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Urbino, Marche, Italy
A man on a mission Mailing address Via Gian Carlo de Carlo 07 Tridente 3/512 Urbino 61029, Italia

January, 4 Monday Lost Luggage

Monday- LOST LUGGAGE= MADNESS

Newark, "Everyone out of terminal"

Brussels to Munich (Security wasn't going to accept my visa, then they "forgot" to return my tickets when I was finally dismissed)

Lufthansa- "Oh yes the plane will leave on time, but we've just received word that your baggage won't make it..."

Munich Airport attendant after I run through terribly late "You can sit down, it's late"

Florence, no baggage, but found my roomate Rob, who coincidentally, was on the same flight and ironically, knew no more Italian than myself!

Taxi ride to school- Bad american pop music...

Tuesday 5 - Duomo Tour






Today I went on a tour of Florence's Duomo. It was given by Laura, one of the cute Italian teachers at our school, LDM, who spoke only in Italian!

The duomo (duomo is italian for cathedral) is a massive building in the center of town directly across from the baptistery. The facade was made in the 15th century after the neo gothic style and inside the ceiling has high, but rounded arches which are meant to draw your attention to the altar and back of the cathedral.

The most amazing feature of the Duomo is Bruneleschi's dome which is huge and has an incrediblly realistic picture of the different levels of heaven and hell. When you look up you almost think the bodies might actually fall on you. Bruneleschi also designed the stained glass window depicting Mary in the front and he was buried beneath the old main entrance to the Cathedral.

Another intriguing work in the Duomo was a picture of Dante's divine comedy when you walk in on the left. Although Dante was often at odds with the church, the duomo was once a place where many cultural events were held. In religious places like this, the works of Dante and other great Italian writers would be read to the masses.

6, Wednesday La Benfana





3 Things today: Lunch with Peter, Ponte Vecchio, LA BEFANA PARADE with drumers and people in renaissance garb.

Today we went out to lunch on the Ponte Vecchio, with our Villanova group. The old bridge(vecchio=old) was beautiful, decorated with many stores selling leather and gold. After we left Peter we continued over the bridge towards the Piti Palace and ran right into the parade for the Benfana!

There were hundreds upon hundreds of actors, all dressed in traditional Florentine garb. The three wise men came riding in on horses; Flag twirlers/throwers and drummers followed close behind. Although it was lightly raining the parade went on. Once they reached the center of town they fired off a blank shot from a cannon, before returning later that night.

Thursday, January 7 Italian Market




After class we discovered the Italian market. To my horror I saw a a dead chicken looking back at me. I guess in Italy they don't care that this sight might scare the customers. My italian friend purchased a number of cold cuts which we served at dinner (the prosciutto was excellent).

Having had my fill of the market, I decided to venture off on my own. After grabbing my first Italian pizza I went in search of Dante's house. Turns out it wasn't to hard to find, there's a street named after him. The house wasn't the original; however, it was reconstructed in the 19th century in concurrence with the style prevelant in the 14th century. Today his house is a private museum, holding many pictures of scenes from his house. It also holds a reconstruction of Dante's bedroom(the bed was incredibly small).

Right down the street there was a tiny church where Dante was said to worship(Church of San Margherita dei cerci). Florence is full of little treasures and I find many of the churches speak more of the past than the museums. There's one cute one right down the street from us named Maratona Maridona, which I have been meaning to check out.

And the night was for tango! I heard about this great little place from www.faitango.it. across the Arno. All in all it was in exciting day!

Friday January 8th- Pallazo vechio e Piazza del Signora




Today I went to the Palazzo Vecchio(palace). I stupidly forgot my camera, but there were several interesting points I remember. The main hall you enter is huge. Very tall, with sculpture all around the edges. The sculpture portrays Hercules carrying out his 12 feats and Florence's personified victory over other nations. Michelangelo's Florence triumphing over the older Sienna is brutal.

From what I overheard on a private tour that I snuck onto, the roof is sagging because of the sheer weight. The ceiling serves a double function in that it is both holding the building up, and pulling the thing down. In the nineteenth cenury an architect saved the sagging roof from completely collapsing by talking the weight off half the supports.

