Tag: cathedrals to explore

Some of the most magnificent pieces of architecture in the world are cathedrals to explore. I’ve had some remarkable experiences in them, as have other writers who’ve recorded their reactions.

One of the surprising writers who has waxed poetic about a famous cathedral is Henry James. If you didn’t realize he wasn’t just a novelist, that he was also a journalist and a travel writer, it’s true. He spent an afternoon at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, its first stone laid by Pope Gregory IX on July 17, 1228, the day after the canonization of the saint after which the Basilica is named. About the Basilica, he notes, “This twofold temple of St. Francis is one of the very sacred places of Italy, and it would be hard to breathe anywhere an air more heavy with holiness.”

He applauds the thirteenth-century architects for piling “temple upon temple,” adding, “One may imagine them to have intended perhaps an architectural image of the relation between heart and head. Entering the lower church at the bottom of the great flight of steps which leads from the upper door, you seem to push at least into the very heart of Catholicism.” This is but one of my posts that feature cathedrals to explore so if you like the subjects, I hope you’ll stop by my blog and enjoy the reading.