Dolomites - South Tyrol - Italy (by Louise Feige)

 

Wolfsthurn Castle, Italy

 

Castel Toblino, Madruzzo, Trento, Italy

 

Allievi Fratelli S.n.c. from Italy. Fancy Form.

 

Our Lady of the Day (June 12) – HOLY MARY OF MONTALTO (SANTA MARIA DI MONTALTO), Messina, Sicily, Italy

 The feast of the sanctuary is celebrated on June 12 which corresponds to the town festival known as the “Dove” (Ital. Colomba), in memory of a miraculous dove. In the sanctuary there are some relics of Saint Alfonso Maria de Liguori and Redemptorist saints, as well as a letter of Saint Ignatius of Loyola dated 1550. The National Prize of Religious Poetry Madonna di Montalto is held here.

The Sanctuary stands on a hill overlooking the city and the port of Messina. The origin of the Christian shrine is linked to the war of the “Sicilian Vespri”, which broke out in Palermo on March 31, 1282, Easter Monday.

In Messina, the revolt broke out on April 28 and the population, in desperation, resorted to the intercession of the Virgin Mary. In the night between 8 and 9 August a Lady dressed in white was seen covering the most vulnerable points of the walls with veils … and for this reason the city was saved. In early June 1294, the Virgin indicated the place where she wanted the sanctuary dedicated to her to be built: a dove was seen flying over the place and marking the boundaries of the church itself.

The work on the sanctuary ended in 1295 and was entrusted to the Cistercian nuns. Several times, over the centuries, the Mary made her particular presence and protection felt over the city: in moments of strife, epidemics and earthquakes, the terrible and devastating one of 1908, that saw Queen Elena of Savoy, intrepid rescuer of the earthquake victims, provoked the destruction of the temple, but which was quickly rebuilt between 1910 and 1911. It was enlarged between 1928 and 1930. From 1946 the sanctuary belongs to the Redemptorist Fathers, founded by Saint Alfonso Maria de Liguori.

On January 1, 1950 the icon was solemnly crowned and the diocese was entrusted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Sanctuary, in reinforced concrete and solid bricks, recalls that of 1295, in Romanesque-Gothic style, with a facade flanked by two twin bell towers designed by the architects Valenti and Barbaro.

Inside the sanctuary we find a Byzantine icon that reproduces, on a table, a seated Madonna offering the faithful the Child Jesus, standing on his knees, as the only Savior. In the seventeenth century the icon was covered with a silver mantle finely chiseled by the school of Pietro Juvara. Pope St. John Paul II, on his visit to the Messina sanctuary in 1988, donated a filigree silver crown for this Lady. The wooden temple roof is decorated by Gregoretti of Palermo; while the floor, in polychrome marble, is by Diletti di Messina from 1984.

Apricale, Italy

 

Madonna Della Croce, “Holy Mary of the Cross,” Crema, Italy (1490) – 1 March

There is a Sanctuary of the Madonna on the Bergamo Road, about a mile away from the city of Crema, Italy. The structure is a circular form, with four additions in the shape of a cross, which gave rise to the name: “Holy Mary of the Cross,” or Our Lady Della Croce. The Sanctuary is located in a place where, in years gone by, there stood a dense little wood called “Il Novelletto.”

In the late 15th century, a young woman named Caterina Uberti lived with her brother in the city of Crema. When she arrived at marriageable age, her brother induced her to wed one Bartolomeo Petrobelli; it was an unfortunate arrangement – Caterina was good and pious; Bartolomeo was quite the opposite, tending toward the wicked and corrupt. The marriage was unhappy for Caterina and uncomfortable for Bartolomeo – his rather crude and brutal ways shamed her, while her refined and holy life was a silent reproach to his somewhat scandalous mode of living.

So, after a year of turmoil, Bartolomeo decided to kill Caterina. Having made up his mind, he lost no time in carrying out his evil design.

He suggested that they journey to Bergamo and visit his parents; she agreed and in the late afternoon of 3 April 1490, they mounted their horses and set forth from the city. When they arrived at the wood about a mile from Crema, Bartolomeo left the highway and rode into the forest; Caterina was puzzled but not knowing what else to do, followed him. When they reached the middle of the wood, Bartolomeo dismounted and made Caterina get down from her horse.

Then, without warning, he drew his sword, raised it and fiercely brought it down, intending to split her head with one clean cut. Instinctively she drew up her arm to ward off the savage blow, saved her head but lost her right hand – the poor severed hand hung from the stump of her arm by a strip of skin and Bartolomeo brutally tore it off and flung it to one side. He then slashed at her like a maniac until she fell to the ground in a pool of blood; thinking her dead, he leaped on his horse and fled.

Caterina was not dead, nor was she afraid to die, though she felt her time was short. With all her dying heart she wished for the Last Sacraments; so she prayed to the Mother of God, who heard her prayer. A glow of light pushed back the gathering darkness and a beautiful lady approached her. Reaching down, the Lady, Our Lady Della Croce, took her by the arm and helped her rise – the blood stopped flowing and new life coursed through her mutilated body.

The Lady bade Caterina follow her but Caterina asked if she might look for her lost hand. The Lady promised it would be returned to her in due time. Taking Caterina to a hut, she told her these people would help her and then vanished. The kind peasants did all they could for Caterina, and the next morning they placed her on a rude stretcher and tenderly carried her back to Crema.

