Where Roots Dig Deep

Wandering the narrow curving streets of Florence, Italy we encountered a small crowd listening in awe as a lone tenor performed a Puccini aria. It was early evening on a weeknight but as we walked to the historic Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River, the streets were alive with people of all ages; natives, visitors, tourists, workers, and perhaps some pickpockets. No cars allowed, we were surrounded by others as we walked and laughed and stared into the windows of brightly lit shops and gazed at the menus of restaurants and cafes wondering how to refrain from overindulging in mouth- watering fare.

After taking in the art and creative expression of Florence we went to the historic towns of Sienna, Pienza, and Lucca in Central Tuscany. In this region where there is a magical merging between old and new, historic and contemporary, sacred and secular. Contemporary art and fashion are nested within the ancient infrastructure of cathedrals and churches mixed with towers and turrets of old palaces, all graced with art and architecture from Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic styles. Mixed in were reminders of how Dante, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Galileo, Fermi, Vivaldi, Verdi, and Puccini, changed how we thought, felt, processed, and sensed the world. In the distance mountains of marble rose up reminding us that building those churches and palaces was a long and deliberate enterprise.

At local wineries, we learned how much time and work it takes to create fine wine. We saw how olives are harvested and pressed into olive oil, and experienced how pasta was made, and produce was harvested. Mainly we appreciated how a confluence of natural resources and cultural development created sustenance for all those artists, craftsmen, stone-carvers, cooks, and merchants who helped create this unique culture and its creative expression. Quality not quantity seemed to be the norm.

As we traveled, a deeper understanding of the role of nature in the faith of our hosts was revealed. At a Benedictine Abbey on Ligurian Coast near Portofino, we learned that the gardens were integral to one’s faith journey. They believed tending a garden was a form of active meditation. Monks grew herbs and lemons, lavender and hibiscus, sage and thyme, figs and persimmons, wisteria and grapes. Walks and talks in the gardens along the sea were an essential aspect of their meditation practice.

But history in this part of the world was not always kind, nor life always idyllic. There were invasions from the north, wars fought between cities for hundreds of years, pirates raiding coastal towns. There were plagues, and the Inquisition in the 16th century. Despite those setbacks, the Italian city-states united as one and became a Republic in 1861. During the middle of the twentieth century, Italy turned into an authoritarian regime under Mussolini and was an Axis power in World War II, until losing to the Allied forces in 1943.

Perhaps the message is that the culture, creativity, and freedom came back in full after the war. Faith and
fortitude, shared values and visions, and strong communities survived the chaos. The Allies prevailed, peace was restored, and communities rebuilt and recharged all over Europe, particularly in the West. Now changing again with more diversity and more urbanization, traditions they are known for are so strong these areas are a beacon of light and attract visitors from all over the world.

Throughout our trip, we saw that the people and their communities are pulled together by shared ideals and faith in God and Spirit, giving their lives meaning. Reminders rest in the statues in town squares, the frescoes and paintings inside of so many churches, the pristine old streets and town squares, the hillside farms with grapes and olives, the festivals, local rituals, and name days that bring people together.

Keeping faith alive, stories are told and retold about Jesus and his disciples, about how the world changed as those ideas have spread and been adopted.

Roots run deep in this part of the world. The forces of hate and darkness, have not prevailed. Those negative sentiments will never flourish for long, where there is a sense of pride and accomplishment and love of life, where people value faith, love, courage, and kindness to one another and the world they live in.