by Megan Mitchell, M.A.R. ’15, religion and visual art “The faithful will feel a need to daub the symbols of their heavens onto dark cellar walls—to ensure what is around them will fortify the truths within them.” Alain De Botton, The Architecture of Happiness, 112 […]
All posts filed under “Siena”

Siena
After leaving Ravenna, we traversed the Apennine Mountains and traveled to Siena, a city that provided us with a window into the Middle Ages in Italy. Although Siena was already settled in the time of the ancient Etruscans, it did not become a prominent city […]

Essay | Rappresentazione: Thinking Dramatic Liturgy and Liturgical Drama in Italy
by Justin E. Crisp, M.Div. ‘14 The Sienese cathedral’s baptistery lay in wait beneath the hard floor of its nave, necessitating a little underground detour from our museum tour path. In our haste to descend the stairs we had nearly missed the small cross, embedded […]

Essay | “One Gleam of the Glory” (Paradiso 33.72)
by Joanna Murdoch, M.A.R. ’15, religion and literature As a student of religion and literature, I’m alert to words. I care for narrative. Hooked on books, etc. A large part of my excitement over the ISM’s 2014 study trip to Italy had to do with […]