The group after our final dinner

Ciao!

Last night was our last dinner with CET, and we ate at a great restaurant called Pizzeria Nonno Mede. It overlooked the city of Siena, San Domenico church, and the Duomo – a beautiful view at night, especially with the lightening storm lighting up the sky. We had a huge meal complete with antipastas, bruschetta, pizza, tiramisu, and wine. I definitely ate more at this dinner than any other! Afterwards, we headed to Niccio for our last contrada party and got stuck in a huge rainstorm during it. But it was a great end to our time here, soaking up some of the Sienese Palio culture. I need to keep this brief since are having one final goodbye lunch with Stella now. Then at 2pm, I’ll be heading to Florence to spend my last day in Italy with the Sovocool brothers (friends of John’s from Wheaton)! It’s bound to be a great day! I’ll be flying home tomorrow at 10am (Italy time) and should be returning by 6pm FL time, so I appreciate everyone’s prayers for safe and efficient travels. And thank you for following my blog while I’ve been away – it’s been exciting for me to share my adventures with you back home and know of all the love and support headed my way from America. Ciao!

Non credo e’ la fine

As my title suggests, I can’t believe it’s the end to my time here in Siena. I haven’t written much this past week because I’ve been busy studying for my finals. It’s a bummer having to study during my last week in Italia, but I finished up strong – and now have officially completed my undergrad! To sum up my week, in Italian class on Tuesday, Marco had a fun day planned for us. We played charades with new vocabulary words, did crossword puzzles, and wrote out scenarios for famous people, which the others then had to guess who it was. Tuesday was also my last Sienese Art and Architecture class because Wednesday was our final. After the final, however, we had our free gelato day! Also on Wednesday, Elena wanted a picture of us with Marco. Before the picture could be taken, though, he insisted on putting his contacts in and pampering himself for ten minutes, and then he made us take the picture outside because the lighting was better! Wednesday night was our last dinner with Stella too, since tonight we have our final CET dinner at a pizzeria. She made us her fabulous ragu pasta with eggplant. This morning was my written final and my two orals for Italian, and Marco was proud of how much I’ve improved over my time here. When I returned, Stella had prepared a wonderful lunch for us to celebrate!

As my time in Italy comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on my time here and the Italian culture. I’ve grown to truly appreciate the lateness of Italian dinners. At first, waiting until 8 or 8:30pm to eat was quite a challenge, and my stomach would be grumbling by 6:30. But now I enjoy having the last activity of my day being in community over a wonderful Italian meal. I love Italy’s concept of “slow food,” savoring flavors and taking time to enjoy each other’s company during meals, rather than scarfing down food and getting on with your own agenda, as happens so frequently in America. Instead, their days end by spending time with those they’re closest to. And of course, the food itself is one of the most memorable experiences, since so much of Italian life revolves around their meals, whether it’s the fresh bread in the morning, a coffee break with your professors, gelato with friends, or a big pasta dinner with family. I think Siena is my favorite place that I’ve visited in Italy, probably partly because of the natural attachment from calling someplace your home, but also for its history, quaintness, and community. It’s such a warm, friendly place, where you frequently pass friends on the street, where the owners of your favorite café know your regular order and ask how you’re doing, where I’m not afraid to practice my broken Italian because the Sienese people are so encouraging… I love walking Siena’s cobblestone streets, winding down the small alleyways and suddenly entering the huge Piazza del Campo. The history of the Piazza and the biannual Palio are so interesting, and sitting in the Piazza taking in the scenery and all of its people makes me think back to how many centuries of people have done just this same thing. Similarly, I will miss running around the Fortezza, seeing incredible views of the Chianti countryside and its mountains or turning a corner and suddenly Siena’s Duomo stands tall. I can almost imagine life in Siena’s medieval times, looking out upon its Gothic architecture. Most of all, however, I will miss Stella and her presence as a grandmotherly figure during my time here. I’ll miss coming home from class and sitting with her in the kitchen, as she prepares tonight’s meal, and practicing my Italian with her or getting her excited about the connection between Latin and Italian. I’ll miss meeting her family when they come for lunch or dinner and having her “oh” and “awe” over our latest pictures from our travels. Yet, not only will I take home over 25 recipes that she’s taught us, but I know we’ll keep in touch, just as she has with all of her students that she’s hosted. I’m sure that when I return to Italy some day, I’ll find myself back at “home” with her…

