Italy 2011 - St. Anne's Church Choir Pilgrimage

 

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In 2010 Jane's choir director Ann Weiss wanted to arrange a trip in 2011 to Italy where the choir could sing at Mass and perform for the local Italian populace. There would also be time to tour many cities and sites. In March and April Jane sang with the choir and Joe joined the others in the group in Italy.

 

Note: there's a lot of data on this page. You may want to wait for everything to download before you start scrolling through it.

 

Here are some quick links:

 

Here's a shot of most of the choir just prior to the trip:

Practicing at the airport in New York:

We made it to Italy and landed at the airport in Venice. We're all on the bus and our tour director Elisabeth takes us to our first stop:

Padua:

A quick overview of what we saw. We parked at the stadium near the lower left, walked to St. Giustina, then to St. Anthony's:

 


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Heading out of the airport and off to Padua:

Nearing Padua you can see some of the old stone walls that were built up:

You can see more of the old walls that were built to protect the city. In the distance is the Basilica and Monastery of St. Giustina:

Basilica of Saint Giustina:

Eduardo parked the bus and we walked over to the Basilica of St. Giustina:

Looking back toward the Prato della Valle:

Father Greg at the main door:

They had modern day representations for the four Evangelists. Matthew:

Mark:

Luke:

John:

Another shot of the front:

A sign by the entrance and a better look at the brickwork:

Inside looking toward the main altar:

A closer view - a nice local Priest described the area to us in Italian:

Two of the many side Chapels. The remains of may Saints are located in the Basilica:

A view of the ceiling:

Another side chapel:

Some of the many elaborate confessionals that we saw in the Basilicas and Churches:

The old cage of Saint Luke - it hold remnants of his coffin:

An elaborate chapel off to the side of the main Basilica:

An Icon in the chapel:

The ceiling of the chapel:

Another side chapel:

I wonder what the organ sounds like in here?:

Another side chapel:

Another side chapel. Reliquary of St. Luke the Evangelist:

A closer view:

Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua:

We left St. Giustina's, walked past Prato della Valle, and up along Via Beato Luca Belludi to get to the St. Anthony's. The sidewalks were covered in this part of town:

Walking over a waterway on the way to St. Anthony's:

The front of the Basilica was being re-conditioned:

Here's what it looks like without all of the construction material in the way:

A closer view of the main door and a statue of Saint Anthony:

Photography wasn't permitted inside. I did find a couple of pictures on the Net:

Frescoes by Altichiero da Zevio in the St. James Chapel:

The reliquary where the remains of St. Anthony are kept:

A view from an interior courtyard:

In another courtyard they had a gigantic Magnolia tree:

Another view from a courtyard - Jane in the shadows:

Downtown:

After touring St. Anthony's we had time to eat lunch and tour the area on our own. First we had a bite to eat. They sell Coke Light out in Italy:

Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata:

We stopped by the Orto Botanical Gardens...

...but it was closed (like may places in Italy they close from noon till 3:00 or longer):

We decided to wander the streets and found some great Cannoli and narrow streets:

More streets:

More streets:

Watch out for these guys:

Back at the Plaza in front of St. Anthony's:

When we headed back to the bus we walked through he Prato della Valle:

Looking back toward the Basilica of St. Giustina. Note the statue on the left - that's gotta hurt:

 

Venice:

A quick overview of what we saw. We first stopped at the island of Murano, which is just north of Venice to out the glass factory. after touring the glass factory we were dropped off east of St Mark's Basilica, we walked to the square, then up and across the to Rialto Bridge, then ate lunch, then walked around the West side of the Grand Canal and across the bridge that is southwest of St. Mark's, then back to St. Marks for Mass, out for dinner, then back to the boat for the trip back to the hotel.

