Santa Catarina di Benincasa

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Buongiorno di Nonna Margo,

Leslie's language lessons are paying off, at least somewhat. She comes back to the room with lots of information and I ask a question about something, generally using a French pronunciation or word or something and she gets this really baffled look on her face and we both dive into our respective Italian books. However, she is getting more proficient every day and I am getting the benefit of her increased knowledge. At least so far I have not mispronounced "penne" and got myself into some kind of bordello!! Thank God!! Mind you, so far I have also managed to avoid saying "penne" at all, just in case.

Now, Santa Catarina's house adjoins the guesthouse we are in. From our balcony, we look directly into the entrance to the various oratories and chapels. The statue of St. Catarina is front and centre in the view. Quite amazing. Also from the balcony we can see the Duomo, an amazing sight for 21st century eyes; I cannot imagine the sense of the power of God and of the Church that the sight must have engendered in the little girl who grew up under its shadow and walked its steps on a regular basis.

Being in Siena as a 21st century educated person with at least a tiny bit of travel experience and at least the same amount of experience with people from all over the globe is definitely a different experience than that which Catherine would have had in the 14th Century. To my very English Canadian mind, Italy is exotic and Medieval Italy is even more exotic, so the sightseer part of me has to move out of the way in order for me to begin to "be" here. While Les was in class this morning, I spent some time in the Oratory next to Catherine's small bedroom. Doing this, looking into her room, seeing the bricks and mortar and tiny window that were hers, has helped ground me a bit more in her world. Visiting the Duomo, running my hand along the wall of the hospital in which she visited and nursed the sick was quite moving. I can feel her there more than in the oratories and all the spaces that focus on her as a saint rather than as a real person. As a real person, she walked the streets of Siena, through the low brick arches, up the narrow, winding streets, into what we would call archaic and even barbaric medical establishments, forcing herself to deal with the smells of sickness, disease, and death, until she no longer thought of herself as saintly for doing so.

I am really glad that we are spending 2 weeks here. A few days is insufficient. My work on Catherine and her impact on my life are grounded in seeing her as "real", finding the person who speaks rather than the ever so holy person who is so far above us that we have no hope at all of understanding or hearing her. Tomorrow I plan to visit the Duomo and hospital (now a museum) a bit; the next day perhaps I will sit in the oratory of the kitchen and stare at the hearth at which she cooked meals and served her family for 3 years after she cut off all her hair in defiance of her parents' desire to have her married (teenagers haven't changed much!!). I am grateful for St. Ignatius Loyola's teaching on utilizing the imagination in a focused manner in order to learn more about Scripture as I can use the same technique to get a bit more of a sense of Catherine, or at least ask a lot more questions, without romanticizing. Hagiography has its appeal but that appeal is limited.

We found a wonderful place for coffee and pastries and such. If travelling in Italy, it is important to remember that, if you sit down outside a cafe and order food or drink, you are likely to pay two to three times what you would pay if you stayed indoors and did not take up table space. Capuccino here is 1.10 euro inside but is 2.70 outside! Needless to say, we stay inside.

We have also found a few small fruit markets in tiny, tiny spaces. Pears, blood oranges, apples, strawberries of all sizes from the tiny wild ones to ones as big as a thumb, cherries, tomatoes of all varieties and sizes, eggplant (okay we are not buying eggplant),.... all sorts of stuff. Lots of fun.

I am going to do some serious bargaining with the internet place next to Les's school. I popped in there today to check my email and asked "Quanto costa?" He first said it was 10 cents/minute and, when my eyebrows went up, he said it was 8. Next time, I am going to negotiate him down to 4 or go somewhere else!! Mind you, it seems there are only 2 internet spots in Siena so he might have a tad of a corner on the market.

Andrea and Greg, fyi my dears, I have found that gold shoes are "the" thing to be wearing in Italy so am doing some serious shopping for same. All the time you thought I looked odd with my gold shoes I was just a fashion statement ahead of her time!! We have found several leather shops here, too, with prices for the same kind of bag varying from 38 euros (on sale) to 400 euros. But we also saw a sign saying there is a leather outlet place somewhere in the city so are going to try to find it. We may rent a Smart car and go hunting or get on a city bus and go around the newer part of the city outside the walls and see what we can see. Tickets are available all over the place and probably are not too expensive.

That is about it for now, I think. We attended Mass at San Domenico last night, understanding very little of the homily but knowing that the priest was very sincere and the message was really important. So far we have found priests to be very sweet and very much in love with their vocations, even in dwindling congregations. Bless them!

Must go. We will end up using up all of Leslie's free time if we keep babbling and, as you all know, I can babble with the best of them.

Steve...you would love the sunflowers that are all over the handpainted ceramic ware here...beautiful stuff!!!

Much love to you all,
Margo

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