I am travelling in Italy for the first time and am overwhelmed by the amount of beautiful things!

Beyond food and natural landscapes, there are just so many incredible works of man made beauty in this country… and so much in the name of religion, though I can’t help feeling it is more of a testament to humble human hands.

Although I am not religious myself, I was surprised how much I still found the religious art and architecture in Italy enough to make my heart swell with wonder. My favourite so far was the Duomo in Siena.

Inside was the most elaborate detailing I have ever seen in a place of worship. And lining the walls atop the arches were faces of past priests looking down on you. They looked life size and some had their eyes shut so I wondered if they werer death masks… again I was reminded of the remarkable accomplishments of man.

There were so many of them, and in my mind I saw that scene from the Lion King when Mufasa tells Simba his ancestors looking down on him, like the stars in the sky. I always liked that metaphor. The sense of belonging to something much bigger than you. Too big to count.

I was standing at the alter of the Duomo, in my own bliss, contemplating life, when all of a sudden I found myself bathed in a spotlight of warm sunshine. I turned around, blinded by the light streaming down from inside the top of the dome. And it caught only me, illuminated in my own world, no one else seemed to notice.

And a moment later the sun passed behind a cloud and I returned to normal. Perhaps I saw the light of God, either way I felt moved and was completely in awe of the architectural genius.

Whilst in Tuscany, in a village called Lucca I went to the house where Puccini lived and was born. I was fascinated to peer out of the top floor window and see an angel that appears to be sitting on the rooftops.

It was of course from the highest steeple of Saint Michele Cathedral next door.

Apparently there are a couple of references to an angel sitting on the rooftops in Puccini’s opera La Boheme. An example of an artist literally sharing their perspective on the world.

I was charmed.

But the moment that really took my breath away, was a man named David. And though he has clones peppered through the city of Florence, but they are nothing compared to meeting his original in the marbly flesh.

The amount of detail in his stance and everything he represented for the people of Florence. Strength, beauty and defiance in the face of a giant.

I love the way they refer to the statue as being found inside the marble. Michelangelo has merely released him; like he was trapped inside all along and just needed a hand to hop out.

Italy is truly a feast for the soul.

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ITALY: ROOFTOP ANGELS AND MEN