The Lair of Stardom

This morning I say goodbye to my Lair of Stardom in Viterbo.  I have loved every second of this adventure, every second, and I am grateful, grateful, grateful to all the people and magic and star alignments that made this happen for me.

In a couple of hours I head to Rome for two days then back home. 

But, before Rome, another glimpse at the exquisite beauty of a morning in Viterbo:

Italy wins!!

So Italy beats Spain this evening in some soccer game.
All of Viterbo are out of their minds in joy and celebration.
Everyone gets in their cars, honks the horn, waves the flag and circles this tiny, cramped medieval city.  Here is the scene from my window:

Only Kindness Matters

Here are some reminders of the power and beauty of kindness.....
A sign in Viterbo:

Translation-

a coffee - 3 euro

a coffee, please - 2 euro

Good morning, a coffee please - .90

Good morning, a coffee please (with a little smile) - no charge

At Santa Maria Trinitas~

At San Marco in Firenze~

At Galleria Palatina in Firenze (this looks just like my niece and nephew, Rachel and Michael)~

When I was in Florence having lunch at a marvelous local trattoria, I insisted on speaking only in Italian to my waiter.  He was very kind and patient.  After lunch, he gave me a free glass of limoncello and told me to 'keep studying.'  Hahahahaha!!!!

Gelato!

This morning was my LAST final… and it was in Elementary Italian.  I did alright but it will be many more years of study before I’m reading Dante’s Divine Comedy in Italian.  But, all my obligations sono finiti and what better way to celebrate than GELATO!!

Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream.  It is made of milk, cream and sugar.  The process of making it is a bit different than ice cream and it gives it less fat than ice cream but more sugar.  Also, in Italy there is a whole culture of gelato and every region has flavors that they specialize in, as many of the flavors involve local fruits and nuts.  A good gelateria will make their flavors daily and so the offerings are always changing.  Today there was a beautiful pistachio, a Cuban rum, an intense dark chocolate and many different fruits that are in season right now like peach and nectarine. 

There is also a keen and wicked sense of humor in some of the varieties. 

For example, this one, Schiaffo del Papa (Spank the Pope):

There are so many amazing flavors!  The best gelateria in Viterbo is the Antica Latteria right by the Porto Verita. 

I, of course, ordered a very petite portion.....(this is actually as big as my head).  In my best Italian, "Scusi, voglio un coppo de Schiaffo del Papa con panna, per favor."  I would like a cup of spank the Pope with whipped cream.  Grazie.

San Martino al Cimino

Yesterday my medieval history class took an excursion to San Martino al Cimino which is about 8 miles from Viterbo.  It is part of the district of Viterbo and is a lovely little town that was built around a monastery during the 13th century.  It is on a hilltop, as so many towns are, and is girded 'round by fortress walls.  Very picturesque. 

San Martino is a fascinating church that has endured various changes.  What we see today is the result of an evolution of social and political changes as well as aesthetic.  Borromini actually contributed to the design modifications of the church during the 17th century.  As an architect he collaborated with Bernini in projects at St Peter's in Rome, so he was a pretty big name.  In fact, when we were looking around in the Chapter House, the guide made it clear that the marble floor is made of the same marble, the same marble, as that that was used in St Peter's.

The current transept of the church is actually the original church that was built in the 9th century.  Later in the 12th century, they literally built around it and created this fusion of Romanesque and Gothic styles that we see today.

The San Martino monastic order was Benedictine.  To distinguish themselves and literally associate themselves with this church, the monks wore robes that were red and white.  The interior of the church was also painted red and white, as was discovered in the 20th century when some repair had to be done because of a column collapse.  Here you can see some of the remaining paint as well as an awesome patch job on one of the massive columns.

The community of monks had a scriptorium as well and we were allowed to go take a look at some of the treasures there.... as well as see a clock from 1600 work.  Yeah!

