Trinity Sunday at the Met

Scenes from the Life of St. Augustine of Hippo, ca. 1490, oil, gold, and silver on wood, Master of St. Augustine (Netherlandish, active ca. 1490)

After attending the Traditional Latin Mass in Brooklyn on Trinity Sunday, we made our way into Manhattan for an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Looking to avoid the throng of people and din from the Israeli Day Parade along Fifth Avenue, we took a quieter, more verdant path through Central Park before arriving at the museum.

Bronze statue of Christopher Columbus (1892) by Jeronimo Suñol
and the Naumburg Bandshell (1862) in Central Park

Our first stop was Gothic by Design: The Dawn of Architectural Draftsmanship, a fascinating exhibition centered on the drawings, plans, and design fragments behind the great Gothic cathedrals of medieval Europe. Rather than focusing solely on finished cathedrals, the exhibit revealed the careful planning, symbolism, and craftsmanship that first gave shape to those soaring structures.

(L) Covered Chalice, late 15th century, gilded silver, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and crystals, unidentified Spanish artist (active Toledo, 15th century). (R) The Last Supper, ca. 1500-1530, limestone, traces of polychromy, unidentified German or South Netherlandish artist (16th century)

Fragment of the Tomb Slab of Maurice de Poissy, ca. 1339,
limestone, unidentified French artist (14th century)

(L) Morse, before 1487, partially gilded silver, Reinecke vam Dressche (German, active 1459-93). (R) Censer, before 1477, raised and cast silver, unidentified Swiss artist (active Basel, 15th century), and Tower Monstrance, ca.1450, gilded silver, unidentified German artist (active Cologne, 15th century)

Volute with Carved Leafwork, late 15th century Oak with traces of polychromy and gilding, unidentified British or South Netherlandish artist (15th century)

(L) Design for the Crossing Tower of Rouen Cathedral, 1516; later wood spool, pen and black ink with gray wash, over traces of metalpoint and blind ruling on parchment, attributed to Roulland Le Roux (French, active 1509-27), probably with Pierre des Aubeaux (French, active early 16th century). (R) Design for a Monumental Sacrament House, 1502; inscription 17th century, pen and ink (carbon black and iron gall), over blind ruling on parchment; inscription in pen and ink, Lorenz Lechler (German, ca. 1460-1516 or after) and unidentified Central European artist (active early 16th century)

Reliquary with a Statue of St. Luke and Arm Reliquary, charcoal or black chalk on paper, Attributed to Jörg Schweiger the Elder (German, ca. 1470/80-1533/34) From Basler Goldschmiederisse (Basel goldsmith's drawings), ca. 1508-24

(L) Design for a Mount of Olives Monument for the City of Ulm, 1474, pen and black ink, over blind ruling on parchment, Matthäus Böblinger (German, ca. 1450-1505). (R) Design for a Crozier, ca. 1490-1500, engraving, Israhel von Meckenem (German, ca. 1440/45-1503)

Relics and Reliquaries, from The Viennese Book of Relics (Das Wiener Heiligtumsbuch), printed by Johannes Winterburger, Vienna, 1502, letterpress with woodcut illustrations

(L) Design for an Altar with Angels, ca. 1480-90, pen and brown ink, with white heightening, on paper, Attributed to Master of the Drapery Studies (German, active Strasbourg, ca. 1470-1500). (R) Portrait of the Architect Mathes (Matthäus) Roriczer, ca. 1490-93, silverpoint on gray-white prepared paper, later partially covered with gray body color and dark gray-brown ink, Hans Holbein the Elder (German, ca. 1465-1524)

Afterward, we revisited the Raphael: Sublime Poetry exhibition, knowing we may never again have the opportunity to see many of those works after the exhibit closes on June 28th. This also allowed me to retake photographs of several paintings that had not come out well during my last visit and which I never ended up posting.

