Saturday, November 27, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
A Sculptor's Joy and Pain - from 11/9/10
“From such a gentle thing, from such a fountain of all delight, my every pain is born.”
- Michelangelo
Gentle and reverently compassionate, Michelangelo’s gaze casts a shadow of love and sweet passion combined with a knowing and solemn expression over his last Pietà. Perhaps the most powerful piece I have seen so far, this sculpture is my favorite. This Pietà is composed of four figures: Mary and Mary Magdalene supporting the dead, crucified body of Jesus, with Nicodemus above, who bears the likeness of Michelangelo himself. It is the last sculpture Michelangelo worked on and is one of his non finito, or unfinished pieces, because he died before it was completed. I have been longing to see it and finally had the chance this weekend when I returned to Florence and visited the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.
Part of the reason the sculpture is so powerful and emotional is because of the time in his life that Michelangelo carved it. He was an old man growing older, and the knowledge of his approaching death was only made increasingly aware to him as he chiseled away at the marble block that was to become his tombstone. At points he was also extremely frustrated with the less-than-perfect marble and, pushed to the edge, beat it with a hammer, doing significant damage. Later, one of his apprentices tried to repair the damage but there are still very visible cracks on Christ’s arm and leg, reminding viewers of the physical effort required to carve marble and the difficulties this posed for an aging sculptor.
As soon as my eyes met Michelangelo’s in Nicodemus’ face, I was drawn in and must have stayed in the little room the Pietà inhabits for half an hour. It was one of those times that some invisible force maintains silence and forbids you to speak. I felt as if words would interfere with the reverent scene and, even if I wanted to speak, nothing I could think of to say could remotely compete with the profundity of what each of the figures were saying with their eyes and faces and still movements.
At first I thought it strange that Michelangelo would choose to include Nicodemus in the scene and that he would carve in him his own face. However, information in the museum explained this a little, suggesting that Michelangelo chose Nicodemus because both had a conversion experience later in life. In the Bible, Nicodemus was a Jewish Pharisee who came to Jesus one night. In their conversation, Jesus told him that he needed to be “born again” (John 3:3). Nicodemus was understandably confused, asking “How can someone be born when they are old?...Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:4). However, Jesus explained this second birth is of the Spirit, a new eternal life given to those who believe in Jesus. This spiritual birth is something both Nicodemus and Michelangelo seem to share, and this comparison adds even more depth to a piece that is already an incredibly personal reflection.
I don’t know if I will ever get tired of looking at this Pietà, even though the intimate interactions between all of the figures almost make me feel like an intruder. There is something about Michelangelo’s expression—passion and grave knowledge, a tender compassion and acceptance—as he looks down on the death of Christ and anticipates his own death, that intrigues and mystifies me.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
From 11/2/10
On Saturday, several other girls and I were sitting in our favorite caffè. We sipped foamy cappuccinos, which we enjoyed almost as much as the dramatic scene taking place outside—an Italian conversation. It is true—watching Italians talk together is watching every emotion surge through the air, being tossed back and forth by swift hand movements. Hand gestures are as much a part of the Italian language as transitive verbs and the many uses of fare are. As we watched the group of Italians outside, their speech, facial expressions, and gestures were so animated that it made no difference that the glass between us prohibited sound waves—their body language was loud enough to compensate for the silence.
One thing I have acquired a taste for, besides prosciutto and EstaThè (the most delicious peach iced tea), is people-watching. It’s not just the lively Italian conversations I find appealing, but the restful quiet of sitting near the street, soaking up the town until it becomes a part of you. I have spent many afternoons at Gerasmo’s doing exactly that. Gerasmo’s is the best caffè in Sansepolcro, partly because it is directly across the street from our palazzo, but mainly because it is owned by Fabrizio and Sonia. They also have the most heavenly bomboloni (Italian doughnuts), but I think that is because Fabrizio and Sonia’s sweetness rubs off on the pastries. Friendliness makes everything taste better. They always talk with us when we come in, know all of our names, and they even sang happy birthday to Molly yesterday. It is nice to know people and to have faces to recognize, even when you are in a different country.
One of the things I love most about Sansepolcro is the closeness of the town. The fact that I can see several people I know walk down the street while I sit at Gerasmo’s sipping my cappuccino is charming. I also love that the town itself is small. From my bedroom window I can look down at the street and see Gerasmo’s, two pizzerias, and a gelateria. Everywhere I go I pass a friendly face or familiar place. Living in a small town has allowed us to truly become a part of the Sansepolcran community. Throughout our stay here, there have been many things that encouraged us to immerse ourselves into our community. First, we participated in the Balestra festival, an important tradition that we were blessed to be a part of. We also routinely have local guests for lunch, and we teach English in local schools.
This weekend, we had what seemed to be every Sansepolcro resident in our palazzo for a children’s Halloween party. Perhaps we shouldn’t have invited 200 elementary school students, because although the actual number of attendees was far below that, our modest dining room and lounge areas were bursting at the seams. But despite being crowded, it was a huge success. We spent most of the day beforehand doing Halloween grocery shopping and making decorations out of whatever materials we could find. By the time we finished, the palazzo was completely decked-out. There were spider webs on every window and door, orange balloons hanging from the lampshades, paper bats fluttering in the hallway, festive table cloths, a skeleton in the corner, and even a path of paper pumpkins, bats and ghosts from the front door leading up the stairs to the lounge.
When the children began to trickle in—or, more realistically, pour in—we had many activities planned to keep them busy. We had coloring, leaf-rubbings, noodle necklaces, cookie decorating, and fishing for candy. It hadn’t occurred to me until I was facing 20 brown-eyed Italian children and was trying to explain the crafts to them that none of them spoke English. Perhaps I took for granted the language abilities of my middle school students, but needless to say, I employed the sign language that, out of necessity, I have nearly perfected this semester. However, they seemed to have a wonderful time and it was very entertaining to see all the little witches, skeletons and other characters running around the palazzo. It was also a good feeling to invite everyone to our home. I think our guests enjoyed the opportunity to become acquainted with the ragazze americane, and it increased our sense of belonging in our Sansepolcran community.
In case it is not obvious, I am very much in love with the town. This love has even begun to manifest itself in my color theory projects, several of which are inspired by different things in Sansepolcro. Last week we had to create a design and repeat it in several different color schemes that we have been learning about. One had to be painted in primary colors (cyan, magenta and yellow), one in secondary colors (green, orange and violet), one in tertiary colors (blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, red-orange, and red-violet), one in an analogous color scheme (three colors next to each other on the color wheel—I chose yellow-green, green and blue-green), and lastly, one in a monochromatic color scheme (different shades and tints of one color—I chose red). For my design, I created a simplified version of a photo I took of the bell tower here in Sansepolcro. I wanted to base my design on something Sansepolcran so that when I return home, I can take a little bit of the town with me. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out, and so glad that now I have something to remind me of my time in Italy when I am back at home.
One thing I have acquired a taste for, besides prosciutto and EstaThè (the most delicious peach iced tea), is people-watching. It’s not just the lively Italian conversations I find appealing, but the restful quiet of sitting near the street, soaking up the town until it becomes a part of you. I have spent many afternoons at Gerasmo’s doing exactly that. Gerasmo’s is the best caffè in Sansepolcro, partly because it is directly across the street from our palazzo, but mainly because it is owned by Fabrizio and Sonia. They also have the most heavenly bomboloni (Italian doughnuts), but I think that is because Fabrizio and Sonia’s sweetness rubs off on the pastries. Friendliness makes everything taste better. They always talk with us when we come in, know all of our names, and they even sang happy birthday to Molly yesterday. It is nice to know people and to have faces to recognize, even when you are in a different country.
One of the things I love most about Sansepolcro is the closeness of the town. The fact that I can see several people I know walk down the street while I sit at Gerasmo’s sipping my cappuccino is charming. I also love that the town itself is small. From my bedroom window I can look down at the street and see Gerasmo’s, two pizzerias, and a gelateria. Everywhere I go I pass a friendly face or familiar place. Living in a small town has allowed us to truly become a part of the Sansepolcran community. Throughout our stay here, there have been many things that encouraged us to immerse ourselves into our community. First, we participated in the Balestra festival, an important tradition that we were blessed to be a part of. We also routinely have local guests for lunch, and we teach English in local schools.
