Around every corner....

….there’s a sign.

St. Anthony Basilica in Padua

Some enormous and imposing, impossible to miss.

S. Giustina Monastery Church, Padua

Others tucked away, like this small church of S. Nicholas, upon which I stumbled during some early-evening wanderings.

Sorry it’s crooked. They had started praying the rosary, so I was trying to be not obvious as I took the photo….

It is astonishing to be in a place where you can turn a corner, open a door, and be within a breath of a 14th-century-fresco.

….and then around the other corner from where we are staying, the Duomo, which is not remarkable, and its Baptistry, which is – no photos allowed inside, unfortunately.  The exterior holds no clue as to the treasures within.  Which is often the case.

Padua Duomo and Baptistry

I am loathe to make generalizations about anything, but I will say that after having been in France for seven weeks, the difference in the Italian spiritual air seems strong to me.  Catholicism may be struggling in Italy, yes, but having your religious structures and imagery left intact and embraced as legitimate and important cultural patrimony (at least) rather than violently stripped away and then tossed in a rubbish heap does seem to make a difference….obviously.

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