Margaret Felice

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St Mary of the Expressive Religious Art

July 7, 2013 · Filed Under: pictures, saints, travel ·

A few nights ago I was introduced to an elderly woman who is writing the history of her parish, Santa Maria Maggiore in Assisi. I feel bad for some of the “other” churches in Assisi. In the shadow of the grand basilicas, they hardly get any love. So the next day I trudged down the hill (they’re all hills here) to Santa Maria Maggiore to check it out.

The interior is fairly simple, with a few frescoes and a few statues.

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To the right of the altar there is a statue of St Joseph. I wish my photo fully captured the expression of bemused delight on the saint’s face. From now on that’s how I’ll think of Joseph, happy to have a cute kid that knows how to hold a ball (and the earth).

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To the left of the altar is a painting of the crucifixion. St John is to the right of the cross, and judging by his expression, he is disgusted.

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This church was one of many advertising “Campo Felice”. Do you think I’d get a discount?

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After about ten minutes I’d seen what there was to see. I walked down a side street to my rehearsal, in an old chapel that’s no longer used as a worship space. It seems to be where they put on a St Francis puppet show. My favorites are Clare and young Clare. You can tell which is which because the older Clare has false eyelashes.

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I plan to keep venturing off the beaten path, in hopes there will be more saints who look at me a little differently.

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4 Comments

Comments

  1. Mark Allman says

    July 15, 2013 at 10:22 am

    I bet not only will the saints look at you differently but you are looking at them differently too as you venture off the beaten path.

    Reply
    • felicemifa says

      July 16, 2013 at 10:43 am

      Very true! There’s nothing like venturing out of the comfort zone to make you see things in a new way.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 7 things I’ve learned from St Francis | Felice mi fa says:
    October 4, 2013 at 5:11 am

    […] imagine St Francis’ renunciation of his father’s wealth and name in the piazza outside Santa Maria Maggiore, I don’t see Francis removing his fancy clothes, or the bishop tenderly covering Francis with […]

    Reply
  2. One for St Agnes says:
    November 20, 2013 at 5:28 am

    […] notices in this town dominated by its most famous son. St Peter’s with a stunning nativity, Santa Maria Maggiore with its oddly expressive religious art. I passed through the residential area you reach by […]

    Reply

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