A wall in Castello with bright blue paint and a San Antonio of Padua shrine with three silver stars painted above the shrine. One thing I've noticed about San Antonio shrines is that the saint is almost always holding Baby Jesus and sometimes, the baby is reaching up to touch his face. I don't know why but it's sweet.
Blog friend and fellow Venice lover Maria I of My Place in the Sun recently posted a few more San Antonio shrines that she found in Venice last fall. She noticed that he often has lilies around him too.
Just a note: I've been having some comment weirdness the past couple of days. If you get a message saying that your comment is undeliverable and you need to resend it, ignore it. The comments are coming through okay!
Update: Thanks so much to Andrew for sharing this link that explains the baby and the lilies!
Comments (12)
What a vivid blue -- and I love the little stars!
St. Antonio in this shrine has such a young face -- and it is sweet, the way Baby Jesus is reaching up to touch him.
Posted by sandrac | May 28, 2009 9:43 PM
Posted on May 28, 2009 21:43
Hi Annie, that's a really beautiful shrine. I like the three stars above it. And that's interesting what you said about San Antonio holding baby Jesus and how baby Jesus is always touching his face. Very interesting and it is sweet. I enjoyed seeing Maria's photos again. I really liked her shrine photos too.
Thanks for posting and sharing your photos Annie. Hope your comments weirdness gets fixed.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | May 28, 2009 10:53 PM
Posted on May 28, 2009 22:53
These are lovely photos...that blue is incredible and those stars so sweet.
Posted by Barb Cabot | May 29, 2009 1:54 AM
Posted on May 29, 2009 01:54
I like the blue colour. It is outstanding. :)
Posted by eastcoastlife | May 29, 2009 2:19 PM
Posted on May 29, 2009 14:19
The blue painted wall seems so out of place to me next to the bricks. Perhaps it is because it is so shiny blue. I love the shrine. So delicate! And the stars are a cool touch. I guess this one is a combo of old and new :)
Posted by girasoli | June 1, 2009 2:48 AM
Posted on June 1, 2009 02:48
At first sight, the blue color seems out of place in Venice but after a couple of seconds it doesn’t look so strange since Venice was a Maritime Republic.
The lilies are so big an abundant that they almost hide St. Anthony’s face.
Is that a coin drop box under the shrine and a prayer plaque?
Posted by María I. | June 1, 2009 1:01 PM
Posted on June 1, 2009 13:01
Great photos of a lovely shrine. I love the blue!
Posted by candi | June 1, 2009 10:56 PM
Posted on June 1, 2009 22:56
Hi Annie, Just picked up this post on my return from holiday in Portugal. We have a St. Anthony statue in my church but I have never thought to ask why the babe and lily. I found the answer here www.s-infantjesus.org/?q=node/23 Regards Andrew
Posted by Andrew | June 2, 2009 7:32 AM
Posted on June 2, 2009 07:32
Andrew, thanks so much- that's a great link! I really appreciate you finding that and sharing it. I hope you had a wonderful holiday in Portugal!
Maria, yes it does have a donation box and a little plaque underneath; I need to zoom in on my photo to see what the plaque says.
Posted by Annie | June 2, 2009 8:33 AM
Posted on June 2, 2009 08:33
After reading the link sent by Andrew (and thank you for alerting me to his comment), I now have such a sweet mental image of St. Anthony holding and communicating with the child Jesus, surrounded by celestial light.
Good to know also about the significance of the lilies. I remember seeing the flowers in almost all the shrines dedicated to St. Anthony.
I'll have to look at my photos of my 2001 visit to the Basilica in Padova to see if I have any images of him although I usually don’t take photos inside churches.
Posted by María I. | June 2, 2009 3:38 PM
Posted on June 2, 2009 15:38
Maria, you're welcome and thanks for your comment too. It's such a nice image! He's a saint that I really knew nothing about until I started going to Italy; I like him a lot!
I didn't take any photos in Il Santo. The main thing I remember about that church were all the thousands of ex votos hanging in this one chapel. It was pretty cool.
Posted by Annie | June 2, 2009 3:55 PM
Posted on June 2, 2009 15:55
This is so beautiful! I love the color and the flowers, and I enjoyed finding out the background.
Posted by Chiocciola | June 3, 2009 2:03 PM
Posted on June 3, 2009 14:03