Covid Art 86: Churches under siege

A screen covers these two antique photos, not really mirror images but enough to fool the eye for a few seconds. The fires causing great damage to Notre Dame in Paris last year and the most recent one in Nantes are tragic losses even to non-Catholics who embrace the serene, cool spaces of cathedrals. The fires appear to be accidental. Their culture is not under siege, rather their financial fragility which didn’t secure them or provide sufficient stewardship is to blame. As examples of this old Europe are eradicated, a part of me dies as well. That is one of the reasons Italy is ideal for me: its historic art treasures are more closely guarded.