This weekend, we had what seemed to be every Sansepolcro resident in our palazzo for a children’s Halloween party. Perhaps we shouldn’t have invited 200 elementary school students, because although the actual number of attendees was far below that, our modest dining room and lounge areas were bursting at the seams. But despite being crowded, it was a huge success. We spent most of the day beforehand doing Halloween grocery shopping and making decorations out of whatever materials we could find. By the time we finished, the palazzo was completely decked-out. There were spider webs on every window and door, orange balloons hanging from the lampshades, paper bats fluttering in the hallway, festive table cloths, a skeleton in the corner, and even a path of paper pumpkins, bats and ghosts from the front door leading up the stairs to the lounge.
When the children began to trickle in—or, more realistically, pour in—we had many activities planned to keep them busy. We had coloring, leaf-rubbings, noodle necklaces, cookie decorating, and fishing for candy. It hadn’t occurred to me until I was facing 20 brown-eyed Italian children and was trying to explain the crafts to them that none of them spoke English. Perhaps I took for granted the language abilities of my middle school students, but needless to say, I employed the sign language that, out of necessity, I have nearly perfected this semester. However, they seemed to have a wonderful time and it was very entertaining to see all the little witches, skeletons and other characters running around the palazzo. It was also a good feeling to invite everyone to our home. I think our guests enjoyed the opportunity to become acquainted with the ragazze americane, and it increased our sense of belonging in our Sansepolcran community.
In case it is not obvious, I am very much in love with the town. This love has even begun to manifest itself in my color theory projects, several of which are inspired by different things in Sansepolcro. Last week we had to create a design and repeat it in several different color schemes that we have been learning about. One had to be painted in primary colors (cyan, magenta and yellow), one in secondary colors (green, orange and violet), one in tertiary colors (blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, red-orange, and red-violet), one in an analogous color scheme (three colors next to each other on the color wheel—I chose yellow-green, green and blue-green), and lastly, one in a monochromatic color scheme (different shades and tints of one color—I chose red). For my design, I created a simplified version of a photo I took of the bell tower here in Sansepolcro. I wanted to base my design on something Sansepolcran so that when I return home, I can take a little bit of the town with me. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out, and so glad that now I have something to remind me of my time in Italy when I am back at home.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
From 10/27/10
Tour of Tuscany
This weekend we packed ten students, three faculty members, one Meredith alumna and one driver into a bus and spent three days exploring Val d’Orcia, one of the most scenic and beautiful parts of Tuscany. One of the purposes of the trip was to visit places that were historically important in WWII. Although I am not in the WWII class or the English class that has been learning about the war and Val d’Orcia, I was very glad that I could learn at least a little bit about each of the cities we traversed on the trip. We stopped in many towns and cities, including La Foce, Montepulciano, Montisi, Montalcino, Buonconvento, Siena, Bagno Vignoni, and Pienza.
In La Foce we walked around a famous villa owned by the Origo family. During WWII, they served as a refuge to anyone in need, especially to children and wounded soldiers. We could not go in but had to peek through the gate. However, we did get to walk through their cemetery and see their graves. The villa has some of the most gorgeous views in Italy, so of course we took the opportunity to snap many pictures while we were there. While looking out over the golden hills, it was difficult for me to believe that at one time the landscape was a dangerous war zone, suffering air raids and bombings. We also purchased some local olive oil on our stop, since the oil in that region is particularly good.
We traveled to so many places in such a short amount of time that, to be honest, it is difficult for me to remember exactly what each one was. However, they were all gorgeous historic towns, and most were on hills with beautiful views. On Saturday morning we stopped at a church near Montalcino that, to this day, holds traditional Latin masses. Although we were not able to attend the mass, we did get to walk around the church and see the 12th century carved wooden crucifix on the altar. Outside the church were several rustic, snarly olive trees and a view of the surrounding hills. It was one of the prettiest places I’ve been in Italy so far, with the green-gold grape vines lined across the hills, the terracotta earth and the early morning sun. While we were there, we also met a very nice English family with two children. The eldest, an energetic two year old, entertained all of us by chattering in the most adorable way and doing hilariously good impressions of American accents.
In Montepulciano, we trekked to the top of the city where we saw the place where part of New Moon, a Twilight movie, was filmed. Although I am not a fan of it, I did enjoy seeing the city and walking around the old buildings, some of which were owned by the Medici. In Buonconvento, there is a very interesting agricultural museum. It has well-organized, interactive exhibits that depict the lifestyles of Italian farmers. It was really eye-opening to see things such as farm equipment and wine presses and to learn about the many aspects of their everyday lives. Also, we made a brief stop in Bagno Vignoni, a town famous for its hot springs, which supposedly have healing properties. While there, we had a delicious lunch in a picturesque, terraced restaurant and enjoyed fresh homemade pasta. There is also a spot in the town where the water from the springs run and we walked down to it, stripped off our shoes and socks, and waded in the stream for a bit.
The biggest city we went to was Siena, which was our last stop on Sunday afternoon. Here, we walked around, grabbed some pizza, and visited the cathedral and other museums around it. The cathedral is truly astounding. It was somewhat reminiscent of the Duomo in Florence—it had a striped exterior, exquisite carved detailing on the front, a bell tower, and an impressive interior. One thing I was thrilled about was here we were allowed to take pictures inside. You may be certain that I took full advantage of this opportunity, a rarity in Italian museums, and returned home with a snapshot of every aspect on the building—from the incredibly detailed floor designs, to the tall marble columns, to the meticulously crafted inlaid wood choir chairs. The old inlaid wood is one of my absolute favorite art forms here. Using only wood, somehow the craftsmen were able to create scenes more vivid and detailed than many I have seen painted or sketched. It is truly mind-boggling to see the depth and dimension of the images or to think about the amount of labor that went into creating them.
Our Val d’Orcia trip was one of my favorites so far, simply because everywhere we went was breathtaking and drop-dead gorgeous. It was also very nice of Dr. Webb to organize a trip there, because it required much more private transportation and would not have been something we could easily do on one of our personal travel breaks. It was a different travel experience and a nice break from big cities like Florence or Venice.
Teaching
In our Italy Today class, we learn about all things Italy—mainly government, politics, some history, and also modern aspects of Italian life. Part of the requirements for the course is that we complete a service-learning component by teaching English in an Italian school. Each of us were assigned to a different school; I go to one of the middle schools and have two classes of 13 year olds. So far we have been to our classes three times, and it has been very interesting seeing the differences in Italian schools.
One unique aspect is the Italian school buildings, most of which are very ancient structures. Also, the education system itself is slightly different than in America. Here, children attend elementary, middle and high school. The elementary and middle schools are mostly the same as ours, but the high schools are very different. Italians attend high school for five years, not four, and graduate when they are 19. Also, there are many different high schools and children/children’s parents must choose which they attend depending on what field they would like to study in university later on. Just in a small town like Sansepolcro there is an economic and business high school, an art high school, a scientific high school, and linguistic high school, and a technical high school. The art and technical schools are not as good, and most of the students who attend those will not go to university when they graduate.
In my classes, I have introduced myself to the students, talked about holidays in America, and also talked about summer vacations. I brought in a projector and lots of pictures of my family and my house the first week and pictures depicting holiday traditions the second week. I am very surprised by how well my students speak in English. They have a decent vocabulary, are able to ask me questions and answer my questions, and can use several different verb tenses. And they are only 13. One thing that was strange to them is that I have a car, because in Italy you must be older to get a driver’s license. They also wanted to know if I had a moped. It was rather amusing and I tried to explain to them that the larger distances in America prevent mopeds from becoming as popular as they are here. They also had no idea what sweet potatoes or pies or Pilgrims are, but after my lesson they were well-informed in all things Thanksgiving. Teaching is a new experience for all of us, especially because we are teaching in Italian schools, but so far I am enjoying it very much and am looking forward to seeing my 50 students next week.
This weekend we packed ten students, three faculty members, one Meredith alumna and one driver into a bus and spent three days exploring Val d’Orcia, one of the most scenic and beautiful parts of Tuscany. One of the purposes of the trip was to visit places that were historically important in WWII. Although I am not in the WWII class or the English class that has been learning about the war and Val d’Orcia, I was very glad that I could learn at least a little bit about each of the cities we traversed on the trip. We stopped in many towns and cities, including La Foce, Montepulciano, Montisi, Montalcino, Buonconvento, Siena, Bagno Vignoni, and Pienza.
