Category Archives: Milan

Angels Long to Look…

1 Peter 1:10-12

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Acts 2:38-39

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Maundy Thursday ~ The Last Supper

 

I took this photo a few years ago at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy. Today and this whole week Christians around the world remember the events that led up to the crucifixion of Christ and Christ’s resurrection over 2000 years ago. I always look forward to Easter week which is also called Holy week. Celebrating our risen Savior and what he accomplished for us tops my list!

The Last Supper and the Washing of the Disciples Feet are both remarkable events. While in Milan I was also able to see Leonardo da Vinci’s mural of the Last Supper. The original mural is on a wall of the refectory (dining hall) in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. No photos allowed.

While in England in 2014 year we saw two amazing paintings of the last supper, one in the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in Windsor and one in the chapel of Magdalen College.

The Thames 104 - Copy - CopyFrom the Lectern, look down the centre aisle and observe in the West Gallery a painting of The Last Supper. This is a national treasure. The picture was originally presented to the Royal Chapel c. 1660 by Brian Duppa, Bishop of Winchester, Prelate of the Order of the Garter. It was “bought by him beyond the sea”. Another tradition ascribes it to Franz de Cleyn (1588-1658), Rostock, Mecklenburg, Court painter to James I. It was rolled up and buried “in the plumery” (plumbers workshop?) in the Great Rebellion. It hung over the altar at St George’s, Windsor in 1702, and can be seen there in Sandby’s drawing dated 1786.

The Thames 094

Oxford Day 6 141Above the stalls in the chapel hangs Giampetrino’s remarkable 15th copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, on permanent loan from the Royal Academy. In view of the bad condition of the original fresco in Milan, Magdalen’s copy on canvas is a piece of increasing historic and artistic significance.

Oxford Day 6 144This next sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet is at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California.

GOTW-practice035

Excerpts from John chapter 13…

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.  “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

InSPIREd Sunday -Duomo Milan

In March of 2013 I traveled with my Dear to Milan, Italy for a EAU conference. The Duomo Di Milano stunned us with it’s beauty and architecture.

If you’d like to see more about this cathedral you can view my previous posts here and here and here.

Click on  InSPIREd Sunday hosted by Beth and Sally to see more entries.

More Questions Than Answers…

What’s behind door number 12?

Aren’t you curious to know what lies behind doors like these?

Sometimes in life there are events that cause many questions and few answers. For many of us it’s hard not to have the answer to a problem. At times like these we have to exhibit the faith and trust we are called to. When an answer comes it might not be an easy one to live with but again we live by faith not by sight. I’m a tap your foot kind of person who wants to know what to do and just do it. I’m learning sometimes better than other times to just be still and know that God is sovereign and does things as He wills. As I read the Bible and recall my own history I’m amazed again that the God of the universe was always there and is still here doing what He will for His ultimate purpose. He has never left us or forsaken us no matter how hard or good our situations have been.

So the theme of this post is I don’t understand everything but I’m learning to love the one who knows and holds me and sends me off to do what He wants me to do.

I’m posting random shots today that cause me to wonder and to marvel and have no clear theme. This whole post has no clear theme.


St. Giorgios Parish Church in Varenna, Italay. A small basilica with a nave and 2 aisles, consecrated in 1313. 14th and 15th century frescoes and polyptychs (paintings divided in sections or panels)  in the church were painted by Como based artists. I’m amazed these have been preserved over the years. That’s a lot of years…

Now come with me down another rabbit trail closer to home. It’s time for me to get my Red, White and Blue bin down from the attic. We are moving into the Patriotic season at this old house with Memorial Day Weekend, Flag Day, and the 4th of July coming soon.

The little twist to these events is the fact that we are waiting for the scheduling of our next big project at this old house. We are finally going to start on the floors that needed replacing when we moved in over 12 years ago. We’ve chosen the materials for the first phase of the project. Adding wood floors where vinyl and carpet exist and lots of furniture exists is a mind boggling task. Where do we put everything while the floors are being done? OYE! The second phase will be replacing carpeting (which we haven’t chosen) in the 3 bedrooms, the living room, and stairs which again will mean moving all the furniture around or out. Double Oye!

