Love Conquers All

Villa Carlotta source

Lake Como, Italy will forever be a very special place to me. In October of 2007, my parents were kind enough to invite me to tag along on their yearly trip. It was my second time to the homeland, and I was so excited to go back. Obviously, it is a beautiful country bursting with history, romance, and color. It seems that every corner literally drips with inspiration. There were some things going on in my life at that point that made me more than happy to "check out" for a while and explore a new place that was far, far away.

My Dad is quite possibly the world's best traveler. He has been just about everywhere there is to go, and somehow, always knows what he is doing and which direction to go. That is something I very much admire about my Dad. He has always taught his children to be curious and explorative, but to keep composure and respectful confidence in every situation. All that to say, he is the best travel guide and companion. I will never forget the day we visited Villa Carlotta on the shore of Lake Como. The villa was built in 1690 and the structure and all of the gardens total about 17 acres of land. I always enjoy gardens since my line of work is in horticulture, and the gardens at Villa Carlotta were mesmerizing.

We set off on our tour of the villa, wearing the headphones with accompanying player clipped to our waistbands that just scream "tourist." As we wandered through the mansion, learning fact after fact about this beautiful place, I stopped in one of the rooms and looked up. The thing about buildings in Italy is that every inch of a structure is decorated, embellished, enhanced. The ceiling in this room was absolutely magnificent. Gilded trim, hand-painted florals, calligraphy that puts even the most beautiful font to shame. As my eyes scanned the high ceiling, they stopped on one of the decorated squares. It was a phrase that looked to be Latin and read, Omnia vincit Amor. I'm no scholar, but I did take Italian and I know that Amore means love. I stood there admiring it for what seemed like minutes. When I snapped out of my little trance, I dug for my handy little notebook that I keep in my purse and wrote down the phrase to research later. I wish I could have taken a photo, but the security guard was giving me the eye (probably for standing there so long, eerily staring at the ceiling).

When I got back to the states, I sent an email to the villa curator. She knew exactly which section of the ceiling I was talking about and was lovely enough to give me more information. The phrase is indeed original Latin. It was later revised to: Amor vincit omnia. The phrase had originally appeared in Eclogue X by the famous Latin Poet Virgil (70 BC-19 BC). When Virgil wrote this phrase, it was about the story of a poet, Gaius Cornelius Gallo, who after some love troubles, decided to leave love and poetry in order to compose pastoral odes. Finally, he was forced to recognize the supremacy and the power of love.

Although Virgil wrote the phrase, it meant something totally different to me than it probably did to him. At the time I read it, my heart was shattered.

To me, the phrase means two things:
1. Love in it's truest form is Jesus Christ. He has paid it all, conquered all through His sacrifice on the cross. He will reign the victor against darkness for all of eternity.
2. Love on this earth, the one I longed for in a companion at the time, would overcome all obstacles. It would persevere, it would never give up, and in the end; it would win.(Little did I know at the time that this would be a painfully accurate description of the journey my husband and I endured to get where we are.)

Looking back, the phrase means more to me now than it did then. I am completely safe in my salvation, and I am married to an amazing man. Neither of these things came easily for me. I had to (and continue to) fight for both.On my wedding day, I carried a handkerchief embroidered with the phrase I discovered when my heart was broken. As I walked down the aisle, holding onto my Dad's arm and clutching that piece of fabric, I was overcome with thanksgiving that it was in fact true. Love really did conquer all.

Photo by JulieAnne Photography