Italy's thick air and a slow internet...

Maybe the air is super thick here but it takes forever for my videos to upload onto youtube.  I have one cooking right now but in the meantime, let me take you on a tour of Viterbo.

Viterbo is like a little museum exhibit.  It is the best preserved medieval town (12th century) in all of Europe, I believe.  My apartment looks down over a tiny via and into the courtyard of someone who has great style and/or tons of luck:

But the basic streets look like this:

Today was a celebration of St Rita and the church of the Trinitas was very busy with congregants and worshipers attending mass and buying roses as offerings... and that included me. 

As you walk around Viterbo it is clear that Mary (as in the Mother of God and the Boss of Heaven) is always peering down over you, protecting you and making sure you are following all the trash management rules:

Seriously, trash management is very important here.  EVERYTHING is recycled and there are many rules and bins you have to mind, days for the pick up of certain types of trash and stiff fines for being a lazy loser and not recycling.

But back to God, many of you may know that my alma mater is little known St Rose of Lima in Murphrysboro [sp?], Tennessee.  I have just discovered that there is a St Rose of Viterbo.  She was born in Viterbo in 1233.  A young girl with a delicate constitution and a serious love of God, she demonstrated God's favor via an early miracle of her transforming the bread into a rose.  When Viterbo was besieged in 1243, her courage and dedication to the people of her home town became legend.  In June of 1250 she fell very ill and after having visions of dead people ("I see dead people!") she was visited and cured by the holy Mother.  The Virgin Mary then told her to undertake a pilgrimage and then become a Franciscan nun.  She then battled the heresy of the city by running through the streets and declaring the righteousness of God.  She died on March 6, 1251. 
Pope Alexander IV, resident of Viterbo, later ordered the exhumation of her body... which was found to be miraculously preserved.  You can see it when you visit the Church of St Rose:

Which is pretty fabulous, you must admit.