San Donato

This is our fifth time staying in Lucca, accumulatively well over 3 months. Strolling, power- walking or jogging the circumference of the historic center on the Wall is almost a daily activity. Needless to say, I’ve become very familiar with Le Mura. I’ve been reading “The Mind’s Eye” by Henri Cartier Bresson, the photographer famous for coining “the decisive moment”, and I worry that my over-familiarity with Lucca may begin to cloud my Mind’s Eye for ‘Noticing’ or ‘Seeing’ with fresh eyes. I struggle with this when blip-hunting at home. It is a good Buddhist practice. Walking along the Walls of historic Lucca this morning, I notice for the hundredth time, the back of San Donato perched above the Porto (gate) of the same name. I stop to take in the Bishop’s view. I know he’s a bishop, even from behind, by his distinctive pointed hat, long robes, and sceptor he holds. Opting to crop the commuter gridlock below from my view, I look past to the line of trees, leaves wet from last night’s rain. The sky is mixed with puffy white and grey clouds with a bit of blue peeking through. A few still bare trees reveal the craggy Apuan Alps in the distance. FYI: San Donato was an early Christian (4th century). He was an orphan and taken in by a bishop who named him Donatus, which means ‘donated’. He eventually became a Bishop and died a martyr (beheaded). Donato is the patron saint of bakers, epileptics and various towns. I’m not sure why he stands at one of Lucca’s gates.