We started the day at an old sanctuary called Santuario d'Oropa which was built in the 13th century. It was no easy task getting there. It was about a 1.5 hour drive from our hotel up into the Alps. We had to take winding roads up the mountain. It would have been difficult to drive a car up these tiny roads much less 4 charter buses. Our driver had to honk as we made hairpin turns to warn possible oncoming traffic. Kind of scary! The sanctuary itself is nestled between two large peaks of the mountain range. Immediately after stepping off the bus you could just smell the difference in the air. It just felt fresh and brisk. There was the sound of a stream that had dug its way through the mountain from thousands of years of snow run off.
We toured through the sanctuary with local guides and learned a lot about life there. People come here because of a statue of the virgin Mary with baby Jesus that is located in a small, almost plain looking church at the center of the sanctuary. At present, the sanctuary can house 500 pilgrims at a time not counting all the day visitors. they perform special masses for the pilgrims and they pray at the statue throughout the day.
The most touching part of the tour was the gallery that contained all the gifts people had brought to present to the statue. While some were elaborate like paintings or jewels, many were simple pictures or drawings of loved ones people have lost. Many of the drawings depicted the accidents of how the loved ones died, but with the virgin Mary looking over them. It could be perceived as morbid and it was certainly kind of sad, but to me it was almost reassuring and comforting.
After our tour of the sanctuary we had a nice picnic at the gates. We enjoyed pizza, sandwiches, with fruit and dessert. Many of us made our way down to the stream and climbed on the rocks. It was a nice afternoon with the sun shining and the wind blowing. It was chilly but not too bad.
Then was time for our cable ride to the top of the mountain. The gondola or franicular as they call it fit about 25 people and took about 10 minutes to climb up to 6,000 ft. The ride was not for the faint of heart and several people who weren't fond of heights were not that excited about hanging so far above the ground by a single cable. There was one point about halfway up where we rose over a high ridge and immediately dropped back down. The whole car let out a yell like we were on a roller coaster. The views along the trip were incredible.
All the anxiety was well worth it once we arrived at the top of the mountain. And this is where words cannot express the sight from that high. I don't even think pictures could do it justice. Just being there was somehow spiritual. Like being on top of the world. it's certainly something that will forever be burned into out memories.
Everyone immediately turned into explorers and mountain climbers. We were told there was a lake about a 10 minute walk from the franicular station. Along the way we came across tons of photo opportunities. The path was very rocky and sometimes even went through running water or was covered by piles of snow. Eventually we came to the lake which was still frozen over with a layer of ice. We made our way around the lake and some climbed smaller hills to get better vantage points of the lake and the valley far below. We could see the sanctuary and our buses but only as a small little dot.
Unfortunately we had to leave that beautiful place that many people were already planning to build a house on after they graduated. I even heard Skip Snead, director of the school of music mention he was going to put a new Alabama music building on top of the mountain. I'm going to hold him to that!!. I heard many people saying that the trip up the mountain was their favorite part of the trip thus far. While hearing the organ at St Marks is still the top of my list, this is a very close second.
We are headed back to the hotels now to freshen up an then we're on our own for dinner in the downtown area of Torino. Tonight we have a rehearsal with the MDB, wind ensemble, and the fireman brigade band that we are sharing the concert with tomorrow night. It's going to be a goo time interacting with another ensemble from this country! Tomorrow is our last day in Italy and promises to e another busy one with rehearsals a parade and a concert featuring both ensembles from Alabama. Ciao for now!!
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