Christmas Day, which we knew
would be quiet, was
a wonderful re-charge day
we took a morning stroll
around the several blocks near
our pied-a-terre
(here's the link,
in case you want to book it -
we highly recommend!)
we were really enchanted by
the beautiful buildings in the neighborhood
our place was on Via Aurelio Saffi,
and the nearby streets also
bore the names of mid-/late-19th c. figures
(such as Giuseppe Rovani,
Vicenzo Monti), with these buildings
erected at the end of the 19th c.
as part of the Beruto Plan,
which arose in response to
a growing clamor to develop
the area around Sforza Castle
even in a city as large as Milan,
bicycles are a common way to get around -
the city is not very hilly at all!
our building - and, it appeared,
many (if not most) others -
was, basically, an apartment building;
however, there was an occasional
one-family house
(uh, mansion?),
such as this one (below),
which was gated all around
the perimeter with
concealed, off-street
parking, as well
there were zero crumbling facades
in this neighborhood!
so lovely!
in addition to bicycles
& small cars, there were
plenty of
motorcycles & scooters, too
later on, i finally realized
that the gouges in the sidewalk
nearest the buildings
were from the constant deployment
& retraction of motorcycle
kickstands!
most cars were small(ish) -
or, in this case, tiny!
😍
there's our place!
top floor,
all 3 windows in the pink section
it took us this neighborhood walk
to realize our windows
had functional shutters - haha!
(a small terror to actually open or close them,
as there was nothing between you
and the sky than a very low
& inconsequential
metal railing...)
from our living room window,
we looked over to an apartment
in the building across the street -
and spent the entire trip
wondering if the guy knew
there was a bouquet of dead flowers
stashed outside one of his windows.
why? just....why?
we eventually & finally saw him,
wearing a somewhat brash
Christmas sweater
(it's possible it said
something like HO-HO)
and scurrying around his living room -
one presumes getting ready to entertain?
the dead bouquet of flowers
remained exactly where it was
(hidden behind a halfway closed shutter),
for our entire trip.
i'm sure it's still there.
usually, this outer door-within-a-door was open -
but, on Christmas Day, there was no one
in the manager's office to greet us...
luckily, we had the key!
the door led into a dark passageway,
which led into an interior courtyard...
just before the courtyard, we used the key
to enter the small lobby
of the apartment building,
where old wooden mailboxes
lined one of the walls
the apartments of our building
ringed three sides
of the courtyard
(with the fourth side being windows
from the next building's apartments)
funny us, we never ventured past the lobby
to explore the courtyard -
but i think it is where the communal
trash & recycling cans resided....
we, actually, had about four
tiny garbage cans in our kitchen -
one for glass/metal, one for paper,
one for organic/compost, &
one for actual trash
(non-organic, non-recyclable).
there was a cautionary sign
on the whole thing
that there would be a BIG FINE
if we sorted these items incorrectly
(as in, there is video surveillance
of you placing these items into
the communal waste/recycling bins...
and you'd better do it right!)
so, naturally, we opted to leave everything
right there in the 4 tiny bins
in the kitchen & let our hosts
deal with the consequences
of our potential misidentification!
a word about plastics...
you pay for plastic bags from stores &
plastic straws, plates, utensils, and take-out containers
don't exist!
as we resided on the top floor,
we always took the elevator up
(we mostly took it down, too).
it was a tiny 2-person space
(or very cozy 4-person),
and we only once encountered
any other prospective riders -
a man and his fluffy white dog
(looked a bit like a Samoyed breed),
whom we polited into joining us
in the elevator
(that's when i ascertained
that it was a bit snug
for more than 2 people -
but he polited, too,
and we all pretended to be
entirely comfortable
for the very short ride down)
some nearby shops
were actually open for the morning!
(if Italy is like Spain, the BIG celebration
is not December 25th but January 6th)
🐪🐪🐪
one doing brisk business was Leonardo Pasticceria,
which was on the ground floor of our building.
i could look down from our windows
and see cars double-parking,
with quick dashes by the drivers
into the pasticceria
for Christmas Day orders
(perhaps of Panettone?)
so we availed ourselves
of just a few items...
& i ate them while wearing
my trusty Baby Yoda slipper socks
*here's my completely subjective
impression of Italian pastries
(which we also were able to compare
in NYC on more than one occasion)
...Italian baked goods are, to me, dry -
where as French baked goods are buttery
so, it is really a preference...
(and - confession - i prefer French!)
that said, i had no trouble at all
eating these scrumptious morsels!
