martedì 10 dicembre 2013

Visit to the Cimitero delle Porte Sante

     Cimitero delle Porte Sante is located beside the Church of San Miniato al Monte which is above Piazza Michelangelo overlooking the city of Florence. Needless to say the walk up the hill to get to the cemetery was long, but it was worth the view. After walking through the beautiful Church we entered the graveyard. The cemetery was filled with sculptures and elaborate tombstones. The cemetery was created in 1854 and is the resting place of many well known Florentine writers, artists, and thinkers. There ground was covered in stone the graves were well kept. The elaborate decoration and amazing view made it clear that this graveyard must have been reserved for the rich and respected people of 19th century Florence. I couldn't help but compare this cemetery with fine carved stone above individual tombs to the one that I saw in Prague where jagged tombstones were clustered together. This comparison shows what most would like to do to honor their dead, and what others are forced to do for lack of an alternative.

Visit to The English Cemetery

     Of the three places that I visited for my learning service assignment, this was my favorite one. When we arrived we walked around a little and it did not seem much different than graveyards I had seen before. We were then greeted by the Nun who looks after the cemetery, Sister Julia. She brought us inside and told us a few things about the history of the cemetery and the people buried there. It was impressive how much Sister Julia knew about the people buried there and their connections with each other. The Cemetery was created originally as a place for protestants to be buried in Florence.

     Walking around the cemetery listening sister Julia helped me understand its significance as a hopeful place of rest for the people buried there. Her stories and descriptions transformed the rows of gravestones into more of a museum. Families and friends were buried together making the cemetery as a whole a monument to the community there. I felt hopeful because some day I would like to be buried and commemorated in a special place like this. Sister Julia's knowledge of the lives of the deceased buried in the cemetery ensures that their legacy lives on and they are not forgotten.

Visit to the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague

     As part of my learning service assignment on hope I visited the Old Jewish Cemetery while traveling in Prague. The cemetery was unlike any that I had seen before. It was filled with old jagged gravestone that were almost stacked on top of each other. The stones were worn leaving the inscriptions barely visible and some completely unreadable. The cemetery is enclosed by stone walls and not much bigger than a football field in total size. The isolation of the cemetery gave me an erie feeling.

     The guide told us a little bit about the history of the cemetery. The cemetery was used from the 15th to the 18th century to burry the Jewish people of Prague. This small area was the only place that Jewish people had to burry their dead. To make the most of the small cemetery without disturbing graves they added layers of soil and lifted the tombstones to the surface. 12,000 tombstones are visible and up to 100,000 people are estimated to have been buried there in 12 layers of graves.

lunedì 9 dicembre 2013

Cenacolo di Sant’Apollonia


Cenacolo di Sant’Apollonia means the Convent of Santa Appolina. Perhaps the most famous painting in the convent is a fresco called "The Last Supper" by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea del Castagno. I've always admired depictions of the last supper because they can evoke a dramatic feeling. These are the last moments of Jesus Christ. Castagno conveys a natural style in his painting. There is no hyperbole. In terms of visits of art museums, I preferred the Uffizi. It was certainly of smaller scale. There is a certain darkness and suspicious nature in the figure of Judas, which foreshadows his eventual betrayal in the Bible. 

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

The Palazzo Medici Riccardi is a Renaissance palace designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo. The rooms inside the palace were immaculate and fancy.  They demonstrate the vast wealth of the Medici Family. I was also informed that family would leave their leftover food outside in the holes for the homeless next to the rusticated masonry.  The ground floor exterior is rusticated masonry. The classical courtyard was incredibly peaceful and serene with its large stone fountain. The Chapel of the Magi contained an elaborate altar. The Eastern Wall depicting the procession of the Magi was quite colorful, portraying a Tuscan landscape. 

Duomo and Baptistery


On Halloween this year, I climbed the Duomo and visited the St. Giovanni Baptistery. The interior of the Florence Cathedral is just as beautiful as the exterior. The artwork depicting heaven and hell in the inside of the Duomo is incredibly detailed and quite graphic. It is a fresco completed by Federico Zuccaro in 1579.   It truly is an historical and cultural landmark. The real task of the visit was climbing up all the narrow stairways to get to the top. The views of Florence from the top of the Duomo are pretty close to perfect. It was interesting to see the celebrant not using a microphone because the interior of the Cathedral possesses great acoustics. The whole facade is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. The amount of detail that is put into the figures is astounding. The beauty of the Baptistery is no different from it's neighbor landmark. I appreciated the astronomical depiction on the floor and the meaning behind it. The Gates of Paradise in the Baptistery are actually copies of the originals. 

domenica 8 dicembre 2013

Pilgrimage

            Before watching the movie, I did not know much about Catholic pilgrimages. In reality, the only religious pilgrimage that I knew about was the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. However, after watching the movie, I realized that many other religions have pilgrimages or religious journeys, even Catholics. In the movie, a group of Catholic pilgrims journey to the Cathedral of Santiago de Campostela in Chile. This particular pilgrimage was longer than most. However, this group of travelers made the hard journey to find some sort of spiritual enlightenment.
            The sacrifice that these people make to journey across the country for the sake of their beliefs is remarkable. Personally, I do not think that I am going to ever take part in a pilgrimage, mainly in part because I am not very religious nor do I currently have the courage to sacrifice a lot of time to enhance my religious beliefs. Yet, hopefully, later in my life, I will find that courage and that spirituality that will force me to make the sacrifice and take part in a Catholic pilgrimage.