Leonardo and the Madonna

Today we made our way (rather circuitously) to the Palazzo Cancelleria (Chancellery, in English) to view the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition.  Highlights of our wandering in a giant circle included meeting a young man who engaged us as we stood in the street pondering our map who helpfully pointed us toward the palazzo and was excited to tell us about his visit to the U.S. with his girlfriend--the Garibaldi, Oregon, of all places.  I had to think hard about where Garibaldi is (Between Tillamook and Cannon Beach.)  I had no idea that it was founded by Italian immigrants who still honor their heritage--things you learn when you come to a foreign country!  We eventually found the Palazzo and entered the exhibit. Wow!  Some 75 of Leonardo's inventions, many of them theoretical, have been built by Florentine craftsman sponsored by Apple. We learned about everything from ball bearings to flight machines to a temporary bridge which can be assembled using only notched logs.  Best of all, you can touch!  Olivia built the bridge in just 60 seconds!  (Dad built a bridge, too, but it was incomplete and hardly worthy of notice!)  Everybody was fascinated by the mirrored chamber, the music box, the ball bearings and the Archimedes screw.  Meredith was by Leonardo's sketches of human anatomy, especially his hidden volume related to documenting the reproductive organs.  But mostly it was Olivia who drank it all in and admired, "The Genius of Leonardo."  We had gelatto and Meredith asked to stop by a shoe store, which was not a particularly useful exercise, since every pair of shoes seemed to rub something.  We made our way back to our 'hood for the Festa della Noati.  We joined the rest of the community atso mass at S. Crisogno. Cecily had a million questions as the procession of laypersons and clergy made their way into the church, with the cardinal archbishop with his crosier taking up the rear.  We had quite a whispered conversation about what exactly a cardinal is, with Cecily finally determining that a cardinal must be the equivalent of the vice president.  (OK. that will work.)  Afterwards, we joined the rest of the community in the piazza to watch the Italians organize a procession to carry the Madonna della Noati through the streets. It took quite a while to get the procession moving, and reminded me of an Italian street repair--everyone knew the general objective but before anyone could proceed, there was a lot of running around and loudly talking with little apparent movement.  Meanwhile, every bell in the campanile was set to ringing, adding to the general clamor.  Eventually, however, the giant wooden canopy carrying the Madonna began to move, followed by clergy and the cardinal as confetti cannons were fired above it.  It was all very local, very authentic and to our eyes somewhat strange, but it was truly an interesting cultural experience.  Post-procession we adjourned to our nearby apartment for a short rest of tired feet, before returning to the piazzi where we encountered the Belli cultural association program, which involved a brass band of 20 or so performers playing trumpets, trombones and Sousa horns wearing uniforms, which included some sort of long trailing headress of glossy black feathers.  (We later determined this was likely a military unit--the Bersaglieri. It was colorful, and fun--sort of like a mariachi band playing Italian favorites and occasionally breaking into song.  The crowd loved it, and so did we.  Cecily couldn't see, so we put her on the top of a trash can, earning her the nickname, Cecilia Sopra the Bin. Afterwards it was on to pizza, the square, gelatto and bed:  Papal angelus at St. Peter's tomorrow.  Gotta get an early start.