"Under the Tuscan Sun"

This post is named after the movie we will hopefully soon watch and the weekend trip our CUA Arts and Sciences Rome Program took to the beautiful Tuscan Region of Italy (Orvieto, Sienna, & San Gimignano). Tuscany lends itself to peace and relaxation because of its calm little streets and quaint shops. We saw beautiful views, went for a wine tasting, ate excellent food, saw lovely churches, pet goats, and celebrated Carnivale! Here are some pics to commemorate our relaxing weekend in the Italian sunlight.

Sarah and I in the midst of Carnivale in San Gimignano! Carnivale is a Pre-lenten celebration season celebrated in Italy with costumes, masks, confetti, balloons, floats, parades, and music. We saw the cutest children in costume and confetti covered everything! 

This may have been the most stunning view all weekend.
A 360 view atop a castle tower over the Tuscan countryside. So beautiful! 

This is a Despicable Me float for the Carnivale Parade 

The Wine Cellar! 1000s of bottles each barrel! 

We went to a wine tasting! First we went downstairs to the Wine cellar. So many bottles

Victoria and I sit down for our sophisticated wine tasting and appertivo

These are 3 of the 4 wines we tasted. The house specialty wine were the 2 Chianti Red Wines made with 100% Sangiovese grapes! We also learned about wine drinking etiquette, how to hold a glass, and how wine is made. 

A morning view of the Cathedral of Sienna, the Duomo. 

The Home Parish of St. Catherine of Sienna. We were privileged to go to morning mass here. We were unable to take photos but we also went to mass and took a tour of St. Catherine of Sienna's house. There we saw the cross in front of which Catherine often prayed and spoke to Christ. 

Sunset view of Beautiful Sienna. 

Overlook over the hill town, Orvieto.

The Crucifix that spoke to St. Thomas Aquinas and said "You have spoken well of me Thomas." We didn't know this was what we were looking at until we read a tiny paper note on the wall. Incredible!

Me celebrating Carnivale with confetti! 

Rome Liturgical Experiences!

With about 900 churches in the city itself, Rome is not shy of religion. In Italy about 90% identify themselves as Roman Catholic while just over a third practice regularly. In Rome, about 98% of the population would say they are Roman Catholic. So, it has been a real adventure- especially as a theology major- exploring the Roman experience of faith.

I would like to tell you about 4 particularly awesome experiences of faith that I have had here in Rome.

1. Mass & Reconciliation at St. Peter's  

St. Peter's is beyond beautiful - the Baroque art, the statues, the paintings, the altar, everything. Mass was a dream. It was in Latin, but the homily and readings were in Italian. I couldn't understand most of it but I'm pretty sure at one point the priest said, "Christ does not give mercy, He IS mercy." And even if he didn't, I think its still a nice message. Also, I went to reconciliation. The priest did not speak for a couple minutes so there was a moment I wondered if I was confessing to myself. No worries, he turned out to be very nice.

2.  Ecumenical Service at St. Gioacchino

 During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, St. Gioacchino, the parish down the street from St. Johns where we live, held an ecumenical prayer service. There was an Evangelical pastor, a Lutheran pastor, an Orthodox priest, and a Roman Catholic priest. It was an awesome celebration of Christian unity with readings, songs, homilies, and petitions that reflected on the theme "Christ cannot be divided". My favorite part by far was when we all said the creed together. It was so awesome to be a part of a Christian unity that, despite differences, worships the one same God.

3. Armenian Catholic Feast at St. Blaze

On the Feast Day of St. Blaze, I went to the Parish of St. Blaze for an Armenian mass. The priests and deacons were all decked out and the parish was packed. Interestingly, I found it more similar to the Roman Catholic rite than a Ukrainian Catholic rite I've been to. But they did have a large red curtain that they closed at certain parts of the celebration. I met a priest who blessed my throat with candles and blessed oil, since St. Blaze is the patron of throat illnesses. They also gave out free breads, a special tradition on St. Blaze's feast.

4. French Mass at Trinita dei Monti

Trinita dei Monti is a lovely church with a beautiful view from the top of the Spanish Steps. On Thursday (Feb 6), Kat, Delaney, Sarah, and I went to mass there in French. We walked in and saw 15 nuns in white and 15 priests in white kneeling and sitting in front of the pews. The nuns especially were so cute! They came and gave us the sign of peace holding both of our hands and smiling so sweetly. They also sang beautifully and harmonized with the men. After mass they sang a hymn and each verse a set of lights turned out until only candle light and a spotlight lit the monstrance. It was such a calming adoration. French nuns are wonderful!

Candle Offering in front of Crucifix at St. Blaze Parish

Returning to the Renaissance: FLORENCE

Last weekend, Delaney, Kat, Sarah, Maria, and I took a lovely trip to experience the heart of the Renaissance in Florence. It may have been one of the most intense weekends of my life, but the full florentine experience was worth it. In 2 days we saw the Uffizi Museum (which alone could have taken 2 days), a Florence Leather Factory, the Duomo, a sunset view of the city, a 2 real Tuscan meals, the best Gelateria in Florence, Dante's Tomb, The first soccer field, 4 major churches, Ponte Veccio, Michaelangelo's David, and an outdoor market. Instead of rambling on, I thought I'd let the pictures do the talking! 

A beautiful morning over the Arno River which runs through the center of Florence

Kat and Delaney at the Ponte Veccio Bridge. A Famous bridge known for having little shops along its edge. 

You are not allowed to take pictures in the Uffizi Museum. But I couldn't help it. This is one of my very favorite paintings that I have ever seen; it really struck me. It's called the Adoration of the Child  by Corregio. 

This is a standard Florecian Gelateria. Alongside gelato, Floercians really like a good waffle with nutella. Very yummy.  This Gelateria just happens to be the one my family ate gelato at 5 years ago. It was really awesome to see it and remember. 

We ran, yes literally ran to a sunset overlook of the city. It was so worth it. This is a shot of the Duomo, the 3rd largest church in the World, peeping out over the top of Florence. 

Sarah and I at the sunset scenic overlook

We had an incredible meal at this nice family-friendly tuscan restaurant. We were adventurous and had an assortment of breads, spreads, and meats for appetizer, a Duck stroganoff-like noodle dish, and wild boar. I would eat that boar every week for the rest of my life, it was so tender! 

Kat really loved the statue of the Wild Boar. If you rub its nose you will return to Florence! 

That night we settled down to a nice wine and some italian cookies! 

Meet Donato. He was our authentic Italian Renaissance walking tour guide! He showed us this funny hole in the wall where they used to have drive through wine. Just order a glass, they'll hand it to you through the hole and you can drink it on the spot with a buddy. Quite humorous! 

Michaelangelo's David. It was stunning in person. He is so much larger than you would anticipate. The picture doesn't really capture it. But I did want you to see the man drawing it on the left there. I thought that was pretty sweet. 

Florence was beautiful. I can't wait for more adventures. I'll keep you in the loop!