(L-R) St. Mary Magdalen, ca. 1503, oil and tempera grassa with touches of gold on wood, Raphael, and St. Catherine, ca. 1503, oil and tempera grassa with touches of gold on wood, Raphael 

(L) Portrait of a Woman in Three-Quarter Length (La Muta), ca. 1503-5, oil on limewood, Raphael. (R) Portrait of a Young Woman with a Unicorn (Laura Orsini della Rovere?), 1505-6, oil on wood, transferred to canvas, glued to a wood support, Raphael

(L) Processional Cross with the Crucified Christ and Roundels Depicting Saints Francis of Assisi, Louis of Toulouse, Claire, and Anthony of Padua (reverse); Crucified Christ and Roundels Depicting the Virgin and Saints Peter, John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalen (obverse), ca. 1500-1503, tempera and gold on wood, attributed to Raphael. (R) Portrait of Vaterio Belli, 1517, oil on wood, Raphael

(L) Sepulcram Christi (The Dead Christ with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus), ca. 1495-98, oil and tempera grassa on wood, transferred to canvas and mounted on wood, Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci; 1446/50-1523). (R) Female Martyr-Saint Standing in a Landscape (Probably St. Ursula), ca. 1490-94, oil and tempera grassa on wood, Giovanni Santi (Giovanni di Sante di Peruzzolo; ca. 1439-1494)

We finished our visit wandering through the European Painting Galleries to see a few old favorites. For some reason, the lighting in the galleries seemed especially good that afternoon, and several paintings appeared almost transformed. The works of J. M. W. Turner and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot looked especially vivid in the bright light.

Whalers, ca. 1845, oil on canvas, Joseph Mallord William Turner

(L) A Lane through the Trees, ca. 1870-73, oil on canvas, Camille Corot, French, Paris 1796-1875 Paris. (R) Toussaint Lemaistre (1807/8-1888), 1833, oil on canvas, Camille Corot

Honfleur: Calvary, ca. 1830, oil on wood, Camille Corot

Mountainous Landscape, oil on paper, laid down on canvas, Camille Corot

Hagar in the Wilderness, 1835, oll on canvas, Camille Corot

The Banks of the Seine at Conflans, 1865-70, oil on canvas, Camille Corot

After leaving the museum, we ended the day with lunch at our favorite restaurant in Little Italy, Vincent’s Restaurant on Mott Street.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, June 1st, Feast of Sant'Annibale Maria di Francia

Fried calamari

Stuffed mushrooms

Meatballs

Chicken parmigiana over linguine

Grilled chicken with potatoes and broccoli

This Day in History: Alfonso V of Aragon Conquers Naples

Alfonso V, Palazzo Reale, Napoli

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

By Giovanni di Napoli

When Queen Joanna II of Naples died childless in 1435, war again erupted between the Angevins and Aragonese for control of the Kingdom. After seven years of protracted hostilities, King Alfonso V of Aragon finally triumphed on June 2, 1442, thanks to a little stealth and cunning. 

During the siege of Naples, the discovery of a tunnel system in the Bolla aqueduct allowed a group of 200 soldiers commanded by Diomede Carafa to circumvent the city’s defenses and emerge from a well near Porta Santa Sofia. Inspired by the great Byzantine General Belisarius, who used an empty aqueduct to take Naples from the Ostrogoths in 536 A.D., King Alfonso’s forces were able to overcome the guards, open the gate, and conquer the city. After 161 years, Sicily and Naples were once again united under one ruler. Continue reading

Photo of the Week: Pomona Fountain in the Vatican Museums' Pinecone Courtyard

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Feast of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi at the Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in Raritan, New Jersey

June: Sacred Letter, Bonfires, and the Threshold of Summer

San Giovanni Battista e Madonna del
Perpetuo Soccorso, orate pro nobis

June stands at the threshold of summer’s dominion. Spring has not entirely vanished, yet the long light of summer begins to assert itself. In many old traditions, June is not merely a season of ease, but a period of watchfulness before the heat and trials to come.

Early in the month, the Church honors the Feast of the Madonna della Lettera, Our Lady of the Sacred Letter, on June 3rd, a devotion rooted in Messina, Sicily, and the ancient belief that the Virgin herself offered protection and blessing to the city. The feast preserves the conviction that heavenly patronage is not abstract, but tied to place, memory, and inheritance.

On June 13th comes the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, preacher, theologian, and wonderworker. Though remembered widely as the finder of lost things, St. Anthony—the Hammer of Heretics—represents something greater: the recovery of what has been forgotten in the soul itself.

Then comes the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist on June 23rd, marked across Europe by bonfires lit against the gathering darkness. These fires, standing at the edge of midsummer, belong to one of the oldest instincts of Christendom: that light must be guarded precisely when it seems strongest.

St. John, the voice crying in the wilderness, stands between worlds—the last of the prophets and the herald of Christ. His feast arrives near the summer solstice, when the days begin, almost imperceptibly, to shorten again. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Near the month’s close, June 27th brings the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, whose icon has long been carried in homes, chapels, and processions as a sign of maternal protection amid uncertainty and hardship.

