Once on a Hill in Tuscany by Alison Taylor-Brown
This collection of eleven short stories fascinated me and my wife as I read them aloud evening by evening. The cocky but sensitive Giulia is always good for some unexpected twist of events. The beautiful language and delightful use of simile drew me into the scenes. But the greatest merit of these tales is the spiritual insight revealed through the heroine’s reactions to her unexpected encounters.
Giulia’s life story
Giulia della Rena was a simple girl from an impoverished noble family. She was born in the village of Certaldo, near Florence, in the fourteenth century. Brazen and rebellious as a child, she broke out of the strict Catholic orphanage where she landed after her drunkard father and dear grandfather died. Fortunately, her rich Florentine cousin discovered the starving vagrant, took her under her wing and gave her the same privileges of care and education as her own daughter.
As a young woman, Giulia showed great sensitivity, courage in the face of danger, and loving concern for social outcasts and those in desperate need. She had little respect for powerful religious authorities, whose lives demonstrated narrow-minded theology and hypocrisy.
Was it intuition or supernatural guidance that enabled her to rescue an impoverished child from a burning house? That experience led her to adopt the calling of an anchoress, shut in a tiny room for the rest of her life. One window opened to the church, the other faced the village square. Locals and passing pilgrims met her there, shared their experiences and learned from her wisdom.
Giulia della Rena, a professed member of the Order of Saint Augustine, was beatified by Pope Pius VII in 1819. Every year, on the first Sunday of September, the village of Certaldo commemorates her life with a procession that winds its way through the medieval village to the Church of San Tommaso.
Encounters and tales
Each short story introduces new characters, new challenges. One book – The Knight and his Enemy – tells of a Templar Crusader and a Saracen warrior, bitter rivals, bent on killing each other. When they see the folly of such conflict, they venture together on a global pilgrimage with a message of faith and reconciliation.
‘We are Allah’s great sorrow,’ the Saracen says. ‘And yet, he holds us in His love with all our tragic foolishness. That is what we must do as well, young Sister. To hold the sorrow and the glory altogether as it exists in every created thing, for are they not all miraculous, not all evidence of a God nearer to us than our own breath?‘
We also meet Sofia. Although she has long since left her former life of forced prostitution, she has to live as a despised beggar. But her faith in God, her love for her despised neighbour and her inspired wisdom surpass by far the piety of Father Cuoricino. Her message: ‘Just love, Giulia. It’s as simple as that. Love this beautiful world, love every bee and blade of grass, love Fatty the tripe lady, love poor, mad Gerita next door, and love your own wonderful self. You are human, and the only way to love God is through your own broken and joyful human beingness.’
Conclusion
Vivid prose and beautiful turns of phrase bring these tales to life. Several characters appear only fleetingly, such as Tessa, who saves seven-year-old Giulia from the grip of a pimp by beating him about the head with a broom. Or the mysterious man on the red horse who rescues her from a raging flood. But together they paint a picture of love and divine compassion at work in a cruel world.
The author has meticulously researched the cultural setting, both as regards events in and around Venice and Sienna, as well as the larger historic and ecclesiastical environment. We find mention of both Marco Polo’s journey on the Silk Road and the inquisitorial condemnation of protagonists of such heresies as the Free Spirit movement.
Alison Taylor-Brown’s conclusion: There have always been people – often women, such as Hildegard von Bingen and Clare of Assisi – who were more interested in what Christ said than what the church was telling them He said. They understood and propagated Jesus’ love for all people rather than doctrinal correctness. Giulia della Rena, with her bravery and love for God and her fellow citizens, joins this illustrious company.