Sanctuary Choir Travels to Northern Italy
In July, 51 travelers - including members of the Sanctuary Choir, plus spouses and other groupies – flew over the Atlantic for the choir’s third international tour, a ten-day journey through beautiful Northern Italy. This trip was filled with rich scenery, history, art, food, fashion, and adventure.
Upon arriving at the Milan airport and easily clearing customs, we met our guide Sasha, a vastly knowledgeable and caring travel expert from Hungary who speaks five languages and has a passion for all things Italy. Because it was too early in the day to check in to our hotel, we were driven into the heart of Milan for lunch and then a guided sightseeing tour. As would become the theme for the entire trip, it was unseasonably hot and humid. We were tired from our transatlantic flight, but Milan is worth seeing in any personal state. After a long walk that included the castle, La Scala opera house, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, and the Duomo, where we would be singing the next day. At last it was time to check in to our hotel, have that long-awaited shower, and rest.
The following day our travelers enjoyed free time in the city center before our late afternoon rehearsal in the Duomo. Entering the Duomo for the first time as a group was breathtaking. It is the largest church in Italy (remember…the Vatican is not technically in Italy), with its intricate gothic architecture and thousands of statues. The reverb was so great (over 5 seconds) that the choir had to sing slower than normal to have any chance of being understood. Singing mostly American choral music during an Italian-language mass in one of the most iconic and historic churches in the world is an experience that will live with all of us for a very long time.
The next day we took an excursion north into the foothills of the Alps for a day at Lake Como. After some free time shopping and eating lunch in the town of Como, we all boarded a private boat for an hour-long tour of the lower portion of the lake. Highlights included the historic Villa d’Este and the villa of a Mr. George Clooney.
Saying goodbye to beautiful Milan and the Lombardy region, we traveled east to Parma for two nights. Parma is famous for prosciutto and parmesan cheese, and proudly boasts this heritage at every restaurant. After another very warm walking tour, we were able to check in to our very fancy hotel, and we enjoyed a group meal of wonderful northern Italian cuisine.
Our next morning was free, and some travelers took this opportunity to shop, to tour a local parmesan cheese farm, or to travel to nearby Modena to visit the Enzo Ferrari Museum. That evening we boarded the bus in our concert blacks and traveled to Mantua to sing our evening concert in the historic Duomo. Much different than the one in Milan, this Duomo was nevertheless cavernous, intricate, and rich in history. Before our rehearsal, the priest led us down into the crypt (a rare treat for visitors) to show us the church’s reliquary containing, they believe, the blood of Christ collected on a cloth after his side was pierced by a spear on the cross. Our concert was wonderful and the crowd enthusiastic. After dinner and dessert in the town’s main piazza, we traveled back to our hotel in Parma for the night.
The next morning we said goodbye to Parma for our third and final stop, Padua. But before arriving in Padua, we stopped in Verona (famous for its several Shakespearean connections) for lunch, shopping, and a tour of the city’s ancient Roman amphitheater. Later that afternoon we continued on to Padua, where our first stop was at the refugee center for which we had spent the past few months raising funds, Associazione Popoli Insieme. Their staff greeted us in their lovely facility in the historic part of town, gave us refreshments, and told us their stories. Many of the staff are refugees/migrants/asylum seekers themselves who were aided and supported by the organization so much that they wanted to give back. Spending time with these wonderful, caring people was a highlight of the trip for all of us, and a connection we hope to continue.
While Padua is lovely and historic, no itinerary to this region of Italy is complete without an excursion to nearby Vicenza, where we spent the first half of the next day. As a group we walked down the main street in the shopping district to the Teatro Olimpico, a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 16th century. After lunch in Vicenza we returned to Padua and soon after boarded the bus again for our evening concert in the spa town of Abano Terme. Here we sang in the ornate Duomo di San Lorenzo to perhaps the most enthusiastic and engaged audience we have ever encountered. The choir sang with great energy and sensitivity and obliged requests for multiple encores. Another beautiful memory we will not soon forget.
Our final day in Italy took us to the magical city of Venice, a fitting way to end the tour. Some travelers opted for a guided walking tour that covered the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, and the Rialto Bridge, while others opted for a gondola ride. In late afternoon we gathered for our rehearsal at the historic Chiesa di San Salvador for our final mass participation, and then we walked together to our farewell dinner and then took the water taxi back to our bus.
Leaving Italy the next morning was bittersweet – it is a country to which it is easy to see oneself returning “one day.” Until then, our cherished memories of an enriching time together, bonding over good food and long walks in the hot sun, will suffice.