Going To Church In Sapienza

Have you ever been inside a Catholic church?

If not, read on.

(do skim through anyway, if you want to)

The one we will be visiting today is situated in Sapienza.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Regular church attendance is an essential part of the Catholic doctrine. Not everyone does it, and it seems to be fewer as time is passing, but some still like this tradition.

“It’s the biz”
- Local churchgoer

The churches themselves are impressive buildings made possible by hard work, architectural engineering and lots of money.

Looking at the building from a distance is an impressive sight.

The closer you get, the more intricate details become observable.

Entering the ornate concrete building, you'll be met by latin phrases mumbled by everyone and written on everything.

If you fancy a place to sit, there will be free seating available on hard, splintered benches, called pews.

The confession booth, a box in which you get a private audience with the local priest, and can confess to stuff you've done that, according to a book, shouldn't have. All this in a real Sicilian gangster style way.

Just like in the movies.

Here we have a typical representative of the clergy, a priest:

They offer customary bread and wine (it's said to be part of a ritual of sorts).

On my visit there, the wine was nowhere to be seen though, so I had to take a detour.

Being in Italy, a place offering a savory Tuscan wine selection isn't hard to find.

The church is just a short walking distance away from the nearest shop/booth.

If possible, bring your bottle of choice back to the tranquil surroundings.

The backyard, often called a cemetery, is beautifully decorated with trees, flowers, dead people in the ground, and statues. Lots of statues.

Chilling out with a bottle of wine in the cemetery, enjoying the scenery, contemplating life, can be a soothing experience.

Drinking wine in the cemetery may be frowned upon.

Sitting in the sewer entrance, hiding from the clergy may not be as picturesque, but it's peaceful and gets the job done.

With a bottle glass of wine in the tummy, the sermon may be experienced as less dry, entertaining even.

Like an ordinary workplace, the priests work in shifts, it seems.

A younger, more stoic looking cleric.

The new priest had a more intense, piercing glance.

It is customary to greet the priest after a mass/sermon.

The priest was a bit evasive. I tried following him for a bit, but when he subtly signalled that he had a gun, I decided to skip the meet-n-greet and go check out the back instead (the sacristy).

I guess we found out where the Sacramental wine went, huh?

No wonder they had to tag in a new guy.

Italian wine is difficult to put down. It's heavenly good.