Right next to the Palace is a really neat plazza with 2 huge lions. 1 is from Renaissance Florence and the other is from ancient Rome. They look like mere images of the other. Also, in the middle of the showchase is Menealus helping Perseus up. On the side is one of the many frightening images of the rape of the Sabine women. This image was also in the academia.

Saturday January 9th- Bargello & Academia







Today I ran up to the top of Piazza San Michelangelo. The view was spectacular! When we finally arrived we could see the last remnants of a beautiful rainbow. You could see the entire city, the Arno river and see the major edifices. The dome of the Duomo was the most visible and easily recognizable landmark.

Next, I went with the other Villanova students to the Bargello. The Bargello is a magnificent sculpture museum right down the street from our apartment. It has many great works including sculptures by Michelangelo, Donatello, and Verrochio. I managed to sneak into a tour group and we learned about the progression of the David sculpture. Donatello was the first to paint him nude and he shows him standing over the head of Goliath. Donatello's St. George was the symbol of Florence until Michelangelo David's came around(which was incredible). On the third floor was Verrochio's david, which showed him clothed once again, but stepping past goliath's head.

After this, we headed over to the Academia where Michelangelo's David is held. Giambogini also had a number of interesting works. The rape of the Sabine women is everywhere and it is the first thing you see when you walk in the door. In addition to David, there was an intstrument section. This was the first time I was able to visualize the difference between a piano and a harpsichord.

The harpsichord plucks the string on the way up, but goes silently back down because the feather bends the other way. The sound quality is bright and cheery.
However in the lates 1600s the pianoforte was invented by a hiree of the Medice. Although the piano uses a hammer, it has 3 parts which rise in unison. The strings then reverberate until the mallet is released at which point, the dampener returns to its position on the string.

Before heading beack to my room I took a detour to two beautiful churches. The first was Michelangelo's church and the second was the church of Santa Croce, which overlooks a larage piazza.

Oh, we also went to the accademia and saw Michelangelo's David, along with some of his unfinished artworks. This makes 3 of 4- Donatello 1430, Verrocchio 1470, Michelangelo 1501-4, Bernini 1623). This David is simple yet huge. He hasn't faced Goliath yet, like Donatello's, but he is getting ready to take ont the world. The left arm is against his side so the weight doesn't fall off. Michelangelo did a good job.

Also in the academia is Giambologna's plaster Rape of the Sabines(1582) this was his final exam, and in the other main room their are numerous busts from other famous artists' final exams.

Sunday, January 10th Bobboli Gardens





Today I went to the Piti Palace and the Boboli Gardens. The Piti palace is incredibly ornate and filled with the masterpieces of Fra De Lippi, Raphael, and Titian.

Lippi's work was one of the first circular paintings of the Renaissance. It was awash with gemotrical lines to create the right perspective.

Most of the artists portrayed different pictures of Mother Mary with Jesus. My favorite was the one where Saint Anne/Elizabeth tickles baby Jesus. Most of these pictures use triangles(like Da Vinci) to create order.

Titian's man was very imposing. He had gray/bluish eyes that seemed to look right at me. In fact, most of the images seemed to be looking out or sticking out, like Raphael's mother who rests her arm along the bottom of the frame.

After the palace there was the Bobboli gardens. It was quite a trek to the top but the view was pretty impressive. I could see the Duomo and Bargello. The gardens were incredibly expansive and steep, but I would love to go back if I have a chance. There was one really cool cave which had a number of images coming out of the walls (la giotta? unfinished Michelangelo sculpture?)I suppose they were made of sandstone, but they were frightening. In the middle was a marble statue of a man grabbing a protesting woman's hair.

Monday, January 11th Santa Maria Novella, La Cuppolas e, Cucina






The highlight of Monday was the trip to the top of the Duomo.

After class we wandered around the church of Santa Maria Novella for a while. Massacio's first painting in 3D was there, along with a lot of class Renaissance art, which I'd like to see again.

The climb to the top of the Dome was great. We went up these steep stone stairs and they seemed to go on forever. However, we got to stand along the inside of Bruneleschi's dome. I was able to literally touch the paintings of Hell on the inside of the dome. And the outside....Best view of Florence!

