As is tradition, first-year students enjoyed a trip to Tuscany during Christmas, which included expert-guided tours of some of the most important and renowned churches in Siena, Pisa, Lucca, and Florence, as well as other places of spiritual and cultural interest.
The tour began in Siena, where Professor Bruno Esposito, a renowned canonist and superior of the Dominican community, guided us during the visit to the Basilica of San Domenico, a splendid example of Gothic architecture adorned with notable works of art and the memory of Saint Catherine of Siena. We also heard a magnificent explanation of some teachings of the Saint about the priesthood. Later, we visited the Cathedral of Siena and the adjacent museum, receiving a warm greeting from Professor Giovanni Minnucci, rector of the Metropolitan Opera. To end the day in the best possible way, we visited the Basilica of San Francesco, where we could pray before the Eucharistic miracle kept there.
Visits to Pisa and Lucca the following day were also very interesting and kept us busy all day, as there was much beauty to see and understand, with relevant historical and artistic explanations.
The culmination of this trip was the stay in Florence, where once again we visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella with the magnificent explanations of Enrico Santini, of the Ars et Fides Association, who warmly welcomed us along with his wife Leola. Then, after a short break for lunch, it was the turn of the cathedral, the diocesan museum, and, of course, the famous Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.
It was an intense and very comprehensive tour through some of Italy's many artistic and historical wonders. We are very grateful to the sisters of the Convent of San Cerbone, where we stayed during these days. And, of course, we are also full of gratitude to those who guided us so wisely, competently, and affably during the visits we made.