 


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First, a picture of the bathroom in our hotel room:

From the hotel we took the bus to a port and got on a small boat for our trip to Venice. Here we are on the boat heading to Murano:

You can see day started out foggy and cold:

A lighthouse:

More lights:

As we neared Murano the fog started to lift:

Ferro & Lazzarini in Murano:

Off the boat and heading into the factory:

They demonstrated making some pieces of glass - the start of a vase:

He's finishing the vase. Also, you can see an aquarium in the foreground:

This person was making the aquariums with layer after layer of glass:

Now he's making...

... a horse:

Photography wasn't allowed in the showroom, so no more pictures of the factory. We did purchase some glassware from the factory. Here's a link to their web site - they have some pictures on their site.

 

City - Castello, San Marco, San Polo, Dorsoduro Subdivisions:

Back in the boat and heading to Venice:

It's still a little chilly, but the fog is now gone:

Lot's to see:

A bridge over a canal:

More scenery along the way:

There's not a lot of open land on the island:

Nearing our destination:

Time to get off the boat and walk:

 

Here's a short video shot from the boat.

 

We're going to be walking to the tower in the background:

Crossing one of the many bridges:

Some interesting characters:

A gondola traffic jam:

Some of the sidewalks are pretty narrow:

Here's the old jail:

The bridge of sighs connects the court rooms in the palace (on the left) to the jail (on the right):

The Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace):

More of the palace to the right, and part of the Basilica San Marco straight ahead:

Part of the plaza before St. Marks:

After a tour of Basilica San Marco (see below) we continued our tour of the city:

Lots of shops and people:

More to see:

We're now at the Rialto Bridge:

From the bridge looking on the Grand Canal - we came out of the small street by the white building on the left:

Another view from the bridge. Time for lunch and there's a restaurant just to the right:

We got a seat by the water and had a nice lunch as we watched the boats go by. The colorful bead on her bracelet was from the glass factory:

 

Here's a short video that we took while waiting for lunch.

 

After lunch we headed over to the dock for out gondola ride. Here are some from our group:

Our boat:

Us and our gondolier. We think his goal in life was to go as fast as he could to get the next group - they must get paid by the number of groups they take out:

A view from the gondola:

A view from the gondola:

Some of the bridges we went under were pretty fancy:

We're in a gondola traffic jam:

Pretty clear here:

Some more scenery from the gondola:

Some more scenery from the gondola:

Heading back from our gondola ride:

After getting off the gondola we walked around the city looking at the old churches and stores. As it was time to head back for Mass we crossed this bridge over the Grand Canal:

A view from the bridge:

After Mass we had dinner here. We had Turbot (a flounder like fish), and it was wonderful! We also had a bottle of some Valpolicella Wine that was also great. When we got back I checked the reviews of this restaurant and it's a solid 1 star. I guess we just got lucky:

Basilica San Marco:

The Campanile di San Marco (St. Mark's Bell Tower):

Connecting the palace on the right with the Basilica:

An interesting clock in St. Mark's square:

Another view of the Basilica:

Another view of the Basilica:

Photography was not permitted inside. Fr. Greg concelebrated Mass and the choir sang during Mass. They did permit some pictures of the choir after Mass inside the Basilica:

 

Florence:

A quick overview of what we saw. We were dropped off near the San Marco square and ate lunch. After lunch walked down to the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno to see David by Michelangelo, then we walked down to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and Battistero di San Giovanni, then we walked down to the Piazza della Signoria, then we walked over to the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Scuola del Cuoio, then we walked to our hotel - the Grand Hotel Mediterraneo.
 