At the end of the day we took our Italian through cooking class. I helped make some gnochi and cut up peppers and onions for our bread. The food, was delicious!

Tuesday, 12th January Medici Riccardi Palace





Today after class we had a conversation with Italian students from the local university. They were all in their mid twenties, spoke english very well, and were studying a variety of subjects. Although I could follow most of what they were saying I had trouble responding promptly. Nevertheless, they were very forgiving.

Next we went to the Medici Riccardi Palace. We actually walked right past it the first time, mistaking it for the science museum. The palace, designed by Michelozzo, was not half as extravagant as the Pitti palace but it has several spectacular spaces.

Walking past Orpheus we found lemon trees in the very small garden. Supposedly, the garden once stretched a full block to the north and Michelangelo studied there, but now it is quite small.

My favorite part of the palace was our next stop, La Capella di Gozzoli (Chapel of the Magi- Denozzo Gozzoli. This small chapel is overwhelming, covered in wall to wall painting which tells the story of the pilgrims journey to baby Jesus(through Medici land). Cosimo, and later Lorenzo, used this private chapel to pray, but also show their class.

In the next room there was a picture of Fra Fillippo Lippi's Madonna and Child, which I really enjoyed. The naked baby Jesus seems to be walking right out the painting.

We also saw the florentine council debating(it is still a functioning govermental building) and saw Giordano's room. This room was incredibly ostentacious and showed the Medici frolicking with the Gods.

Wendesday, January 13th Uffizi


So I 've been here a week and a half and today I decided it was finally time to see the legendary Uffizi. The Uffizi is Florence's most famous museum and holds an overwhelming amount of famous artwork. Some of the famous artists include: Massacio, Fillipo Lippi, Boticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Carvaggio(I know I'm forgetting some)!

I went on a guided tour provided by the school which was completely in Italian. Our tourguide, Lara, explained everything simply and slowly enough that I understood what she was pointing out. Both Lippi and Leonardo painted pictures of the Annunciation in entirely different styles. Lippi's had actual Latin words bridging the gap between Gabriel's mouth and the Mary's ear. Leonardo's was much more realistic, in the sense that he was attempting to imitate nature. For the angel he took the best earthly elements he could find(bird wings) and melded them together.

Michelangelo's sacred family was a confusing marvel of perspective. It was difficult to tell where one body was and the other began, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Lippi's Mary with child had a very personal touch to it. The child just wants to get closer to his mother, and does not have any regal aire about him. Her halo is transparent, and you can tell that Lippi has broken with Gothic tradition.

Botticelli's two portraits in the main room are huge and incredibly memorable. His "Birth of Venus" represents the tension and unification of pagan and Christian ideas.

Venus stand in the center, covered with nothing but her beautiful flowing blond hair(this image is everywhere in Florence). A weak, yet prominent figure, Venus is simultaneously beckoned by two forces. In the top left, eros is sweeping in with another girlfriend to take her away. However on the other side, there is another woman with garb to hide her nakedness who is also beckoning. The pagan god of love and the Christian church come together in this beautiful photo.

On the wall to the right stands Botticelli's Primavera. The Graces are having a great time dancing in the center and it is another mix of roman(hermes) and traditional images.

After the tour we wandered down stairs and I saw Gentileschi's beheading of Holofernes, and Caravaggio's Medusa which was painted on a shield.

Thursday, January 14th- Pisa


I went to Pisa with my friend Bill and took goofy pictures with the tower. The end

Well, actually the best part was climbing up the tower. Although it cost 15 Euro, it was completely worth it! I was sure I was drunk. One moment I'm falling into one wall and the next I'm falling backward. It was a struggle to keep my balance on the spiraling staircase and it went on for a pretty long time.

From the top of the tower I could see all of Pisa- the river Arno and the mountains. It offered a great view of the baptistery and duomo, which I had visited earlier. These three sights were lumped together almost like an island in the middle of the city surrounded by a luscious green lawn.

We also had dinner at a really cutsie trattoria which sold excellent salami pizza just a block away from the tower. The walk back was beauftiful, the streets were all lit up and everyone one was out. Many Italians were walking their dogs down the middle of the streets and some of the dogs were about as big as myself (you wouldn't want to mess with their owners). I came, saw, held up the leaning tower, and conquered Pisa.

