Submitted by Bridget Hartigan on the 2017 winter session program in Florence, Italy sponsored by the Department of Art…
Living in Florence for about a week now has been full of gorgeous architecture, brilliant art and amazing food. I pass the Duomo nearly every day, but I will never stop being awestruck by it every single time I pass by. The photos do not do show how intricate and brilliant the details are.
On the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th, I was lucky enough to experience this important holiday with the locals. This day marks the last day of the holiday season and everything in the city is closed down. It is a national holiday, so everyone has off of work to spend time with their loved ones. There was a huge parade that went across the entire city, ending at the Duomo where there was a live manger scene and a choir of children singing. In the beginning of the parade, men dressed up as the three wise men carrying gifts headed toward the manger scene to present them to baby Jesus. It was a really cool feeling sharing the same religion as the people I was surrounded by, even though I did not speak their language. It was really an amazing experience to see how much this holiday meant to the locals and to see first hand how special this many century old tradition is to them.