Images from our trip to Farfa May 2007

Mark and I made our third trip to Farfa to work with Diane Long in May 2007. Here are images from that trip. On this visit we rented an apartment in the village and went into the Abbazia each morning for yoga.  Our class was held in a room at the top of one of the towers in part of the Abbazia that is the Benedictine Monastery.

The Abbazia has a famous library with some ancient manuscripts. During a short break in our practice one day some of us were lucky enough to be taken into the vault where we had a tantalising glimpse of manuscripts in glass cases. Needless to say I would have liked to stay  there longer.

During the afternoons we visited four monasteries associated with St Francis of Assisi in the Rieti region. At Poggio Bustone we climbed up through the trees to the grotto. Our accent was accompanied by birdsong and we felt very close to nature. The grotto is a tiny church built onto the side of the mountain enclosing the small cave where St Francis went for prayer and contemplation.

One evening a group of us visited the ancient church of San Donato near Castelnuovo di Farfa. Diane had arranged for someone to come and open up the little museum for us. It was a magical experience - well at least until the taped muzac was turned on! This archaeological site is part of the museum of olive oil and has olive trees from around the world planted around it.

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