Friday January 15th- Siena
















Mike and I took the train to Sienna right after class. Although we had some transportation issues(no one in Sienna spoke English) we eventually ended up seeing all the main sights we came to see. We saw Sienna's grand piazza(which would be great for sledding if it ever snowed), Sienna's magnificent Duomo(best yet) and panorama view of the city from the top of the duomo's museo d'opera. I took some pretty good pictures of the rolling green countryside on the train ride over, but the view from the top of Sienna, with the sun fading over the rustic red rooftops was majestic. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day to explore the extremely hilly town.










The town is so hilly that it even has an huge escalator running up part of it. We could've used an escalator hiking up to the ancient church of Santa Domenica where St. Catherine is revered. Inside the church we saw Catherine's thumb and the device she used to torture herself with. To the left of this case there was a room with Catherine's 500 year old Head!










And as we were walking back we were surprised to discover snow. The city was holding a minicarnaval near the bus stop for little children. One of the major attractions was an ice rink theys shipped in. Everyone was laughing and having a good time.

Saturday January 16th- Keep Off the Grass


Slept in, and then went back to the Boboli Gardens and Piti Palace. The Boboli Gardens were beautiful and as I wandered down some of the trails I felt like I was back in Middle Earth. The foliage completely surounded, and went over, some of the paths. Words can't describe how beautiful the gardens were, so I won't even try. The views were spectacular, there were ponds everywhere, creepy caves, beautiful statues and steep hills which would be great for rolling down if there wasn't a sign which said "don't step on the grass"...

Sunday, January 17th Soccer


Today was an eventful day.

The first thing I tried to do was go to a 10:30 mass at the Duomo. Didn't work... Time management. But instead, I checked out the museo d'opera behind the Duomo. This tiny museum hosted great work by the masters including Michelangelo's unfinished Pieta, Donatello's statues for the Duomo, and Panel's from Ghiberti's original doors on the baptistery, which many considered to have started in the Renaissance.

After the musemum I went to a thrilling, yet freezing Fiorentia Bologna soccer game. The soccer (or il calcio as they call it) was impressive and we had great seats in the 6th row. The fans were going crazy decked out in their purple Fiorentina colors, waving their huge flags and cursing at the other team which had its own secure section. Bologna was up 2 nothing in the first half, but although we rallied with 1 in the second we just couldn't capitalize on our chances. Regardless Bologna had 2 incredible goals (the first one was a bicycle from about 12 yards out). I was very proud to wear my new purple fiorentina sweatshirt.

Monday, January 18th- Choir


Today I heard an acappella group from Connecticut and helped prepare a 4 course meal. My group was responsible for cooking the lasagna. Everyone agreed the lasagna was the best dish, even better than the bruschetta (which I learned is pronounced brusketta) and eggplant, which was pretty good.

January 19th, Tuesday- Piazza della Repubblica



Today, after class, I wrote several postcards in the Piazza Republica. I love the Piazza Republica because everyone is just hanging out, enjoying the day. There is a merry-go-round for the the little children and caricature artists for the tourists, but there are also many benches filled with interesting people. I got into a conversation with a man who was born in Egypt, but has lived in Florence all his life. It felt very natural to discuss my situation and studies with this complete stranger and within several minutes another older lady sitting next to us jumped in and the two of them had a 10 minute conversation about why in America we call this city Florence, but in Italy it is Firenze etc... Although I went back to my postcards at this point, it was still fun to see how willing all the Italians were to talk with anyone about anything.

After I finished my postcards, I went back to the Ufizzi, which is Florence's most famous museum. Although I had been there on a guided tour a week earlier, I still wanted to take my time and really soak in all the great artwork. All the great Renaissance works are featured there- paintings by Michelangelo and Leonardo to name a few. The Entire building is impressive. The huge two story building was built to impress. The halls are lined with intimidating sculptures dating back to Roman times and the ceiling is covered in gold and intricate pictures. The building is in the shape of a U and if you look out the windows at the bottom of the U at sunset you get a great view of the mighty River Arno and the old bridge, Ponte Vechhio.

