San Chiara (Saint Clare) and San Francesco (Saint Francis)

San Damiano: We visited San Damiano where Saint Clare established a community of sisters. The number of her sisters exceeds 20,000 worldwide. After visiting and learning about the radical paths of Clare and Francis the site prompts questions about our paths.
It is a place of pilgrimage for sisters of the Order for Poor Clares because she lived there for 42 years. By the time of her death Pope Alexander IV approved the rule for the Order for Poor Clares. It is also a place where Francis received the vision to rebuild the church.

San Damiano

Statue of Saint Clare

Meet your Bloggers & Photographer :)

Liz: I am a senior and communication major at Luther. I like eating all the pizza and pasta I can get here in Italy and am looking forward to the wonders of France.

Callie: I am also a senior at Luther, however, I am better than Liz because I am a business management major. I love walking up and down the mountain side in Assisi and can't wait to get my picture taken in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Callie & Liz captured in the moment

William: I am a junior and also a communication major. I met the group in Rome after a semester abroad in Norway fulfilling my Norwegian minor. I enjoy taking pictures and cooking. View my blog at bigwillystar.blogspot.com for more pictures of our trip thus far.

World Famous Photographer, Traveler, and Chef Extraordinaire, William

Travel to Assisi

Some group members pictured at Greccio

Greccio: This is the town where Saint Francis enlivened the tradition of the Christmas crèche or living nativity. This is a rich tradition in Greccio as the church there includes an extensive collection of nativity scenes from a wide variety of cultures, mediums, and contexts. In Francis’ day, it was common for a Nativity mass to be hosted in the home of nobility as an affair for the wealthy and powerful. Francis renewed the understanding of incarnation and envisioned a Christmas mass at Greccio where rich and poor celebrated Christ’s birth together. Below are pictures of just a few of the many beautiful nativity sets and the church itself.

Pasta Nativity and War Nativity Scene

Assisi: After a long trip (especially for Liz---she was puking over the microphone on the bus)we finally made it to Assisi, also known as the "City of Peace." Some quick facts about Assisi are:

1) It's in the Umbria region

2) The birthplace of Saint Francis

3) The birthplace of Saint Clara (whom we will learn more about later)

Sunset at Assisi

Sunny Day in Rome

Last Day to Explore Roma: We were thankful that our last day in Rome was sunny! Senora Caldwell and Pastor Mike let us enjoy our morning in Rome by allowing us to visit the sites we wanted to check out. Some of us went to the Trevi Fountain where we made either a wish for love or a wish to come back to Rome! The Pantheon and Piazza Navona were also visited.

Trevi Fountain
The Pantheon

Piazza Navona

The Basilica of St. Clemente: This Basilica was dedicated to Pope Clement I and was unique because of it's many levels. The upper level of the church was richly decorated and built in the early 12th century. The most striking point is at the front of the room which is pictured below. The church holds this beautiful fresco that tells the story of Christ, which also made it easier for people who couldn't read and write to understand the story. The fresco is full of symbols representing different aspects of Christ's message. 

From the upper church are stairs that lead to the lower levels of the church. Although much of the church has been excavated, there is still much to be found. The next layer down is the 4th century church which contains frescos from the 6th, 8th, and 9th centuries that have faded significantly. 

Joseph: Below is a picture of Senora Caldwell's friend. He is a Catholic priest and is an expert on Islam and religious dialogues. He was our guide through the Basilica and we later enjoyed his lecture/question and answer session before dinner.  

St. Clemente

Joseph

Group Photos by William Liu

JTerm '09 Participants in front of St. Peter's Square

Our Group in front of the Coliseum!

Meet Nino

Here is the official website address for our tour guide, Nino. It needs to be viewed to even begin to understand Nino.

www.ninoknows.com

Watch the video!

When in Rome!

Thursday Morning: Pastor Mike and Senora Caldwell gave us an opportunity to explore Rome in the morning after breakfast. Many students took the time to find internet cafés, pizzerias, shops, and the beautiful Trevi Fountain.

Rome is love spelled backward (Roma~Amor): Yet another amazing day in Rome learning about the history and the beauty of this ancient city. Nino guided our tour (woo-hoo!) in the Vatican. As usual he was very thorough and provided us with a lot of information about everything from the marbled floor to the painted ceiling (chiaroscuro). The Vatican originated in 1503 by Pope Julius II. Nino took us through the gallery of tapestries, a room full of 16th century maps of the regions of Italy, classical sculptures, Rafael's rooms full of his work, and last but not least the Sistine Chapel.

The official site to the Vatican is the following website if you wish to view more. http://www.vatican.va/

The Deliverance of St. Peter fresco: This painting was one of the more memorable pieces to the class. Many of us felt connected with the story because of our previous experience in St. Paul's prison yesterday. The painting was recently cleaned and one could see the effects of chiaroscuro (contrast of light and dark).

Sistine Chapel: While we were still visiting the map room Nino took us by a souvenir stand and pointed out a two-toed foot angel in a scene from the creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel. He asked us to solve this mystery. Here is a site to learn more about this theory.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A681680

The following are the eight scenes painted by Michelangelo:
1. Separation of Light from Dark
2. Separation of Land and Sea
3. Creation of Adam
4. Creation of Eve (Nino pointed out that this was the center of the ceiling).
5. Original Sin and Banishment from the Garden of Eden
6. Sacrifice of Noah
7. The Flood
8. The Drunkenness of Noah.

His final painting before he died was entitled, "The Final Judgment." The center of the piece was God with Mary on his right side and people were either ascending into heaven or descending into hell. As a side note, Nino told us how one of the cardinals was telling Michelangelo that there were too many naked people in his painting and that they should be clothed, and Michelangelo got mad and painted this cardinal's face as one of the people in hell.

Basilica of St. Peter: People were amazed by the fact that this church is twice as big as St. Patrick's in New York and holds as many people as the Coliseum (50,000 people). While Mass was in progress our class quietly explored the church. Some of the marble from the Coliseum was used in the floor design. We saw the Pope!...John Paul II who is dead :) Within the church St. Peter was buried under the bronze altar, a statue of Mary holding Jesus created out of one piece of marble, and many statues of Saints.