In La Foce we walked around a famous villa owned by the Origo family. During WWII, they served as a refuge to anyone in need, especially to children and wounded soldiers. We could not go in but had to peek through the gate. However, we did get to walk through their cemetery and see their graves. The villa has some of the most gorgeous views in Italy, so of course we took the opportunity to snap many pictures while we were there. While looking out over the golden hills, it was difficult for me to believe that at one time the landscape was a dangerous war zone, suffering air raids and bombings. We also purchased some local olive oil on our stop, since the oil in that region is particularly good.
We traveled to so many places in such a short amount of time that, to be honest, it is difficult for me to remember exactly what each one was. However, they were all gorgeous historic towns, and most were on hills with beautiful views. On Saturday morning we stopped at a church near Montalcino that, to this day, holds traditional Latin masses. Although we were not able to attend the mass, we did get to walk around the church and see the 12th century carved wooden crucifix on the altar. Outside the church were several rustic, snarly olive trees and a view of the surrounding hills. It was one of the prettiest places I’ve been in Italy so far, with the green-gold grape vines lined across the hills, the terracotta earth and the early morning sun. While we were there, we also met a very nice English family with two children. The eldest, an energetic two year old, entertained all of us by chattering in the most adorable way and doing hilariously good impressions of American accents.
In Montepulciano, we trekked to the top of the city where we saw the place where part of New Moon, a Twilight movie, was filmed. Although I am not a fan of it, I did enjoy seeing the city and walking around the old buildings, some of which were owned by the Medici. In Buonconvento, there is a very interesting agricultural museum. It has well-organized, interactive exhibits that depict the lifestyles of Italian farmers. It was really eye-opening to see things such as farm equipment and wine presses and to learn about the many aspects of their everyday lives. Also, we made a brief stop in Bagno Vignoni, a town famous for its hot springs, which supposedly have healing properties. While there, we had a delicious lunch in a picturesque, terraced restaurant and enjoyed fresh homemade pasta. There is also a spot in the town where the water from the springs run and we walked down to it, stripped off our shoes and socks, and waded in the stream for a bit.
The biggest city we went to was Siena, which was our last stop on Sunday afternoon. Here, we walked around, grabbed some pizza, and visited the cathedral and other museums around it. The cathedral is truly astounding. It was somewhat reminiscent of the Duomo in Florence—it had a striped exterior, exquisite carved detailing on the front, a bell tower, and an impressive interior. One thing I was thrilled about was here we were allowed to take pictures inside. You may be certain that I took full advantage of this opportunity, a rarity in Italian museums, and returned home with a snapshot of every aspect on the building—from the incredibly detailed floor designs, to the tall marble columns, to the meticulously crafted inlaid wood choir chairs. The old inlaid wood is one of my absolute favorite art forms here. Using only wood, somehow the craftsmen were able to create scenes more vivid and detailed than many I have seen painted or sketched. It is truly mind-boggling to see the depth and dimension of the images or to think about the amount of labor that went into creating them.
Our Val d’Orcia trip was one of my favorites so far, simply because everywhere we went was breathtaking and drop-dead gorgeous. It was also very nice of Dr. Webb to organize a trip there, because it required much more private transportation and would not have been something we could easily do on one of our personal travel breaks. It was a different travel experience and a nice break from big cities like Florence or Venice.
Teaching
In our Italy Today class, we learn about all things Italy—mainly government, politics, some history, and also modern aspects of Italian life. Part of the requirements for the course is that we complete a service-learning component by teaching English in an Italian school. Each of us were assigned to a different school; I go to one of the middle schools and have two classes of 13 year olds. So far we have been to our classes three times, and it has been very interesting seeing the differences in Italian schools.
One unique aspect is the Italian school buildings, most of which are very ancient structures. Also, the education system itself is slightly different than in America. Here, children attend elementary, middle and high school. The elementary and middle schools are mostly the same as ours, but the high schools are very different. Italians attend high school for five years, not four, and graduate when they are 19. Also, there are many different high schools and children/children’s parents must choose which they attend depending on what field they would like to study in university later on. Just in a small town like Sansepolcro there is an economic and business high school, an art high school, a scientific high school, and linguistic high school, and a technical high school. The art and technical schools are not as good, and most of the students who attend those will not go to university when they graduate.
In my classes, I have introduced myself to the students, talked about holidays in America, and also talked about summer vacations. I brought in a projector and lots of pictures of my family and my house the first week and pictures depicting holiday traditions the second week. I am very surprised by how well my students speak in English. They have a decent vocabulary, are able to ask me questions and answer my questions, and can use several different verb tenses. And they are only 13. One thing that was strange to them is that I have a car, because in Italy you must be older to get a driver’s license. They also wanted to know if I had a moped. It was rather amusing and I tried to explain to them that the larger distances in America prevent mopeds from becoming as popular as they are here. They also had no idea what sweet potatoes or pies or Pilgrims are, but after my lesson they were well-informed in all things Thanksgiving. Teaching is a new experience for all of us, especially because we are teaching in Italian schools, but so far I am enjoying it very much and am looking forward to seeing my 50 students next week.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Love!
One year ago today, my sweet boyfriend Curtis came to pick me up and take me to a coffee shop for our very first date. Technically, it wasn't a date, but a Greek lesson. Geeky, but true. This past year it has been such a blessing to get to to know him and to be his girlfriend. I am so sorry that we can't be together for our anniversary, but we will be together again very soon: one month and nine days! I love you, Curtis!
Perugia
This is last week's journal entry, from October 19th:
After boldly proclaiming my love of tacos and bemoaning the lack of food variety in Italy in my last travel journal entry, I am happy to say that this week my taco craving was satisfied. Meredith H. spotted a taco kit in the grocery store, and, as you might guess, in practically no time we were on our way home with 24 taco shells, a large jar of salsa, nachos, tomatoes, olives, and 2,000 grams of ground beef. That night, all of us made a delicious Mexican feast. It was heavenly. Unfortunately we could not find any cheese remotely resembling cheddar, so we had to do without or substitute with parmesan. Despite a few minor setbacks, however, it was well worth it. I thought I ought to include this information as a conclusion to last week’s journal.
Continuing the food theme, this weekend we took a group excursion to EuroChocolate, an international chocolate festival. It goes on every year around this time and takes place in Perugia, the capital of our neighboring region, Umbria. Perugia is a beautiful historic city and, even though the weather was overcast and foggy, still had very pretty views from its hilltop location. Up and down the wide streets were chocolate vendors from all over the world, mainly from Europe. Lindt and Toblerone are the only names Americans might recognize, but there were vast amounts of others, too. I was feeling a little disappointed this week because at home the State Fair is going on, and I knew while all my friends would be going I would be missing it. However, EuroChocolate more than made up for it in crowds and calories, and I even got to ride on the Milka ferris wheel.
There were also exhibits about South America and the origins of chocolate. On one of the tables there were pamphlets, both in Italian and Spanish, and I picked up a Spanish one. The man at the table thought I was Italian and told me I could read the Italian pamphlet, if I’d like. I purposefully chose the Spanish pamphlet because I have taken much more of that language. However, since I have been learning Italian, I’ve been getting my languages slightly confused. When I tried to say to the man that I knew Spanish better, it came out as, “Mi espanol è mejor di italiano,” a jumbled mess that doesn’t really make sense in either language. Nevertheless, from the pamphlet I was able to learn a little about chocolate and the history of the cocoa bean. It seems that the best cocoa comes from Chuao, Venezuela. This part of Venezuela has a very particular altitude, temperature, humidity and climate that make its cocoa beans considered the best in the world because of their aroma and special taste. Since early colonization, this Venezuelan product has been in great demand in Europe, American and Asian markets. Before the high demand for oil, cocoa was the principal export of the country and a vital part of its economy. The cocoa bean has also always been a central part of the culture, sometimes having important religious and spiritual values, as well. At the exhibit, I even tasted some primitive Venezuelan cocoa concoctions. Frankly, they were disappointing: far from the smooth, magical deliciousness that is today’s chocolate.
EuroChocolate was a fun way to spend a Saturday, even though there were seas of people swarming the streets. One thing we have discovered about Italians is that they do not like to wait in lines, and you can imagine how difficult it is to make your way through a mass of people who do not like to wait their turn nor consider it rude to cut in front of you. We had to resort to forming a train by holding on to the person in front of us, like a group of elementary school students, to avoid being separated. This became quite tiring after a few hours, but we did come home with several chocolate novelties, including chocolate pasta and a chocolate map of Perugia.
