my lovely roommate (at the time) took this pic while we were climbing the portico of san luca in bologna. we were breaking about every 2 minutes because ive got asthma lol. it was a hard and long walk (666 individual porticoes 😮) but so undeniably worth it. the difficulty of climbing the stairs made finally getting to the top all the more cathartic. when you come around the final corner of the never ending stairway, when you’re almost to the top, a cross reveals itself sitting just beyond the final stair. the sun was setting when we were finishing our climb, and the cross was backlit so beautifully. i was so exhausted from climbing, it felt like the divine and sacred thing that was going to save me. i have never been religious. im incredibly skeptical, even fearful of faith, and i generally reject organized religion for many reasons. but when i saw that cross, and put the last of my strength into reaching it, just for a minute, i got it.
