An Interlude in Padua

Prato della Valle is a huge open space at the edge of the old part of Padua. Once the site of a Roman theater and of Renaissance jousting competitions, it is the largest piazza in Italy (over 22 acres). We were there to see the Basilica di Santa Giustina, which commemorates Saint Justina, an early Christian martyr and the patron saint of the city.

Inside the church, marble floor tiles are laid in an illusionistic pattern, a surprisingly modern touch. The church is supported by massive pillars that rise to graceful arches overhead. In the late afternoon silver-grey light filtered down from windows in the domes high above. A pigeon had gotten inside and cooed somewhere out of sight.

As we left, a monk came out to lock the doors. He had an easy smile with one tooth angled inward and asked us where we were from. We told him and asked him if he was Italian (in Italy, priests and nuns come from all over the world). “Italianissimo!” he answered proudly. Then his cell phone rang and he had to go. We walked across to a restaurant where we could watch the sun go down over the piazza.

There are moments when the diverse strands of my experience seem to be woven together into a coherent whole. This was one of those moments.