A Journey Through Venice and Siena

A Post by Trish Irvine, Spring 2010

Prior to the pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, I had the opportunity to travel through the northern Italy and visit Venice and Siena. It is strange how it all works out—I had no desire to go to Siena and now I hold it fondly as one of the most peaceful places I have encountered.

We took an overnight train to Venice. My parents told me stories of things being stolen and constant flicking on of lights on the trains by the conductors. To my pleasant surprise, the travel went beautifully. We disembarked in Venice with all of our possessions (this is in part, I believe, to the fact that most of the passengers were Franciscan students) and a fairly good night’s sleep.

Venice, however, greeted us with rain. In case we needed one, men were covering the exit, selling umbrellas. They speak very good English, we discovered. That was a general theme—if they are selling something, they can speak English. It came to be seen as both a blessing and a curse. Wandering around Venice, we took in the aspect that makes Venice famous—the city is sinking and water is covering the streets. The natives are easily recognizable due to the nice goulashes they are sporting. Those who are visiting are easy to pick out as they are wearing tennis shoes, flip flops, or, in my case, winter boots. Platforms are set up around the city in order to make navigating easier. However, I found myself wishing I could just splash through the shallow water in rain boots instead of being confined to set pathways.

We were able to visit St. Mark’s Church for a few minutes. I think it must be one of the first times, however, that I have been ousted from a Catholic Church. Naturally, we all had our hiking backpacks on as we walked around Venice. We entered the church and knelt to pray. Soon, though, a man came over and told us we had to leave because we couldn’t bring luggage with us. I was puzzled. I had thought it might be edifying to see a group of young people immediately kneel to pray instead of gawking at the ornate church. Although I understand the importance of limiting tourists, I felt that it would be hard to misinterpret our intentions. Nevertheless, we complied with his request and left.

One of the highlights of Venice was being able to ride on the famous gondolas. We bargained a little with the gondolier and after dividing the price four ways, it wasn’t too bad. I think the man truly believed us when we said we were not wealthy college students as we poured our 2 Euro pieces and random bills into one of the girl’s hands for payment. The best part of the ride was when we were paddling along the side streets. Peaceful canal-streets with quaint bridges were part of the delightful landscape. Despite the light rain throughout the day, it disappeared for a couple hours and the sun warmed us as we floated through the streets. One of my goals of many years was fulfilled in a forty minute ride through the streets of Venice in a gondola.

That evening, we left for Siena. I wasn’t able to appreciate the vastness of the city’s beauty until the following morning. Our room had a balcony with a spectacular view of the city. The night before I had sat outside and gazed at the lights. It was a wonderful experience: the air was still warmer than the Austrian temperatures I was used to while near silence reigned over the city, but it was far from oppressive, rather it was a freeing silence.

In the morning, I went onto the balcony and took in the morning sun on the Italian houses. Birds chirruped in the early morning air and it was truly magical. Italy was like a dream that I stepped into. We were able to ask a friar and he exposed the Eucharistic miracle for us. I thought he would just leave us, but he proceeded to give us a mini-homily explaining the miracle and emphasizing the true presence of Jesus. He left us for a few minutes and when he returned we were singing “The Prayer of St. Francis.” He seemed pleased with us. During my time there I kept thinking, “Am I really here? Walking down the streets of Siena in the early morning? Praying in front of St. Catherine of Siena’s incorrupt head? Adoring the Eucharistic Miracle of Siena? Am I truly experiencing an Italy I didn’t even think to dream of?” The peace of Siena was similar, although not exact, to the peace that I experienced while in Assisi. When I remember that I had been indifferent to visiting Siena, I have to laugh. Sometimes you think you know what you want but you are really absolutely clueless.

The only problem with these travels is that I am only able to experience a city in such a short amount of time. Have I visited Venice and Siena? Yes. Do I know the cities? Hardly. Am I thankful? So blessedly thankful. I left Siena for Rome with an expectant heart. If my travels in a mere two days were enough to satisfy me, how much more would seeing Rome fulfill me? I had no idea.