~ ~ ~
as befitted our quiet day,
we eventually ventured out again,
strolling to another amazing church
for Christmas Day vespers
this time, it was the significantly historic
originally named Basilica Martyrum,
it was commissioned by (then Bishop of Milan)
Saint Ambrose in 379-386
to commemorate the burial location
of Christians killed during Roman persecution
prior to the Edict of Milan in 313
this was also a period of Christianity
in which the Nicene Creed,
(from the Council of Nicaea in 325)
which posited that Christ was
of the same substance/essence as God,
opposed Arianism,
(originating in Alexandria, Egypt,
from a priest named Arius)
which posited that Christ was
made from/by God
and was, therefore, not 'co-eternal'
but - rather - subordinate to God
(basically, Trinitarianism vs Unitarianism)
Ambrose, himself, sided with the Council of Nicaea
but was, actually, more trained as a lawyer than a theologian...
he was elected Bishop of Milan
at about age 35 & in response
to this unexpected popular election,
Ambrose fled & hid -
but eventually acquiesced
(after a letter from the Roman Emperor) and
was baptized, ordained, & consecrated within the week.
side story...
Saint Ambrose is the patron saint
of beekeepers, due to a legend
that - as an infant - a swarm of bees
settled on his face; yet,
when they flew away, they left behind
an unscathed baby Ambrose and a drop of honey
(seemingly, the word ambrosia
pre-dates Ambrose & this legend)
Ambrose was the youngest of three,
born in what is now Trier, Germany
(his father was posted there by Rome
when Trier was one of the four capitals
of the Roman Empire; his mother is presumed
to be from an aristocratic Roman family
called Aurelli Symmachi)
both older siblings are also Saints -
his brother being San Satiro &
his sister being Saint Marcellina.
when Ambrose became Bishop of Milan,
both of his siblings joined him in the city -
his brother to take over Ambrose's prior administrative duties
& his sister (a nun) to inspire piety among Milan's women
we read that there was a unique
way of chanting at this church -
and perhaps there is...
Ambrose composed four hymns,
part of the Ambrosian hymns,
one of which is Aeterne rerum conditor
or Eternal maker of us all
and is a liturgical "dawn hymn"
another version...
and, so, we found ourselves
at vespers in Basilica Sant'Ambrogio
which were quite lovely
and quite short,
as evening prayers should be
The Golden Altar,
which originally may have covered
the porphyry sarcophagus
of martyrs
as well as that of Saint Ambrose,
is an example of Carolingian art -
and possibly a rare example still existing
of this art as metalwork
the lovely warm glow of candles
& a beautiful lace-like ceiling detail
this painting (below) is likely
a depiction of an event that never occurred -
that of Bishop Ambrose preventing the
Emperor Theodosius from entering the Duomo
(until, that is, the Emperor publicly demonstrated penitence
for the Massacre at Thessalonica in 390)
beautiful & diverse side chapels
& another Nursing Madonna
that appeared to be possibly
painted on the wall with a frame
added later - and new white wall paint
right up to the edges of this old mural!
we walked around the right side
of the Golden Altar and discovered
stairs going down below
to a low-ceilinged room
that resembled a small chapel,
with ladderback wooden chairs
placed in rows and facing...
...the crypt of Saint Ambrose (in the lighter color)
and the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius
(one near, in red - the other you can't see)
it was quite stunning!
it, actually, took me two circuits
through the room to realize
what i was looking at.
Saint Ambrose is considered
one of the Latin Doctors of the Church,
though he also was quite 'flexible' in his thinking
(perhaps because he was not trained to be a theologian
but was, actually, trained in law).
the phrase "when in Rome" is actually attributable
to Ambrose, who viewed liturgy
as a tool to help people worship -
and to be successful in this,
one needed to follow
local liturgical custom
rather than imposing a rigid formula
across all congregations.
another Nursing Madonna
& a sea of golden candles
some more paintings directly on the plaster
that appeared old to me
so very reminiscent of
golden mosaics we saw in Istanbul!
(this one is original to the early 13th c.
with extensive restoration
after damage during WW2)
&, again, the Golden Altar
this ambo appears to be layered,
with the base a 4th c. sarcophagus,
then a 9th c. ambo,
and finally the 12th c. ambo on top
Wikipedia dates this Sarcophagus of Stilicho
to 387-390...though Stilicho,
married to the niece of Theodosius,
did not die (well, he was executed...) until 408
the Apostles
& Jesus teaching
Jesus with Peter and Paul (maybe?)
(framed by pillars topped with lions
of the 9th c. ambo)
and on the other side of the Alps,
at the top of a mountain
in Vernet-les-Bains...
our two sons also had a
🎄 Happy Christmas Day 2022 🎄