Thank you for making it through my deep and not so deep thoughts. That’s life isn’t it? The random and mundane along with the amazing and mind boggling events that swirl around us.

What’s swirling around your head or place?

Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele

We are praying for all the victims of the explosions at the Boston Marathon. I can’t imagine what all these families are going through right now. Hats off to the first responders and the people of Boston who were so ready to help. May God comfort the suffering.

I’m winding down on my Milan posts and today I’ll share shots of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele which is named after the first King of the Kingdom of Italy and the oldest mall in Italy.

I didn’t go for the twirl on the Bull but I enjoyed watching others twirl on their heels.

I guess I’m not a design shopper as I didn’t feel tempted to go into any of the shops.

No shopping in the oldest galleria but I really enjoyed all the old Architecture and details in the Galleria.

The country we will be visiting with our oldest and his lovely lady is England. Josh and Laura have never been there and it will be fun exploring some old sights with them and discovering some new ones while we celebrate Dear turning 60. 2013 is fast becoming a major travel year for us between Dear’s conferences, family events, and the Mennonite Girls book launches. Praying already for God to go before us.

Psalm 121:8

The Message (MSG)

7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.

More Monumentale…

The entrance to Monumentale Cemetery in Milan is as grand as the rest of the grounds. This cemetery is filled with both contemporary and classical sculptures. We were struck with how massive many of the sculptures are.

This monument reminded me so much of a story from the Old Testament. Anyone out there want to guess which one?

This cemetery would need several hours to fully take in. I will soon share the last part of the cemetery we visited including the Hall of Fame.

Hope your week is going well. So far so good here. I was happy that the constant rain from the weekend has seemed to cease. The exciting news this week is that our new cookbook, Celebrations, is in the hands of some at Menno Press. The 10 of us are excitedly and anxiously waiting for our copy to arrive!

Blessings…

Over the Top…

Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy is hands down the most over the top cemetery I’ve been to yet. I’m breaking down the photos I show into categories. I’ve already shown you a few like the last supper sculpture. This post will be all about angels…

In general I feel angels are depicted too mellow and sweet. I like this one for it’s more rugged style and many more of the sculptures we saw at this cemetery.

Looking at all these statues reminds me of the Amy Grant Song from a few years ago, Angels Watching Over Me.

Got his angels watching over me, every move I make,

Angels watching over me!

Angels watching over me, every step I take,

Angels watching over me!

Now from the past to the present…

Lovella from Mennonite Girls Can Cook and What Matters Most along with her dear husband were camping for one night in our neck of the woods on their way home from Cannon Beach so we were able to get together for breakfast at this old house on Sunday morning. What a fun treat to have them in our home for the first time. I did not take one photo. Can you believe that!? I guess I was just too excited. We had blintzes with fruit topping, bacon, sausages, coffee, and fresh orange juice with maybe some champagne in it. I’m not telling.  Here’s a photo of what the table looked like after the fact…

I have a couple of weeks of quiet on my calendar. The end of April really heats up into May. Hope your week ahead is a good one. Blessings.

Oh and while I’m thinking of it head over to our MGCC blog on Monday to get the recipe for Aebleskivers!

The Other Side…

I wanted to finish sharing my photos from the Duomo (Milan Cathedral). These shots are taken of the back and some from the sides.

This shot captures the lift that is used by construction crew to get to the top of the Duomo where restoration work is being done.

There are 2245 statues on the exterior of the Duomo, 96 gargoyles, and 135 Spires.

This is the one figure that I recognized on the outside of the Duomo. Have you read the account of David and Goliath from the Bible? Here are excerpts from 1 Samuel 17…

4 The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was over nine feet tall. 5-6 He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armor to protect his chest and legs. The chest armor alone weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back, 7 and his spear was so big that the iron spearhead alone weighed more than fifteen pounds. A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield.

