Palm Sunday, the Triumphal Entry

Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to see this beautiful fresco of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on our recent trip to Tuscany. We simply ran out of time to go to Assisi, where these frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti decorate the Church of San Francesco. We did see a lot of paintings similar to this. I suppose you also have noticed the lush fabrics in 14th century art from Northern Italy, but it never occurred to me that at that time Tuscany was famous for its wools and silks, with the wool trade centered in Florence and the silk trade centered in Lucca. 

The Florence area was an important stopping-off point point for people headed  to the Crusades (and I would suppose returning).  I would imagine, however,  if more people had returned, the backgrounds and interiors in paintings completed just a few generations later would have looked less like Europe and more like the Holy Land. Do you see the tower in the upper left? Those towers are famous in the old cities of Tuscany. It was very desirable to have one on your house--much like today's teardowns--an important status symbol

Today, Palm Sunday, begins Holy Week, and I hope it is a blessed one for you.