Well, I’ve rambled for too long and need to get packing and finish up last minute to-dos before our dinner tonight. I’ll be sure to post pictures of our Italian class soon and write about our last night in Siena before I head to Florence tomorrow, for my final day in Italy. Ciao!

Io ho in mente te… (I have you in mind…)

Sunday’s highlight was meeting Stella’s brother Antonello and his wife Agnese. They came over at 2pm for lunch with us – a huge, long Italian-style lunch I might add, which was a lot of fun. They are both very sweet and fun to talk to. Aneze is quite a bit younger than Antonello because they met when she was a student studying abroad in Italy. She is from France and did a home-stay in Antonello’s house when she was studying in Italy. It was a complicated love story but now they are happily married with a nine year old son. Antonello is an accomplished pianist, so he gave us a taste of some of the songs he will be performing at a concert on Tuesday. He played for us on Stella’s pianoforte after lunch. For lunch, we had a mix of foods, including a vegetable salad, hard-boiled eggs, sausage, cheese with jam, bread, and sardines. Then for dessert, Antonello brought us a big container of five different kinds of gelato which we put Stella’s limoncello fruit salad over – va bene! Lunch lasted about two hours and was a very nice study break! Late that afternoon it finally rained briefly – ushering a bit of cooler weather! So my run around the Fortezza was lovely and the coolness lasted into Monday as well.

Monday’s Italian class was quite entertaining because we learned a popular Italian song from the 60s and 70s called “Io Ho In Mente Te,” by Equipe 84. Here’s a link to listen to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9xmzve_KhA. We had to fill in blanks left in the lyrics, then of course Marco had us sing it together! Afterwards, I had lunch with Ana Rose – our last lunch together at Café Alfieri, our favorite lunch spot! We sat outside in their garden, enjoying the afternoon before heading back to study for exams and start packing.

Hannah and I at the Bruco contrada party

The view of Siena's Duomo and San Domenico church from the Fortezza

The jazz musicians warming up before the concert

Musica e Ballare (Music and Dance)

Friday night’s party at the Bruco (caterpillar) contrada was a lot of fun. First of all, the setup was the most unique and spacious - yet inviting – contrada we’ve been too. They had a nice courtyard area where tables were setup for the dinner, which was still going on when we arrived at 11:15pm. Then below was a cleared area, surrounded by flowers, where tents were set up with a “dance floor” area in the mulch. The atmosphere was the most exciting of the contrada parties we’ve been to as well because everyone was dancing (usually, Italians don’t dance unless they’re from Southern Italy). They played a lot of American music, but the best part was learning line dances to popular (in Europe) Spanish songs.

Saturday morning, Ana Rose, Elena, and I awoke early to try to go to Orvieto, an adorable Italian hill town that I visited when I was in Italy in 10^th grade. I was excited to go back and revisit what I thought was one of Italy’s most charming towns. Since Elena was late meeting us, we literally ran 25 minutes to the train station. We bought our tickets and found out we had to take a bus then a train, but the bus stop was at the same station, so we thought we’d made it on time. Then we arrived at the bus, and we were not allowed on because it was full. At least 10 other people had been sold tickets to a full bus too, so we were all confused and trying to figure out what the problem was. Unlike America where the customer is always right, we were told we’d have to wait over two hours for the next bus plus pay more since the later bus cost extra. Everyone was frustrated because we would not have bought the tickets if we’d known the bus was full. That plan didn’t seem to be worth it to us, especially since Elena had friends arriving from Florence to stay with her this evening. Thankfully, they did give us a refund for the ticket. Instead, we took the opportunity to fully enjoy our last weekend in Siena. We walked around Siena, shopped a bit, and had a leisurely lunch outside under an awning at a cute café we’d wanted to try, called Ristorante Da Renzo. I tried ribollita for the first time, and really enjoyed it. It’s called a “poor man’s soup” because it’s day old bread mixed with white beans and a hodgepodge of vegetables, which isn’t making it sound too tasty but with all of Italy’s fresh veggies, olive oil, and spices, it was yummy! Then we relaxed in the afternoon, when most of Siena’s shops are closed and took naps before dinner with Stella.