8 Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel:

Why are you lining up for battle? I’m the best soldier in our army, and all of you are in Saul’s army. Choose your best soldier to come out and fight me! 9 If he can kill me, our people will be your slaves. But if I kill him, your people will be our slaves. 10 Here and now I challenge Israel’s whole army! Choose someone to fight me!…

…11 Saul and his men heard what Goliath said, but they were so frightened of Goliath that they couldn’t do a thing…

…16 Goliath came out and gave his challenge every morning and every evening for forty days…

…26 David asked some soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine think he is? He’s making fun of the army of the living God!”…

…31 Some soldiers overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul sent for David, and David came. 32 “Your Majesty,” he said, “this Philistine shouldn’t turn us into cowards. I’ll go out and fight him myself!”

33 “You don’t have a chance against him,” Saul replied. “You’re only a boy, and he’s been a soldier all his life.”

34 But David told him:

Your Majesty, I take care of my father’s sheep. And when one of them is dragged off by a lion or a bear, 35 I go after it and beat the wild animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it.

36 Sir, I have killed lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He shouldn’t have made fun of the army of the living God! 37 The Lord has rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe from the hands of this Philistine.

“All right,” Saul answered, “go ahead and fight him. And I hope the Lord will help you.”…

…David took off the armor 40 and picked up his shepherd’s stick. He went out to a stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight toward Goliath.

41 Goliath came toward David, walking behind the soldier who was carrying his shield. 42 When Goliath saw that David was just a healthy, good-looking boy, he made fun of him. 43 “Do you think I’m a dog?” Goliath asked. “Is that why you’ve come after me with a stick?” He cursed David in the name of the Philistine gods 44 and shouted, “Come on! When I’m finished with you, I’ll feed you to the birds and wild animals!”

45 David answered:

You’ve come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I’ve come out to fight you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel’s army, and you have insulted him too!

46 Today the Lord will help me defeat you. I’ll knock you down and cut off your head, and I’ll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God. 47 Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.

48 When Goliath started forward, David ran toward him. 49 He put a rock in his sling and swung the sling around by its straps. When he let go of one strap, the rock flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 David defeated Goliath with a sling and a rock. He killed him without even using a sword.

51 David ran over and pulled out Goliath’s sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath’s head.

Hope you made it through my longer than usual post. There’s more and you can read the whole account in the Old Testament in the book of First Samuel. Reading this again makes me want to sing “Only a Boy Named David”. Did you ever sing that song?

Tuesday got away from me. Now I’m doing some scrambling today to get reconnected to my brain. Our glorious sunshine from the weekend is hiding away for now and hopefully will return soon. What are you enjoying this week?

Maundy Thursday

I took this photo just 9 days ago at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan. Today and this whole week Christians around the world remember the events that led up to the crucifixion and Christ’s resurrection over 2000 years ago. I always look forward to celebrating our risen Lord who is alive today. The Last Supper and the Washing of the Disciples Feet are both remarkable events. While in Milan I was also able to see Leonardo da Vinci’s mural of the Last Supper. The original mural is on a wall of the refectory (dining hall) in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. No photos allowed. This next sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet is at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California.

GOTW-practice035

 

Excerpts from John chapter 13…

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.  “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

On Top of Old Duomo…

…all covered with marble.

For 7 euros you can climb to the roof of the Duomo. For 12 euros you can ride an elevator up. I believe there were just over 200 steps total to get to the roof.

On a clear day you can see as far as the Alps and Apennines.

Dear was intrigued with the design of this building that we could see from the rooftop of the Duomo.

The Duomo is decorated with an amazing number of beautifully sculpted statues and spires. There are more statues on this building than any other in the world, 3159 in total. 2245 Of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires.

The most famous of all these statues on the Duomo is the Madonnina (Little Madonna), a copper statue of the virgin Mary covered with 3900 pieces of gold leaf. It was cast in 1774 by goldsmith Giuseppe Bini and sculptor Giuseppe Perego. The statue, almost 14 feet high, was placed on top of the cathedral’s tallest spire and until 1959 marked the highest point in the city at 108.5 meter.

As with many old structures like this there are ongoing restoration projects. You can see the scaffolding surrounding the spire of the gold statue.

The views of all the architecture from the roof was worth the trip up those stairs. This post is a photo overload but after all the effort to get to the top I didn’t want to stop clicking away.