Basilica di S Salvatore and Outdoor Concerts

A day or so after my visit to Ponziano, I went to visit the Basilica di S Salvatore. I went here primarily on the recommendation of the man who showed me around Ponziano, and it certainly exceeded my expectations. Salvatore was just a little ways up the road from Ponziano, although I did make a couple wrong turns on my way up there. It was a bit of a hike, but nothing that my viola section friend Zach and I couldn't handle! Prior to our journey, I had worked on memorizing some Italian phrases, and the Salvatore day was my first day actually speaking Italian to a native. We met a man in the courtyard outside of the Basilica, and I asked him in Italian if we could enter. He said yes, and at the time, I'm glad that's all he said because I wouldn't have understood much more! :) Zach and I headed into the entrance and we found the Basilica and its surrounding graveyard completely empty. We waltzed right in, and we were greeted by a beautiful glimpse of the past. As soon as I walked in the duomo, I was absolutely impressed by the awesomeness of such an ancient building! We found a couple brochures sitting on a small table in the back of the duomo, and it was from these brochures that we found the approximate date of the church's construction to be about 600AD. Honestly, there wasn't much to see in the duomo, but the huge, cave-like sanctuary and the very live acoustics were impressive enough. There were a few very worn frescos, and you can see pictures of them in my facebook album, Italia. At that point in the trip, I had never ever seen anything soooo old, much less walked right into a deserted historical place to touch the very stones that were placed over a thousand years ago. The brochure said that some of the pillars used in the original construction were possibly borrowed from pre-existing structures, so it may be that those pillars were even older than the church itself.

Well, once I write about my Roma trip, we'll be completely caught up to my present experiences. This evening I'm attending a masterclass on orchestra excerpts, so that should be interesting and informative. I'm not playing today, but I hope to play some of my solo rep in a later masterclass. Last night, I attended two concerts put on by CCM Spoleto: the 2nd chamber concert(musica da camera) and the very first jazz concert. Both concerts were well-played and well attended by both CCMers and local Spoleto people. In fact, last night, we learned at the chamber concert that most Italians don't mind letting their phones ring during performances and they also don't mind answering them. The concert was outside, so birds were tweeting above the terrace and children were calling out in the street. I must say, I've never been to such an interactive chamber concert before...that was certainly a first. Brava to everyone who played, despite the unplanned distractions. A local restaurant and bar hosted a welcoming party/jam session for all CCMers last night. I didn't make it last night, but apparently, the owner of the restaurant said that we're welcome to come and jam any night of the week!