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First, we had to get to Florence, so we hit the road. Along the way we saw farming, homes, and castles on top of hills:

Double decker mooo truck:

What a bunch of bologna:

Somebody's getting a nice Porsche:

Going through the mountains where they are building some new tunnels:

Some more scenery:

In a tunnel:

More construction:

Nice homestead:

Where here - a more modern looking building:

We walked to San Marco plaza and had some lunch:

Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno:

After lunch we headed to the museum and waited in line to see David:

No photograph allowed, so found this picture from the Internet:

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore:

After spending some time in the museum we had fun walking down to the Basilica:

Getting closer:

At the Basilica. Like many structures here they are cleaning/repairing:

Outside one of the side doors:

Around front with a view of the tower:

Another view of the front:

The main door:

And above it:

A shot of the dome:

One more shot outside before going inside:

They permitted photography, but our pictures didn't turn out well. You can see the the outside has a lot more elaborate decorations then the inside:

An interesting time piece:

The dome was painted:

A close up:

An icon:

Another one:

Battistero di San Giovanni:

Back outside near the front:

The front door was recently cleaned:

It wasn't open, but I found a picture on the Net of the baptismal font that's on the inside:

Piazza della Signoria:

Back walking again:

An old tower:

When they were reconditioning the hotel the discovered part of an old castle:

Still walking to the plaza past the shops:

Watch out for the guys on the bikes:

Not a lot of people on this side street:

Getting close:

One of the monuments:

The Palazzo Vecchio with some statues out in front:

They have a number of reproductions of status here:

More:

More:

Basilica of Santa Croce:

We then walked to the basilica but did not go in as it was closed:

Scuola del Cuoio (inside Monastery of Santa Croce):

We did however find a leather working school at the back of the basilica that was open:

The school was located in this area:

An entrance to a room where some students were working:

The flowers were nice:

We purchased some belts here and they engraved some initials on the belts for us:

Out and walking to the hotel:

City Overlook:

The next day before we left for Rome we drove up to a hill for a look at the city:

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore:

The Basilica of Santa Croce and the leather school:

The Ponte Vecchio:

The Piazza della Signoria and the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore:

Some of the housing in the city:

A bronze David:

Heading down the hill to Rome, a house with a small labyrinth:

A nice home:

 

Rome:

A quick overview of what we saw. Out hotel was just located just south of the Vatican. In Rome we saw "old Rome" (the Coliseum area), a number of Churches and Basilicas and the one of the Catacombs.
 


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On the road again. We saw a number of castle/homes:

We also saw a number of towns built up on top of hills for protection:

And farm land:

Another town on a hill:

There are number of places where you can cross the Tiber River:

Another town on a hill:

We saw the Frecciargento trains zipping along. They are high speed trains that connect Rome to Venice:

Nearing Rome:

Some architecture as we head for our hotel:

A government building:

After driving past St. Peter's Square we got to our hotel. Here's a view of St. Peter's Basilica from the street in front of our hotel. Easy walking distance:

They still had real keys for the rooms. We're staring to fill up on Euro coins:

Fortunately (since were were here the longest) the hotel in Rome was the nicest:

Before the concert we had time for lunch and Gelato - we visited Capitan Cono more than once :)

Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius and the Concert:

After lunch it was time to head out for to the concert:

First we had to toss come coins into the Trevi Fountain:

A wider view of the area:

Moving up from the crowd below:

We made it to the Church (found on the Net):

The guard was only letting in the choir:

The "pilgrims" were left to tour the area while the choir practiced for the concert:

The Pantheon was as short walk down the road:

Outside in the square:

Inside - sorry the pictures aren't great:

Another shot inside:

We then walked to the Piazza Navona where you can see Sant'Agnese in Agone in the background:

The Fountain of the Four Rivers:

Time for a group shot. You can see one of the many sidewalk restaurants in the background:

Obama return that Nobel prize!:

Lots of interesting figures in the fountains here:

More:

More:

Back to the church for the concert. The main altar:

Some of the decorations on the ceiling:

A painting up by the main altar:

The choir posing for a shot after the concert:

 

Here's a four minute video of the choir performing Steal Away.

 

Later on in the week we found this posted on a building:

Ancient Rome:

First we had to cross the Tiber:

Some older building along the road and on top of the hill:

This old building has seen better days:

Some major cleanup going on here:

Don't remember...:

Temple of Hercules Victor:

Trajan's Market:

An aqueduct:

A shot of the Coliseum from the bus:

Don't remember...

