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.
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