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Post by fumobici on Apr 10, 2023 11:42:43 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 10, 2023 12:05:39 GMT
Very impressive site. Since the monks and whatnot went to so much effort to build places like this, you would think that they would reward themselves by relaxing afterwards, but we're pretty sure they didn't. Then again, it was such an effort to visit them that who knows what they got up to with no witnesses?
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Post by bjd on Apr 10, 2023 12:13:49 GMT
It's not the getting up there that poses problems -- it's on the way down I always feel I'm going to slip and break my neck. Impressive site.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 10, 2023 14:59:26 GMT
Astounding & very beautiful pictures, Fumobici! Is the place still inhabited? It seems to be completely a museum now. Are there even caretakers around?
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Post by fumobici on Apr 10, 2023 15:41:10 GMT
Astounding & very beautiful pictures, Fumobici! Is the place still inhabited? It seems to be completely a museum now. Are there even caretakers around? Yes there is a resident monk and it looked like there were others associated with the eramo there as well, at least a couple of them, today. As I mentioned in the Blah, Blah, Blah thread, a local told me the last caretaker monk would admit or deny pilgrims or visitors entrance based on whether he liked "the look" of them. And unsurprisingly since today is probably the most shut-down holiday of the year in Italy after Christmas, there were a handful of visitors besides myself there while I was visiting. But maybe two or three at once. I suspect that people wanting to visit a Franciscan monastery will tend to be drawn to the far better-known Chuisi della Verna on the other side of the Tiber valley, which has a proper parking lot, real visitor center and all, and doesn't require hiking prowess to access. As nice as Cerbaiolo is, it isn't easy to find or get to at all. It's a steep, rough, switchbacking gravel road, and gets steeper and rougher the closer you get to the monastery. There's another remote Franciscan monastery and refuge not too far away I will probably visit as well called Eramo di Montecasale. There are a *lot* of St. Francis related things around here, one of the Vie Francescana, and one of Francis' favorite strolls, is rock-throwing distance from my house.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 10, 2023 16:33:53 GMT
I feel that your faith is slowly but surely drawing you into the orders.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 10, 2023 16:55:50 GMT
Yes it’s got that feel about it. Father Fumo has a nice ring to it.
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Post by lugg on Apr 10, 2023 18:48:40 GMT
What a stunning place and your landscapes are just beautiful. What is the lake in your photo ? Natural or a reservoir ?
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Post by fumobici on Apr 10, 2023 19:49:21 GMT
What a stunning place and your landscapes are just beautiful. What is the lake in your photo ? Natural or a reservoir ? It's an artificial lake called Lago di Montedoglio. It's actually a capture or "invaso" of the Tiber river. The dam is recent, it was only completed in the 1970s and, as is often the case, there is a village or "borgo" under the water that was called Madonnuccia*. The town's people were relocated to higher ground of course and today there is a new Madonnuccia, but all the historic buildings were lost to the inundation. It's sad, but it was a huge benefit to the farmers in the upper Tiber valley who can count on reliable irrigation where they once risked losing their crops in a dry year. My farmer neighbor, Mario, said it was the best thing that ever happened to the local agriculture. *edit: by the rules of Italian suffixes, the name should mean "bad madonna", but I've let that lay and don't know the genesis of the name
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Post by fumobici on Apr 10, 2023 19:50:50 GMT
Yes it’s got that feel about it. Father Fumo has a nice ring to it. I wouldn't be the first agnostic priest, but I'd be drummed out after my first sermon.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 10, 2023 19:56:44 GMT
Agnostic not atheist eh? Well now...
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Post by fumobici on Apr 10, 2023 20:06:52 GMT
Atheism seems like another religious conceit to me. How the hell would I know about such lofty spiritual stuff, well above my pay grade.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 10, 2023 20:07:11 GMT
don't know the genesis of the name [Madonnuccia] Could it be a conflation of Madonna and annunciazione? |
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 10, 2023 20:21:30 GMT
There was a survey in France a number of years ago and 18% of French priests said thay didn't believe in god. I only hope that this means they were people who wanted to do good things but just couldn't find any other outlet. And of course, there are some who were pressured by their family.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 10, 2023 20:25:38 GMT
Could it be a conflation of Madonna and annunciazione? Let's hope that's it, shall we? |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 10, 2023 21:13:33 GMT
An interesting place, very atmospheric. One doesn't need to be religious to enjoy visiting 'holy places'. They may no longer hold the spiritual significance for many of us but one can still absorb the history. I guess I'm an arrogant atheist, mostly I'm anti-theist...but there is a smattering of agnostic in me too. Absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence etc etc  |
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Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2023 5:39:38 GMT
I'm with Fumo on this one. Atheism seems like too much of a strong belief. Wasn't there a militant atheist in the States some years ago -- a woman called Madeleine something? I'm in the "don't care and don't believe all that stuff" category but do enjoy visiting religious buildings if they are interesting.
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Post by lugg on Apr 11, 2023 18:31:28 GMT
My farmer neighbor, Mario, said it was the best thing that ever happened to the local agriculture. Yes sad but maybe necessary ...life moves on of course |
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Post by mich64 on Apr 11, 2023 19:52:14 GMT
A nice way to enjoy Easter Monday and your photos are beautiful. I hope you will post more photos when your visit the other monastery.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 11, 2023 20:18:17 GMT
Splendid pics of a splendid place.
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