IN ITALY IT IS BUONA PASQUA..HAPPY EASTER..AND IT IS A FAR MORE ELABORATE FESTIVAL THAN THE EASTER BUNNY...OR EASTER BASKETS..OR COLORING EGGS..OR A RARE CHURCH VISIT.
NO NO..IT IS THE NATIONAL HOLIDAY..IT EXTENDS BEYOND SUNDAY...IT IS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY ON MONDAY AS WELL..A LONG WEEKEND..THE LARGE GROCERY FOOD CHAINS AS WELL AS THE PICOLINO ALIMENTARI AND MACELLERIA WERE BUSY ALL DAY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY....ITALY WAS CLEANING OUT THERE FOOD SHELVES THE WAY WE DO IN THE US of A DOES WHEN THE WEATHER REPORTS THAT THE STORM OF THE CENTURY IS IMMINENET...YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?..BREAD..EGGS..MILK..CASES OF BEER...THE IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS WE CAN HORD INTO THE AFTERLIFE WHEN ALL 4 INCHES OF SNOW ENDS UP FALLING
THE SHELVES WERE CLEANED IN BELL'ITALIA TO CLELBRATE..EVERY GREETING COMING AND GOING IN THIS PAESE WAS MET WITH BUONA PASQUA..THEY LET THE VISITORS LIKE ME KNOW THAT THIS WEEKEND WAS SPECIAL
ITALY IS THE HOME TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH...CITTA' VATICANO, WHILE SMALL IN SIZE, IS A SEPARATE PROVINCE FROM ROME..FROM ITALY..IL PAPA RESIDES THERE.. THE CAPELLA SISTINA HAS THE FAMOUS FRESCOED CEILING MAGNIFICENTLY CREATED BY MICHAELANGELO OVER A 3 YEAR PERIOD OF TIME IN THE TWILIGHT OF HIS ARTISITC LIFE..MUSEUMS AND THE HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS TUCKED INTO EVERY CREVICE OF VATICAN CITY...PIAZZA SAN PIETRO, ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE BASILLICAS IN THE WORLD, WAS FULL TODAY AS IL PAPA DELIVERED TODAYS SERVICE TO THE MASSES OF PEOPLE WHO FLOCK TO THIS EVENT..I SAW POPE JOHN PAUL DELIVER A SERVICE ONE TIME IN THAT PIAZZA IN 6 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES OVER A 2 1/2 HOUR PERIOD OF TIME..POLISH..ITALIAN..FRENCH..PORTUGUESE..GERMAN..SPANISH WERE FLUENTLY AND SEEMLESLY WERE EXCHANGED EASILY TO STATE HIS MESSAGE..
PIAZZA SAN PIETRO...ROMA
HERE IN BERGAMO THE CELEBRATION WAS AS FERVENT AS ANY REGION IN ITALY...IT IS ACTUALLY QUITE AMAZING HOW MANY CHURCHES, CATHOLIC CHURCHES, THERE HERE IN COMMUNE DI BERGAMO..REPORTS VARY ON THE NUMBER, BUT 68 IS THE NUMBER I HEAR MOST..68 CHURCHES IN A POPULATION OF 120000 PEOPLE..MY ARITHMETIC IS A LITTLE ABOVE THAT OF A 5TH GRADER, BUT CALCULATIONS SAY THAT THERE IS 1 CHURCH FOR EVERY 1750 PEOPLE...
LARGE SELECTION OF CHURCHES TO PRAY IN
FROM ANY VIEWPOINT IN BERGAMO YOU CAN SEE A STEEPLE STRETCHING TO THE CIELI FROM ONE OF THESE STRUCTURES..ALL DIFFERENT...FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT ERAS..ALL WITH A UNIQUE HISTORY..IN MANY INSTANCES THERE ARE CHURCHES BUILT ACCONTO ANOTHER CHURCH...HERE IN MY TRANQUILLO NEIGHBORHOOD OF STEZZANO I COUNT NO LESS THAN 4 CHURCHES..COULD BE MORE..
BASILICA SAN GIOVANNI....STEZZANO
HERE ON BUONA PASQUA IT MUST BE A DIFFICULT DECISION WHICH ONE TO ATTEND..I WONDER IF THESE CHURCHES COMPETE FOR AUDIENCE AND FOR MEMBERS..JUST CURIOUS...LIKE AUTO MAKERS DO AT AN AUTOMALL
BERGAMO IS A SPLIT CITY..CITTA' ALTA SITS HIGH ON A HILL WITH PANORAMIC VIEWS SUPPORTED BY VENETIAN WALLS BUILT OVER 500 YEARS AGO..SOME SAY IT IS THE LARGEST MUSEUM IN THE WORLD..THE NAME BERGAMO HAS A GERMAN ROOT..BERG IS DEUTSCH FOR MOUNTAIN..TRANSLATED, BERGAMO MEANS SOUL OF THE MOUNTAIN..
