Janet Worne - Thoughtful Photography

Art of the Faithful

Italy is a land of deep faith and Christianity has been driving that faith for thousands of years. This is reflected in much of their art and many of history's greatest artists produced work of a religious nature.

And of course there is no escaping this spiritual presence when photographing Italy.

A painting in San Lorenzo Church in Manarola glowed from the prayer candles:

Chiesa di San Cristoforo in the Piazza Tolomei, Siena:

More statuary I haven't identified in Siena:

At the Santuario di Santa Caterina where we stayed, also in Siena:

And in Florence, angels watch over the Duomo Baptistry, Santa Maria del Fiore:

Happy Mother's Day

As we made our way through Italy we always felt safe and nurtured. For at nearly every turn there was the Mother Mary watching over us. In this country, the image of Madonna is everywhere. Many of the icons are old and yet have been honored with fresh flowers. These are not relics from previous generations to be passed by in modern life and ignored. They are still very much a part of their world today.

Mothers will always be an important part of any society.

I found her image on a wall along a mountain path in Vernazza:

...in a painting flanked by some scary looking light fixtures in Siena:

...watching over a Siena souvenir shop:

...guarding the gates of a castello in Chianti:

...and in a sun-dappled Florence alley:

Buon Giorno

I'm back from Italy and feverishly pouring through a couple thousand images from a very beautiful country. As you can imagine, I was in photographer's heaven. First we visited the Tuscany region. In particular, Florence and Siena. Then we traveled northwest by train to the Ligurian region. There we explored the 5 fishing villages of Cinque Terre. We spent our last day in Milan where we caught our flight home.

I decided to share a few pictures in stages. Today, I give you The Duomo. A duomo is an Italian term for cathedral. Duomos may be one of the most over photographed sights in Italy and, in fact, the guidebooks usually give them top billing. This one in Milan is Italy's largest and Europe's fourth largest:
We had a great view of the Florence Duomo from our hotel room:

My goal was to find new ways to photograph them. In Florence, I found the beauty of the duomo reflected in a nearby shop window:

One of the horses that pulls a carriage around the Duomo mugged for my camera:

Palm Sunday Lesson

Sometimes you have every detail planned in advance. The altar boys are suitably dressed. They have been coached on how to ride a donkey. The animal’s feet have been taped so as not to mar the church floor. The boughs of palm have been passed out to the crowd. The only thing not counted on was the one aspect of a donkey’s personality that it is most known for—it’s stubbornness.

This was one of those times that I watched an event unfolding through my viewfinder, desperately suppressing a laugh. The boys tried everything to get the animal into the church but nothing worked. It reminded me of attempting to get my toddler daughter to eat when she had made up her mind not to. I learned that sometimes you just have to "go with the flow" or "let go and let God" (since we're in church mode here).

The donkey was unyielding. They finally did give up and the Palm Sunday service was held without the animal.

Spirituality

Spirituality is far more important to me than religion.
Religion resides in my actions, spirituality lives in my soul.
It goes along with being a thinker, I suppose.

Hare Krishna

Continuing with rummaging through my archive of negatives…

This picture was part of a story I did in 1982 on the Hare Krishna movement in the United States. This event was a Festival of Chariots on the mall in Washington DC. Thousands of their devotees crowded the area, dancing and chanting, including their children, shown here.

I am a firm believer in freedom of religion and that there is no one right way to live your life. The only objection I had with this group is that they tended to populate college and university towns and preyed on the vulnerable. Students and other people who were at crossroads in their lives and unsure of their place in the world.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the music, the color and the passion of the Hare Krishna. Their chant is a mantra, designed to be a “vibration of sound that cleanses the mind”:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

I think their influence has waned in this country. I never see them on street corners or chanting in airports anymore.