May 7
Just a quick note
because we're just getting started.
I'm in the
Contilia, a small hotel on Via Principe Amedeo in Rome. There are orange trees across the street.
The plane was more
than an hour late getting off the ground in Newark, but aside from that the
trip was OK. No sleep, but we expected that.
We've had our passports stamped and found our luggage. We couldn't find our bags
at first because passport control took as long here as it does in Newark. Very
chaotic, not lines just a mob of people shuffling toward gates. Even the cattle
pen part toward the end was several people across. Lots of milling about.
The bags had been
removed from the carousel and set next to it, but no one told us that. I found
them by accident when I went to report them lost.
So far, we've had
time for pastry and coffee and a short walk for orientation. We are two blocks
from a baroque church called Santa Maria Maggiore, which has a shrine under the
altar that houses fragments that tradition says come from the manger where
Jesus was born.
It was strange to
stand that close to something that for centuries has been linked to the Gospel
of Luke.
There was a lady
kneeling on the stones in prayer.
It is a basilica,
which means large empty nave (no pews) and two side aisles defined by rows of
columns. This is the plan of the original basilicas, which were ancient Roman
public buildings.
Although the church
is baroque, the mosaics on the floor may date back 1,200 years.
We also went into
another chapel with frescoes and a golden window above the altar. The motif was
the All-Seeing Eye of God. It is the same eye that is at the top of the pyramid
on the back of a dollar bill, but this one was on a golden ground surrounded by
a gang of cherubs.
I managed to take a
photo before an usher came in and threw everybody out of the chapel. So the
photo of the day is "Joanna meets the All-Seeing Eye."
You may have to
blow the photo up to see the detail in the golden oval near the top of the
frame, but don't worry.
The eye can see
you.
May 7
I had no idea about
Santa Maria Maggiore’s association with Luke. Interesting. I like the photo. Is
that Joanna wearing a straw hat? And which hat did you wind up bringing?
Alan
May 8
Straw hat. I see a
lot of them here. Apparently Memorial Day comes earlier in Italy.
Or else, only
tourists are wearing them.
The manger is
mentioned only in St. Luke. That's why I mentioned him.
And yes, that's
Joanna in her own straw hat.
Harry
May 7
Enjoy Italia!
Decades ago my
first wife and I took the train from Rome to Florence and back. We shared 2nd
class seats with an Italian family who were truly into living life well. We had
a wonderful time getting soused, a high point in my life even that long ago.
Their only English
was "okay" and ours was limited to "pronto." Communication
is both overrated and misunderstood.
A life well lived
is a life well laughed, yes?
JackT
May 8
Yes, and yes again.
Harry
May 7
Hi, Harry and
Joanna!
I have always
admired you, Harry, and your ability to wear your hats as well as you do...
that said.... Joanna, you look stunning!
Xo
A, A, and a
No comments:
Post a Comment