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| A = Rome - B = Assisi - C = Florence - D = Orvieto |
I would like to begin this introductory post by reviewing our anticipation, over the past couple of months, of this rare opportunity, culminating in last night's first informational meeting for interested parties, held in the parish hall, at which my wife and I were among the first to commit ourselves to the pilgrimage by putting down the full trip amount, less other taxes and fees that are dictated by the airline and will be announced much closer to the departure date most of a year from now.
Quite soon after returning to the Basilica as rector at the end of June 2013, the customary pastoral reassignment date in our diocese (his first priestly assignment, several years ago, was as an assistant pastor here), Fr. Ryan and the new Director of Evangelization, Miss Ashley Hebert, began canvassing for interest in a parish pilgrimage to Rome sometime next year by means of the Sunday bulletin for 11 August. I discovered it when I, as per my custom, sat in our vehicle reading the bulletin soon after Mass while my wife made a few purchases in our local Walgreen's. When she returned, I told her of the prospect -- and she became ecstatic! She has wanted to go to Italy for years, but the time (and frankly, the money) has never been right. Both of the trips to the United Kingdom described in the pages associated with this blog and linked above could be justified in terms of my primary area of scholarly interest and research, early medieval Anglo-Saxon England. And, frankly, I found it much less daunting (but daunting enough!, especially the first time) working up a trip to an Anglophone country all by myself as opposed to the prospect of doing the same for an country where, despite the prevalence of English these days, the language and culture are quite a bit more different. I know it would be do-able, but the language barrier would add another level of complexity to an already stressful process. We had toyed with the idea of doing a package tour, but had never gotten past the consideration stage. Another factor in our hesitation was the generally uncertain state of the economy and the state of the University. But when this opportunity -- to go to Italy, on a package tour with people we know, with a spiritual purpose over and above the opportunity to see sights that may not be in my primary area of interest but well within my wider area of interest, how could we say "No"? It took us about two seconds' consideration to say "Yes!" Within minutes of arriving back home I had shot off an email to Fr. Ryan that Anne and I were in. I advised that, in consideration of any members of the University community who might be interested (hint-hint), the summer would be a good time to plan the pilgrimage. I also mentioned that our son might be interested, as well as Anne's sister if participants from outside our own parish were allowed.
A week later, 18 August, mention of the pilgrimage possibility was made from the pulpit at the end of Sunday Mass -- and I found out that the time-frame would be instead October, right in the middle of our fall semester. After Mass, Fr. Ryan explained to me that a fall date rather than the summer would be after the typical "tourist season" and therefore more affordable (I'm all for "more affordable"!) as well as the weather being quite a bit more moderate (not having direct experience of a Mediterranean summer, I could not argue with that). Luckily, I easily cleared with my direct supervisor as well as the department head the prospect of being absent from the University for two weeks right in the middle of the semester, as long as I plan my classes around it and have assignments for the students so as not to lose the instructional time. A year and more would be plenty of time to plan for that! In fact, I ultimately decided to just schedule all my classes for Fall 2014 as Internet classes. I typically teach two to three of my five sections each semester on-line anyway, so that would not be too out-of-line in and of itself.
Of course, such a date knocked our son Tristan out of the pilgrimage altogether. The fall of 2014 will be his first term in college. He did not take it very hard. He had been only mildly interested anyway, knowing that he would at best very likely be the only young person going as well as that in such a rigidly scheduled tour as this shall be there would be no possibility of doing anything that he was specifically interested in, as we made sure to do during our 2010 trip to the UK (see link above).
A few weeks later another issue did arise. The department head dropped by my office and let me know that even though I would be teaching all on-line courses and not in the classroom that semester, being away from the University for that length of time would necessitate me taking Leave Without Pay unless I could relate my absence to my University duties. He expressed no doubt that such could be done, but I would need to write something up formally justifying it. So I started thinking about specific ways to do that, and eventually came up with a document outlining the relevance of this trip to my University duties which argues the following points:
- During the Fall Semester 2014, I am scheduling all of my courses (3 sections of HIST 1010 World Civ; 1 section of HIST 3090 Ancient History; and 1 section of HIST 3110 Renaissance/Reformation History) as on-line/Internet classes. This will allow me to maintain the courses from anywhere in the world having access to the Internet, therefore the classes will not be impeded by my physical absence either in content delivery or in my students’ access to me via email and messaging.
