It would be lovely to attend a church service or two while we're in Italy. Mind you, I'm not Catholic nor do I speak Italian, so odds are I won't have a clue what's going on during the service, still the idea appeals to me. But there are so very many churches in Italy, how on earth does a passerby choose?
The two that pull at me most are:
Santa Trinita...I visited this church only briefly in March 2006 but I was so taken with the Ghirlandaio frescos in the Sassetti Chapel. I especially liked The Adoration of the Shepherds, and The Resurrection of the Boy. I definitely intend to revisit this church during our week in Florence, so perhaps will time my visit to coincide with mass. Plus it's conveniently near our Florence apartment on Via Federighi.
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari...Titian's Assumption in it's original setting, what more needs be said? Miss Ninja thinks it would be nice to attend a service here and gaze upon this masterpiece. Our Venice apartment is in the same sestiere, San Polo, so it would be relatively easy to reach this church in time for a morning mass.
Other appealing places of worship are the services with Gregorian chants at San Miniato al Monte (Florence) and/or San Giorgio Maggiore (Venice). Or I could always attend an English service at St. James Episcopal Church (known as the "American Church") in Florence, not to mention the possibilities in England.
I suppose we'll just have to wait and see where the spirit leads us...
