The Churches of Antonio Barluzzi

So, if you've been to Israel, you may not have heard of Antonio Barluzzi, but you've definitely encountered his work.

Barluzzi was an Italian architect commissioned by the Franciscan order to design and build churches atop the ruins of Byzantine and Crusader ones that had been destroyed or fallen into disrepair during the Ottoman period. His work fundamentally shapes the pilgrim experience by defining how we encounter sacred space in the Holy Land. For instance, they're almost all built in the light stone of Jerusalem with an open feeling and bright lighting, and contain mosaic panels with healthy dose of blue. I think this is one reason the Holy Sepulchre, with very different mosaics, dark stone, and dim lighting feels so out of place.

Here are the churches of his that I encountered:

The Church of St. Lazarus, BethanyDominus Flevit, Mount of OlivesThe Basilica of the Agony, Kidron ValleyThe Church of the Visitation, Ein Karem
The Church of the Angels, Beit Sahour
The Church of the Beatitudes, Mount of BeatitudesThe Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor

This is hardly all of his churches or architectual achievements, but they're all the ones I encountered. I wish I had more time to elaborate on each one- for instance, the Church of the Beatitudes was funded entirely by Benito Mussolini, and Dominus Flevit ('The Lord Wept') is his only church that faces west, so you can see the city over which so grieved Christ- but I have been in Turkey for two weeks and it's time to catch up. If you ever go, though, read up on him first, and make it a challenge for yourself to try to see as many of them as possible.