| Today I visited the house of the Piccola Missione per i Sordomuti, the Italian mission group dedicated to serving deaf people. We were there Saturday night after the conference ended but there was a crowd then, and today I wanted to just talk with Fr. Savino Castiglione, a wonderful friend, a tireless worker for deaf people, and a man with real vision and spirit. He surprised me by suggesting that we drive to Castelgandolfo, the pope's summer residence, about 35 miles away, and I gladly accepted. The trip out and back was through beautiful country and Savino often stopped to explain the history and significance of the places we were seeing. |
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| In the Piccola Missione center is this memorial in honor of the Gualandi brothers, both priests, who started the mission for the deaf in 1882. |
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| A banner in the center chapel showing Jesus curing the deaf man. |
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| Castelgandolfo is a small hilltop town where the pope spends the two hottest months of the year. This is the papal residence dominating the town's piazza. The pope greets people here from the center balcony on the third floor. |
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| Fr. Savino Castiglione, former superior general of the Piccola Missione, standing before the volcanic Lake Albano below the town of Castelgandolfo. |
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| There is something very attractive about Roman architecture, the ability to make even a simple square building appealing and artistic. |
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| Back in Rome we went to the Gianicolo Hill looking north over Rome. At sunset it offers a beautiful vista in soft tones. I had been here before but this time Savino was with me to identify all the domes and buildings and monuments I could see. |
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| Also on the Gianicolo Hill is this statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi. |
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