Today, I walked all around Lucca on the splendid pathway atop the city walls, with a few detours here and there. I came down from the pathway to head for home, but then decided, on an impulse, to have another look at the church I mentioned yesterday. That proved a lucky happenstance. As I stood there, admiring the ancient structure, the aforementioned nun came along, with keys in her hand. She said I could go in, but only for 2 minutes. She also turned on a few lights for me.
This church (Santa Maria della Rosa) was commenced in the beginning of the 14th century. On the high altar is this painting of the Madonna of the rose, which represents a miracle that took place near a stretch of the Roman wall, now part of the church.
A shepherd boy, mute from birth was tending his sheep by the wall. He noticed that the sheep stayed away from a particular bush which was strangely green although it was the middle of winter. The boy went to the bush and found a rose bloom, which he cut off and took home. From that instant, he could speak. The Bishop, informed of this event, went to the bush, and found this Holy image which shows the Madonna and Child, and holding three roses in her hand.
On a corner of the church, near our lion and lamb from yesterday, there is a statue of the Madonna and Child. Again, she holds a rose.
These are stones of the Roman wall, which form part of the western interior wall of the church.
Here are some of the photos I was able to take in the two minutes allowed. The quality of the frescoes is better than the photos are able to show.
Here are a few photos from the eastern side of the church.
What can possibly happen tomorrow, to top this wonderful experience?
Oh, and especially for Jane, a stemma to research.
You did a fantastic job with this two minutes, Y. What a sweet nun.
The Madonna and child on the corner…her expression is interesting, and Jesus looks as if he doesn’t enjoy the smell of that rose!
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The tiny nun spoke French, which posed a tiny problem. Heck, maybe she meant 2 hours …
I’ll have to do a close up of those figures, Jesus has quite the face, doesn’t he!
Hugs. ❤
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What a piece of good luck! And you did a great job in two minutes!
Was there a carved face of Tweedledee on the other side of that arch to match the one of Tweedledum?
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No, no Tweedledee to be seen, MoSY
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Well, that’s disappointing.
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Missed the confirm button…
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Oh Yvonne, can you get me closer? I can’t make out the three shapes emblazoned on the shield! Thanks for thinking of me!
PS….if you make it to Prato…I still want to know about the Stemma on the underside of the exterior porch over the Donatello pulpit!!! (There is more than one stemma.)
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Try a right click on the photo and save it to a folder on your computer. Then you should be able to enlarge it to your heart’s content. Let me know if it works!
I’m planning on a grand return to Prato, the weather is better than last spring!
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The church and the painting look beautiful, well done for getting in there so you could show us them!
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Talk about dumb luck, Caroline!
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This is wonderful. Isn’t it amazing what you find by chance.
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Thank you, Andrew. Sometimes, it’s the unexpected that turns out to be pure gold.
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Pretty good for two minutes, Yvonne
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I didn’t waste any time, I just took photos, Derrick.
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What an unexpected treat. Is the Church open at other times so you can go back if you want to? You did well to photograph all that you did with a two minute time limit.
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There are no signs about opening hours, so it may be a random thing, or they may have prayers there at certain times.
I didn’t stop to do much photo composition, et!
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Wow, what a miracle was your little nun!
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She was very wonderful and kind, a.w.
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Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
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There was no planning involved in this, Darlene.
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I have not seen this church, thanks for the info. I will check it out on my next visit.
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I hope you have good luck and find my tiny nun, Debra.
How’s the weather back home?
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Well, someone was in the right place at the right time!
I’m looking forward to the next one!!
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Probably nothing will happen, and I’ll just have to make up stories!
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Feel free to make up stories. We’ll never know if they are true or not.
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Lucca is my favourite town in Italy (if we take Sicily out of the equation), and of course, it is the city/town of choice for the Puccini Festival.
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There’s a lot of evidence of Puccini around the place, Mari.
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I suspect we’re all going to be surprised at what you find at every turn in Lucca!
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That includes me, Bruce. It’s another treasure trove. I just hope the days stay free of rain, for better exploring.
Good morning, down under there. 🙂
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