The Beauties of "Things Visible and Invisible" in The Tuscan Casentino: Reflections of a Pilgrim

The art of the Faith — i fiori della Fede— in places of the Faith -- nei luoghi della Fede — are visible prayers. They are to be meditated upon in the manner of a ‘lectio divina’, rather a ‘visio divina’, and not as mere “pictures at an exhibition”.

In this talk, Professor Emeritus Norman Farmer will discuss beauty, faith, and the time they both require. Should anyone want to do some brief preparatory reading, Professor Farmer recommends Dietrich von Hildebrand's "Beauty in the Light of Redemption", as well as some familiarity with St. Francis' of Assisi's "The Canticle of Brother Sun."

About Our Scholar

Norman Farmer is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at UT Austin and received his Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966.  He served as the director of the Humanities Program in the College of Liberal Arts for over a decade, and received many awards over the years, including the UTmost "Best Professor" Teaching Award, the Thomas Cranfill Teaching Fellowship, The Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Graduate School Award for Teaching Excellence. He was also a director and teacher for The University of Texas Study in Italy Program at Castiglione Fiorentino, Italy. Through the Center for International Leadership in Washington  D.C. he led seminars for executives of American and multinational corporations examining corporate culture, leadership development and corporate as well as individual ethical values.