It’s a short train ride from Venice to Padua or Padova as it
is also called in the US. I picked this
stop on my journey for one reason; it is the home of the Basilica of S.
Anthony.
In
the Catholic Church, there are hundreds of people who have been named
(beautified) as Saints. I don’t pray to
them normally, I usually just go right to the top. But ever since I can remember, I've been
praying to St. Anthony. He is most
widely known as the patron saint (the protector or guide of) of lost thing –
things including items like car keys, to people, to jobs, to souls – basically
anything lost. So in our house, whenever
you lost something, you were told to pray to St. Anthony to help you find
it. I have been praying to the man all
my life and every single time I call out to him, he answers. I am not making that up, nor is it an
overstatement - - - every time that I pray sincerely to him for help, he helps
me. So that is why I am here, to see his Basilica,
to walk the streets he walked and to learn more about the man who has been my
friend for a very, very long time.
I hopped a bus from the train station and then walk the two
blocks to my hotel which is another little B&B hole in the wall off a side
street. It is around 2:30 and as I am
walking I am very aware of how few people are on the streets. I ask the desk clerk where everyone is; he looks
at me and says “inside – it’s too hot.” He’s right about that. The reception area is clean but very plain
and I wonder what my room will be like, he hands me a big remote and says “for
the air”. The room is on the first
floor, which actually means one flight up.
In Italy the first floor is not the ground floor – that’s the ground,
the 1st floor is always one flight up. Just in case you wanted to know that for
future booking tips… I open the door to
my room and do a little happy dance – big, airy, and a huge window shaded by a
gigantic tree and a shower that I could host a dance party in. Sweeeeeet!
It’s Sunday and a lot of places are closed, so I take a
break and just relax and catch up on the news and email since I didn't have a
WIFI connection in Venice. Around 7pm I
took a stroll to find my way around the neighborhood and am tickled to find
that I am just a few blocks from the Basilica.
It is closed for the night, so I just stand there for a while in awe of
my surroundings.
I haven’t eaten since breakfast and found a restaurant near
the church for dinner. It was a nice
little place with great food and great staff, who I got to know very well as I ate
there a few times during my stay. I wanted
to stay as close to St. Anthony as I could for as long as I was in town. The dinner was great. Here is a photo so you
can see what grilled vegetables are supposed to look like.
I sat there until it got dark and heard music coming from a plaza
down the street. I took a walk down to
find a free outdoor concert with thousands of people, so I cruised through the
crowd and then copped a squat and listened for a while.
7/9
Today I explored the town.
I knew that I would be spending the majority of my time around the
Basilica, so I decided to walk in the opposite direction so I could see the rest of
the town. It’s a beautiful town
and that is also well-known because of the University of Padova. It is one of Europe’s oldest and most
prestigious colleges and you have to be a one smart cookie to get in. And
there are a lot of smart people over here (American's included) as there are somewhere around 60,000
students that attend.
As I was exploring the town, I ran into some kind of
graduation “roast” celebrations going on around the streets of the
university. The graduating student is
forced to read out loud some kind of paper that is all about them and their
time at the university while they are being harassed by other students. And then they have to walk around town in
their unique outfits and interact with townspeople.
I also stumble upon a unique musical group entertaining the
crowd in one of the plazas – nothing but cello’s. They were absolutely fantastic and I picked
up a CD to carry home with me. The name of the group is Cellostrada
Quintet.
I spent hours just walking around the town, getting lost and
checking out churches. It has a feel of
a college town and the prices as well, which is a relief after Venice. I went back to the hotel, got myself cleaned
up and then went to mass at the Basilica – the first of many that I would
attend. St. Anthony’s tomb is here as
well and I stood near it for the service.
It was probably the most spiritually moving experience I have ever
had. It was lovely, absolutely lovely
and I can hardly wait to come back again tomorrow…
7/10
I start the day by attending mass again at the
Basilica. I can’t tell you how it moves
me to be in this church and this close to the saint that has been my friend all
my life. I feel so good here, so
peaceful. I could sit in this place all
day long. You can’t take photos inside,
but here are a few outside shots.
This magnolia tree is in one of the courtyards of the Basilica, it was planted in 1810!!!
The Basilica is huge, has several chapels in it and has
different rooms that holds different treasures of St. Anthony like his clothes,
some of his household items, his original coffin, his rock pillow (yep, he used
a big rock as a pillow) and they have his tongue on display…
The story goes that St. Anthony became a Franciscan monk at
the age of 25, he lived in a cave, studying, meditating, and barely spoke to
anyone. One day, while attending a
service, he was asked to say a few words to the crowd. He started slowly but
then the spirit moved him and he wow’d the crowd with his zest and eloquence. So much so that St. Francis sent him on a
speaking tour. It is said that he even
stood on the shores of the Adriatic Sea in Rimini and enticed a school of fish
to listen… When St. Anthony’s remains were exhumed 32
years after his death, his body had decayed to dust but his tongue was found
unspoiled and red in color. So it is on
display in an air tight case – it looked really weird.
I have to take a break and get some food and sun, so I take
a walk to pick up some grub and take it to the biggest square in Italy which is
just down the street. It's the same place I was the night before for the free concert. It is the Prato della Valla and is 400 yards long with an oval shaped piazza that is
surrounded by a moat, has fountains, lots of statues, trees and grass. It's a major handout spot.
Lunch with friends!
I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out in
this square just relaxing in the shade and people watching. As you probably already know, soccer
(football) is huge over here. Everywhere
I go I see guys and girls kicking around a soccer ball and today is no
different. I watched three different ‘pick
up’ games going on throughout the afternoon and I am amazed at their agility
and skills. They use their feet like I use
my hands. I also watched two guys just
kick a ball back and forth, never using their hands, which they couldn't because they were also drinking beer and smoking. They
are completely relaxed and I am fascinated watching their skills. I also got involved a few times when they see
I am watching and kick the ball in my direction. The first
time it came my way I bent down to get it and one of the guys yelled “non” and
made the kicking motion, so I kicked it back.
Luckily for me it was a great kick.
After a while I move to another
spot and as I walk off they both yell “ciao”.
I notice this happens all the time when I have any interaction with an
Italian, that when I turn to leave they always say ciao or goodbye. On
the whole, I find Italian’s to be a very friendly and welcoming people.
I walk back towards my hotel and find that I am just in time
for the last mass of the day at the Basilica, so I stop in to hang out with my
friend Anthony one more time…
7/11
I stared the day out back at the Basilica for another
mass. I just can’t get enough of
it. I’m getting pretty good at following
along in the Italian service but I’ve noticed that every day, with every
priest, it’s a little bit different.
Mass itself only lasts 30 minutes, even on Sundays. The longest mass I have been to lasted 45
minutes and that was because it was 1st communion and the priest
brought each child up to the alter and talked to them after the service. In America, mass almost always lasts a full hour. Here
it is very simple, if there is a cantor there will be a little singing, but if
not – no singing other that at the end of mass when someone in the crowd starts
a song and all join in. And there are no
ushers that tell you when to go up for communion, everybody just gets up and
goes. Yet mass still only lasts 30
minutes. How do they do it? Amazing…
I spend the rest of the day walking the town, seeing the
sites and popping into churches to get a break from the heat and to enjoy the
beauty.
Qui means ‘here’, I think you can figure out the rest.
This afternoon as I was standing at a bus stop a man came
riding by on his bike and looked at me so I said “buon journo”, he stopped responded
in kind and then started rambling on in Italian. I told him “mi dispiace, non capisco” he took off his sunglasses, looked at me and said (in English) “you’re not Italian?” “Non”,
I said “Sono American” (I’m American).
He smiled and said “Are you sure?”
I laughed and said “Si”. He smiled, shook his head, said "ciao" and rode off into the sunset...
I ended the day by spending more time with St. Anthony and
then enjoyed dinner at the restaurant across from the Basilica. The waiters know me as I have eaten a few
meals here and have to pass by it to get to the Basilica. When I sat for dinner tonight, I didn’t have
to say a word –a bottle of natural water and a ½ liter of red wine was brought
to my table immediately. It is funny how quickly I develop
relationships with the people I am meeting on this trip.
I am so very glad that I got to see Padua; this has been the
most wonderful personal spiritual stop of the trip for me. It was
such an honor for me to be here.
Next stop Assisi
Ciao ~
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