VENETIAN WALLS...ATOP CITTA' ALTA
THE SOUL TAKES MANY FORMS...ONE FORM IS THE MULTITUDE OF CHURCHES...LARGE, SMALL, ATTACHED TO PALAZZI....DIFFERENT MATERIALS..SEMINARIES ATTACHED..ETC....I COUNTED 9 DIFFERENT CHURCHES IN A RELATIVE SMALL AREA. IN THE CITTA' ALTA...FROM THE PANORAMA THERE ARE CHURCHES EVERYWHERE..STEEPLE AND COMPANILE SIDE BY SIDE..BELL TOWERS WITH CLOCKS AND CHIMES AND VIEWS THAT GO ON IN EVERY DIRECTION.
1 OF 68 CHURCHES AROUND BERGAMO
BERGAMO HAS TURNED OUT MANY FAMOUS SONS...BUT NONE MORE FAMOUS AND CELEBRATED THAN THAT OF DI PAPA GIOVANNI XX111...YES, THE 261ST CATHOLIC POPE WAS BORN ANGELO GIUSEPPE RONCALLI IN SOTTO IL MONTE..A SUBERB IN BERGAMO..1 OF 14 CHILDREN, HIS FATHER, GIOVANNI RONCALLI, WAS A TENNANT FARMER...HERE IN ITALY, ANGELO GIUSEPPE RONCALLI LIVED THE AMERICAN DREAM...I OF 14 KIDS GROWING UP ON A FARM TO BECOME THE ESTEEMED AND POWERFUL LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.HE WAS ALSO QUITE ACCOMPLISHED
BRONZE STATUE OF POPE GIOVANNI XX111
DURING WORLD WAR 11 HE HELPED THOUSANDS OF JEWISH REFUGESS ESCAPE AND FIND SHELTER..HE WORE THE RED HAT OF A CARDINAL WHILE SERVING AS THE PATRIARCH OF VENICE...WHEN THE POPE PRIOR TO HIM PASSED AWAY IN 1958, HE MADE HIS WAY TO ENCLAVE IN VATICAN CITY AT THE ADVANCED AGE OF 77..HE PURCHASED A ROUNDTRIP TICKET BACK TO VENCE THINKIG HE WOULD ONLY BE PART OF THE VOTE TO ELECT THE NEW IL PAPA..NEVER IN HIS WILDEST DREAMS DID HE THINK HE WOULD BE ELECTED..BUT ONCE CROWNED THE NEW POPE, HE WAS MERELY SUPPOSED TO BE A STOPGAP TO A YOUNGER CLERGYMAN..HE WOULD SERVE ALMOST 5 YEARS BEFORE HIS PASSING AT AGE 82.
HE IS MEMORIALIZED EVERYWHERE IN BERGAMO..STREET SIGNS AND PIAZZI AND STAUES COMMEMORATE HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS...ONE MEMBER OF THE LIONS, EZIO MARRONE, HAS POPE GIOVANNI XX11 TATOOED ON THE INSIDE OF HIS FOREARM..HE ALSO IS THE ONLY LIONS PLAYER I TALKED TO THAT WAS GOING TO GO TO SERVICE ON THIS HOLY DAY..THE OTHERS KIND OF SHRUG AT RELIGION..AT THE CHURCH...AT THE MEANING OF THE DAY..FOR MOST IT IS A DAY SPENT WITH DI FAMIGLIA..TO ENJOY A FEAST..TO TRAVEL ONE MORE TIME TO THE MOUNTAINS FOR SKIING...TO VISIT THEIR WINTER CABIN...TO LABOR DOWN TO TOSCANA TO PREPARE THEIR SUMMER HOUSE..A LONG GETAWAY..
PERHAPS THE MOST IMPOSING OF THESE CHIESI IS THAT OF BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE..IT ANCHORS THE PIAZZA VECCHIA...IT IS THE OLD SQUARE THAT SITS ATOP THE CITTA' ALTA..LIKE MANY CHURCHES IT HAS ENORMOUS HISTORY..HISTORY OF THE CHURCH..ART HISTORY..HISTORY OF AN ERA..AND A HISTORY TO THE PEOPLE...AND LIKE THE NAME PIAZZA VECCHIA IMPLIES IT IS ANCIENT HISTORY
BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE
THE FIRST STONES IMBEDDED THAT BECAME THE FOUNDATION TO BASILICA SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE WERE LAID IN 1137 BC BY MASTER BUILDER FREDO..IT HAS AN IMPRESSIVE FACE OF ALTERNATING RED, WHITE AND BLACK MARBLE..NEXT TO IT LIES THE IMPRESSIVE CAMPANONE (THE BIG BELL)..A TORRE THAT STRETCHES 54 METERS IN THE AIR...IN 1407 A CLOCK WAS ADDED THAT STILL TELLS PERFECT TIME TODAY..