Another exciting aspect of our trip to Perugia was that to get there, we had to ride on a different train. Usually when we travel we have to take an hour long bus ride from Sansepolcro to the larger city of Arezzo, and from there we can take a train to wherever we want to go. However, in Sansepolcro there is a small train that runs to Perugia, and so on Saturday I was able to experience that for the first time. I love trains—it is very peaceful to sit quietly and ride through the countryside, taking in the scenery. Something that surprised me is that whenever you go through tunnels on a train, your ears pop. My science major friend Meredith H. tells me this is because of a theory in physics that has to do with objects in motion creating different amounts of pressure. It is a strange phenomenon, because ear-popping is something you generally expect only on a plane. In any case, I am truly enjoying learning so many different means of traveling that I have never used before.
Until next time, ciao!
Emily
After boldly proclaiming my love of tacos and bemoaning the lack of food variety in Italy in my last travel journal entry, I am happy to say that this week my taco craving was satisfied. Meredith H. spotted a taco kit in the grocery store, and, as you might guess, in practically no time we were on our way home with 24 taco shells, a large jar of salsa, nachos, tomatoes, olives, and 2,000 grams of ground beef. That night, all of us made a delicious Mexican feast. It was heavenly. Unfortunately we could not find any cheese remotely resembling cheddar, so we had to do without or substitute with parmesan. Despite a few minor setbacks, however, it was well worth it. I thought I ought to include this information as a conclusion to last week’s journal.
Continuing the food theme, this weekend we took a group excursion to EuroChocolate, an international chocolate festival. It goes on every year around this time and takes place in Perugia, the capital of our neighboring region, Umbria. Perugia is a beautiful historic city and, even though the weather was overcast and foggy, still had very pretty views from its hilltop location. Up and down the wide streets were chocolate vendors from all over the world, mainly from Europe. Lindt and Toblerone are the only names Americans might recognize, but there were vast amounts of others, too. I was feeling a little disappointed this week because at home the State Fair is going on, and I knew while all my friends would be going I would be missing it. However, EuroChocolate more than made up for it in crowds and calories, and I even got to ride on the Milka ferris wheel.
There were also exhibits about South America and the origins of chocolate. On one of the tables there were pamphlets, both in Italian and Spanish, and I picked up a Spanish one. The man at the table thought I was Italian and told me I could read the Italian pamphlet, if I’d like. I purposefully chose the Spanish pamphlet because I have taken much more of that language. However, since I have been learning Italian, I’ve been getting my languages slightly confused. When I tried to say to the man that I knew Spanish better, it came out as, “Mi espanol è mejor di italiano,” a jumbled mess that doesn’t really make sense in either language. Nevertheless, from the pamphlet I was able to learn a little about chocolate and the history of the cocoa bean. It seems that the best cocoa comes from Chuao, Venezuela. This part of Venezuela has a very particular altitude, temperature, humidity and climate that make its cocoa beans considered the best in the world because of their aroma and special taste. Since early colonization, this Venezuelan product has been in great demand in Europe, American and Asian markets. Before the high demand for oil, cocoa was the principal export of the country and a vital part of its economy. The cocoa bean has also always been a central part of the culture, sometimes having important religious and spiritual values, as well. At the exhibit, I even tasted some primitive Venezuelan cocoa concoctions. Frankly, they were disappointing: far from the smooth, magical deliciousness that is today’s chocolate.
EuroChocolate was a fun way to spend a Saturday, even though there were seas of people swarming the streets. One thing we have discovered about Italians is that they do not like to wait in lines, and you can imagine how difficult it is to make your way through a mass of people who do not like to wait their turn nor consider it rude to cut in front of you. We had to resort to forming a train by holding on to the person in front of us, like a group of elementary school students, to avoid being separated. This became quite tiring after a few hours, but we did come home with several chocolate novelties, including chocolate pasta and a chocolate map of Perugia.
Another exciting aspect of our trip to Perugia was that to get there, we had to ride on a different train. Usually when we travel we have to take an hour long bus ride from Sansepolcro to the larger city of Arezzo, and from there we can take a train to wherever we want to go. However, in Sansepolcro there is a small train that runs to Perugia, and so on Saturday I was able to experience that for the first time. I love trains—it is very peaceful to sit quietly and ride through the countryside, taking in the scenery. Something that surprised me is that whenever you go through tunnels on a train, your ears pop. My science major friend Meredith H. tells me this is because of a theory in physics that has to do with objects in motion creating different amounts of pressure. It is a strange phenomenon, because ear-popping is something you generally expect only on a plane. In any case, I am truly enjoying learning so many different means of traveling that I have never used before.
Until next time, ciao!
Emily
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tacos and Tests
I am sorry I've gotten a little behind with my blog. I've been writing every week, but just haven't had a chance to post online. Anyway, this is my entry from October 12th:
Strange though it may seem, I am craving tacos. Not just tacos, however, but any kind of food that is not pizza or that does not have pasta as the main ingredient. In comparison with the United States, Italy is sorely lacking in diversity in food and other areas, as well. How many times have we referred to ourselves as “the melting pot,” a mix of immigrants from all over the globe, somehow blending together to form the American culture? This lack of diversity is not necessarily a bad thing, but when you are used to being able to choose from Italian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Indian, endless fast food options or countless other types of cuisine on any given night, it takes some adjusting to the less varied Italian dining experience.
Especially in a small town such as Sansepolcro, there are few restaurant selections. Off the top of my head, I can think of about ten pizzerias inside the walls of the town, and six gelaterias in close proximity to the palazzo. To shake things up a bit, there is also a Chinese restaurant and a Kebab shop. The Kebab shops are small, usually run by immigrants from the Middle East, and seem to be quite popular. We have spotted them in Florence, Venice, Urbino, Assisi, Verona, Bologna, and every other town we have visited. They make very good sandwiches of some sort of mysterious shaved and spiced meat and served with lettuce, tomato and yoghurt sauce. Clearly, America has a great deal of variety because it is represented by people that come from many different countries. Italy, on the other hand, has a very long history and is much more engrained with tradition.
Although we did not travel anywhere, this week was very busy. For our full-semester classes we had midterms, and for Italian I and Art History, which were condensed into half of a semester, we had finals. Every day this week we had either a test, exam, oral presentation, or paper due and some days we had multiple things. After endless studying, sleep deprivation, and much anxiety and stress, it was heavenly to take a nap this afternoon.
Despite the difficulties this week has dished out, I am very thankful I have the opportunity to study here, and I have learned much more in this semester than I did in any of my classes last year. On Friday during my final oral exam in Italian, I was amazed to realize that, after only six weeks here, I am able to hold a (simple) conversation in a language that I had never been exposed to previously. Mi chiamo Emily e ho ventiannove anni. Sono di Wake Forest ma abito a Sansepolcro. (My name is Emily and I am nineteen. I am from Wake Forest but I live in Sansepolcro.) I can understand basic directions, order food, describe people, and also discuss a few other general topics.
I’ve also been learning quite a bit about art, as you probably noticed in my previous journal entries. It is a very special experience to discuss a painting in class, and then go see the painting in person. Not only does it allow you to see and study the painting better, but it also cements the knowledge in your head, because you remember the painting more distinctly when it is associated with a particular museum or other aspects of the experience. In addition to the art history class, I am taking color theory, which has been very interesting, too. So far, I have been introduced to the harder-than-it-looks world of mixing paints and basics aspects of color theory, such as how color coming from a computer screen is different from color we see in physical pigments, and how colors are relative and their proximity to each other effects the way we perceive them.
After doing nothing all week except for sitting in my bedroom and studying, Saturday brought a welcome change when we celebrated the one year anniversary of Meredith College in Sansepolcro. In the morning, we had the opportunity to meet the mayor of Sansepolcro. He welcomed us kindly and warmly said we were an important asset to the town and he is happy to have us. Later in the evening, after much tidying up, sweeping and wall-scrubbing, we opened the palazzo to the entire community for an open house. It was a pleasure to celebrate with the many friends and acquaintances we and Dr. Webb and John Rose have been accumulating here.
Strange though it may seem, I am craving tacos. Not just tacos, however, but any kind of food that is not pizza or that does not have pasta as the main ingredient. In comparison with the United States, Italy is sorely lacking in diversity in food and other areas, as well. How many times have we referred to ourselves as “the melting pot,” a mix of immigrants from all over the globe, somehow blending together to form the American culture? This lack of diversity is not necessarily a bad thing, but when you are used to being able to choose from Italian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Indian, endless fast food options or countless other types of cuisine on any given night, it takes some adjusting to the less varied Italian dining experience.
