Perugia

We arrived in Perugia on July 17.  Although we had not planned it this way, it turned out that we arrived in time for a good portion of the international Umbrian Jazz Festival.  So from Thursday through Sunday, our days were filled relaxing and listening to great music. 

Perugia is home to a major Italian university (about 40,000 students), as well as a very large foreign language school, where people from all over come to learn Italian.  One benefit is that there is a regularly scheduled English Mass, which we found on Sunday afternoon.  However, since it is summer, and the students are all gone, we had the rare privilege of having a private Mass (one other guy came in after the homily—otherwise, we were the only ones there).  It was very special, to say the least.   

On Monday, we trekked to San Pietro in Perugia, where we met Fratelli Anselmo, an old college friend of Prior James.  He gave us the most spectacular tour of the church and attached Abbey.  Besides seeing a painting by Caravagio, we saw 300 year old vestments, the library, a museum containing various scientific seismographic machines invented by the monks there, and the recently discovered crypt, which dates back to the 3^rd century.  It was an unforgettable day.

On Tuesday, we headed to Assisi, where we had another fabulous day.  One of the highlights was meeting Kyle, a young man who is entering a monastery in September.  It is great to see young people give themselves entirely to Christ and the Church.  Here is a link to his blog, if you would like to learn more about this amazing young man.  http://www.anyoneseenkyle.blogspot.com/

On Wednesday, we headed to Spello and Spoleto.  Spello is a very small, medieval town.  Quite quaint.  Spoleto, though, has been one of my favorites, so far (at least what I saw of it).  Although much of the town is covered with scaffolding, it has one of the most amazing bridges I ever saw, an old aqua duct, called the Ponte della Torri.  It is 80 meters high and 240 meters long, spanning an incredible valley.  Apparently, it was the main water source during the Middle Ages.  I can't imagine how they built it, or how many died trying to build it!  You can walk across the bridge for some of the most spectacular views imaginable.  On the other side is a walking path that hugs the face of the mountain, also with incredible views.  So if you are interested in combining a great medieval town with the austere beauty of walking through the forest of a mountain, you should visit Spoleto.

Trisulti july 14, 2008

Our last week in Veroli!  On Sunday, we attended a Gregorian Mass with the monks at Casamari.  Today, we went back to Certosa Trisulti, a Cistercian Abbey about 30 kilometers from here.  I had visited this Abbey the first day I came with Pio and Dante, and I took Lori and the kids there a couple of weeks ago, only to find out that, like all of Italy, it was closed from 12:00-16:00.  The monastery is famous for its farmacia, which is one of the oldest pharmacies in the world.  Sadly, there are only 7 monks there.  Like Subiaco, the monastery is located within breath-taking mountain scenery.  The area has a majestic quality, very austere, yet absolutely beautiful.   

On the way to visit Trisulti, we stopped off at a large cave--famous for its stalactites and stalagmites.  The kids loved that.  A real cave, complete with bats!  Being inside the cave also gave us a temporary respite from the heat.

Subiaco & a night out!

Today, we headed to Subiaco, where St. Benedict began his monastic life.  The monastery is seated in breath-taking mountains near Rome.  That St. Benedict would become famous here is, in itself, quite a miracle--not the place where one would expect fame, which is obviously why St. Benedict chose this area.  The Mass was not as well attended as I expected, but I'm glad we went.  To get there, we drove through some amazing mountains, with roads that turned left, then right, then left again, then right again, and so on, every few meters, for miles and miles.  If there were a major highway from here to there, we could have made it in 15 minutes or less, but as it was, it took us over an hour.

For the evening, we were invited to a local dance competition, featuring the evolution of dances through the ages.  The high-light, in my opinion, was watching Italian couples dance to American Country and Western music that was about living in Mexico.  Now that is multi-cultural.  Caio e Buona Sera!

Fossanova

Our fifth week was a blur.  We lost internet connectivity for 3 days.  

On Monday, we went to the Abbey of Fossanova, where Aquinas died, which is pictured at the left.  Surprisingly, Fossanova was not high up on a mountain (as are the Abbeys of Montecassino and Trisulti), but was rather in a relatively flat valley.  The Abbey and other buildings on the grounds were very well kept, and has been made very tourist-friendly.  More importantly, the Abbey had a gift shop full of books pertaining to the Catholic faith and Aquinas in particular.  

We also got to spend another day at the beach--a beach called San Felice Circeo.  It was a very windy day, which cooled the air and made very high waves.  The kids had a great time playing in the waves, but at one point, a big wave washed over Maggie and she lost her glasses.  

Last night, some friends took us to Castle Fumone, where Pope Celistine V was imprisoned by Pope Boniface VIII.  Castle Fumone is still inhabited, and has been in the current owner's family since the 16th century--it must be awesome to grow up in a castle that has been in the family for 500 years or so.  

Tomorrow, we hope to go to Subiaco, where St. Benedict first started his monastic pilgrimage, to celebrate the Feast of St. Benedict with a special Mass.

By the way, for those of you who are complaining about high gas prices, be glad you are not in Europe, where gas is about $9.00 per gallon!

the Pope

Wednesday, we went to Castel Gandolfo to see some friends at the University of Dallas' "Rome" Campus.  Castel Gandolfo also happens to be where the Pope keeps a summer home.  Wednesday happened to be the day that the Pope was arriving there.  While the wives and kids stayed at the campus pool to swim, the two husbands went into the town for a little look-around.  While they were there, we (the wives) saw the Papal helicopter flying overhead, which meant he was arriving.  Meanwhile, the men joined a fair-sized crowd in the Piazza to see if they would be able to catch a glimpse of the Pope.  Within about 5 minutes of finding a spot, the Pope appeared, waved to the crowd and walked inside his home.  Pope Benedict will be leaving soon for World Youth day, so we were lucky to see him when we did.

Veroli & Alatri

Yesterday we returned to the nearby medieval town of Veroli, while today we ventured a little further --to Alatri.  Both are famous for their Cyclopedan walls--the stones of which are huge, hence the legend that they were built by the Cyclops--quite ironic given that I can only see out of one eye right now.  Each town has a number of beautiful churches, very narrow streets (sometimes less than six feet wide), and great architecture.  It never ceases to amaze me that people drive through these towns--but what is more amazing is the occasional single-, or even double-car, garage!  Also, we often see outdoor frescoes or marian statues above doorways, often where one would least expect it!