Quiet in the chaos

I thought, this morning, that it might be nice to begin the day with prayers in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, right in the heart of Florence. Well, I wasn't the only one to think that. A line of visitors was waiting, queuing right round the cathedral for hundreds of metres. And this, I discovered, was 45 minutes before the cathedral even opened! All I can say is, they've never queued like that for my sermons.

So I went wandering and found the little chapel of S. Michele Arcangelo Visdomini. A lovely and quiet space where I said morning prayer, all the time under the watchful eye of a custodian in black shirt and trousers who paced constantly up and down the aisles, perhaps supervising our prayers, or maybe watching in case someone got caught up into the heavens so he could grab their ankles and keep them from flying away.

Then around the corner I discovered Badia Fiorentina, a monastery church (in the photo). Breathtaking. An absolutely wonderful place of tranquility, stillness, prayerfulness in the heart of the city. And this despite a number of visitors keen to visit a church strongly associated with Dante Alighieri. I stayed a good while. This really felt like a chance to pray in the beautiful places.

Oh, and speaking of Dante ... well, that's another post, I think.

///jogged.himself.assure