The Via Francigena

The Via Francigena is a medieval pilgrimage route that originated circa 990 AD when the Archbishop of Canterbury undertook a pilgrimage to Rome to meet Pope John XV.  When he returned to England he wrote of his experience traveling through France and Italy along with much spiritual contemplation about how the experience had benefited him.  The route he took thus became ‘popularized’ and emulated by many.  It became known as the Via Francigena mostly because a good deal of it cuts through France.  It is believed that this route was followed in 1219 (unsure of year) by St Francis who walked from Assisi to Rome to get the Pope’s blessing on his newly established Order of the Friars Minor.  Saint Francis (real name Giovanni di Pietro di  Bernardone; his nickname was Francesco because his mother was French) first walked to Rome in 1209 to meet with Pope Innocent III. 

It’s a very intriguing story in that one of the contentions the Church had with the Friars Minor was Francis’ insistence that the monks NOR the order actually own anything.  There was also the insistence that they live a life of poverty among the poor.  The property issue was not received well and this brought some contention between the Pope and Francis.  The Pope did not immediately accept this Order, but did so after some ‘modifications’.

The Via Francigena cuts through Viterbo and you can still walk in the steps of thousands of pilgrims through the centuries, including those of St Francis and his followers. 

Remember also that St Francis was the first environmentalist J and animal lover. 

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,

all praise is yours, all glory, all honor,
and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.

No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through all you have made,

and first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day;

and through whom you give us light.

How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor;

Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

All Praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon

and the stars; in the heavens you have made them,

bright, and precious, and fair.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through Brothers wind and air, and fair and stormy,

all the weather's moods,

by which you cherish all that you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,

so useful, humble, precious and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom you brighten up the night.

How beautiful is he, how cheerful!

Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through our Sister

Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us,

and produces various fruits with colored flowers

and herbs.

All praise be yours, my Lord …

He might have quenched his thirst at this fountain......

Fabulocity!!

When fabulousness reaches a level of terrific speed, you find yourself experiencing what I call fabulocity.  And if there is any city in the world where this tends to happen DAILY, it’s Florence. Today was a full out, double-gelato-con-panna-in-a-sugar-cone kind of day.  I just had to hold on and run with it.   

I began my day at the Cappelle Medicee.  The Medici Chapels are split into three main areas that are available to tourists.  You actually enter into the crypt and there you find some tombs of ‘lesser’ family members.  There is also an awesome display of reliquaries that were owned by the family over the centuries.  Honestly, I love these.  I do!  There’s something very haunting and beautiful and mysterious about them.  And artistically, some are over the top beautiful.  I know some of you can’t get over the …. shall we call it ‘immorality’ of the relic business, but I don’t want to hear it.  They’re gorgeous.  Period. 

From there you go up a staircase to the main chapel where the more historically/politically important members of the Medici family are.  And… it’s breathtaking.  The ENTIRE room is created out of semi-precious stone and marble. 

Then the next floor up is where Lorenzo the Magnificent’s tomb is.  It is graced with an ‘autograph work’ of Michelangelo along with a work by Montorsoli and one by Montelupo.  Michelangelo did all three works for the tomb of Giuliano, Duke of Nemours (brother of Pope Leo X) where he portrayed the Duke as a military captain.

From there I meandered to Dante Alighieri’s neighborhood and to the church, Chiesa di San Marguerita, where he according to legend first saw Beatrice, the woman/child who would be the muse for his great work Commedia. 

I then walked to the mercato centrale, the huge market that is in the San Lorenzo neighborhood.  There are two levels.  The ground level is a bustling, loud, cheery, totally Italian scream-fest of vendors selling the most exquisite fruit, vegetables, breads, fish and meat and chickens like you have never seen in the US.  Okay, let me pause here and say something about the chicken we have in the states.  Why is it so big, and so uniform and so white and so…. Unreal?  Because when you first look at what a real chicken carcass looks like you will be concerned.  I’m concerned. 

You walk up the stairs and you find yourself in a very chic food court.  No Wetzel’s Pretzels here, darlings.  But you will find pasta with black truffle pearls … and a glass of wine.

I then walked to the convent of San Marco.  This was founded in the 13^th century and then enlarged in 1437 when Dominican monks from nearby Fiesole moved there at the invitation of Cosimo il Vecchio.  The expansion included a beautiful cloister walk and garden along with individual monk cells that are about 8’x6’.  He then commissioned Fra Angelico to paint a vast series of frescoes.  Each monk’s cell has one.  But the jewel in the crown is this one: The Annunciation.