Last night Amanda and I hosted a big potluck in our apartment for Profe! Everyone brought a dish and it turned out so good. Amanda and I made chicken parmigian and it was quite the hit. I breaded the chicken, fried it, then baked it with sauce and cheese! The chicken reminded me exactly of my grandmas! She would be so proud :) We had so much food and Profe brought us a huge thing of cookies from a nearby pasteria! He also made a very exciting announcement! That while we are in Rome for the last week of our program we will be spending one of those nights at the beach! I don't know what the beach is called, but I'm really excited for it, I'm sure it will be beautiful and really really hot.
Today we had a site visit to San Antonio's Basilica. It is probably the most famous site in Padova and people make pilgrimages from all over Italy and even the world just to see it. Many believe that visiting the church will heal them because St. Anthony's spirit is still alive within its walls. It was incredible to see. People were surrounding his tomb with their hands pressed against it as if he was embracing them.They don't allow anyone to take pictures inside and at first I was upset about this! I have gone picture crazy and want to capture everything I see. But then I realized that pictures could not do justice. It is indescribable.
Something that really intrigued me there were items called "Ex Votos." They are also referred to as "Per Grazie Ricevuta" (Thanks for the Grace Received). St. Anthony is the saint of miracles, so his followers feel the need to pay thanks to him when something of significance happens in their life. So many gifts have been brought over the years that the church cannot possibly house them all. They have a collection of the items on display in the church museum and it was really interesting to see. Tons of paintings, depicting scenes of bedridden people being healed or of broken bones mended or of car crash survivals are displayed. These people hired painters to portray their story back in the day, and then gave them to the church as proof that St. Anthony saved their life. One of the coolest things I saw was a display of wedding rings. Couples actually came to the tomb of St. Anthony after they had been married and gave up their rings to him to thank him for bringing them together. Pictures of adorable babies are displayed, given by thankful parents. People who don't bring gifts like these may bring money or donate money to the poor in St. Anthony's honor. Our tour guide said that everyone believes that if they receive it only makes sense to give back and this practice is incredibly common. I found it really refreshing to hear. Although I am not of a religious background, all of the cathedral's I have visited (and most especially St. Anthony's today) have really got me thinking about religion and it's influence on peoples lives. I still can't believe the things I have seen in Europe so far and the way it feels to walk into a cathedral. They are so awe inspiring and the level of detail in the architecture is just unreal. St. Anthony's for example is a mix of Gothic, Romanesque, and Baroque all in one! I have never seen anything like it.
Tonight we are feasting on all of our food that will go bad over the weekend. It should be a great dinner :) Then at 10 pm we are off to Prague on an overnight bus!! It will be the longest ride ever for a very short stay of 2 days there....but I know it will be so worth it! I'm about to start researching all the places I want to see there and the best places to eat. I'm so excited to go...I will write next week when I get back! Ciao!
St. Antonio's Basilica from the outside!
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