Cathedrals

I do not consider myself to be a very religious person. I have my own faith. I do feel that the earth cannot be so beautiful for nothing and that a higher being is there to nurse it along. However, I constantly feel the weak points of my faith in the face of the driving force that is the Catholic Church within Italy. The monuments that are their cathedrals not only consistently take my breath away but are pillars of strength within the community. Although American churches have their own beauty, it is hard to compare because American churches do not have such rich history. Some of these cathedrals have been around longer than my country has been a nation and it is a simple fact that Catholics hold a lot of pride in the places that they worship. While in the presence of these often huge buildings, I imagine the hundreds of thousands of believers that have laid their mark in them. I imagine the hundreds of years worth of people whose hands have rubbed smooth the intricate designs in solid wrought iron railings. I look at the wood of the altars and see the places in the middle where so many knees have bent in prayer that the indentions of them are forever set. I look at the paintings and the frescoes that adorn the walls and humble myself to the beauty of the art. Then, I close my eyes and let the history and the art and the palpable faith that can be felt in every stone wash over my soul…and then I let myself be awed by the sheer force of it all.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to Siena, which has become one of my favorite cities. Samantha, Hannah, and I stayed with a wonderful couple, Ben and Martha (who is a Meredith alum) in their guest house. In Siena, there is a massive church called the Duomo. I will try to describe it to the best of my ability but I’m afraid the description will fall hopelessly short. However, before I describe it, I must say the way we found it. When we first arrived in Siena, the girls and I decided we wanted to see what people who come to Siena always see: the Campo and the Duomo. The Campo the massive piazza located in the center of town. From the Campo, the tower of the Duomo can be seen. We headed in that direction but because so many of the buildings are so tall, the tower of the Duomo gets lost easily. So when we got there, I felt as if I had run right into the church itself. We had come upon it so suddenly that I had to take a large breath and I know that my eyes widened into large globes as I took it all in. The most striking thing about the Duomo is the fact that it is horizontally striped with black and white marble. As tacky as this sounds, it is by far one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Lions grace the stone arches in front of the doors and the faces of countless saints and apostles gazed down upon me as I stood in line to get my ticket.When we got inside, I was once again awed by the sheer size and glory of the dome, the marble pictures on the floor, the busts and statues all around, and the wooden seats and paneling. As I am gazing at all of this, I must constantly remind myself to breathe because I feel a little overwhelmed. Then I think that there are some people in this world who will never be able to experience this beauty and I really, really want them to because sometimes faith needs a little boost. What better way to boost faith than to view firsthand the beauty that faith can create?