The Hospitable Host of Greppolishieto

Our guide inside and outside the village walls

Our guide leads us through the village

Let us begin by saying I have no idea how to make the name of this quaint hamlet roll off my tongue, for that matter, it may be misspelled....however, there is one thing I am sure of, this place is filled with the spirit of St. Francis, the sense of nature, spirit, and amazing stone define this sweet town.
As we arrived at the parking below town I was struck by the sign with map of the hiking trails that wove down through the valley and hills in the are.  We were on a time-limited mission of exploring sacred places, with no time to hike, but wow the view from the hillside town of the beautiful woods below called out to truly explore God's sacred space in nature.  I made a mental note to return to hike this beautiful countryside and then we walked toward the village.
On the outskirts of the village was a sweet farm house with a stone wall and gateway, sitting atop the entryway was a beautiful and aloof cat.  I called "gatti, gatti, gatti" and after slowly, casually looking this way and that the cat acknowledged my presence and actually came over.  After the briefest of greetings our new friend proceeded to lead us into the village.
We entered the village near the chapel with a grand stone plaza built in memory of the villagers who died in WWI.  Encircling the plaza where beautiful wrought iron crosses on the edge of the low lying wall that surrounded the town and from this vantage point looked over the woodlands in the valley and hillside surrounding the hamlet.  I could imagine when chapel let out and coming onto this plaza what an amazing sense of the sacred there would be going from liturgical worship space into the vast glory of God's creation before you, with the reminder of love for those who have passed on before us.
Our host beckoned us on, through a traditional Italian archway into the inner village, where all the homes' entrys were, as were small yet beautiful gardens and a multitude of window boxes filled with geraniums and other flowers.  Il gatto kept leading the way, to view so many signs of the sacred, from artwork of Mary and Jesus to just the sheer grandure of a centuries old stone village that breathed of life, even though all inhabitants were away at work and school.  It was like a magical tour through a mystical place where our small group had the quiet and time to explore with our newfound friend.
As it came time to leave our host walked us around the walls outside the village, taking us back to where we began, leaping to the top at his post again, watching over the village and valley, ready to greet the next group of visitors.  I, to this day, can't get over the gift of the cat, the gift of a host to lead us through a village that was his own.  The whole experience reminded me of the awareness of St. Francis of the divine within all of God's creation, in this case, within our friend the gatto di Greppolishieto.  How do you greet the sacred in the "other" be it human, animal, or nature?  How do you let the "other" greet and take you to mystical places?

Colleen returning from the Icon our host led her to.Thanking our beloved host