TORRE COMPANONE....BASILICA SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE
THE TOWERS WERE AS IMPORTANT AS THE BASILICAS THAT THEY STOOD NEXT TO..THE TOWERS GAVE THE TOWN A VOICE..THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE TO THE TOWER WAS FOR THE BELLS THAT SWUNG INSIDE THE TOWER TO TELL THE PEOPLE OF CURFEW..TIME TO COME INSIDE BEFORE THE TOWN GATES WOULD CLOSE...AT 10 PM SHARP THE BELLS WOULD CHIME 180 TIMES IN RHYTHMIC SINCOPATION TO GIVE THE PEOPLE TIME TO GET INSIDE THE GATES..THE BELLS WOULD CHIME AT MEZZOGIORNO 6O TIMES TO LET PEOPLE KNOW IT WAS HIGH NOON..IN SOME CASES THE TOWERS WERE USED AS PRISON CELLS.
BASIILICA E' TORRE....COMPONOGLO
ONCE YOU BEGIN THE HISTORY LESSONS OF THESE MASSIVE STRUCTURES YOU BEGIN TO LEARN HOW COMPLICATED IT ALL IS...THE ITALIAN WORD FOR CHURCH IS CHIESA..BUT ALONG WITH THAT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE AND SUCH A VARIETY..WHY ARE SOME A BASILICA...SOME AN ABBEY..A CATHEDRAL..SOME ARE SIMPLY A DUOMO...SMALLER CHURCHES ARE CHAPELS..THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM WAS PERFORMED IN THE BAPTISTRY..PRIEST LIVED IN THE CLOISTERS..THE CUPOLA IS THE TOP TO MANY OF THE CATHEDRALS..WHERE HEAVEN AND EARTH WERE THOUGHT TO MEET..ATTACHED TO A CHIESA COULD BE THE SACRISTY OR A TEMPIETTA OR THE CAMPIONE.
I HAVE YET TO SEE A CHURCH HERE IN BERGAMO THAT ISN'T CARED FOR..THAT ISN'T MAINTAINED..THAT HASN'T HAD OR ISN'T UNDERGOING A FACELIFT..FOR THESE BASILICAS ARE A STANDING HISTORY TO THE PEOPLE..TO THE CITY..TO A TIME GONE BY..A CONSTANT REMINDER OF HOW RELIGION..FAITH..ART..POLITICS..COMMERCE ALL COME TOGETHER AT THESE NUMEROUS SHRINES..
DUOMO...MILANO
AS I SCOOTER AROUND THE AREA OF BERGAMO FROM COMPAGNOLO..TO STEZZANO..TO AZZANO SAN PAOLO..TO PONTE SAN PIETRO TO SERIATE I AM GREETED BY AN IMPRESSIVE STEEPLE OF A CHURCH AND THE BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS OF BELLS RINGING HIGH ATOP A CAMPANONE
I AM NOT SURE WHY 68 CHURCHES HAVE BEEN BUILT HERE IN BERGAMO...I SURMISE THAT THE ROMANS AND VENETIANS AND ALL THE OTHER CONQUERING TRIBES DID A LOT OF VERY BAD THINGS AND CONSTRUCTING CHURCHES WERE LIKE ASKING FOR FOREGIVENESS... PERHAPS IT WAS THEIR WAY TO DEALING WITH GUILT THAT COMES WITH DOING BAD DEEDS..I SEE A LOT OF REALLY SHORT OLDER LADIES GRIPPING THEIR ROSARY BEEDS HARD EACH MORNING AS THEY RECITE THEIR RITUALS OF PRAYERS..IT LOOKS PAINFUL SOMETIMES HOW HARD THEY PRAY..I NEED TO GET THEIR ATTENTION ONE OF THESE DAYS TO SEE IF MY SOUL CAN BE INCLUDED IN THEIR INTENTIONS..CAN'T HURT
MAYBE SOME OF OUR INTENTIONS ARE BEING HEARD DURING DAILY MASS HERE IN BERGAMO AS THE LIONS WON OUR THIRD STRAIGHT GAME YESTERDAY..VALENCIA DI SPAGNA CAME INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WITH AN UNDERMANNED ROSTER OF 23 PLAYERS AND NEARLY BOUNCED US OUT OF THE EURO CUP OF FOOTBALL AMERICANO..IT TOOK A LAST DRIVE GROUP EFFORT OF HEROICS TO WIN A NAILBITER 27-22..
LIONS TAKE FIELD VS VALENCIA.....
IT ALLOWS US TIME NOW TO ENJOY BUONA PASQUA. IF WE DIDN'T WIN IT WOULDN'T HAVE STOPPED THE CLEBRATION, IT JUST WOULDN'T BE AS FERVENT...
VALENCIA FIREBATS..POSTGAME HANDSHAKE
I REALIZE I WENT SHORT ON FOOTBALL AND HEAVY ON HISTORY TODAY, BUT WE PLAYED UGLY FOOTBALL YESTERDAY..IT TOOK THE COLLECTIVE PRAYERS FROM 68 CHURCHES...THE GRACE OF GOD..AND MAYBE EVEN SOME HELP FROM THE EASTER BUNNY TO WIN..
BUONA PASQUA EVERYONE..ALLOW THE CELEBRATION TO CONTINUE..
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