Courtesy of http://www.rentvillas.com

The villa was owned by Baroness Von Ketteler next. The Baroness was the widow of a German baron. She purchased it in 1925. It was her influence that provided the garden with the wonderful topiary you see there today.

World War II almost destroyed the garden. Industrialist Marcello Marchi bought the villa and restored it to its former beauty. The family still owns the property and has converted it to accommodate guests.
As you walk through the gardens, you will see expertly trimmed Cypress trees. Boxwood shrubs line the reflecting pools. Pink roses and pink azaleas add color. Painters come to set up their easels to capture it on canvas and landscape architects come to study it.

What a relaxing place to visit! I hope you’ve enjoyed the stroll as much as I have.

Saint Margaret is the patron saint of many. She is considered the saint of the wrongly accused, penitents, single mothers, reformed prostitutes, and tramps. Because she vowed to help the less fortunate, she is also the saint of the homeless, the mentally ill, and orphans.

Margaret’s story reminded me of the fairy tale Cinderella. Her mother died when she was seven. When her father remarried, his wife was not happy about having such a high-spirited stepdaughter. Margaret was determined to make the best of a bad situation. Her beauty attracted attention from the young men in town so she enjoyed their company as the bright spot in her difficult home life. Deep inside though, she felt that there had to be more to life than this.

By chance, the seventeen year old Margaret met Arsenio, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano (the English translation is villain). She accompanied him to his home to live with him and be his maid. She was anxious to leave her stepmother’s control so she didn’t care how it looked to others. As you can guess, Margaret became pregnant with the knight’s child and he did not want to marry her. She was content to raise her son in his home in Montepulciano where they would be provided for.

One day the knight went on a trip and did not return. Margaret became upset when his dog returned without him. The dog led her into the woods and to the knight. He had been brutally murdered. Some say that Margaret felt her beauty and the desire of other men to have her caused them to kill the knight. Whatever the reason, Margaret abandoned the life she had known in his house. She and her son went back to her father’s home but her stepmother denied her a place to live there since she had a child out of wedlock.

Margaret sought refuge with the Franciscan Friars at Cortona, Tuscany. She begged for the chance to repent and they agreed although it was not pleasant for her. To prove her sincerity, she wore a hair shirt and fasted. When she finally ate, she abstained from meat and only ate bread and vegetables. Her penance lasted three years until Fra Giunta became her confessor and decided it was enough. Margaret received a miracle one day as she prayer below a crucifix. Accounts say Jesus spoke to her saying “What do you wish, poverella (little poor one)?,” she replied she wanted only to serve him. This began her communications with God.

This event moved her to start a hospital for the sick, poor, and homeless. She also brought together a group of nuns known as “le poverella.” To support the work of the hospital, she founded the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy.

When Margaret got older, she craved peace and quiet. She had the Church of Saint Basil repaired and moved there. When Margaret died in 1297, the people of Cortona named the church Chiesa di Santa Marghreita and started rebuilding it. When you see it today, most of the work is nineteenth century. Her body is enshrined there in an open tomb above the high altar. In 1728, she was canonized as the Patroness of Fallen Women.

Catherine was born in 1347, in an area called Contada dell’ Oca, Neighborhood of the Goose. Her home has been turned into a shrine, Santuario e Casa di Santa Caterina. It doesn’t look like it did when she lived there. It has Renaissance paintings that depict her amazing life. Through the kitchen and up the stairs you will find her bedroom. She was so committed to following the vision she had at seven showing her she was to follow Christ, she began sleeping on a stone pillow. That pillow is still in her room.

All saints have amazing histories. Catherine was so committed to following her vision that when her mother tried to dissuade her from her mission by trying to have her marry at twelve, she cut off her hair and resisted. Exhausted by her resistance, her parents finally permitted her to join a group of Dominican nuns in the capacity of a tertiary (a lay person associated with clergy).

Catherine was committed to caring for the sick and infirm. Saint Catherine was so focused in her devotion she would only eat communion wafers. She was born a twin but her sibling didn’t survive. Modern psychologist might interpret this anorexic behavior as survivor’s guilt.
Catherine was illiterate but that didn’t prevent her from embarking on a letter writing campaign to Pope Gregory XI to ask him to return to Italy. She would dictate letters to one of her followers. Despite the pleading letters, he was not going to return. In a bold measure, she road on horseback to Avignon and met with the Pope personally. He was moved and returned. Shortly after his return, the Pope passed away. She joined the new Pope in Rome and continued her campaign to reunite the church.