After touring the Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains we walked down a long set of well worn steps to the road:

Not a lot of traffic down here:

The Basilica di Massenzio:

Looking toward Trajan's Market:

Another view of Trajan's Market:

They close the street to cars on Sunday - nice day to walk...

...or just stand in the middle of the street:

There are lots of ruins in this area:

A close up of the area:

Listening to the tour guide...

...and some music:

To the left, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina:

Some spare pillar parts off to the side:

Looks like another museum, but nope, we stopped here for some quick food and a long line for a bathroom:

Walking down to the Coliseum:

Lots of people down here:

You can see the different rings in this shot:

Another shot of the Coliseum:

The Antiquarium Forense di Roma:

The Arch of Constantine:

Another shot of the Arch of Constantine and the Coliseum:

Not much left of the Circus Maximus, but there were still some Romans wanting to play:

The Pyramid of Cestius:

The Porta San Paolo:

Back across the Tiber:

Our last dinner of our trip:

 

Here's an 11 minute video of a tour of the are when we were in the bus.

 

 

Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains:

Certainly not impressive on the outside:

Much more ornate inside:

The Miracle of the Chains in the center of the ceiling:

The tomb of Julius II, with Michelangelo's statues of Rachel and Leah on the left and the right of his Moses:

A close up of Michelangelo's Moses:

More paintings above the Reliquary containing the chains of St. Peter:

A close up of the Reliquary containing the chains of St. Peter:

The pipes for the organ:

A mosaic of St. Sebastian :

The tomb of Cardinal Cinzio Passeri Aldobrandini, decorated with imagery of the Grim Reaper:

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere:

On the way to the Basilica we walked on the old Roman road which is now below the main road (at the top of the wall):

Some work on the road and and old arch:

Still walking along:

Some people still hang their clothes out to dry:

We're here:

A closer view near the top:

Painted on a wall outside along with funeral inscriptions:

Another painting:

Inside it's very decorated:

Closer view of the ceiling:

There are various paintings of Saints up near the ceiling:

Some more:

Some more paintings on a wall:

A closer view:l

On of the main Icons that are here:

The altar with a number of Icons:

Another Icon:

Another Icon:

Another Icon:

Another Icon:

Another Icon - La Madonna della Clemenza, from around 707 AD:

Maybe some relic here?

Some more painting on the ceiling:

Another painting - the Council of Trent:

Back outside in the square we retuned here later for dinner:

Heading back to the hotel we saw this side street with stairs and decided to see where they went:

Near the top:

More stairs:

A nice view from up here:

Another view:

 

Catacombs of St. Domitilla:

Walking up to the entrance:

A statue that was outside:

Another place where photography was not permitted, so I found some pictures on the Internet. We walked down stairs and met in this room:

Most of the catacombs that we were permitted to see look like this. Originally people were buried in the holes in the walls and a facade was put over the hole. Later grave robbers came in and broke down the facade and stole what they could. The Church moved the bones to a different location as people were taking them as souvenirs:

Here's a painted facade that hasn't been removed:

A painting that was over the top of a burial site:

 

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls:

The Basilica burned down an was rebuilt in the early 1800s. Here is a picture of the outer colonnade of the Basilica:

The interior courtyard with the statue of St. Paul in the foreground and the Basilica in the background:

 

Here's a short video of the front of the Basilica.

 

The ceiling above the front entrance:

The main door:

Inside looking down toward the altar:

Medallions of all of the Popes are found along the walls:

The windows are actually made from translucent alabaster:

A closer view of the main altar and canopy over it:

The Paschal Candlestick:

A closer view of the mosaic behind the main altar:

The main altar and canopy:

Another view of the altar and canopy:

St. Paul is buried under the altar:

One of the side chapels:

Outside of the main Basilica are medieval murals:

More:

More - some are in better shape than others:

More:

Another:

Some of the remains of the original pillars:

 

Vatican:

A quick overview of what we saw. Fortunately our hotel was within easy walking distance of the Vatican. We visited St. Peter's where the choir sang at a Mass that was in the Basilica, we saw the Pope, visited the Sistine Chapel and a small portion of the Vatican Museum.
 


