Andrea di Bartolo. It is a great place to see spectacular art without crowds of people. (In fact, it seems we were the only visitors to the Palazzo that afternoon.) The interior of the building itself is something to admire. It was built at the turn of the 20th century and designed by Gino Chierici in a style the Italians call "Stile Liberty" from the Art Nouveau Liberty Department Store in London.

Sadly, photography was not allowed inside the Palazzo, so I have no images of the inside of the building or of the art work. As a substitute, I offer you some pictures of bicycles around the village of Buonconvento.

A Church with Three Doors and Mother Theresa

San Quirico d'Orcia is a small hilltop town 40 km from Siena. The 12th century parish church of La Collegiata is distiguished by it's three impressive entrances, two of which have carved lions supporting the columns.

The "simple" door.

The colums for this door are carved figures.

The columns for this door are knotted!

Inside was a shrine to Mother Theresa of Calcutta. It was the first time I have seen a statue of this Albanian missionary to India.

Take a look at the crossed toes on the statue. The story goes that as a child Mother Theresa had to wear shoes that were two small for her feet.

Baths for Saints and Sinners

We had dinner one evening in Bagno Vignoni on a terrace overlooking a pool that fills the small town's main piazza. The water comes from thermal springs that were known to the Etruscans. The was the ancient Romans (and their love of baths!) that turned the area into a spa which has attracted people for centuries. Medieval pilgrims traveling the Via Francigena stopped here to relieve their aching feet and legs in the sulpher pools. St. Catherine of Siena and Pope Pius II are both know to have soaked in the waters, and Lorenzo de' Medici was a frequent visitor. Today there are a couple of hotels in Bagno Vignoli that offer full treatments to guests.

The Via Francigena is the route from Canterbury to Rome. The earliest written account of the journey is from Sigeric, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 994. His diary describes his itinerary and the main stopping places of the rouet he took.

Medieval Meal in Siena

In Siena we treated ourselves to a Medieval dinner at the Ristorante Gallo Nero, located somewhere to the right of the tower, in the center of the picture above.

The meal started with some delicious breads, an appetizer wine spritzer, and a plate with fagottino ripieno di ricotta e verdure (a pasta pillow stuffed with ricotta and vegetables), a torta di ceci al cacio e pepe (chick pea pie), a torta di cipolle (onion pie) and orzo e porcini (a salad of barley and mushrooms).

Next came a delicious sopa di piselli (pea soup)

served with plenty of croutons.

This was followed by anatra in agrodolce (duck in a sweet and sour sauce) served with oven roasted carrots, fennel and beans. The plate was completed with two dumplings and dusted with cinnamon.

The desert was a tasty prune and raisin pie drizzled with honey.

A hearty Chianti wine

accompanied the meal.

The baby at the next table was given an abacus to keep him entertained while his family enjoyed their meal.

Monteriggioni

Before starting our trip home to Rome after visiting Siena we made a small "birdwalk" to Monteriggioni. It is a small, but wonderfully preserved medieval fortification built in 1203 by the Sienese to defend their northern border against their Florentine enemies.

From the road you first see the 14 towers inserted in the ring of walls.

Dante mentions 14 towers in his Inferno, describing the towers as giants surrounding hell's abyss. We saw the quotation carved on a plaque inside the gate.


Inside the walls are just a couple dozen houses, a hotel, a church, and a few restaurants around the piazza in front of the church. The church was dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta sometime before 1235.

The crucifix in the church was carved by an anonymous Florentine in the early 17th century. It is made of different pieces of wood for the arms, head and torso, fitted together and nailed, and then pained in oil. During a restoration in 1998 there was an unexpected discovery. Inside the head, behind the face of Christ, an inscription was found written in ink by the unknown artist: "Dear Jesus, into your holy arms I entrust my soul."

Note about "birdwalking" : Most people travel in a straight path to get from one location to another. I often find myself "birdwalking" as I go from one place to the next, zig-zagging back and forth, observing what is around me, much in the same way a bird goes about in a zig-zag way, looking for food.