Especially in a small town such as Sansepolcro, there are few restaurant selections. Off the top of my head, I can think of about ten pizzerias inside the walls of the town, and six gelaterias in close proximity to the palazzo. To shake things up a bit, there is also a Chinese restaurant and a Kebab shop. The Kebab shops are small, usually run by immigrants from the Middle East, and seem to be quite popular. We have spotted them in Florence, Venice, Urbino, Assisi, Verona, Bologna, and every other town we have visited. They make very good sandwiches of some sort of mysterious shaved and spiced meat and served with lettuce, tomato and yoghurt sauce. Clearly, America has a great deal of variety because it is represented by people that come from many different countries. Italy, on the other hand, has a very long history and is much more engrained with tradition.
Although we did not travel anywhere, this week was very busy. For our full-semester classes we had midterms, and for Italian I and Art History, which were condensed into half of a semester, we had finals. Every day this week we had either a test, exam, oral presentation, or paper due and some days we had multiple things. After endless studying, sleep deprivation, and much anxiety and stress, it was heavenly to take a nap this afternoon.
Despite the difficulties this week has dished out, I am very thankful I have the opportunity to study here, and I have learned much more in this semester than I did in any of my classes last year. On Friday during my final oral exam in Italian, I was amazed to realize that, after only six weeks here, I am able to hold a (simple) conversation in a language that I had never been exposed to previously. Mi chiamo Emily e ho ventiannove anni. Sono di Wake Forest ma abito a Sansepolcro. (My name is Emily and I am nineteen. I am from Wake Forest but I live in Sansepolcro.) I can understand basic directions, order food, describe people, and also discuss a few other general topics.
I’ve also been learning quite a bit about art, as you probably noticed in my previous journal entries. It is a very special experience to discuss a painting in class, and then go see the painting in person. Not only does it allow you to see and study the painting better, but it also cements the knowledge in your head, because you remember the painting more distinctly when it is associated with a particular museum or other aspects of the experience. In addition to the art history class, I am taking color theory, which has been very interesting, too. So far, I have been introduced to the harder-than-it-looks world of mixing paints and basics aspects of color theory, such as how color coming from a computer screen is different from color we see in physical pigments, and how colors are relative and their proximity to each other effects the way we perceive them.
After doing nothing all week except for sitting in my bedroom and studying, Saturday brought a welcome change when we celebrated the one year anniversary of Meredith College in Sansepolcro. In the morning, we had the opportunity to meet the mayor of Sansepolcro. He welcomed us kindly and warmly said we were an important asset to the town and he is happy to have us. Later in the evening, after much tidying up, sweeping and wall-scrubbing, we opened the palazzo to the entire community for an open house. It was a pleasure to celebrate with the many friends and acquaintances we and Dr. Webb and John Rose have been accumulating here.
Friday, October 8, 2010
A Titanic Experience
This weekend marked the beginning of my independent travel adventures. My roommate Meredith and I went to beautiful Venice, which was, of course, very exciting. However, another exciting aspect of our trip was that, apart from some helpful advice from Dr. Webb, we planned the trip ourselves. It was the first time I had ever found a hotel on my own, and the very first time I had ever been on an overnight trip without an “adult.” From Friday to Sunday, we managed successfully to catch four buses, five trains, and countless vaporetti (the aquatic bus system of Venice). That is an accomplishment considering, that until a month ago, we had never used public transportation.
Not surprisingly, our weekend excursion was not without a few glitches, but these served only to give us better experience and a few stories to look back on and laugh at. When we arrived in Venice, we had a hotel reservation for Friday night, but not for Saturday night. We contacted several places ahead of time but all were full, so we headed to Venice in hopes that our Friday hotel would have a cancellation for the next night. When this plan failed, we picked up a hotel book from the tourist office and spent an hour in Piazza San Marco on Saturday morning making phone calls. By the 40th call, Meredith and I felt as if we were rehearsing a script:
Hotel Person: Buon Giorno! [Italian words I didn’t understand]
Me: Ciao! Parla inglese?
Hotel Person: Si, a little.
Me: I am looking for a double room for tonight. Do you have any available?
Hotel Person: No, I’m sorry madam, we are all full.
Thankfully, we eventually found a hotel on the Lido, a long island about a 30 minute vaporetto ride from the main island of Venice. We were not sure what we would find when we arrived, since we chose the hotel without having any information about it except the name. However, it turned out to be beautiful and even nicer than our hotel on Friday, which was the same price but somewhat dirty, smelly, and left much to be desired. Our slightly stressful ordeal of finding a last-minute hotel turned into an evening spent in a lovely, immaculate room eating the most delicious pizza and pastries and watching Shrek 3 in Italian before bed.
Once all our travel plans were settled, Meredith and I were able to enjoy exploring Venice. First we visited the island of Murano, which is famous for its glass. The glass makers’ kilns started many fires, and so in 1292 the glass artisans were forced to leave the main island of Venice and relocate to Murano. At the Museo Vetrario there were many glass exhibits, some from as far back as the first century A.D. The large collection from that time period contained very practical objects, such as cups or vases, and, although of a more simple design and cloudier glass, they were incredibly delicate and well formed. It is astounding to think that civilizations so ancient had the ability to create objects so beautiful and refined, and it is even more astounding that the fragile glass relics have survived for thousands of years. The museum exhibits are displayed chronologically, and as we walked into later centuries, eventually arriving at the 20th, it was very interesting to see the progression of using glass making as an artistic medium, rather than solely as a means of forming practical objects. Some of the pieces were like three-dimensional brightly colored paintings, and truly mind-boggling to look at. Actually, many of the pieces were glass interpretations of works by other artists, such as Picasso. In fact, there was even a glass version of Michelangelo’s Pietà.
Later, we stumbled upon a free glass-making demonstration. The demonstrator made creating a delicate piece of art look easier than breathing. He pulled a red hot blob out of the fire on a long metal rod and with another metal tool poked it here, pulled it there, twirled it around and in about a minute, held up a nearly cooled rearing horse. After that, Meredith and I wandered down little streets until we ended up in a truly Italian area of Murano, without any tourists in view. We sat down at a café where we lunched on mortadella sandwiches (a type of meat that comes from Bologna) with the locals. Before we left the island, we browsed in more glass stores than I could count until we found some good buys and a few Christmas presents. My favorite purchase is a pair of earrings made of pink Murano glass with sparkling gold swirls.
We spent the rest of the day in Venice proper. It truly is a gorgeous city, far more so than I anticipated. The effortlessly arched bridges, elegant statues and architecture, and rosy pink houses against the sea green water form a superfluously romantic setting. Aside from pushing, shoving tourists, Venice is very quiet and serene, I think because of the absence of cars and other noisy disturbances. Meredith and I thought about taking the iconic gondola ride, but decided against it. For one thing, it is expensive; for another, I don’t think sitting in a romantic gondola looking into Meredith’s eyes would be quite the same as looking into my boyfriend Curtis’. One evening we sat in Piazza San Marco, a large square surrounded by the Doge’s Palace, the Basilica of San Marco, and other beautiful buildings that are lit up at night. It is lined with cafés, which have musicians playing swooning melodies. The Piazza is also filled with couples who sit and stare into each other’s eyes as the music swirls around them, or dance together, or simply walk slowly and hold hands. The entire scene is so picturesque it is dripping with melodrama. It was almost reminiscent of the scene in the movie Titanic when the boat is sinking, teary farewells are being made, and in the midst of it all the string quartet is playing touching songs to the last.
I think part of the reason Venice is so romanticized is because it is mainly a tourist town—a show put on—but not so much lived in by “real” people. Venice has a long history with lots of ups and downs—literally. Venice is sinking, and floods many times a year. In fact, while I was walking around I saw what appeared to be stacked benches or tables, but what were actually the “sidewalks” Venetians use when there is too much flooding to walk on the ground. In 1966 there was a particularly bad flood, and since that year Venice’s population has shrunk from 150,000 to around 65,000. The flooding along with the fact that everything on an island is more expensive makes living in the famous city very difficult.
