Pisa! Pisa!

I have learned that there are several traditions surrounding the Monday after Easter.  Here in Italy, it is a national holiday.  Some of the older Marianist Brothers call it "Emmaus Day" after the story from the Gospel of Luke where the newly risen Jesus meets two disciples on the road...the brothers recount stories of taking a 20 mile hike in the Novitiate.  Some people call it the "Monday of the Angel" because it recalls the meeting of the angel and the women who went to the tomb of Jesus (thanks Fr. Pachi for the info.)  However you want to think of the day, it's a good excuse to continue celebrating Easter.

So, in this spirit (and because it was really the only free day we could find) the community took a "gita" (trip) to Pisa - famous for its leaning tower and, evidently, tons of people!  (I think others had the same idea as we did.)  So, here are a few pictures from the day.  I hope you enjoy them.

The Duomo (Cathedral) with the Tower in the background.

Ahhh, there it is leaning.

Laugh if you want, but this is a must-have photo.

Almost there...

Perfect!

Bro. Les getting into the fun.

And the casual shot.

Really, no joke, the tower is leaning. (5% inclination for all you trigonometry nerds out there.) 

We had mass at Santa Caterina d'Allessandra.

I think St. Thomas Aquinas preached from here

The church was very simple, but beautiful.

Holy Monks.

Fr. Mike preaching.

Looking up the tower from inside. 

Whooooaaaa, it's leaning.  So, again, all joking aside, it was very cool to climb the steps of the tower and get a feel for how much it is leaning.

The Tower is the bell tower for the Cathedral. 

This picture was Bro. Javi's idea.

The city of Pisa.

The view of the Cathedral and Baptistry from above.

Inside the Cathedral.

The mosaic in the main apse was very nice.

This icon of Mary is popularly called "Our Lady Under the Organ" so I had to take a picture of it.  Yes, the organ pipes are just above here.

This isn't Italy unless you have the body of a saint in the church.  This is St. Ranieri, a layperson from Pisa.

Next door in a separate building is the Baptistry. 

The font.

Fr. Pachi having fun.

Ciao!