June does not possess the awakening quality of April or the crowned fullness of May. It stands instead at a luminous frontier: a season of fire, vigilance, and sacred memory beneath the lengthening sun.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, May 31st, Feast of the Queenship of Mary

Saints of the Day for June

(L-R) San Paolino di Nola, the Madonna della Lettera, and San Vito

June is the month the Church dedicates to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose feast is celebrated nineteen days after Pentecost Sunday.

• First Sunday in June is the Feast of San Liberato Martire a Roccamandolfi
• June 1 — Feast of Sant'Annibale Maria di Francia
• June 2 — Feast of Sant’Erasmo Martire
• June 3 — Feast of San Cono da Teggiano
• June 3 — Feast of Santa Clotilde
• June 3 — Feast of the Madonna della Lettera
• June 4 — Feast of San Francesco Caracciolo
• June 4 — Feast of San Filippo Smaldone
• June 5 — Feast of St. Boniface
• June 6 — Novena to San Vito Martire
• June 6 — Feast of San Norberto

• June 7 — St. Peter of Córdoba and Companions
• June 10 — Feast of Santa Margherita di Scozia
• June 11 — Feast of San Barnaba
• June 12 — Feast of Sant'Onofrio
• June 13 — Novena to San Paolino di Nola
• June 13 — Feast of Sant'Antonio di Padova
• June 14 — Novena to Sant'Agrippina di Mineo 
• June 14 — Feast of San Marciano di Siracusa, Vescovo e Martire
• June 15 — Feast of San Vito Martire
• June 17 — Feast of Beata Teresa del Portogallo
• June 18 — Feast of Sant’Efrem di Nisibi
• June 18 — Feast of Santa Marina Vergine
• June 18 — Feast of San Calogero
• June 19 — Feast of Beata Elena Aiello
• June 20 — Feast of San Silverio
• June 20 — Feast of San Giovanni da Matera
• June 21 — Novena to Blessed Gennaro Maria Sarnelli
• June 21 — Feast of San Luigi Gonzaga
• June 22 — Feast of San Paolino di Nola
• June 23 — Feast of Sant'Agrippina di Mineo
• June 23 — The Vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
• June 24 — Feast of San Giovanni Battista
• June 25 — Feast of San Guglielmo di Montevergine
• June 25 — Feast of Santa Febronia
• June 25 — Feast of Beato Guido Maramaldi
• June 26 — Feast of San Pelagio di Cordova
• June 27 — Feast of the Madonna del Perpetuo Soccorso
• June 27 — Feast of Sant’Andrea Apostolo
• June 27 — Feast of San Ladislao I d'Ungheria
• June 29 — Feast of San Pietro and San Paolo
• June 30 — Feast of Beato Gennaro Maria Sarnelli

Requiem Mass at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Branchville, New Jersey

Spider-Noir: Shadows Without Substance

Spider-Noir playbills clinging to a weathered wall in Little Italy, New York

Spider-Noir arrives wrapped in all the familiar trappings of classic noir: rain-slicked streets, deep shadows, corrupt officials, gangsters, the voice of a sultry lounge singer drifting through smoke-filled clubs, and a weary masked vigilante brooding over a decaying city.

The series even offers dual visual formats—“Authentic Black and White” and “True-Hue Full Color.” I chose the black-and-white version, which I believe suits the somber milieu far better.

Visually and audibly, the series succeeds. The stark lighting and decaying cityscapes effectively evoke the noir films of the 1930s and ’40s. Li Jun Li plays Felicia “Cat” Hardy well as an elegant femme fatale nightclub singer, though she bears little resemblance to the original comic character.

Felicia “Cat” Hardy (Li Jun Li), beneath the spotlight,
channeling the melancholy glamour of classic noir cabaret

Yet beneath the striking aesthetic lies a familiar problem: Spider-Noir imitates the external form of noir without fully capturing its deeper substance. The story is often formulaic, lacks genuine surprises, and many of the supporting characters fail to leave much of an impression.

Chauncey “Flat-Face” Frog

I generally like Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly / The Spider—he’s pulpy, theatrical, and eccentric—but his voice here repeatedly reminded me of Chauncey “Flat-Face” Frog, the derby-hatted Edward G. Robinson parody from the old animated series Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse. The resemblance became distracting enough that I occasionally found myself doing a Flat-Face impersonation out loud: “Yeah, see! I’m the frog, see!”