Venice truly is a one-of-a-kind city. It first became populated after the fall of the Roman Empire, when the Lombards invaded, forcing some people in Northern Italy onto Venice. Eventually, the Venetians governed themselves by electing a doge, or duke. Because the island of Venice is isolated and easy to defend, this is where the doge built his palace. Over time, other nobles wanted to build their palaces near the doge’s, and so Venice became populated with the wealthy. Its strategic location made it the dominant trade center, and in the Renaissance it was one of the biggest and most important city-states in Italy. Unlike other regions of Italy with land-based feudal systems, Venice’s unique situation created a merchant-based nobility. Even before the 12th century, bridges and canals appeared as a means of connecting the nobles living on the many different islands of Venice. Eventually Venice began to lose its political, military and trade power, but still remained popular through the 18th and 19th centuries as a tourist destination for the wealthy.
Going to Venice was a unique experience for me, one that probably will not be matched since it is completely unlike any other city. Sitting on the back of a vaporetto at night while gliding through the quiet water past ancient candle-lit buildings and pulling up to the steps of cathedrals was a beautiful and ethereal experience. I can’t wait to go back.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Art, Food, and Fashion
Piero della Francesca
Battista Sforza e Federico da Montefeltro, Uffizi Gallery, FlorenceOne of the artists our art history class has studied a great deal is, not surprisingly, Piero della Francesca, who was born here in Sansepolcro. So far we have been to the Museo Civico down the street to see his Resurrection of Christ, as well as Madonna della Misericordia. A week or two ago we took a class trip to Arezzo to see his multiple frescoes depicting the Legend of the True Cross, including The Annunciation, in the apse of the Basilica of San Francesco. We also were able to see what is probably his most famous work, his portraits of Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Then this past weekend, we went on a day trip to Urbino, where we visited the Ducal Palace of Federico da Montefeltro (the man in the portrait with the funny nose). Here we saw even more works by Piero, Madonna con Bambino and Flagellazione. It has been very intriguing, studying art in person as we are learning about it. Art history is combined into an intense half-semester class, and I will be very, very sad next week when it ends.
The Annunciation, Church of Saint Francis, Arezzo
Although it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite, I think I most enjoyed seeing The Legend of the True Cross frescoes in Arezzo. They are a series of frescoes in the front of the Church of Saint Francis which show a popular legend during the Renaissance. The basic story goes that, after Adam died, his son Seth took a seedling from the Tree of Good and Evil and planted it in his mouth. The tree that grew from it went through a long, complicated history of being cut down, used, and hidden until finally it was used to form the cross Jesus was crucified on. After Christ, the cross was lost, sought after, finally found, tested, and found to have miraculous qualities. Piero’s frescoes depict this story in many, many different scenes which are spread up, down and all around the front of the Church of Saint Francis. The frescoes of the story are not laid out linearly, but scattered from one wall to another, back and forth. Standing in the center and looking up at the beautiful artwork in every direction is an experience looking at pictures of the individual scenes does not allow. There is definitely much to be gained from visiting artwork in person. Had we only looked at pictures of these in a book, we might have missed a lot. For example, while standing in the church, Professor Banker pointed out to us that the lighting in the paintings (with the exception of one done by an apprentice) follows the natural lighting in the room, something all good Renaissance artists strived to achieve. The most famous of these scenes are The Annunciation, where Gabriel announces to Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of His Son, and also The Queen of Sheba, where the Queen comes to visit King Solomon.
Flagellazione, Ducal Palace, UrbinoIn Urbino we saw the palace of Federico da Montefeltro, the man in the famous portrait done by Piero that you have probably seen before. He was a very powerful duke and extremely wealthy. In fact, he earned more money every year than was in the Medici bank. After walking through the Ducal Palace I gathered that he might also have been slightly egotistical, because everywhere—on the walls and ceilings—were symbols representing Federico and his power, such as the eagle. In the palace we were able to look at the Flagellation of Christ, by Piero. It is a very interesting painting because it has two groups of men whose identities remain a mystery. One of them reappears in several of Piero’s paintings, and some scholars argue that he was a prominent lawyer at the time and a relation of Piero. The painting also shows how well Piero could use linear perspective—the idea that lines in a painting converge at some point in the distance. In addition to being a talented painter, Piero was also a brilliant mathematician. He rediscovered several mathematical concepts that had not been used since ancient Greece, and could expertly calculate lines and ratios in his compositions.
I Vestiti
In the past few weeks there has been so much happening that I have not been able to squeeze anything about fashion into my journal until now. One of the first things I noticed when we arrived was the differences in the way people dress, especially the men. Many Italian men are not afraid to dress boldly, and often sport brightly colored pants in purple, red, teal, gold, deep rose, or orange, as well as a variety of striped or patterned shirts. Both men and women tend to wear over-the-shoulder bags, as well as sweaters, which are generally tied around the shoulders. Also, it seems that women like to wear pants with a plethora of pockets, almost cargo-style. There are also fewer people who walk out of the house in sweats and tennis shoes, or dressed sloppily as if they just rolled out of bed. Italians aren’t all perfect pictures of fashion, but in general they always seem to look presentable at least.
Buon Appetito!
Before I came to Italy, I thought the idea of Italians eating mounds of pasta and pizza was just a myth, a stereotype. It’s not. Since I have been here, I have eaten pizza and/or pasta every day. That being said, it is delicious and greatly varied, and I don’t think I have had the same type of pasta more than twice in the month I’ve spent here. There are also many different types of pizza. So far, the strangest pizza I’ve ordered was carrot pizza, and my favorite toppings are prosciutto and artichoke.
Margarita cooks gorgeous lunches for us during the week, and I am afraid I am getting very spoiled. Somehow I don’t think I will be able to get salad, soup, bread, pasta, a meat, vegetables, dessert and other dishes for lunch when I come back home. Surprisingly, my favorite parts of our lunches are the vegetables. Who knew there were dozens of ways to cook zucchini, all equally delicious? Or that caramelized onions were so irresistible? Or that eggplant tastes good in contexts other than eggplant parmesan?
Another important part of the Italian diet is coffee. Cafés never cease to have droves of people buzzing in and out, downing espressos. I used not to like coffee, but now I drink it every day. It is impossible to resist getting a cappuccino or latte when they only cost one euro and from my bedroom window I can see the café sitting on the street, calling my name.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Textures
One thing that has been inspiring me artistically is the variety of textures present everywhere. Although there are many, many different textures in the U.S., there is still a tendency towards perfectly straight, clean-cut lines, pure white houses with uniform black shutters, neighborhoods with matching mailboxes, and smooth, flat blacktop streets. When I walk down the street in Sansepolcro, I begin my journey treading on a stone tile-like street, eventually encounter classic cobblestone, sometimes run into bumpy rock paths, or sometimes meet rustic steps, of which there are no two alike. None of the buildings have smooth vinyl siding. Instead, they are covered by creamy yellow- or rose-colored plaster, which peels off in grungy patches, revealing the gray walls beneath. Some walls are made of bricks, some of stones, some of large slabs of rock. Even the roofs are highly textured; it is a mystery to me how crumbly terracotta relics can keep rain from leaking down inside, yet they seem to work well enough.
Some of these textures may seem like small details, and of course they are. But however subtle, the many textures of the streets serve as a backdrop for Italian life—a blending of vecchio and nuovo, a mixture of preserving the past and living in the present. I hope to continue discovering and relishing new textures and to incorporate them into my own art this semester. As of yet I have only observed and photographed them, but before long my art projects may begin to be very texturally influenced.
Some of these textures may seem like small details, and of course they are. But however subtle, the many textures of the streets serve as a backdrop for Italian life—a blending of vecchio and nuovo, a mixture of preserving the past and living in the present. I hope to continue discovering and relishing new textures and to incorporate them into my own art this semester. As of yet I have only observed and photographed them, but before long my art projects may begin to be very texturally influenced.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Firenze
Florence at Night, from Piazzale Michelangelo Friday morning it happened—an event I looked forward to and anticipated since this summer. We went to Florence (or Firenze, as Italians say). I could scarcely contain my excitement at the thought of visiting a hefty chunk of the world’s famous art, and I could barely hide my nervous anticipation at the thought of traveling in a big city on my own. Happily, the art was better than even I in my blissful enthusiasm imagined, and the traveling was easier than my anxious mind thought possible.
