During February break I was blessed with a life-changing and life-affirming experience, as my family and I traveled to Florence, Italy to visit my daughter who is studying there. Italy proved to be as wonderful as I had anticipated, in expected (food!) and unexpected ways.
Almost as soon as we arrived, we made our way to the Duomo (pictured above); the iconic symbol of Florence. The Duomo, or the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, has towered over the Florence skyline for over 600 years and is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. Actually, those last six words could be repeated for innumerable buildings, churches, and palaces throughout the city. Florence, as the birthplace of the Renaissance, does not disappoint!
We were struck over and over by the history that surrounded us. Most churches and other buildings were three times as old as the United States of America! The age and historical significance of the architecture in Florence gives the city, even the less glamorous parts, an undefined “weight” or substance.
There are no sleek, glass-clad skyscrapers. Instead there are enormous palaces, towers, and churches that are ornate, intricate, works of art, built in a time before power tools and machinery. They were not constructed with haste or economy in mind. They were painstakingly designed and meticulously crafted for specific intentions – whether to honor God and promote worship, or (less admirably) as a show of wealth and power. I was awed anew at each church we visited, to see the exacting and elaborate workmanship of skilled craftsmen. Every surface was decorated and detailed, inside and out – even the floors were designed with inlaid marble.
It made me start to ponder how differently we approach life in modern days. Efficiency is a high priority, and while we also appreciate quality, the elaborate and painstaking adornment of the Italian architecture might be seen as frivolous, wasteful, and most certainly expensive to modern sensibilities! But what an invaluable gift to the world are these magnificent structures!
I began to see that living amidst these treasures had its impact on other aspects of Italian life. Food, for instance. The dishes I ate were not complicated in their preparation, but in the exceptional quality of ingredients and the nuanced and layered flavor profiles, they were as extravagant as the cathedrals. In fact, I vowed never to prepare pasta at home again! Throwing boxed spaghetti and jarred sauce together for a quick, no nonsense meal seemed so incongruous to what I was experiencing. Luckily, we took a pasta-making class and I can now in good conscience make pasta for my family.
Then, as frequently happens, I began to think about education – classical education in particular – and how what I was surrounded by in Italy bore similarity to a classical pedagogy. A classical education requires time, great effort, and a focus on creating a quality product. It is less concerned with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks work, and more focused on close reading, pondering, discernment, rhetoric, and writing. It is less concerned with the accumulation of information as with the formation of character, the development of the intellect, and the ability to reason and discern. It, like my surroundings, is an ancient art.
In addition to the classical method of learning, we were blessed with encountering the content of a classical education. At Mass in Italian, we were able to pray the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei because they were prayed in Latin. We visited the graves of Galileo, Machiavelli, and Michaelangelo, and the tower at Pisa where Galileo carried out his famous experiment on the pull of gravity! At the cathedral in Siena were authentic illuminated manuscripts from the middle ages! In a different room of that cathedral were several relics, including the habit of St. Francis of Assisi! We regarded with great appreciation the works of Donatello, Raphael, Giotto, Brunelleschi and many more. One highlight of the trip was our encounter with Michelangelo’s David. If classical education has as its goal to incite awe and wonder, gazing upon Michelangelo’s masterpiece reaches that bar.
We were able to be in close proximity to subjects, authors, and artists our students study. That is not even to mention our faith! At the Church of Santa Maria Novella, I came upon a painting of Tobias traveling with the archangel Raphael. Knowing that I would be studying that particular bible story with my Catechesis I class upon our return to school, I took a picture of it. At that moment, my watch (which was still on Eastern time) signaled that it was time for my Catechesis I class (if we hadn’t been on break)!
Everywhere we went I was reminded of our school and the Catholic, classical education our students are receiving. The True, the Good, the Beautiful are not qualities that are easily or readily obtained. As with anything of worth, it takes time, effort, and commitment to achieve. Just as the gorgeous cathedrals in Italy were built over the course of decades with great care and diligence, so our children’s minds and characters are formed bit by bit with intentionality and effort. Because of my exposure to classical learning, I was able to more fully enjoy and draw meaning from my trip. What a great gift a classical education is to our students. It is my prayer that through their classical and Catholic formation they can draw deeper meaning and joy from the life God has planned for them. - Mrs. Lisa Sweet, Academic Dean