Evelyn Underhill in Tuscany, Umbria, Kensington and the Retreat House at Pleshey

June 14-29, 2000

"Italy---the holy land of Europe---the only place left, I suppose, that is really medicinal to the soul...There is a type of mind which must go there to find itself."
(E. Underhill, Letters)

..

The 2000 retreat was based on Underhill's life in England and journeys to Italy. EUA president, Dana Greene, author of Evelyn Underhill: Artist of the Infinte Life, was the tour/retreat leader.

A Letter To Evelyn Underhill From A Participant In This Year's Tour

Detailed Description of Trip

Thursday, June 15

"I entered Italy."

Arrive in Pisa and transfer to Le Boscarecce, a renovated Tuscan farmhouse and country inn near Florence. Opening session and overview of the experience with EUA president Dana Greene. Dinner provided. Meals at the inn feature noted Tuscan specialities.

Friday, June 16

"There is a type of mind which must go [to Italy]."

Visit to the Baptistery, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, and the Fra Angelico frescoes at the Dominican monastery of San Marco. Lunch on one’s own. Guided afternoon visit to the Uffizi Gallery. Dinner provided at the inn.

Saturday, June 17

"[T]he loveliest thing of all was the Spanish Chapel, standing in the beautiful, quiet old cloisters...It was so peaceful, so filled with the best medieval spirit, learned, yet pious, stern but loving."

Visit to the Dominican church and cloisters of Santa Maria Novella, including the Spanish Chapel. Stop at the ancient cloister pharmacy for home-grown herb and fruit teas. Visit the church of San Lorenzo, the Medici Chapels, the Gozzoli Visit of the Magi in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, and the open-air market. Lunch on one’s own. Visit the Franciscan church of Santa Croce with its tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo, Giotto’s Bardi Chapel, Donatello’s figure of Christ on the cross, the ruined Cimabue crucifix, and Gaddi’s Last Supper. Dinner provided at the inn.

Sunday, June 18

"[San Miniato has] one of the most beautiful Italian interiors that I have ever seen...The effect of looking up from the nave to the high choir where the mysteries take place is strange and affecting."

Worship in St. James Episcopal Church. Lunch on one’s own. Climb Florence’s "via dolorosa" to the Benedictine monastery of San Miniato al Monte for Vespers. Dinner provided at the inn.

Monday, June 19

"[In Siena] Duccio is sublime, his angels the most filled with mystery of the hiearchies. Those who lean over the chair of Madonna...seem brooding over unspeakable secrets."

Travel to Siena to visit the Basilica of San Domenico, Siena’s Cathedral and its Opera del Duomo with Duccio’s Maesta, and the house of St. Catherine. Continue to the Fontebella Hotel in Assisi. Dinner provided at the hotel.

Tuesday, June 20

"Assisi is well called La Beata, for its soul is more manifest than that of any other city that I have ever known. There is something in the quiet spaces of her streets, in the wonderful way in which she hangs on the slope of the mountain, and turns a sheer force to look out over the valley."

Morning in Assisi and lunch on one’s own. In the afternoon visit Francis’ mountain hermitage, the monastery of San Damiano, and Santa Maria degli Angeli with the Porziuncola, home to Francis’ first community.

Wednesday, June 21

"Cortona looked quite like a city of romance when we came up to it in the train—so high on the top of its hill, cluster of towers and uneven roofs. All round the green and blue Umbrian hills, in gentle fluid curves; and olive woods the colour of old bronze on the slopes."

Travel to the towns of Cortona and Gubbio. Dinner provided in Assisi.

Thursday, June 22

"San Bernadino is the most perfect single object to be seen in Perugia. It is a dream of blue, cream, and rose-colour, and the bas-reliefs of the Franciscan virtures—especially those of Poverty and Obedience—are most beautiful and delicate."

Travel during the morning to Perugia and Spello. Afternoon free in Assisi. Dinner on one’s own in Assisi. Participate in the torchlit processiion from Assisi to San Damiano of the "Festa del Voto" commemorating Santa Chiara’s saving of Assisi from the Saracens.

Friday, June 23

"We got back a week ago quite dismal at having to leave Italy, and are slowly getting used to the frowsiness of our glorious country."

Transfer to Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome for a flight to London. Transfer to the Vicarage Gate Private Hotel in Kensington. Walk through Kensington tracing Underhill’s daily life: Kensington Square with the Ladies’ Department of King’s College and the Convent of Maria Assumpta; Underhill’s parents’ home at Campden Hill Road. Dinner provided in Kensington.

Saturday, June 24

"I am now quite raving mad about Italian pictures."

Go by tube to St. John’s Parish Church in Hampstead, visiting Underhill’s grave in the churchyard. Walk through this north London village where Underhill lived with Marjorie Vernon in Hampstead Square during the Battle of Britain and the last year of her life. In the afternoon visit the Italian pictures Underhill knew in the National Gallery of Art. Evening is free.

Sunday, June 25

"There is nothing Pacifists can do but take their share of the agony and pray for the future we shan’t live to see."


Travel for the day by train to Wolverhampton, birthplace of Underhill. Evening is free.

Monday, June 26

"The Retreat House I always go to is Pleshy."

Travel to the Diocesan House of Retreat at Pleshey near the town of Chelmsford. Lunch in the White Horse Pub in the village of Pleshey. Welcome by the Warden and opening session of the Pleshey experience. Walk on footpaths through the moated village, castle ruins, and surrounding landscapes of Pleshey. Dinner provided by the Retreat Center.

Tuesday, June 27

"Just let the love of God wash over the whole thing. It’s the only Christian attitude."

Silent retreat at the Retreat House and grounds. Meals provided.

Wednesday, June 28

"I do realize that a long quiet time alone with God would probably help you a lot. But it must be quite without strain and have opportunities for relaxation and safeguards against intensity and monotony."

Silent retreat ends in the afternoon. Meals provided.

Thursday, June 29

"When the concept of God becomes a living all-penetrating reality and not a theological statement, it requires of us a life which spends itself in love and service to the world—a life moving toward a goal where work and prayer become one thing."

Transportation to London for the return home.