I've posted about Terra Sancta College before, but now I want to show its lovely front door for Monday Doorways (where meme host Louis la Vache is showing some nice Biblical scenes on his doors today).
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You normally have to shoot through the locked outer gate, so just believe me that the door bears the words CHARITAS -- FIDES.
Charity/love -- faith.
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Today was my lucky day.
I saw the door open for the first time AND a nun came out!
Enlarge the photo and see she is kneeling not in prayer but rather in service to the plants, watering them on this hot day.
Well, gardening is holy work too, IMHO.
Terra Sancta was designed by the prolific Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi.
This historic photo is from the 1920s, when it was dedicated.
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The heritage sign says that "This monumental building typical of Italian public buildings of the period ... served as a boys college (high school) administered by the Franciscan order."
When the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus became inaccessible to Israelis in 1949, the university used Terra Santa (aka Terra Sancta) for offices and to store the library collections.
Just a few years ago the entire building finally went back into entirely Franciscan hands.
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I think it is now a college where young Catholic men can study and live.
And the new Franciscan Media Center might be inside that big door as well.
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That's a beautiful wrought iron door to the Catholic college. And I agree with you, Dina, gardening is holy work.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely building. And you were lucky to catch the open door and nun!
ReplyDeleteYour third photo really _does_ look like a monumental building typical of Italian public buildings of the period. Yet it has blended into the Israeli architectural landscape, as if it was totally local.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a building. And, the name Terra Sancta goes along very nicely with the idea of gardening being holy work! Thank you for sharing...there never seems to be an end to new things in your beautiful Jerusalem for the rest of us to admire.
ReplyDeleteI love doors too and that one is especially nice and what a bonus seeing the none emerge.
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing this beautiful door and building. I like your remark :" Gardening Is holy work too."
ReplyDeleteIn a week or two I will have some tomatoes and potatoes in my small garden. However t his year I haven't done much in the yard.
It does look Italian. That scene could be in Rome.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had more public buildings in this style around...
ReplyDeleteDina, you come up with the most fascinating posts - and this one is no exception!
ReplyDelete«Louis» thanks you for your participation in Monday Doorways.
My dad had an aunt who was a nun. A special life.
ReplyDeleteThe door and building is great and lucky you to be there when it was open. Yep, it`s a holy work!
ReplyDeleteThe second pic deserves being enlarged. It's a great capture, Dina!
ReplyDeleteQuite an impressive doorway indeed! What a building with great architectural details!
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