while in the north, we visited a beautiful monastery near sassano that was dedicated to st. lawerence. when the monastery was constructed, it was the largest in italy and to this day remains in the top five. although it has been ‘desanctified’ and is now open to the public, it maintains a very serene, peaceful disposition and is filled with the mysterious beauty of knowing Christ in the silence… the words of edward schillebeeckx were quite timely in my devotion that morning:

‘failure to recognize the value of mere being with God, as the beloved, without doing anything, is to gouge the heart out of Christianity.’

we also met up with a local researcher whose passion is orchids, but has done extensive work identifying and cataloguing local plants. he also has created two museums displaying much of his work – one a living seed persevere and the other a beautiful medival medical museum. he is an extremely passionate, jolly man who has an incredibly tenacious goal to preserve and promote local medicinal herbs – I am learning so much! not just dozens of new herbs, but a way of being… I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet such inspiring individuals.

well, before this turns into a book, a few my personal favs thus far:

Rosa canina (wild rose = lots of vit c!!!)










Eryngeum (sea holly)












Daucus carota (queen anne’s lace/wild carrot – so tasty!)