Parents, Pentecost & Perfection

Orvieto life is flying by right before my eyes! Since I’ve posted last I finished up my Renaissance Narrative class and am now halfway through my final class—Art & Liturgy. At the juncture of these two classes my parents visited for about 10 days and Orvieto began its biggest festive holiday season. Here are some more details about all of these exciting things…

Parents: After completing my final exam for Renaissance Narrative two weeks ago, I headed into Rome to meet up with Debbie and Fred!! We met each other at the train station and headed over to see the Trevi fountain. After about an hour of trying to follow multiple maps and my lack of directional skills, we finally found my favorite gelato spot in Rome and indulged ourselves. I stayed in Rome with them from Thursday night until Saturday afternoon and we filled up every minute of our time, trying to see all that we could of the art and culture that Rome has to offer. I took them to see the paintings and churches that I enjoyed most in Rome and dragged them from one impressive piazza to another. Friday evening we went to the Vatican museum and walked through its many exhibits in order to reach Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. I loved seeing everything again, with a stronger sense of what I would be experiencing and a chance to see and notice things I hadn’t before. It was really fun to play tour guide, despite the fact that I wasn’t always so great at remembering how to get places in the city, but we learned to use all the maps we had and follow the somewhat consistent signs around the city.

Saturday afternoon we headed back to Orvieto where Mom and Dad stayed in three different bed & breakfast places for the remainder of their week in Orvieto. Throughout the week they got to see all my favorite places in Orvieto—the palazzo where I have class, my apartment, my favorite running route, the church I attend and the Orvieto’s Duomo, as well as all the shops, bakeries and cafes that are a part of my every day life here. They got to talk with a lot of my friends in the program, ate a lunch and a dinner meal in the restaurant where we eat every day and met some of the professors that are here this month, so they really got a sense of what my life is like here in Orvieto. On Friday we took a day trip to Florence to see some of the art there and mostly to experience what the city is like, its beautiful views and the river. OH and we did quite a bit of shopping at the leather market too! Saturday we went to Orvieto’s market in the morning and to another town in the area in the afternoon and then drove to Lake Bolsena to eat our market/bakery authentic picnic lunch. While I was in classes during the week Mom and Dad got to do even more fun Italy things, another towns and, more importantly, a vineyard. Throughout their week here we had so many wonderful meals full of lots of pasta, pizza, Italian meat and wonderful wine. I even got to got to eat with them at one of the farms they stayed at for a few days. It was such a luxury and a blessing to be able to sit around the table with them, process what my life has been like for the last 3 months and hear all about what I’ve missed at home. Talking with my parents is always such a refreshing and enjoyable things, so having face-to-face time with them was SO important for me. The hardest thing about having them here was knowing that I was also in school so I couldn’t spend every minute with them…which was good for them because they were on vacation after all! 

                                Trevi fountain & a nice long lunch at the Camp di Fiori  

walking around Orvieto & our last dinner together

Sunday was Pentecost, which after seeing Orvieto’s festivities, is now my favorite holiday! All congregations in Orvieto met in the Duomo for church for a very long and beautiful service. Half of those in attendance were standing around the chairs because there were so many people, and all were dressed in their Sunday best—far superior to the outfits I saw on Easter! After the service came the releasing of the Holy Spirit! To symbolize the holy spirit being released on the early church after Christ’s resurrection, Orvieto releases a dove. At the end of the street was a tiny cloud, representing heaven, through which a dove in a capsul was sent down a zip line and into the tabernacle built and placed in front of the Duomo! Once the dove reached the tabernacle and was amongst the cardboard cut out apostles, firecrackers were set off! What looked like tongues of fire burned up and filled the area with smoke. Men dressed in medieval costumes played their trumpets and, after receiving the dove from the tabernacle, paraded it through the piazza and to what used  to be the Pope’s residence in order for the bishop to bless the bird and present it to the most recently wed couple. I have never seen so many Orvietani in one place, nor have I ever seen such a bizaare tradition! I really felt like I was smack in the middle of a Disney movie! It really was a fun time though and I can say with certainty that I will never forget this Pentecost celebration!! 

 church inside the Duomo                     the 'Holy Spirit' arrives at the tabernacle! 

Perfection: This past weekend was filled with what we like to call intentional relaxation and bonding time. We took our final group excursion to a few wonderful areas around Orvieto. The day started on beautiful Lake Bolsena. We spent a few hours sitting on the beach front, some of us swimming, some exploring the town….I just plopped myself down in the sand to write and enjoy the sun. Then we were blessed to go on a boat ride around the lake and eat our picnic lunch…it was beautiful! After that we went to the town of Bagnoregio and its bridge-connecting town, Civita. I had been to the town with Mom and Dad the week before so after re-examining the tiny almost abandoned city I did a little watercoloring J A perfect day came to a wonderful conclusion with a wine tasting! Friends of the program own a beautiful vineyard, Le Veleta, and were kind enough to give us a tour of their property, family chapel, house and wine cellars! They had a display of meats, cheeses and breads so we could try out their olive oil and three different wines. It was beautiful and relaxing day.

Saturday I had the opportunity to work on a farm! Students from the program have been helping out all semester, but yesterday was the first day I decided to give it a try! I worked in the garden and tied some tomatoes and picked lots of green beans while others hoed, watered and picked cherries. We had a wonderful home-cooked meal with ingredients straight from the farm. 

Sunday morning was a hike to a beautiful cemetery spot in the Orvieto region, and then lots of work in the studio. For this class we’re praying four of the seven main hours of the Benedictine prayer schedule. We’re creating our own liturgy and corresponding books for our morning and evening prayers. So I’ve been doing a lot of calligraphy, creating borders and tracing/transferring to create my own painting images. Its been such a different kind of art, lots of detail and structure so I’m loving it! 

boat on Lake Bolsena...

  Bognaregio

There are now less than 2 weeks until I fly home which is absolutely crazy! I am trying to enjoy every minute I have here…continue enjoying every bite of pasta, doing my favorite things and experiencing places I haven’t yet. It can seem an overwhelming task to live every minute fully, but I am trying to take it as an enjoyable and enriching one. I want to savor every minute and see what else God has to teach me before I join you all back in the US! And, of course, as I wind down my time here, my classroom life is NOT winding down—in fact, it is time to crack down and get some serious work done. I am praying that completing my last projects will continue to be an enjoyable and enriching process.