ヨーロッパの教会から

Milan is a entrance to Italy from the north. Milan is a modernistic commercial city, in contrast to Rome which is famous for the antiquities. This was the first time for me to get into Milan city, though I had been to FIMICHINO airport several times for connections of Alitalia airlines. Milano Duomo makes the center in Milan with Vittorio EmanueleⅡ's Galleria. I was captivated by the solemn Gothic style architecture on a large scale and the sculptures inlaid on the chalky walls. Nearby the cathedral, there is Santa Maria delle Grazie church which is famous for "the Last Supper" of Leonardo da Vinci work.

The Saint Mark Cathedral represents Venezia which is famous for the city of water. The former Venice was a mighty republic which dominates East Italy, and was known as a commerce state through "The Merchant of Venice". They say it is the beginning of the Saint Mark cathedral that once a merchant carried and laid the corpse of apostle Mark from Egypt into this place all the way. Since then, St. Mark has been made the patron saint of Venice and has been revered.

Firenze is the original place of the Italian Renaissanceto. Duomo with the red brick color cupola roof and the hexagonal-shaped chapel beside is in the center of Firenze where tourists gather round.

I visited Pisa in an English half day sightseeing bus tour from Firenze. The Leaning Tower of Pisa where it is said that Galileo experimented on the gravity-drop,.goes on leaning in these days.The building makes us feel the universality of the history somehow.

Assisi is famous for the Basilica of San Francesco which is the representative of world heritage site in Italy. Assisi is a town surrounded by mountains near a station on the way in Eurostar link from Firenze to Rome, and the neighbor town is Perugia where a famous football player, Mr.Nakata, once belonged in a team of Serie A. The Basilica of San Francesco appears on a hilltop where we go up a slope in about 10 minutes by bus from the station. Assisi is a quiet town, where there are buildings built of blick and cars and tourists come and go on the stone slopes now and then. San Francesco possessed nothing and practiced charity according to the words of the Bible in the beginning, and he established the basilica on the hill and began his activity of devoting his lifetime.