Top: Statues in Piazza della SignoraBottom: Meredith and I with the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio in the Background
As part of our Learn to Travel class we were required to read about Florence and make preparations for the trip, although the extent of our planning was left up to us. At first I thought I would leave Florence having seen only half of what I wanted to, simply because there is so much to see. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of activities we were able to squeeze into two and a half days, mainly due to our copious preparations. In total, I visited:
- The Uffizi Gallery, which houses the largest collection of Renaissance paintings in the world,
- The Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s David and Prisoners sculptures,
- The Bargello, which has many sculptures, including Donatello’s sassy David,
- The Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore, tallest building in Florence and an icon of Renaissance architecture,
- The Medici Chapels, the Medici tombs carved by Michelangelo,
- The Archeology museum, which has a large Egyptian exhibit and several mummies,
- The Modern Art exhibit in the Pitti Palace, former home of the Medici family, as well as
- Piazzale Michelangelo, a hill on the outside of the city with beautiful views.
Top: On top of the Duomo, with a View of Florence in the BackgroundBottom: The Amazing Detailing on the Front of the Duomo
All of these were wonderful experiences, but my favorite by far was the Uffizi Gallery. Standing a foot away from Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Primavera, Madonnas, and Pallas and the Centaur, I found the experience otherworldly and it left me spell-bound. It was a feeling impossible to achieve by looking at the paintings in a book. In The Birth of Venus I was captivated by its magnificent size and by Botticelli’s delicate use of shiny gold detailing in Venus’ hair, in the Wind’s wings, in the flowers suspended in the air. My Uffizi guidebook noted that though Venus is very beautiful, Botticelli painted her innocently, not sensually. He also thought that God could be honored through the manifestations of beauty in His creation.
Botticelli did paint beautifully. In art history, we have been discussing different cultural influences in artists’ works. One thing Botticelli was influenced by was dance, as is evidenced by the way he grouped his graceful figures. His figures’ faces also draw the viewer in. I could stare into the sweet, serene eyes of his Venus, Pallas, or Madonnas all day.
Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia was breathtaking, as well. His sheer size is stunning and it is difficult to imagine the effort used to create this vision of strength and beauty from a piece of rock. It’s funny that David ended up being a masterpiece, because originally the marble block Michelangelo carved him from was rejected by other sculptors because it was flawed and too poor to use. But Michelangelo believed God placed the beautiful figures into the marble already, and the sculptor’s job was to reveal it. This way of thinking is clear in his other statues in the Accademia, the Prisoners, a series of people who seem to stretch and pull themselves from the unfinished marble blocks that hold them captive.
In addition to the many aspects of art we studied while in Florence, another purpose of our trip was to learn the basics of using public transportation. It was the first time I had ever ridden a “real” bus and train, and I was quite nervous about it. Thankfully, Dr. Webb gave us thorough instructions and we managed to get around very well, both within the city and from Florence back to Sansepolcro. The bus drivers were very helpful and always told us when to get off if we weren’t sure of our stop, and the people we asked for directions always gave them graciously and were not agitated by our sometimes pathetic attempts at speaking Italian. Now, although I might not know everything there is to know about catching a train or finding the correct bus stop, I feel much more confident in my ability to figure it out or at least find the right people to ask.
On the Train HomeWednesday, September 22, 2010
Random Things I Didn't Know About Italy
1) I thought the idea of Italians eating nothing but pasta and pizza was just a stereotype. It's not. I eat pasta and/or pizza (quite often and) every day. It is always delicious, but sometimes repetitive. Italy simply doesn't have as many international foods as America. I do love me some prosciutto and artichoke pizza, though.
2) Italian children get out of school at 1pm and go home to have lunch with their families. Sounds nice, right? It probably is, but they also have to go to school six days a week, so it's a trade off.
3) Italians walk really, really slow. Ironically, they complain that Americans walk too fast. I must admit, I do love walking up and down the street at night with all of the Sansepolcrans. It is a quaint, relaxing daily ritual.
4) There are vast differences between Italy's many regions, and even more between Italy's north and south. Regional dialects are very prevalent. In fact, several of the people I know who were born here in Tuscany and Umbria said that they can't even understand people from Venice or down south in Naples because they speak in completely different dialects and also have very heavy accents.
5) Sicily is controlled by the Mafia. For real. It's because in the past Sicily has been controlled by many other countries and never had a very solid government. The mafia grew to compensate for this, and was never really dealt with when Italy became a unified country.
6) Italians are obsessed with espresso. They drink multiple shots of it throughout the day. I can't quite handle it myself, but I do like sipping a cappuccino after a long day of classes.
7) I don't think there are any school buses. Italian kids just use public transportation or walk. Every time I've ridden a bus or train in the afternoon there were swarms of tweens and teens hopping on and off on their way home from school.
2) Italian children get out of school at 1pm and go home to have lunch with their families. Sounds nice, right? It probably is, but they also have to go to school six days a week, so it's a trade off.
3) Italians walk really, really slow. Ironically, they complain that Americans walk too fast. I must admit, I do love walking up and down the street at night with all of the Sansepolcrans. It is a quaint, relaxing daily ritual.
4) There are vast differences between Italy's many regions, and even more between Italy's north and south. Regional dialects are very prevalent. In fact, several of the people I know who were born here in Tuscany and Umbria said that they can't even understand people from Venice or down south in Naples because they speak in completely different dialects and also have very heavy accents.
5) Sicily is controlled by the Mafia. For real. It's because in the past Sicily has been controlled by many other countries and never had a very solid government. The mafia grew to compensate for this, and was never really dealt with when Italy became a unified country.
6) Italians are obsessed with espresso. They drink multiple shots of it throughout the day. I can't quite handle it myself, but I do like sipping a cappuccino after a long day of classes.
7) I don't think there are any school buses. Italian kids just use public transportation or walk. Every time I've ridden a bus or train in the afternoon there were swarms of tweens and teens hopping on and off on their way home from school.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Il Conto, Per Favore
Now that I have been here for a couple weeks, I am beginning to notice some of the less obvious cultural differences between Italy and the United States. One of these is the difference in customer service. In the U.S. when you go to a restaurant, the waiter visits your table every few minutes to see if you need ketchup, to make sure you have enough refills, and just generally to make sure you are enjoying your meal. Although they would never say this to a customer, part of the reason behind this is to herd as many people through the restaurant as they can so they make as much money as possible. In Italy, servers have a completely different attitude and approach. When you purchase anything, even a shot of 1 euro espresso, you have also purchased your table, and may stay there as long as you like. There have been many times where I’ve spent hours sitting at a café for the price of a cappuccino and was never disturbed, not even to clear my cup. It is a pleasantly refreshing way to spend an afternoon.
A few nights ago, Meredith H., Meredith C., Patsy and I went to a new restaurant to get pizza. Our waitress took our order and brought us our food, but left us on our own after that. We might have sat there all evening if we had not eventually waved her down and asked for the bill: “Il conto, per favore.” On Sunday there was another incident I found rather humorous. Meredith H. and I were desperately in need of a non-pasta/pizza meal and headed to a nearby kebab restaurant. When we approached the entrance, the two men who worked there were sitting outside enjoying a cigarette. We exchanged buonaseras and walked through the door, expecting them to follow. To our surprise, they did not budge, but merely turned their heads and asked if we minded waiting while they finished their smoke. After five or ten minutes, they got up and proceeded to make our sandwiches. Although we were a little taken aback by this at first, we honestly did mind waiting, but enjoyed talking to them.
These are just two examples of the ways people in Italy tend to be more relaxed than in the United States, where we always seem to be rushing from one thing to another. Since I’ve been here, I have felt less stressed and more at ease, even with a full course load, travel plans, and countless other things to attend to. I hope in the future—even when I finish my studies here and return home—I will carry this attitude with me, and always make time to appreciate and enjoy life.
A few nights ago, Meredith H., Meredith C., Patsy and I went to a new restaurant to get pizza. Our waitress took our order and brought us our food, but left us on our own after that. We might have sat there all evening if we had not eventually waved her down and asked for the bill: “Il conto, per favore.” On Sunday there was another incident I found rather humorous. Meredith H. and I were desperately in need of a non-pasta/pizza meal and headed to a nearby kebab restaurant. When we approached the entrance, the two men who worked there were sitting outside enjoying a cigarette. We exchanged buonaseras and walked through the door, expecting them to follow. To our surprise, they did not budge, but merely turned their heads and asked if we minded waiting while they finished their smoke. After five or ten minutes, they got up and proceeded to make our sandwiches. Although we were a little taken aback by this at first, we honestly did mind waiting, but enjoyed talking to them.
