Saturday, May 29, 2010

Inside S.E.A.S.

Church of Saint Elizabeth Seton, piazza Lavagna, LivornoI had my First Communion and Confirmation in the grand “Santa Maria del Soccorso”. When a new church was built and our home was included in the new parish, my disappointment was great. The new church looked like a recycled hangar and was dedicated to an obscure American lady, not even properly Saint at the time. I still have pictures of my younger brother dressed up for his First Communion in front of that... shed.Church of Saint Elizabeth Seton, piazza Lavagna, LivornoI missed many masses since, I knew that a real church has been built years ago, but never bothered to visit it, even after starting this blog. Last Sunday I ventured there to take a picture of the statue of the Saint, which I knew was in the garden, and found the church open, almost a miracle here in the early afternoon. I went inside and saw the light. No, not in that sense, I am quite hopeless now, but a lot of sunlight filtered by colored windows.
After a recent week of full immersion in Roman baroque, I was impressed by the simple interior of this church.Church of Saint Elizabeth Seton, piazza Lavagna, LivornoThe unusual “Via Crucis”, with its stations gathered in a cross made of bas-reliefs.

See also: An American Saint - S.E.A.S.
External links: Elizabeth Ann Seton (Wikipedia)

14 comments:

Paulina Millaman said...

interesting, perhaps your are used to those great renaissance churches, full of details and luxuries but the simplicity of this church is quite sweet and delicate. The effect of the light i suppose :)

lodolite said...

nella prima foto la luce fa da protagonista!
ciao simona

Small City Scenes said...

Beautiful light coming in the windows and reflected on the floor.

Some times we are so used to the old we don't give the new a chance. MB

Dina said...

Once one has been to Europe or Israel, it is hard to appreciate modern churches, I think. "New church" sounds like an oxymoron to me. I would much prefer your Santa Maria del Soccorso, too, and can understand your disappointment some years ago. Glad for your turning point here in making peace with the new S.E.A.S.
Can one really "walk" the stations on that Via Crucis??
Everything is so unusual in that church.

Unseen India Tours said...

Some beautiful and lovely shots !!Nice post !!

cieldequimper said...

I can think of worse modern churches.

Small City Scenes said...

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MB

Leif Hagen said...

Nice photos of your rediscovery! I love to see church interiors! Grazie mille

Unknown said...

There are a couple of sentences on this post that have made me smile! :-)

By the way, there's a bench for you today.

Cezar and Léia said...

I like the simplicity and light of the place...
God bless you!
Cezar

tapirgal said...

It's interesting to see the plain interior. I choose the more exotic styles except for that amazing "plain" church in Ravello which you have never visited. I agree with JM.

Kaori said...

I like the spacious feel of the church. The lights is lovely :D

Wolynski said...

Sometimes simplicity can be a relief, almost like a balm. That cross is beautiful.

Kim said...

It is curious how a change of building affects us, in work or school or worship or home, especially when we are young. I think we've all had experiences like yours with some meaningful building in our lives. Before your post about her last week, I had never heard of "Mother Seton" before. That is an interesting way to present the stations of the cross, too.
-Kim