Stacy Pollard

Churches of Florence: A Love Story, Part Two

“I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.” — Robert Louis Stevenson Like many who have fallen for Italy, I too never weary of churches. I am not shy in professing my love of all things Duomo, but, a dire…

Born at Christmas

nativity: the process or circumstances of being born; especially, capitalized: the birth of Jesus. The Italian verb nascere means to be born. Like many words across many languages, nascere was “birthed” from Latin, its meaning connected to the English word nativity: Nativity is one of many words born of the Latin verb nasci, which means “to be born.” The…

Churches of Florence: A Love Story, Part One

Grazie and More: Saying Thank You in Italian

Buon Giorno del Ringraziamento a tutti! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated the fourth Thursday of every November. It is one of my favorite holidays, with the focus of gathering as a family, preparing the traditional meal, and taking time to share that for which we are grateful. I especially…

Leaving Love Notes in Florence

In the narrow cobbled streets just off via del Corso winding through Dante’s Florence, there is an unassuming stone church tucked neatly into the facade of ancient buildings. It is the Chiesa di Santa Margherita dei Cerchi, dating back to 1032 and named for the 12th century Cerchi Family. Although the plaque below identifies it as…

What is Il Giorno dei Morti (All Souls’ Day), and why is it important in Italy?

A Guest Post by Rachel Vermiglio Smith All around the world, the end of October and early November is a time to celebrate the enduring connection between the dead and the living. In the U.S., we celebrate Halloween on October 31 every year, and while it may seem so, this isn’t just a randomly selected…

Ghosts of Florence and Other Spooky Spots in Italy

Although I have thankfully never encountered a ghost during my late-night/early-morning wanderings, in a country as old as Italy they are bound to be there, lurking in shadowed vicoli (alleys), peering down from finestre (windows), nascosto in piena vista (hiding in plain sight). Such is the case for these popular spots for visitors to Florence…perhaps you’ve “haunted” some…

Uno Strumento di Pace

An Instrument of Peace This post is dedicated to longtime reader Bonnie, who recently asked me to publish the entire Simple Prayer for Peace by St. Francis in Italian. “One of the ways I study Italian is by learning prayers,” she shared, which reminded me of how much I enjoy that method of learning as…

Say Your Prayers

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” -St. Francis of Assisi Pulling this one from the archives to send blessings to all who need comfort and peace, both near and far. — This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas.

Simple, Stone, Sacred

“I never tire of going into Italian churches. The vaulted arches and triptychs, yes. But each one also has its characteristic blue dust smell, the smell of time. The codified Annunciations, Nativities, and Crucifixions dominate all churches. At the core, these all struggle with the mystery of the two elementals — birth and death.” “As…