These are just two examples of the ways people in Italy tend to be more relaxed than in the United States, where we always seem to be rushing from one thing to another. Since I’ve been here, I have felt less stressed and more at ease, even with a full course load, travel plans, and countless other things to attend to. I hope in the future—even when I finish my studies here and return home—I will carry this attitude with me, and always make time to appreciate and enjoy life.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Palio della Balestra
Approaching week three here in Sansepolcro, I am settled in and beginning to feel at home. One thing that hastened my endearment to the town was being able to attend and participate in Palio della Balestra, a festival held every year in September. “Balestra” means “crossbow,” and the Palio is an ancient competition, dating back to at least 1594, if not earlier. There have been various events taking place since last weekend, finally climaxing Sunday at the crossbow tournament with our Umbrian archrivals, the town of Gubbio.
Balestra week began last Saturday. In the morning there was a market with many Renaissance-garbed people selling goods such as handmade paper and handspun yarn, pastries, flower wreaths, and other things. That evening, there was a long processional through the town and into the main piazza, or town square. All of the Meredith students were invited to participate in it, a very special honor that I was extremely excited for. That evening we met in the street dressed in our pretty pink, teal, red, cream, green, and navy medieval gowns. We paraded through the streets and into the piazza, taking our front row seats. It was a lovely evening and included performances by a fire juggler, dancers, a vocalist, people on stilts, and also Sansepolcro’s famous flag wavers. By the end of the evening, I was a bit cold and tired of sitting up straight like a Renaissance lady, but also thrilled that I, an American student, had the opportunity to experience being in a local Italian festival like this.
On Wednesday Balestra continued with a crossbow competition between Sansepolcran teams. Most Italian cities have several gates; one faces Florence, and another faces Rome. It was these two sides of the city—Porta Romana and Porta Fiorentina—that competed against each other for the chance to represent Sansepolcro in the big Palio against Gubbio. We cheered for Porta Fiorentina but, sadly, lost. That night, men in colorful tights and ladies in long flowy gowns and donut-shaped headdresses marched through the city, playing drums loudly and singing “Porta Romana! Porta Romana!” Then on Saturday evening there was another event, mainly featuring the flag wavers. Several of us were asked to dress up for it again, and so we wore primavera dresses and flowers. This time it was rather disappointing because we walked around the piazza and walked right back out, and were not able to see the performance.
However, any disappointments from Saturday night were forgotten on Sunday, when we were able to watch the Palio between Sansepolcro and Gubbio from our stadium seats in the afternoon daylight. Lines and lines of women walked in wearing elegant dresses and their hair in strange yet beautiful concoctions. Men wearing brightly colored caped tunics and tights marched in, too. Some were playing drums or horns, others were flag wavers, and others were part of the crossbow teams. There were many, many more people than I expected to see, both participating in the Palio and watching it. The piazza was completely filled with crossbow shooters, medieval damsels, drummers, trumpeters, and flag wavers. The seats surrounding it were also full, and there was quite a crowd of people pressed up against the barriers in the streets, trying their best to sneak a peek.
Before any crossbow shooting began, the flag wavers came out and performed the same routines I missed seeing Saturday night. It is truly a treat to watch them. Not only can they twirl their flags around in perfect synchronization, but they also throw them in the air and to other people, and always manage to catch them in perfect timing. Sometimes they stand in a circular formation and throw their flags to the person across from them, so the flags crisscross in the air. There were some routines involving dozens of people, and also some solos. At one point one man was twirling and juggling three flags simultaneously, using his hands, arms, feet, and legs. At first the flag twirling seemed strange to me, because in America no man would be caught dead prancing around in hot pink and bright green tights, twirling a flag around his head. Here, however, it is a cherished tradition, one that boys begin when they are very young, and continue until they are parents and even grandparents. In the Palio there was a small boy—I later learned he was four years old—who stood proudly in the square and twirled a solo. It ended with him throwing his flag gallantly into the air, but not quite managing to catch it. He was precious.
After the flag wavers finished, then came the part we were all waiting for—the crossbow shooting. The first man approached the stand, rested his crossbow on it and eyed the target. He fired, sending his arrow swooshing through the air and hitting the target with a thwap. It was almost perfectly centered and the crowd cheered. Man, after man, after man proceeded to follow suit until the target was so full of arrows there was no more room on it. I thought they were finished, or at least would get a new target, but no—they continued firing for at least fifteen more minutes. Finally, when the target was so full arrows were falling out and it looked like a bouquet, they stopped. Several official-looking people took away the target and, in a mysterious process that no one seemed to understand, judged who the winner was. After a lengthy wait, the target was brought back out, this time with a single arrow in the center. Much to our delight, Sansepolcro was the victor! As the audience clapped passionately and the Sansepolcran team members congratulated each other, I began to feel pride that this was my home, albeit a temporary one.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Meredith Journal
While in Italy, all of the students are required to keep a travel journal that is posted on Meredith's website. I just submitted my first entry, so feel free to check it out, or read other students' journals. There is some overlap from what I write on this blog, but some new things, too.
Travel Journal
To read each person's journal, click their name on the left sidebar.
Travel Journal
To read each person's journal, click their name on the left sidebar.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Exciting Happenings
It has been one week since we arrived in Sansepolcro! It seems like we are all settling in and now our classes are starting to pick up. Today I had Italian, Italy Today, and Learn to Travel in the morning, then lunch. After that I decided to take a nap. My excuse for napping is that it is part of the Italian culture, and so while I'm here I ought to try and experience it, right?
Later this afternoon we had our first Bible study. Three other girls and I have decided to read Crazy Love together this semester while we are here. It was such a blessing and I am very thankful that we can support each other, especially while we are away from our church families and other Christian friends.
I cannot wait for tomorrow because my art history class is going to the Museo Civico here in town to see Francesca's Resurrection. I don't know if words can express just how thrilled I am to have the opportunity to study art here, where I live down the street from some of the best paintings in the world.
In Italy Today I learned an interesting story about this painting. In WWII Sansepolcro was occupied by Germans. At one point the British army was advancing with the intent of bombing Sansepolcro to rid it of the Germans. However, the British Captain in charge of the advance remembered reading a piece by Aldous Huxley, where he proclaimed Francesca's Resurrection to be the the greatest painting in the world. Because he did not want to harm the painting, the Captain ordered the army to stop. The Germans ended up retreating, and so the Resurrection saved Sansepolcro from destruction. I thought that was a really neat story.
Starting last weekend and continuing to this weekend there is a festival called Balestra going on. There are several events, one of which involved us dressing up in medieval dresses and walking in a procession. You might have seen pictures of it on facebook. Last weekend and this weekend there was also a pasta festival. I did not go because it cost 10 euros, but it seemed like fun. On Wednesday and Sunday there are crossbow tournaments. Yes, crossbows. Sansepolcro is divided into two sides, the side closer to Rome and the side closer to Florence, and the tournament on Wednesday is between these two sides. Then on Sunday the competition is between Sansepolcro and Gubbio, our arch rivals across the border in Umbria. I will definitely write more about it later this weekend. Until then, arrividerci!
Later this afternoon we had our first Bible study. Three other girls and I have decided to read Crazy Love together this semester while we are here. It was such a blessing and I am very thankful that we can support each other, especially while we are away from our church families and other Christian friends.
I cannot wait for tomorrow because my art history class is going to the Museo Civico here in town to see Francesca's Resurrection. I don't know if words can express just how thrilled I am to have the opportunity to study art here, where I live down the street from some of the best paintings in the world.
In Italy Today I learned an interesting story about this painting. In WWII Sansepolcro was occupied by Germans. At one point the British army was advancing with the intent of bombing Sansepolcro to rid it of the Germans. However, the British Captain in charge of the advance remembered reading a piece by Aldous Huxley, where he proclaimed Francesca's Resurrection to be the the greatest painting in the world. Because he did not want to harm the painting, the Captain ordered the army to stop. The Germans ended up retreating, and so the Resurrection saved Sansepolcro from destruction. I thought that was a really neat story.
Starting last weekend and continuing to this weekend there is a festival called Balestra going on. There are several events, one of which involved us dressing up in medieval dresses and walking in a procession. You might have seen pictures of it on facebook. Last weekend and this weekend there was also a pasta festival. I did not go because it cost 10 euros, but it seemed like fun. On Wednesday and Sunday there are crossbow tournaments. Yes, crossbows. Sansepolcro is divided into two sides, the side closer to Rome and the side closer to Florence, and the tournament on Wednesday is between these two sides. Then on Sunday the competition is between Sansepolcro and Gubbio, our arch rivals across the border in Umbria. I will definitely write more about it later this weekend. Until then, arrividerci!
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