Festa della Repubblica Italiana

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The second day of June is a national holiday in Italy. They celebrate their unification as one country. The day here is called Festa della Repubblica Italiana. I was walking around the neighborhood of Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence where I currently live, wondering if I would find something to eat for breakfast. And I was delighted to peak into a church that I have only had brief glimpses into before.




It is actually the Ex-Church of San Carlo dei Barnabiti.. There was an exhibit going on of old photos during the war, soldiers lost, and atrocities faced in desolate places. Here is the text that I could read on the sign outside, although it has been disrespectfully covered with graffiti.

“The building was restructured in 1636 by the architect Gherardo Silvani for the Barnabites, who already had a small oratory on the site. The importance attained by the Order in the early 18th century is reflected by the decoration inside the church: the ceiling frescoed by Sigismondo Betti (“Glory of the Virgin with St. Paul and St. Carlo Borromeo”) in 1721, the architecture by Bernardino Ciurini (1743), the perspective views by Domenico Stagi (1757-58), and other paintings by Giuseppe Zocchi (dome and pennacchi, 1747). With the Leopoldine suppression of 1783, the building passed into private hands until 1838, when it was acquired by the Scolop[r..de?] Fathers, who kept it until 1866. Since then it has been used as a school and as a gymnasium, and is now a center for cultural activities.”




I have to say that this is the first example I have seen of someone created the illusion of a terrazzo (balcony) in a ceiling with columns the way that Domenico Stagi has done here. And the faux marble is some of the better work I have seen in that genre of art as well. It is a peccato (sin) that this building has come to such disrepair and the Florentines simply do not have the funds to restore it.

You will note the netting beneath the ceiling, but well above my head. It is there to catch parts of the plaster as it falls and protect anyone from being hurt. I am happy that people are at least using the space and hope that the constant visual will someday earn a restoration patron. In Italy, one finds treasures in every direction.

Milan Italy Duomo Interior

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Inside the Duomo di Milano in Italy there are an uncountable number of treasures. For about ten minutes I watched the restoration of the altar of San Giuseppe (St. Joseph). There always seems to be such a great debate about how restoration can best be done on cherished works of art. That is a good thing as time and technology offer feedback and new techniques, respectively.


As I walked around the back of the main altar, I was photographing patterns of light and dark, as I often do. This time my attention had drifted to a crypt under the altar. As I peered through windows and played with different compositions, I heard this gentile voice ask me in Italian who was buried in the elaborate tomb. Ever flattered to be addressed in a language I know not well, I turned to see a kind American face, and said truthfully (perhaps blasphemously) in English, “I have no idea. For me, it is not important. I was seeking the light and shadows.”


And this was how I met Darlene Aldrich and her husband Joe, as well as her brother Loren Mayfield. This couple is from Thornton, Colorado, US, and Loren is from Elgin, Texas, not even one hour’s drive from my home in central Texas. We discussed the stone carving symposium in Marble, Colorado, and various things about art and Italy, enjoying the idea of the small world.


We later descended the stairs to see the tesoro (treasure), or crypt of San Carlo Borromeo. We parted ways after taking a couple of snapshots and exchanging contact information.

I include here a few more images that I took inside Milano’s Duomo. The cathedral is intricate and beautiful, delicate and strong. The colors in the stained glass windows are brilliant and apparently were painted by hand on the glass. My coinquillina (roommate) Elena told me that her grandfather assisted in painting part of the stained glass in his city’s Duomo.


As in many churches in Italy, the floor is not to be missed. Like this cathedral in Milan, Italy, the floor is a mosaic of inlaid stones. Milano’s Duomo is undergoing extensive restoration, but there is so much to see that is not under wraps that even if you arrive in Italy before the project is finished, you are not likely to be disappointed.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting this blog a little bit . . .