Rome, Italy The Nativity of Jesus, and related subjects such as the Madonna and Child, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Adoration of the Magi, is one of the most common subjects and important influences in art in history. Countless artists have attempted to tackle the Nativity over the last two thousand years. From early amateurs to Renaissance masters; from the first … [Read more...]
ST. PETER’S SQUARE NATIVITY SCENE
Vatican City St. Peter’s Square is the magnificent, colonnaded plaza which welcomes visitors and pilgrims from all over the world to Vatican City, the home of the Papacy and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Every year during the Christmas holidays, the Square is host to an absolutely magnificent Nativity Scene, arguably the finest in the world, and which plays … [Read more...]
GREAT SYNAGOGUE OF FLORENCE
Florence, Italy As the Middle Ages drew to a close, the city of Florence became Europe’s center of culture and the arts as the Age of the Renaissance came to the fore. The Jews of Italy were important contributors to the development of Renaissance philosophy and thought. Although few if any became painters or sculptors of note, Jewish writers and intellectuals flourished … [Read more...]
JEWISH GHETTO OF VENICE
Venice, Italy Venice was the commercial center of Europe in the late Middle Ages and in the early Renaissance. Because of the city’s need for economic and mercantile expertise, as well for its need for go-betweens with the wealthy Islamic lands of the east, Jews were generally tolerated here and on occasion actively encouraged to relocate here. Nevertheless, the lack of … [Read more...]
ARCH OF TITUS
Rome, Italy In the year 63 BC, the Roman General Pompey was invited to intervene in Judea’s internal power struggles. The Romans spent the next two centuries fighting an endless succession of wars in an effort to subjugate this most rebellious province in the empire. By the end of the Great Revolt, they mistakenly believed that Jewish aspirations for automony were crushed … [Read more...]
APOSTOLIC PALACE
Vatican City, Italy Although the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican is just one of three official residences of the Pope, it is the one which most pilgrims to Rome are familiar with. Adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica, it is one of Europe’s most magnificent residences, on par with Buckingham Palace in London or the Royal Palace of Madrid. It is also the world’s single greatest … [Read more...]
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE
Milan, Italy The Church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie is a former 15th century Dominican Convent. Heavily damaged by Allied bombs during World War II, this church and convent might have been condemned to the dustbin of history if it wasn’t for the presence of a certain curiosity which is painted on the wall of the old convent refectory: Leonardo DaVinci’s The Last Supper, one … [Read more...]
CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Turin, Italy Of the countless ‘genuine’ Christian artifacts hauled back to Europe throughout history, none are quite as popular as the cloth known as the Shroud of Turin. Believed to be the linen in which Christ’s body was wrapped at the time of his burial, it bears the image of a man who suffered death by crucifixion, but as a photo-negative image. This artistic feat, … [Read more...]
CATACOMBS OF ROME
Rome, Italy In the search for early Christian architecture, there is virtually nothing left above ground that was constructed prior to the 4th century that is not now a ruin or renovated beyond recognition. To find Christianity’s oldest intact architectural achievements, one must look below ground, to the ancient burial places known as Catacombs. Although such underground … [Read more...]
BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS
Assisi, Italy Francis of Assisi is one of those luminaries of the Catholic Church whose name, like Anthony and Benedict, is virtually synonymous with monasticism. The Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans), which he founded, grew to become one of the greatest medieval monastic orders. One of the most honored men of his day, he was canonized within two years of his death and a … [Read more...]