- I will be visiting locations in Italy that are relevant to all three of these courses. In addition to Rome (the most obvious), we will be visiting Orvieto, which among other significances has substantial pre-Roman Etruscan ruins and artifacts; Assisi, associated most prominently with St. Francis of Assisi, a significant figure in early 13th-century religious developments; and Florence, the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance. I believe that as a historian professional enhancement includes personally experiencing the physical environment of places about which I teach, and these are locales which I have never had the opportunity to visit before. I will be able to learn more about all of these places and integrate my personal experiences into my classes, including an archive of photographs and short video clips specifically applicable to my areas of study and teaching.
- The timing of the trip during the semester aligns perfectly with the subject matter the two 3000-level courses will be covering during those two weeks. In both classes we will be just past the mid-point of the semester. In 3090, that is when I begin covering Ancient Rome; In 3110, that is when (having worked my way through the political historical background of Europe during the late Middle Ages up into the early 16th-century in Italy) I directly address the cultural aspects of the Age of the Renaissance. My intention is to post a daily blog of our activities for each of these classes, specifically focusing each on those activities most pertinent to that class, which will allow my students to participate in the trip in a virtual manner.
- Finally, although I do not have a formally defined leadership role in this venture, I believe my presence can enhance my fellow travelers’ experiences through my existing knowledge of the history and culture of Rome and Italy during the pre-modern period. Therefore my participation in the trip constitutes community service.
- Assisi (Umbria) Basilica of St. Francis * Tomb of St. Francis * Basilica of St. Clare * Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels * San Damiano * Hermitage Tour (optional)
- Florence (Tuscany) Michelangelo's David * Piazza Del Duomo * Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore * Baptistry of St. John * Church of Santa Croce * Friary of San Marco * Uffizi Gallery
- Orvieto Cathedral * Miracle of the Eucharist * Ancient City
- Rome and Vatican City Pray the Angelus with Pope Francis * Basilica of St. Peter * Tomb of Blessed Pope John Paul II (see Note 2 below) * Basilica of St. Mary Major * Basilica of St. John Lateran * Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls * Roman Forum * St. Callixtus Catacombs * Vatican Museum * Sistine Chapel * Basilica of St. Peter in Chains * Michelangelo's Moses * Church of Jesu * St. Ignatius Apartment * Scavi Tour (if available)
$2799 base price per person
+
225
insurance
3014
-
150
discount for paying in full by check
2874
x
2
persons
$5748
total paid
I will continue noting milestones along the way in our preparations and growing anticipation over the next year, and then, God willing, look for a flurry of posts during mid-late October 2014.
Ciao!
----
Notes
- As a historian focusing on early European history, I should have traveled Europe, especially my area of concentration in England, more than I have. It is a professional deficiency of which I'm well aware. Various factors have prevented that. For one thing, my specific focus in English history being the early medieval, Anglo-Saxon period (ca. 450-1066), no direct archival research was necessary. What written sources that exist from that period have largely been edited and printed, and often translated, and available either in LSU's wonderful library or via Interlibrary Loan. Nonetheless, in my later years of graduate school back in the mid 1990s, soon after attaining A[ll] B[ut] D[issertation] status, my wife and I did start planning a trip to fly into Austria (the Habsburgs were one of my secondary fields of study) that would culminate in a train journey across Europe and under the Chunnel to England for at least a few days which I intended to include at least some pro forma research. That idea was kiboshed when we found out we were expecting a child and I could not justify the expenditure facing that great unknown. The time was never right thereafter until a decade later, resulting in the UK 2008 visit linked above.
- By next fall, of course, it will be Saint John Paul II [link].
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