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As we approached the Vatican in our bus to the hotel we first passed by the Castel Sant'Angelo:

Here's another shot of it:

And the Passetto di Borgo that connect it with the Vatican:

Saint Peter's Square:

Our first view of St. Peters Square as we we in the bus heading to the hotel:

The Pope is in the building to the right when he delivers his Sunday message. He sits under the white canopy to the left for his Wednesday audience:

On Sunday the choir sang at Mass in St. Peters Basilica. Here they are posing for a picture before Mass:

Practicing in a corner of the square before Mass:

A view of the square from St. Peter's Basilica:

Saint Peter's Basilica:

A view of the front:

A closer view:

A view of some of the statues above the entrance to the Basilica:

Some of the entrances are guarded by the Swiss Guard:

Some of the exterior decorations:

More guards:

The central door:

Above the door outside of the Basilica:

The view when you enter the Basilica:

A closer look at the ceiling:

The Pietà sculpted by Michelangelo:

A view of the north aisle:

A dome:

I think our guide said this is an elevator that can be used by the Pope:

One of the many chapels:

Another:

The body of Pope John XXIII:

A view of the main Dome:

Another view:

A view of the Baldacchino that is beneath to dome and above the altar:

Another view - the canopy is sculpted bronze:

Another view:

The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament where we attended Mass and the choir sang:

A closer view of the Throne of Peter:

After Mass the choir posing:

Another shot with the complete choir:

Saint Longinus:

Saint Helen:

Saint Veronica:

In the floor there are some grates where you can see down into the crypt:

The bronze statue of Saint Peter:

On the floor there are indicators that show the size of other Churches and Basilicas - Saint Peters is the largest:

Outside - the Basilica is on the left and the Sistine Chapel is on the right:

I don't exactly remember where this was:

We also went down into the crypt (Vatican Grotto?) below the Basilica, but no photography was allowed. Here are some photographs I found on the Net - Saint Peter:

Pope Urban VI:

Pope John Paul II - has since been moved upstairs:

Vatican Museum:

Walking to the museum - here is a portion of the the Passetto di Borgo:

Still walking outside the walls:

Nearing the entrance to the museum (to the left - outside of the photograph):

Inside at a courtyard where the tour guides describe the Sistine Chapel against one of its exterior walls:

An ancient piece of artwork on the left looking at something a little more modern:

A big pine cone:

Inside now - there are pieces of art and people everywhere:

Some Egyptian and other pieces:

Even the base of the pillars are fancy:

We didn't see much of the museum. We basically walked down a long hallway to the Sistine Chapel. Even though we didn't see a lot of the museum we did see many pieces of artwork along the way:

Even the ceilings are decorated:

More artwork:

More:

Ceiling:

Artwork:

Ceiling:

Floor:

The ceiling changes:

In this portion the walls are covered by tapestries:

The ceiling changes again...

...and the walls now have map paintings:

Closer view of a part of the ceiling:

Almost to the entrance to the Sistine Chapel:

Some more artwork on the ceiling:

A view out the window:

Photography wasn't permitted in the Sistine Chapel, so I found a couple on the Internet:

A section of the ceiling:

Out the back door from the chapel:

After our tour we stopped outside of the Vatican for a bite to eat:

Pope Benedict XVI:

It's Sunday and almost time for the Pope to delivers his Sunday message. He will be at the window in the building to the left:

More people in Saint Peter's Square waiting for the Pope:

It's hard to tell, but he is there:

A closer look. The sound system out here is pretty good. He repeats everything in many different languages:

Here's a close up:

Now it's Wednesday and time for the Papal Audience. The crowd gathers in St. Peter's Square:

It's a bit chilly and overcast - better than rainy and too hot:

We got up early and got near the front of the line to rush out and get seats up front in hopes of getting a better view of the Pope:

 

Here's a two minute video of the choir singing while we were waiting for the Pope.