As they passed through the wood, one of the men found the severed hand and returned it to Caterina. They took her to the Church of St Benedetto, where the Priest, after hearing the story, anointed Caterina who died there. The story spread rapidly; some believed, others doubted that the Blessed Virgin worked such wonders.

An eleven year old boy, living in Crema plagued with an unhealable abscess on a foot, begged to be taken to the wood to put his foot on the spot where the Lady appeared. His mother and a group of relatives carried him there and he was instantly cured, all abscess traces gone.

Many other sick and infirm came also and were cured . The people erected a small Chapel on the spot and placed in it a plaster image of Our Lady. More favours followed; many offerings were made by the faithful and by 1500, in a few years a fitting Sanctuary to the Madonna was completed. Later a fine new statue of Mary was enshrined in the Sanctuary and in 1873, Our Lady Della Croce was crowned with a golden crown by order of the Vatican.

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

 

Lecco, Italy

 

Serralunga d'Alba, Italy

 

Lake Como, Italy

 

The Veiled Virgin

The Veiled Virgin. Carrara marble statue by Italian sculptor Giovanni Strazza (1818–1875). The veil gives the appearance of being translucent, but in fact is carved of marble.
 

Saint Agnes

 

A Sicilian farmer showing to an American soldier where the Germans retreated, August 1943

 During World War II no one liked the Germans (no surprises there), but people of Italy seriously hated the fact that Nazis were occupying their countryside. Even though Italian fascists once supported Germany, but by 1943 Mussolini’s former chief of staff, Gen. Pietro Badoglio was over it. He was in the middle of negotiating a conditional surrender with General Eisenhower and setting up a new Italian government.

Even with the help of the Italian people it wasn’t easy to get through their country to recapture Rome from the Germans. There was bad weather, and on top of that the Allies began their operation so far south that they had to cover most of the country on foot.

Eventually, the Allied troops took Rome and helped bring Italy out of his life of fascism.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

 

A Nude Figure Staggering. c. 1512. Raphael Italian 1483-1520. black chalk on pale buff paper.

 

Dolomites, Italy

 

Isola di Loreto Castle, Lago d’Iseo, Brescia, Italy

 

Archers shooting at a herm Michelangelo Date: c.1530

 Archers shooting at a herm

Michelangelo

Date: c.1530; Rome, Italy  

Style: Mannerism (Late Renaissance)

Genre: genre painting

Media: chalk, paper

Annunciation Leonardo da Vinci Date: c.1472

 Annunciation

Leonardo da Vinci

Date: c.1472; Milan, Italy  

Style: Early Renaissance

Genre: religious painting

Media: oil, panel, tempera, wood

Location: Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

Annunciation (ca. 1472) is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s earlier works, which was commissioned by the church of San Bartolomeo in Monte Oliveto. Leonardo painted with oil and tempera on wood, an untraditional choice since oil was usually used on canvas. From its rectangular shape and size, the painting was likely intended for the sacristy (a room where priests prepare for service and objects of worship are held) of the newly renovated church. Prior to 1869, Annunciation was attributed to Florentine painters like Domenico Ghirlandaio and Andrea Verrocchio. However, radiographic and spectrographic tests as well as newly discovered preparatory sketches indicate that Leonardo painted Annunciation while he was training in the workshop of Andrea Verrocchio. Various sketches by Leonardo, Lily (1473-1475), The Study of a Sleeve (1473), The Study of a Drapery of a Figure Kneeling (1473) and The Study of Drapery of a Seated Figure (1473) demonstrate his extensive preparatory work for Annunciation.

The depicted scene is based on the New Testament: the Angel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary announcing to her that she was chosen by God to be the mother of his Son. Leonardo demonstrates innovation and creativity in his composition, which differs from the traditional depictions of the Annunciations, such as Filippo Lippi’s Annunciation (1445) and Fra Angelico Annunciation (ca. 1435), that portray an interior setting with a partial view of a landscape. Leonardo’s Annunciation is in an open courtyard of a Renaissance palace with a Tuscan landscape and seascape in the background. The landscape was painted in the sfumato technique, which softens the transition between colors, so the human eye does not perceive boundaries and lines. Through this technique, Leonardo captured the diffusion of air changes, giving the illusion of a continuous flow of air and mist.

Leonardo carefully conceived each element in the Annunciation, making complex connections to the life and death of Christ. For instance, the carpet of spring flowers relates to the religious scene: the lily whites, daisies, white champions, morning glories and lavender all symbolize the Virgin’s innocence and purity. Other flowers, such as irises, passion flowers and myositis are associated with her feeling of love and mourning. Another important element in Annunciation is the marble lectern placed between the Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel. The lectern is a combination of a Renaissance baby cradle and a sarcophagus, thus it symbolizes both the birth and death of Christ. This is also seen in other paintings like Raphael’s The Holy Family of Francis I (1518) and Lorenzo Lotto’s Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome and Nicholas of Tolentino (1524). Leonardo decorated the lectern with classical motifs like acanthus leaves, garlands, scallop shells and lion’s paws. In its design, the lectern is reminiscent of the sarcophagus designed by Verrocchio for Giovanni de’ Medici (1472) at the Old Sacristy in the Church of St. Lorenzo in Florence. By placing the lectern in a blooming meadow, Leonardo adds another layer of meaning: the lectern alludes to a mortuary and Christ’s death, while the flowers symbolize the present moment and his life.