Day 5 - Venice/Padova

Today we visited Padova (pronounced pa-jewa), which was yet another new experience and unique town in contrast to Venice and Rome.  It is a bit less of a tourist destination, so it gave me more of a sense of what life is like in the average town in Italy.  Although I remember a time when blue laws were still recognized in the U.S. (when stores were closed on Sundays), that was long forgotten until visiting Padova, when we had to find alternate activities for the afternoon rather than shopping during our free time.  Around 4 p.m. the city began to come alive – most stores opened and there was a small festival taking place in and around the town square which included music, a pantomime, juggler, artists, and other various entertainment.  I am under the impression that this is a typical Sunday in Paova, although I am not certain, and it was very nice to experience.

The educational component of the trip to Padua included a trip to St. Anthony’s cathedral, which although is not exactly a tourist destination, it is where many christians go to pray for the sick and deceased.  Although St. Anthony’s featured pre-renaissance artwork and had a slightly different architecture than some of its Roman counterparts, what was most outstanding to the entire study abroad group (and myself) was a board where those who came to pray attached pictures of those who they seeked blessing for.  Regardless of your religious convictions, it was quite emotional to see photos of hundreds who were being prayed for – each with a unique need for blessing.  It was quite bothersome to look at the pictures and wonder what motivated someone to make the pilgrimage to St. Anthony’s to seek help.  Further, I could not help but wonder the frequency of which the pictures were removed to make room for more.

The day provided alot of time for reflection, and after visiting St. Anthony’s, I began to once again recognize the value of my study abroad experience.  Visiting various religious sites during the program, one cannot help but get caught up in the lavish designs and artwork, and although I had learned otherwise in my Western Civilization course, observing all of the sites of the Catholic church left me with the impression that the extravogance was due simply to the Italians’  strong faith.  Although faith and beliefs may had contributed to the lavish architecture, I began to recall that there was a time when The Vatican was also the primary government of Rome, and at times most of Italy.  It occurred to me that the extravogance was as much a sign of power as it was to honor God.  Also, as in Venice, in contrast we toured (what remained of) the Padova Jewish Gettho, and it was once again disturbing to see the persecution and intolerance of people of different religious conviction – demonstrated by the need to almost camoflauge their synogauge and community.

Upon returning to Venice, in the evening we once again visited St. Mark’s square.  It is very difficult to describe being there, and it is something that I strongly urge others to experience.  Being at St. Mark’s at night, I was able envision myself in the 1700′s, and it felt surreal.  At four different locations, there were bands playing violin and piano, and it looked and sounded just like something you would see in the movies.  St. Mark’s, and Venice as a whole, is truly a unique place, and it is remarkable that it has remained greatly unchanged for hundreds of years!  I hope that Venice is always able to maintain its heritage.

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