Duomo, Pisa, Siena and more!

I’ve had a busy couple of days consisting of more than just the usual schoolwork.

Tuesday’s art class brought us to Santa Croce, a beautiful church that was virtually destroyed during the 1966 flooding of the Arno. One of the more famous works of art that was damaged and has since been restored, is Cimabue’s cross that once hung above the altar. Santa Croce also happens to be the final resting place of Michelangelo and Galileo.

After our church tour, we visited an attached leather factory and had a demonstration on gilding gold on leather. It was pretty amazing to watch as the leather worker gently placed the gold leafing on the leather and meticulously stamped it with the hot tools that were sitting inside a desktop furnace. It was strange to think that the small offices and storerooms that lined the hallway were once cells for the Franciscan monks that lived and prayed at the church.

Wednesday brought more adventures in this Renaissance city. With other students belonging to the Society of Saint Thomas More, I climbed the four hundred and some odd steps to the top of the Duomo. It was definitely worth the gasping for air and sore legs once I got to the top. I had climbed St. Peter’s dome in Rome a few years ago, but Tuscany is not Lazio. Tuscany’s rolling green hills and hilltop towns and church steeples rose up all around. I could see where I stood in Fiesole the week before, I could see my bedroom window, and snowcapped mountains in the distance. Juniper trees shot up in the sky like missal silos and red tiled roofs covered the city like a lava flow. It was a sight not to forget!

On Friday, some friends and I took a day trip to Pisa to see, what else, the leaning tower. This is my third time in Italy and not once have I seen the infamous American icon for the country. After a long walk from the train station to the Campo dei Miracoli, the Leaning Tower of Pisa was a little… small. I thought we’d be able to see it from the train station. Nope!

One thing that was really neat was eating pizza outside at a little café and being able to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa at the same time. Admit it. We all know it’s really called the Leaning Tower of Pizza.

Saturday took me on another day trip to the neatest little town called Siena. Siena is famous for many things such as the obvious, St. Catherine of Siena. It was humbling to be present with her relics and pray before the crucifix that she prayed in front of when she received the stigmata. Of course, holy cards, medals, and plaques were among souvenirs to be brought back to friends who carry her name.

Siena is also famous for the Palio, a horse race that takes place twice a year in the summer, on a track made in the Campo. The city is divided up into 17 condrade, each of which submits a horse and jockey. Horses are blessed in the morning in the condrada’s church, and if he leaves “something” behind, then it is seen as good luck. The entire city is shut down and becomes a ghost town except in the center where the Campo is. After the race, no matter who wins, a huge potluck is shared with the whole town in the winning contrada.

Next weekend’s activities are not yet planned, but the following weekend, I’m going to Budapest, Hungary with one of my friends from CCM who is studying in Sweden. The following weekend is our program’s trip to Rome! I’m looking forward to both of these trips!!!