Classic noir was more than a style. It reflected a civilization confronting exhaustion, corruption, and spiritual decline. Spider-Noir gestures toward that darkness but too often falls back into modern superhero conventions—predictable emotional beats, unnecessary quips, and contemporary sensibilities awkwardly inserted into an interwar setting.

The result is a series that is compelling to look at and occasionally atmospheric, but ultimately feels more like a simulation of noir than a true revival. The shadows remain, but the worldview that once gave them meaning is largely absent.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, May 30th, Feast of Santa Giovanna d’Arco and San Ferdinando III

Young Adult Retreat at the Colombiere Center in Clarkston, Michigan

In Sanguine Foedus: Naples, New York, and the Red Thread of Memory

Photos courtesy of Germana Valentini

On the waterfront of Naples, where generations once stood between homeland and uncertainty, a monumental new mural now serves as both memorial and testament. In Sanguine Foedus. New World, unveiled on May 22nd at the Port of Naples, is more than a work of public art. It is an act of historical remembrance dedicated to the millions of Italians who departed Southern Italy for America, carrying little besides faith, memory, and hope.

Created by Neapolitan artist Vittorio Valiante and conceived by Francesco Andoli and Germana Valentini in collaboration with INWARD–National Observatory on Urban Creativity, the mural faces Molo San Vincenzo, the historic departure point from which countless emigrants began their journey across the Atlantic.

The project seeks to restore dignity and visibility to one of the defining experiences of modern Italian history: the great migration from Italy to the United States between the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For many emigrants, Naples represented the final threshold between the known world and an uncertain future. Before boarding ships bound for New York, they would cast one last glance toward their loved ones and the statue of San Gennaro overlooking the harbor.

That image remained with them as they crossed the ocean toward another icon waiting on the opposite shore: the Statue of Liberty.

Between those two worlds unfolded one of the great migratory movements of modern history.

The mural transforms that history into living memory. Real faces reconstructed from archival photographs and family histories emerge across the wall: men, women, and children whose lives were forever altered by departure. Each figure tells an authentic story connected to biographies and testimonies accessible through QR codes embedded within the installation.

Running throughout the composition is a vivid red thread—perhaps the project’s most powerful symbol. Inspired by the strands families once held during moments of farewell at the docks, the thread represents separation, continuity, and enduring attachment. It evokes both the pain of departure and the refusal of complete rupture.

The symbolism reaches even deeper in Naples, where the red thread also recalls the blood of San Gennaro, patron saint of the city and protector of her sons and daughters wherever they may land. For generations of emigrants, devotion to San Gennaro accompanied them overseas, becoming one of the spiritual and cultural foundations of Italian-American life.

The project’s title, In Sanguine Foedus — “bound in blood” or “through blood, a covenant”—captures precisely this idea: that migration did not sever identity, memory, or inheritance, but carried them across oceans and generations.

The story will not end in Naples.

A second monumental mural, In Sanguine Foedus. The Saint, is scheduled to appear in New York City’s Little Italy on Mulberry Street. There, San Gennaro will be reimagined within the context of contemporary Italian American identity while preserving the devotional tradition that still surrounds the saint among descendants of immigrants.

Together, the two murals will form a single transatlantic narrative: Naples and New York joined visually and symbolically by the same red thread.

The broader initiative also includes a bronze replica of the historic statue of San Gennaro that once watched over departing emigrants at Molo San Vincenzo. Sculpted by Dante Mortet, the new statue will be installed in Manhattan’s Little Italy as a permanent reminder of the enduring bond between the two cities. In a particularly moving gesture, the sculpture’s hands will be modeled using casts from members of New York’s Italian-American community, linking past and present through living memory.

An accompanying documentary project will chronicle both the creation of the artworks and the personal stories of the families connected to them, transforming In Sanguine Foedus into more than a public art installation: a living archive of migration, identity, and continuity.

At a time when migration is often reduced to abstraction, statistics, or political rhetoric, In Sanguine Foedus restores the human dimension of the immigrant experience. It reminds us that behind every departure stood a family, a homeland, a faith, a language, and a memory carried into unfamiliar worlds.

In Naples, the faces of emigrants once again gaze upon the sea from which they departed.

And across the Atlantic, the thread continues.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, May 29th, Feast day of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi