Additional sites on the itinerary include Pisa’s infamous flawed tower; Santo Spirito, an Augustinian church designed by Brunelleschi; Santa Maria del Fiore, featuring Brunelleschi’s famous dome in Florence; a cloistered Augustinian convent in Tuscany; and other structures with historic significance to the Order of St. Augustine. The four-day Roman culmination typically includes visits to the Pantheon, Coliseum, Piazza Navona’s Sant’Agostino, St. Peter’s Basilica, the tomb of St. Peter, the Sistine Chapel and—if it works out as it has for the past four trips—mass with the Pope.
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“Such Augustinian moments blur the artificial boundaries that often delimit theology and engineering—or any other set of code words for faith and reason,” says Dr. Dinehart, whose passion for the program is palpable. “Fortunately, Villanova is committed to a model of education that strives to integrate the two.” Excerpts from “Distinctly Villanova: Melding Academics and Mission” (Villanova Magazine, Winter 2013) were republished in this article.
F ROM ITALY’S CHURCHES TO ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL
Kiera Brady ’14 CE was part of the first Architecture and Augustine summer program, which she describes as “one of my most memorable experiences as a Villanova student.” Noting that the architecture and theology classes went “hand in hand,” Brady recalls learning about the architecture and art in the Italian churches, discovering the inspiration behind their features and paintings, and then visiting the very site it was inspired by. This trip also impacted Brady professionally. Working for a construction management firm, Structure Tone, her first job site out of college was the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. She says, “I was able to use a lot of the knowledge gained in Italy to my advantage on this project—for example, simply knowing all the terms that go with the construction of a church was helpful.” The project was completed with a visit from Pope Francis when he visited the city in 2015. Brady writes, “When I completed the Architecture and Augustine program I knew it would be an experience that I would never forget culturally and personally, but I never imagined that I would end up being a part of the restoration of the largest Catholic church in the United States, and that it would have such an impact on my career.”
