Hi All!

Last night, I took my first overnight sleeper train from Frankfurt to Milan. It turned out to be a really restful night, which meant that when I got to Milan just before 8 am, I was rested and ready to go. The two main things I wanted to do in Milan were to see the Duomo (the Cathedral which dates from 1386) and the original Leonardo da Vinci painting, "The Last Supper." I did manage to do both, and more. You'll see lots of pictures of the Duomo, but of course, none of the "Last Supper" because they're really strict about the "no photography" rule there.

One place I was really disappointed was closed was the ancient baptistry in the Duomo. (It's being renovated.) While the Cathedral is the 4th largest church in Europe and dates from the 14th century, the Christian community here is much more ancient. In fact, two really significant leaders in the late 4th century, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, were both baptized in the ancient baptistry which now lies about 10 feet beneath the current Cathedral. (Ambrose was, in fact, the 11th bishop of Milan.) One of the reasons I like to see places like the original baptistry is that it reminds me that God has been at work for a lot longer than I can usually imagine, and the Holy Spirit has been working through people to pass on the message of Jesus in times and places that we can sometimes hardly recognize. (Later on though, I went to the Sforza Castle in Milan, and there I did see a number of things like what I might have seen in that ancient baptistry. There are some photos in the link.)

I also did get a chance to view the "Last Supper." Leonardo da Vinci painted it on one end of the Dominican Refectory (dining room) to go with another painter's work at the other end. Although Leonardo's painting is slightly younger, it's significantly more deteriorated than the other painting, because it's done as a fresco, which doesn't hold up well. But, you can still see, when you're in the room, how Leonardo painted it to be an extension of the Refectory, as though Jesus and his disciples were right there, eating with the Dominicans in the 15th century. It's a good reminder that for faith to be real, it can't be abstract -- it has to be a living encounter with God right in our own time and place.

There are lots of Milan pictures, and also a few of the reconstructed old center of Frankfurt, which I got a chance to visit before my train trip. Tomorrow, I'm off to Venice, and hopefully will be able to post some more things by Thursday.