 

A band setup in front of us to play for the Pope:

Some Cardinals are ready, and final plans are being made:

 

Here's a 2.5 minute video of the atmosphere just before the Pope arrives.

 

Here he comes:

Looks like he'll be driving right in front of us:

Hello Papa:

Here's a view from the other side as he drove by us - you should be able to pick us out in the crowd:

He drove around the square and finally up to his seat:

 

Here's a 2.5 minute video of the Pope arriving.

Here's a 4.0 minute video of the introduction of the English speaking pilgrims and St. Anne's singing a song for the Pope.

 

The Pope repeated his talk in many different languages:

At the end we all received a Papal blessing, and one last wave to the crowd:

 

Assisi:

A quick overview of or visit to Assisi. First we visited Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (not on the map), then continued driving up from the lower left, then past/below the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, below/past the Basilica di Santa Chiara. We then parked and walked down from the right to the left through the city.
 


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Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli:

On our way to Assisi we first stopped to tour the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Saint Mary of the Angels):

Walking up to the Basilica - it was a bit cold today:

A better view of the front:

A  seal in the brick:

Photography was not permitted inside, so I found some pictures on the Internet. The Basilica actually houses the Porziuncola:

A side view of the Porziuncola:

Concession of the Indulgence - one of the many frescos in the Basilica:

St. John the Baptist baptizes Jesus in the Jordan:

Outside the Basilica there was a status of St. Francis where they kept bird seed to attract birds:

Looking at some of the plants outside:

The Rose Garden with a statue of St. Francis and thornless roses:

Some of the stonework outside:

Another view outside:

Back in the bus, driving past McDonalds and heading to Assisi:

The Town of Assisi:

In the bus approaching the town up on a hill:

You can see the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi on the left:

Still heading up the hill looking back into the valley:

We got out of the bus, up the escalator and headed into the town:

Walking down the street to our first destination:

A view down toward the valley:

The Rocca Maggiore looks over the town:

After visiting the Basilica di Santa Chiara we continued along in the town:

Many shops along the way. Notice there's no graffiti here:

Yum:

The site where St. Francis was born?

One of the Icons on the wall:

Another Icon on a wall:

The home of St. Francis:

Some artwork in the courtyard:

The Church of St. Mary which was built over the Roman temple of Minerva:

Continuing down hill:

More buildings along the way:

One of the many arches and stairs:

Still walking along:

More stairs then we finally reached the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi:

Some shops in the lower portion of the town:

Basilica di Santa Chiara:

A view of the Basilica complex as we walk toward it:

An arch near the Basilica:

Flying buttresses that support one of the walls of the Basilica:

The simple facade of the Basilica:

A view from the plaza outside of the Basilica:

Photograph was not permitted indoors, so I found some pictures on the Internet. The Oratory of the Crucifix :

The main altar:

An Icon of St. Clare depicting scenes from her life:

The tomb of Saint Clare in the crypt:

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi:

Approaching the Basilica:

A closer view:

A view of the lawn outside the Basilica:

Once again photography was not permitted, so here are some Internet pictures - the upper Basilica:

A fresco - St Francis preaches in the presence of pope Honorius III:

The Friary which is between the upper and lower Basilica:

Gathering before descending into the lower Basilica:

The Papal altar with frescoes:

Fr. Greg celebrated Mass and the choir sang during Mass in one of the chapels in the lower Basilica:

Outside by the lower Basilica:

Walking from the lower Basilica to the restaurant for lunch:

 

 


One final picture - the entire group in St. Peter's Square:

 

 


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Last modified: November 27, 2015 08:23:49 PM