Te deum

Here he is, Saint Ranieri, in a cloud of incense. He was the son of a rich merchant and shipowner, like many Pisans of his time (XII century). As a youth, he was a traveling minstrel, Wikipedia says. I had never heard this before (like the bells of the leaning tower) but I like the idea.



Then, he decided to give away his wealth and live in poverty, while traveling in the Holy Land. He's the patron saint of Pisa and travelers. Pisa has many travelers-saints. He died in Pisa in 1160, after having performed many miracles, as any respectable saint should do.
Now he has right to two Carabinieri in high uniform as bodyguards.



Singing in Latin in a 900 years old cathedral, with treasures of Cimabue and Giovanni Pisano. Just beautiful.






The audience was enraptured.





Something else I had never seen before: two old ladies (flash and bones, not marble ones) sitting on the pedestal of the absolute masterpiece of Italian Gothic sculpture, the pulpit of Giovanni Pisano. The lions did not scare them.