a-MAZE-ing

Decades ago Paul Simon wrote a song where he says "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all".  Whenever I come to Italy, those words follow me like a stray cat.  Years ago, when I fist arrived here in Lucca, my local guide Sergio, took me to see the local Cathedral of St. Martin.  It's a fabulous old Renaissance building.  Monumental in size and stunning in it's acid trip decorations, the place was a bit overwhelming.  Sergio took the time to try to explain what I was looking at but it was a syssiphian task.  Words poured in one side of my head and then spilled out the other side just as quickly.  About the only thing that truly stuck was that this was a really big church with lots of art all around the place.  Now... Where can I get a glass of wine?

     

          Cathedral of St Martin in Lucca dating from about 1200AD

I like to tell myself that I sort of remember seeing the white marble carving of a labyrinth located on the right portico of the cathedral next to the bell tower in this photo.  I seem to have at least that much mental stamina.  But that's the end of the line for me.  

Curiously, over the long, long New England descent into darkness (also known as Winter!) I stumbled onto a fabulous YouTube video by a young Canadian architect who took up the challenge of explaining the complex nuance of 2 words we use interchangeably.  One of the terms is "labyrinth" and the other was  "maze".  The technical difference seems to stem from the objective of these 2 things.  Her explanation was that a labyrinth was often a religious construct.  The purpose of a labyrinth was to create a space which allows the user to wander on a meandering path with only one entrance and one exit but which is designed to lead a person on a SUCCESSFUL journey... a confusing and twisting path which doesn't allow the wanderer to get lost.  The idea here was that the person who started on the path would always end up back where they started but only AFTER encountering lots of confusing turns.  Thus many mideaval religious sites offered monks (and pilgrims) an actual space which was designed to be a physical experience of the path we must walk as we go through our lives.  If one had enough " Faith" and trusted in God, you would be successful in reaching a good ending.

     

               The marble carving of the labyrinth at St Martin Cathedral

On the other hand a "maze" was constructed with purpose of causing confusion.  Many ancient cities, especially those which were prone to invasions by hostile enemies, were designed to be traps with no escape. They were designed to be lethal.  There were no religious lessons involved.  A maze had a  life and death use.  Often death WAS the objective.  

I often wonder how I managed to live on this planet for three quarters of a century without understanding some crucial distinctions.  How many other things do I think I understand but I really don't.  Do I really understand how to use a TV remote control?  Do I really know how to eat in a way that promotes good health?  Can I really fix a leaky faucet without flooding the basement?  Can I really appreciate a beautiful day?  Am I able to look at a work of art and understand it?

I want to say yes to these things.  But I have a deep, dark feeling that I probably have HUGE gaps in my understanding of the universe and I'm just wandering around as if in a labyrinth when I'm actually trapped in a maze.

A-MAZE-ing

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

Give Pleasure a chance...you might enjoy it.

Oh my.  The obedient altar boy in my gloomy subconscious doesn't like this idea.  Pleasure was the slippery slope to eternal suffering. Pleasure was the hot stove burner you needed to avoid if you knew what was good for you.  Pleasure was for sinners.  You don't want to go there...do you?  Well...maybe... just this one time.  I can atone tomorrow.  Right now, that double bacon cheeseburger seems so difficult to walk away from!  I'll be better tomorrow.  I promise.

After more than a week of cold rainy weather here in Lucca, the sky finally turned into the cloudless deep blue that people have come to expect in Tuscany.  This was a sign from God (or maybe Satan) that I needed to indulge myself.  Put away the bicycle chains for the day and wallow in the glorious sunshine.  But how to best enjoy the day?

The answer felt obvious.  Go to Pisa and walk around the Campo dei Miracoli (field of miracles) which is the Italian description for the large complex containing the leaning tower, the cathedral, the baptistry, the cemetery, and a wonderful museum which displays many of the priceless frescoes which were created there at the site.  It's my favorite place on the planet because it's easy to get to and and so overwhelming to the senses.  

.       The Campo dei Miracoli in Pisa.  The Tower is just a bonus.

Since I was by myself, I had the luxury of taking my time to learn a little bit about the site.  One new discovery jumped out from the museum.  I had never realized that this complex was run by the Dominican monks for several hundred years.  Well...so what you should be asking.  Well, the whole place makes a lot more sense when you understand who the Dominicans were and what role they played in Mideaval Italy.  The Dominicans were the self appointed guardians of religious "orthodoxy".  When the Pope needed help keeping wayward sinners in line, he could always depend on the Dominicans to " convince" those evil strays to keep their lustful behaviors in check.  The Dominicans weren't going to permit greed, pleasure, self indulgence, and other sinful pursuits get out of hand. They were the Papal Taliban and they were handsomely rewarded for their "piety".  The Italian language even makes a delightful pun about the name  " Dominican".  They were "God's dogs"... Domini(God) +  "cani"(dogs).  The Dominicans, over the centuries, developed very effective techniques for " persuasion " .  A few minutes on the rack or on a water board could work wonders on a sinner's bad behavior.  It also helped boost contributions to fund the lavish cathedrals, baptistries, paintings, sculptures, and yes gleaming (leaning) white marble towers, that have survived long enough for me to enjoy.  

The fabulous frescoes on the walls of the cemetery building have been slowly restored over the past few decades but it doesn't take much imagination to appreciate what a stunning place this must have been 800 years ago.  Even after being bombed during WWII, the complex is still jaw dropping.  Some of the frescoes on the walls of the cemetery allow a spectacular chance to revisit what the average person must have felt when they experienced these graphic stories of life and death, heaven and hell, and things impossible to imagine in their daily lives.

       Here we have a clear picture of what happens if Satan wins

As I left the Campo dei Miracoli and headed out to catch the train back to Lucca, I couldn't help but smile at the hundreds of people out on the lawns with their dogs and their soccer balls, just taking enormous pleasure in the sunshine and warmth of the moment. Didn't they get the memo?  What if they get too carried away in their hedonism?  Have they no guilt?  Obviously NOT.

These are the people that I want to be around.  God help us if the Dominicans find us.

That's. My story.  And I'm stickin' to it.

Cheers.