Pilgrimage Stops: Venice & Florence
Venice and Florence — two-thirds of the holy trinity of Italian tourism. Beautiful, extraordinary, worth experiencing once — but if pilgrimage is your priority, spend the time in Assisi or Siena instead. (4 min read)
Venice and Florence are two-thirds of the holy trinity of Italian tourism. While both make wonderful holiday destinations, and provide ample opportunity for engagement with extraordinary religious art and architecture, they are not my priorities for pilgrimage.
For medieval pilgrims to the Holy Land, Venice was an important destination – the final toehold with Europe before Asia Minor and, ultimately, Palestine. Many of the saints I have studied and written about spent time in Venice… but there is little evidence of this today. Leaving aside a visit to the Basilica of San Marco and the museums, the priority seems to be shopping (which does not interest me) and eating (which interests me greatly).
One can take the high road (via plane) or the low road (via train) to Venice. After several visits, I vote for the low road. The airport connection and delays are the closest one is likely to get to the stress of the medieval pilgrim.
I have separately written about my experiences in Venice a few times so wont repeat myself here.
Florence is about 2 hours by high-speed train from Venice. One arrives close to the historical centre of the city and the energy of the place is immediately evident. It is a crowdy, busy and very hot place. The old cobblestone streets are charming but quite a challenge for the wheelie suitcases in 30 degree heat. Fortunately, there are few cars in the historical centre and plenty of places selling gelato to cool one down.
The duomo in Florence is extraordinarily beautiful – all pink and white and green and grey marble and covered in extraordinary sculptures and mosaics. And the city which triggered the Renaissance still has the most amazing stash of artwork from this period (either in situ or in the museums). The Uffizi has, of course, the most stunning collection of paintings and sculptures, including all the big Italian names…. but my favourite museum is the small one opposite the duomo that tells the story of the cathedral. I think it might be my favourite museum ever, although I’m undecided about the approach to the display relics. It is great that these are accessible and labelled but it felt profane to treat them as museum objects.
There is no doubt that Venice and Florence are beautiful and unique and places one should experience once in this lifetime… but if your focus is pilgrimage then I’d give them a miss and spend the time in Assisi, San Giovanni Rotondo or Siena instead.
Namaste.
© Paul McCarthy & Iluminar.au
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