-or- Old Fashion Blessings
What we found was totally beyond anything I'd been expecting. Venice is busy and crowded, all buildings and canals. Burano, the first island we stopped at had a significant amount of open land and hardly any tourists due in part to its distance from Venice proper (about a 45 min boat ride) and the weather (overcast and a little drizzly). The island was composed mostly of two story houses which were unexceptional apart from an apparently unwritten rule that your house had to be a different color than anyone else's house on the island. The effect was wonderful even on a gray day. We set about finding lunch and ended up at the "Bar Sport". It was an unassuming little place (the best in Italy normally are) but had some fantastic sea food. I've found myself become more adventures with cuisine over the course of the semester as this Spaghetti alla Vongole attests. (It was incredible by the way). 
The trip to Burano was also really helpful in understanding the history of
Venice. On the main island its hard to understand what exactly the city was built on.
It can give you the impression that it was started by a bunch of crazy people who just started driving piles into the ground and building their houses on them. However, farther out in the lagoon you see lots of islands, large and small, coming far enough out of the water to support vegetation and even trees.
Near Burano was one of these largely unsettled islands named Torcello. Sister Catherine's guidebook provided the history of the island. Basically, Torcello was the place before Venice became the place. A roman settlement existed on the island all the way back to the 6th Century. However, as Venice grew in power and influence, starting around the end of the first millennium, Torcello declined. Until about 50 years ago the island was largely uninhabitable due to malaria. The original settlement has been almost entirely reclaimed by the marsh, with a few exceptions. The most impressive and astonishing is a 7th Century Basilica, Santa Maria Assunta. The first impression is its size, which is remarkable for its age and with the back drop of a now largely unpopulated island. The most incredible remnant of this once powerful settlement however, is on the inside of the Church. The entire rear wall of the basilica is covered by an 11th Century mosaic in the Ravena-Byzantine style. And it is SO awesome!
Its one of those rare pieces of art (or in this case a piece of art and prayer) that you can just sit and devour like a good meal. And like a good meal there's a satisfaction when you finish that is hard to describe in any other way. The four of us sat and looked at it for at least 30 minutes, and we all had the feeling that we could have stayed there much longer. The mosaic is not only really large, really old, and really well done but also it had some intriguing iconography that I'd never seen before. The mosaic works in three movements. At the very top, almost out of view in this picture, is the crucifixion. The next series down is the resurrection. The final four layers are the last judgement, the End Times. In most mosaics the figures are very static, there's no depth or scaling. However, on this one the figures got larger as you went up the mosaic ensuring that they would still be easily visible from the floor.
Among the interesting representations in this mosaic was the calling up of the dead. While this is an indispensable part of any last judgement scene this mosaic gave it a special twist. The angels not only called up the dead from their graves but also from the bellies of wild animals. While plenty of mosaics show animals eating saints this is the first time I've ever seen an animal throwing up a saint. Another interesting depiction was Eve. She showed up in both in the Resurrection, being pulled out of Hell along with Adam, and also in the Last Judgement. You can see her in the picture of Christ in glory. She's just to the right of the throne. If her dress reminds you a standard mosaic figure it should. She's dressed in a way typically reserved for Mary, the Mother of God which reveals the classic Old Testament prefigurement and Catholic teaching that Mary is the New Eve.
My favorite part of the mosaic though, was the scene on very bottom left. While the mosaic had worked chronologically top to bottom to this point, the bottom left frame breaks with this order. Instead, this scene, which is the closest and most approachable to the viewer, has four main images. Just out of this picture is Christ calling the children to himself (you can see a few of them next to Mary). Next is the Blessed Mother in the traditional posture of prayer, interceding for us, the viewers. To her left is the Good Thief and finally the next to him is the Door of Paradise with the Seraph and St. Peter, keys in hand gesturing to us to come in. In my experience I've never seen a mosaic that engages the viewer so actively. What a beautiful invitation! We are called in our humility reminded of Jesus' love for the small and the meek. We are reminded of the powerful intercession of Mary our Mother, and of all the saints. We're encouraged by the example of the Repentant Theif, who even at the 11th hour received the grace of conversion and forgiveness and, after his brief labors, was with Jesus that day in Paradise. Finally, we come to the representation of the entrance to Paradise. The seraph who guards the gate no longer wields the flaming sword that banished Adam and Eve but rather he welcomes, just as St. Peter stands prepared with the keys to usher us in to the space prepared for us from all eternity. This door is not in the heights, not even among the saints in the middle of the series, but at the very, very lowest point so close and so attainable through God's unsurpassable mercy.
After a long while, we managed to tear ourselves away and explore the rest of the church. I really liked the simplicity of this mosaic which was in the apse of the church behind the main altar. There is nothing to distract from Mary and Jesus. The importance of the Church and the island was also attested to by the bodies of several martyrs who still reside there. At a certain point we realized that the door keeper had been standing waiting for us to leave for a while, we'd been almost the only people in the church the entire time. Turns out we'd lost track of time a bit and as Sister Catherine led us out of the basilica I wonder if she though the Last Judgement was actually upon us. We were met with an entirely red sky, the first movement of an incredible sunset. As we walked down the path back to the boat stop the sky was aflame with shades of red and purple. What had been a dreary, overcast day when we entered the church, had been transformed into a glorious conclusion. As we stood waiting for the boat our view looked every part a painting, too incredible to be real.
