One of the gifts of studying in Italy (or crosses, depending on how you look at it) is the chance to become familiar with the Italian language. This is the purpose of the 4 week program that 6 seminarians, including myself, are participating in while living in Siena. The intensive course allows us to be fully prepared for the language exam given before studying at the Gregorian University in Rome. Not only am I able to learn the beautiful Italian language, but I am also able to indulge in the wonderful culture of Siena.
Siena is known, most 
likely in the secular world, for Il Palio—the horse race that takes place in Siena’s main square, around a mass of locals and tourists. This event attracts people far and wide to see the famous race, unique to the city. To the Catholic world, Siena has been made famous by St. Catherine. This strong, young woman was instrumental in bringing the Papacy back to Rome, after a period in Paris. St. Catherine’s head is kept in Siena, while the rest of her body stays in Rome (there’s no way of getting around the brutality of that sentence). Aside from the influence of St. Catherine, Siena is also known for the Eucharistic miracle at la Basilica di San Francesco. It is a city rich in culture and history. In fact, in its day, Siena was one of the three more popular cities in Europe, along with London and Paris.
I find that I often suffer from “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence” syndrome. I have always felt this way about Europe, but having spent four weeks in Spain, and now beginning the first
of nearly four years in Italy, I have found that the nostalgia dies quite rapidly. The beauty of the world, in my opinion, is not necessarily in the inanimate objects such as ancient buildings and beautiful landscapes themselves. Granted, these are wonderful things to see and I am truly blessed to have the experience. However, I have noticed that the people that inhabit these places are more important that the places themselves. I often wonder how Italians can walk past St. Peter’s Basilica or the Coliseum, and not even blink an eye? How can these wonderful things become nominal and taken for granted? I believe it’s because such tourist attractions are purpose-less to the local people, at least in comparison to what they are truly seeking. We all seek something greater than the beautiful Churches of Italy, or the large skyscrapers of the US, or whatever it may be. We seek something greater. Thus, I believe that we can easily find the inanimate attractions of our local city or country to be nominal in comparison to that something greater, which we all seek—that is, God. Think about the purpose of why religious art or beautiful church buildings are created? They are created to point us to that which is greater, that which we seek, that which dwells deep within us—God, who is Love. So, as I sit here in Siena, pondering the many ancient attractions that this city, this country, has to offer. I remind myself that they are only important in so far as they lead me to God. I pray that my time in Italy may not drive me to appreciate the beauty of the physical objects, themselves, but rather, the beauty that lies within the objects…the beauty that is behind each object…THE beauty.
