Faith and Beauty
On a visit to the Hermitage of San Bartolemeo located in Majella National Park, the words that repeated in my mind were faith and beauty. San Bartolomeo was a miracle worker, protecting and curing convulsions, headaches, paralysis and mental health problems, and he is the patron saint of tanners and butchers. Monks retreated to this site to pray, and to this day, people seek solace in this isolated and wild place. The walk down into the gorge from the parking lot is beautiful with views of the snowy peaks of the Gran Sasso Range in the distance. The trail is rocky, but fairly well maintained, with brambles on one side as a (not convincingly safe) barrier between myself and the steep gorge below. I failed to read the warning signs as we entered the park, most notably the sentence “Avoid this trail if you have vertigo.”` Duh. I kept my eyes on the path ahead, willing my feet to stay glued to it, pushing thoughts of falling down the merciless incline away and negating the Call of the Abyss. Eventually we arrived at the Holy Ladder, stone steps which descend to the ledge where the chapel sits. In some locations, the faithful arrive on their knees. This pilgrim arrived on her butt, carefully and slowly scooting down, terrified of falling.
Now,this is where faith comes in The hermitage and chapel, built in 1250, consists of 3 rooms, with the cliff as one wall,the other man-made, falling precipitously down. To commit to prayer in near solitude, to construct a chapel of stone on a cliff ledge, to transport and install an iron bell in its tower, toil to cut and carry stone slabs to build steps is nothing if not an exercise in heartfelt conviction. Every year, locals carry the statue down to the river and bathe in an ancient ritual, then haul it uphill to the local church where it stays for two weeks before being returned to it niche above the altar.
On my trips, I’ve visited many churches, awed by the craftsmanship and continued care of these places of worship. Cathedrals with vaulted ceilings, mosaics, tapestries, embroidered cloths and beautifully dressed effigies are simply more grandiose expressions of love for their God compared to the rough hewn sanctuary with faded frescos that I visited last week. To be so moved by faith to construct such edifices is a miracle in itself.
PHOTOS
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mZN4kbrKReGMnYiE7