What made the whole experience all the more stunning was that we'd stumbled upon this beautiful church and incredible sunset literally in the middle of nowhere but yet just miles from Venice, one of the most touristy, overrun parts of Italy. The solitude reminded me of going out to St. Joe Ost, or Pilsen but then finding an ancient, world class mosaic of a lost society hanging on the back wall. Oh and tack on an indescribable sunset to boot.
Blessed be God
Blessed be His holy name
...
Blessed be God in the quiet places
Blessed be God in the forgotten wonders
Blessed be God in the fire of the sunset
...
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy
Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints
Amen.
See you in the Eucharist,
Tony
Two weeks ago we completed our final class trip of the semester. The last day of this Northern Italian trip found us in Venice. Venice is a strange place, as in it has no roads, only one proper piazza (incredible for an Italian town), is intensely ornate, and that whole its built on a marsh thing. (I've wondered both times I've been in Venice whoever thought that was a good idea?) After going along on a site tour in the morning I decided to hitch along with Sister Catherine, Peter and Sara to go see two other islands in the lagoon.
What we found was totally beyond anything I'd been expecting. Venice is busy and crowded, all buildings and canals. Burano, the first island we stopped at had a significant amount of open land and hardly any tourists due in part to its distance from Venice proper (about a 45 min boat ride) and the weather (overcast and a little drizzly). The island was composed mostly of two story houses which were unexceptional apart from an apparently unwritten rule that your house had to be a different color than anyone else's house on the island. The effect was wonderful even on a gray day. We set about finding lunch and ended up at the "Bar Sport". It was an unassuming little place (the best in Italy normally are) but had some fantastic sea food. I've found myself become more adventures with cuisine over the course of the semester as this Spaghetti alla Vongole attests. (It was incredible by the way). 
Near Burano was one of these largely unsettled islands named Torcello. Sister Catherine's guidebook provided the history of the island. Basically, Torcello was the place before Venice became the place. A roman settlement existed on the island all the way back to the 6th Century. However, as Venice grew in power and influence, starting around the end of the first millennium, Torcello declined. Until about 50 years ago the island was largely uninhabitable due to malaria. The original settlement has been almost entirely reclaimed by the marsh, with a few exceptions. The most impressive and astonishing is a 7th Century Basilica, Santa Maria Assunta. The first impression is its size, which is remarkable for its age and with the back drop of a now largely unpopulated island. The most incredible remnant of this once powerful settlement however, is on the inside of the Church. The entire rear wall of the basilica is covered by an 11th Century mosaic in the Ravena-Byzantine style. And it is SO awesome! 
Its one of those rare pieces of art (or in this case a piece of art and prayer) that you can just sit and devour like a good meal. And like a good meal there's a satisfaction when you finish that is hard to describe in any other way. The four of us sat and looked at it for at least 30 minutes, and we all had the feeling that we could have stayed there much longer. The mosaic is not only really large, really old, and really well done but also it had some intriguing iconography that I'd never seen before. The mosaic works in three movements. At the very top, almost out of view in this picture, is the crucifixion. The next series down is the resurrection. The final four layers are the last judgement, the End Times. In most mosaics the figures are very static, there's no depth or scaling. However, on this one the figures got larger as you went up the mosaic ensuring that they would still be easily visible from the floor.
 |
| Christ in glory, with His throne prepared below |
 |
| The Angels calling up the dead (check out the lion's mouth) |
Among the interesting representations in this mosaic was the calling up of the dead. While this is an indispensable part of any last judgement scene this mosaic gave it a special twist. The angels not only called up the dead from their graves but also from the bellies of wild animals. While plenty of mosaics show animals eating saints this is the first time I've ever seen an animal throwing up a saint. Another interesting depiction was Eve. She showed up in both in the Resurrection, being pulled out of Hell along with Adam, and also in the Last Judgement. You can see her in the picture of Christ in glory. She's just to the right of the throne. If her dress reminds you a standard mosaic figure it should. She's dressed in a way typically reserved for Mary, the Mother of God which reveals the classic Old Testament prefigurement and Catholic teaching that Mary is the New Eve.
 |
| Bottom left scene of the mosaic |
After a long while, we managed to tear ourselves away and explore the rest of the church. I really liked the simplicity of this mosaic which was in the apse of the church behind the main altar. There is nothing to distract from Mary and Jesus. The importance of the Church and the island was also attested to by the bodies of several martyrs who still reside there. At a certain point we realized that the door keeper had been standing waiting for us to leave for a while, we'd been almost the only people in the church the entire time. Turns out we'd lost track of time a bit and as Sister Catherine led us out of the basilica I wonder if she though the Last Judgement was actually upon us. We were met with an entirely red sky, the first movement of an incredible sunset. As we walked down the path back to the boat stop the sky was aflame with shades of red and purple. What had been a dreary, overcast day when we entered the church, had been transformed into a glorious conclusion. As we stood waiting for the boat our view looked every part a painting, too incredible to be real.
What made the whole experience all the more stunning was that we'd stumbled upon this beautiful church and incredible sunset literally in the middle of nowhere but yet just miles from Venice, one of the most touristy, overrun parts of Italy. The solitude reminded me of going out to St. Joe Ost, or Pilsen but then finding an ancient, world class mosaic of a lost society hanging on the back wall. Oh and tack on an indescribable sunset to boot.
Blessed be God
Blessed be His holy name
...
Blessed be God in the quiet places
Blessed be God in the forgotten wonders
Blessed be God in the fire of the sunset
...
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy
Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints
Amen.
See you in the Eucharist,
Tony
WOW... Again, adding to my list of places to visit...
ReplyDeleteI wish I could paint a sunset like that.
The middle stanza of your "Blessed Be" is beautiful.