She was treasured by the Romans and they have enshrined her body in a church, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Legend has it that thieves from Siene stole her head. When the thieves were stopped by Roman guards, the bag that held her head was opened. Instead of her head, they saw a bag full of rose petals. When the thieves arrived back in Seine, Tuscany and opened the bag, her head was there again.
Many believers make the journey to the church Catherine attended while growing up. It is now known as the San Domenico Basilica. This is where you will find the Santa Caterina Chapel. It is beautifully decorated with frescos by Leonardo da Vinci’s student, Sodoma. The focal point of this chapel is Catherine’s head, which is very well preserved. Her thumb is nearby under bell glass.

You must also visit Dussio’s Maestra (Majesty) in the Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana. Here you will see the Virgin Mary seated with the baby Jesus in her arms. She is surrounded by twenty angels and nineteen saints. When it was first displayed in 1311, it was viewed with awe and wonder by the townspeople.
Next time we will visit Cortona, Tuscany-the Town of Saint Margaret.

The museum has only one piece of art displayed, Madonna del Parto. The English translation is Mary in Labor. This fresco shows Mary in her ninth month of pregnancy. She is wearing a blue robe and has her hand resting on her belly. On either side of her there are two boy angels drawing back the opening of the tent she is standing in. Her face radiates serenity as she contemplates the events to come.

As with other churches, the Monterchi church was built on a pagan church site, the Cult of Fertility. Women came to the Cult of Fertility to bathe in the stream nearby and pray for protection and an abundance of breast milk for the child within them.

Mathematician Piero della Francesca created the piece for the Monterchi church, Santa Maria di Momentana. He dedicated the Madonna to his mother who was born in Monterchi, Tuscany.

The Momentana was built as a cemetery chapel. Because of the pagan celebration of birth that had been conducted there prior to the introduction of Christianity, both birth and death continued to be celebrated there. I can imagine women going to the church to stand in front of the fresco and pray for favor on their unborn children. It must have given them such a feeling of hope and peace.
Over the years, Francesca’s work suffered severe damage as the Momentana fell into disrepair. To preserve it, it was moved to an elementary school that has been converted to a museum. The piece has been restored and is encased in glass. There is a bench to sit and contemplate the wonder of the fresco. This move created quite a protest from the Monterchi women but the importance of preservation outweighed the sentimental desire.
The next place we will visit in Tuscany, Italy is Siena. It is also known as the City of Saint Catherine. See you there!

I was browsing through the bookstore looking for a coffee table book with the famous sites of Tuscany and came across a book that looked interesting, “100 Places In Italy Every Woman Should Go” by Susan Van Allen. It is a wealth of information about where to go to truly experience the best Italy has to offer. It isn’t your typical tour book. There are wonderful places that aren’t on the “beaten path,” which I like, because sometimes the road less traveled provides the richest journey. I am going to take you there with me.

It’s interesting that Venus (Goddess of Love, Beauty, Fertility, and Sexual Healing) is as revered as the Virgin Mary in Italy. These two women are everywhere, in paintings, stained glass, and statues. The pagan and Christianity coexisting side by side everywhere you go. I was surprised to learn that churches honoring the Virgin Mary were built right on top of temples built to honor Venus. The picture is an excavation of a temple found below Santa Maria in Trastevere.

I hope you’ll enjoy the trip as much as I do!

Let’s take a trip to Tuscany’s famous hill top city of Montalcino. This vibrant village is rich in history, color and traditions that evoke the very spirit of Tuscany.

Montalcino’s ancient name was Monte Ilcinus named for the “holm oak”. These oak trees of Montalcino have covered its hills and valleys dating back to prehistory. The live in harmony with sharing space with olive and chestnut trees. The hills surrounding the town are also populated with a grape vine, known most commonly as the Sangiovese Grosso. This bold grape produces a lush wine made famous by Montalcino, the Brunello.

The fortress, built in 1361, sits at the highest point in the town. Commissioned by the Lombards in 770 the picturesque Benedictine monastery, Abbey of Saint Antimo, served has a hotel for pilgrims traveling to Rome. Today the Abbey still stands beckoning travelers much as it did hundreds of years ago.

It doesn’t take much for one to imagine themselves lounging in the sunshine, enjoying a vintage Brunello and soaking up the history that surrounds you in this beautiful Tuscan country side.