Wednesday January 20th


After class, I visited Brunelleschi's unimpressive Medici chapels and than stumbled upon a huge bookstore on the way back(Mel Brooks). I purchased Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory and I'm going to see if I can get through the book in Italian!

At night, we made PIZZA and IT WAS GLORIOUS! First, we purchased 20 euros worth of cheese at the Italian market and quite a bit of tomatoes, basil, oregano, salami and prosciutto. Some of the guys talked a pizza place into selling some dough and at that night we made 5 pizzas. Because we only had 2 pizza trays we ended up cooking/eating for 2 hours straight.

For the antipasto we made some bruschetta to eat with our fresh bread and mozzarella. Although there were 50 plus pieces, 9 people had no problem polishing them all off. And for the pizzas...

We had the traditional margarita, but we also had 1 with mozzarella with prosciutto, 1 with salami and provolone, 1 with feta cheese and spinach, and 1 with sauteed onions and mushrooms! By the end of the night we were all so full and content that I wasn't even tempted by the huge gallon of ice cream the girls had purchased from the nearby gelateria called Neri's.

Thursday January 21- San Spiritu


After class, I had lunch again with the students from the University of Florence(they also came last week). I always enjoy their company, both for the opportunity to practice my Italian and also the free food that comes with the conversations (The chef serves this excellent bread, which surrounds some ham and cheese and is absolutely covered in sugar).

My Italian is definitely improving and I was able to use it to discuss with them what I like and dislike about Florence. I also learned quite a deal about them. Most of these students are studying English with the hope of teaching it some day. I was surprised by the amount of American novels and films they had seen. They all seem to be really invested in learning the language and were quite willing to help me with my sad Italian.

After lunch, I wandered across the river to the church of San Spiritu. The inside was simple, much like the chapels I visited the day before, but the altar was much more impressive and ornate. My favorite part of trip was the little piazza outside the church where all the old Italian men gathered to talk and. Several people rode their bikes over to have lunch in the fading sun.

Dinner was provided by the school; we went out to an average restaurant near the theatre verdi, but the Tiramisu was heavenly. And to cap the night out I went Tango dancing and met a number of very interesting dancers, some from Florence, but one from England.

Friday January 22nd, Last Italian Class



Today was my last Italian class here in Firenze. We had a huge exam and then just played guess who (in Italian of course) for the second half of my class. I'm a little sad to have to leave this school. I've met so many interesting people from all over America and my teachers (Irene, Gianna, and Daniella) were all really good. We took a class picture and then all the Villanova guys took one with our school's chef, Miguel. Miguel is a great guy, an even better cook, and I will surely miss his 5 euro specials where you can heap as much pasta, seafood, and vegetables you want on a plate for the same price.

After class, I climbed up Giotto's bell tower, which provided spectacular views of the Duomo. Although it was a great view, I have to say the view from the top of the Duomo was a bit better. I also bartered with a street vendor and bought some purple souvenirs. Tonight, I believe I'm going out with all the Villanova students to share our last dinner together.

23 & 24, January 1st Weekend Urbino!





Saturday morning I packed my bags and headed for Urbino!
It was about a 3 hour ride in our cosy 15 person bus across the beautiful Italian countryside. We left behind Tuscany and as we headed into the Marche we passed through some very quaint towns and over some huge hills.

There were huge mountains in the distance and the road turns were so sharp that even though I knew we were in good hands I was still afraid of how far we would fall if the driver didn't slow down enough. Thankfully, we survived the trip and I took some pretty pictures from the bar on top of the largest hill.

Urbino is incredible, there is so much to say, but I'll leave it for later blog entries. For now I will just say that I'm rooming with 4 other students from all over the world and they are so interesting. One's from Lebanon, another China, another Albania, and one is actually Italian, but they all speak Italian much better than myself.

Saturday night they had a party for all the new students at a local discotecca MAKKIA. I got to meet a lot of new people and show of my dance moves. Sunday, our adviser Peter, came and showed us around this gorgeous, but hilly town. I am so excited to be able to call this place home for the next 4 months and I still can't decide if it's more like Narnia, or middle earth. Wherever I am, it's a whole different world!