After dinner, we went with Stella to Siena’s annual summer jazz festival. It was in the Fortezza (Siena’s fort) in an Enoteca (an outdoor wine bar that had been set up for the concert). As we walked to the Fortezza, we saw an amazing view of Siena’s Duomo and San Domenico church being lit by the moonlight (the pictures won’t do it justice). It was such a nice evening (I even had goose bumps at one point!) and absolutely beautiful sitting in the Fortezza with the full moon overhead. We arrived early enough to get seats, but as the concert progressed, people lined up along the walls of the fort overhead and peered over to listen to the music. The first group that played was from the jazz university and students composed most of the songs. Some of the numbers were a little experimental but most of them were very enjoyable. Truly just the atmosphere and experience made the evening so delightful. The concert lasted until after 1am, so Ana Rose and I left around 11pm to go to Niccio (the clam contrada), which was starting their week of Palio parties. Niccio also had a nice setup like the Bruco contrada. When we first got there, we watched a few games of Barberi – a game that mimics the concept of the Palio, where balls of different colors representing each contrada are rolled down a “course” and whatever ball reaches the end first wins. Beforehand, people buy a contrada card to bet on – ranging anywhere from about 1 to 4 euros per contrada card. If your ball/contrada wins, then you get a prize – everything from a live chicken to bottles of wine! Then we met up with the rest of the CET group and headed to the dance floor. We had a fun night dancing but after two hours of techno music, we were ready to call it a night. Italians definitely like the techno beat!

Today (Sunday) will be spent studying for finals next week, doing homework, and probably starting to pack. Though I’m sure we’ll take time to enjoy more of Siena, trying to soak in every opportunity before we leave.

Il Giorno nella Spiaggia di Follonica (A day at the beach in Follonica)

Today we woke up early to meet at the bus stop at 7:25 for our CET-sponsored beach day. It was about a two-hour trip, so we arrived in the beach town of Follonica around 9:30. Follonica is on the West coast of Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Most of us (including me) staked out a spot on the free, public beach, but a couple of the girls wanted umbrellas and chairs, so they went to the private beach. (However, it cost 15 euros per person). The private beaches and public beaches are all right next to each other, and you can walk among all of them. The difference is that the private ones give you chairs, umbrellas, sometimes a hammock, and showers. In the morning, the public beach was crowded but by midday, it cleared out, making for a great beach day. It was wonderful day and the sea was the perfect temperature too. We laid out our towels, put on our sunscreen, and enjoyed time to read, listen to music, etc. Before lunch I went for a walk with Melissa, in the direction of the mountains in the distance. The beach was pretty, especially with the mountains, but I’m a little spoiled by our large sandy beaches in Florida. The actual beach part was very small here. For lunch, we went to a cute, beachy café and sat outside under a tent covering. In the shade, the temperature was very comfortable and we heard a rumor that there’s a cold front coming through next week – we’ll see! Afterwards, I went for about a 40 minute walk on the beach, heading the direction of the jetty. It was so nice to walk on the shore, having time just to listen to the sound of the ocean and reflect on my time here in Italy before I head home next week. At 3:45 we packed up to take the 4:20 train home to Siena. After all the sun, we all took naps on the trip back. And I think the sun, sea, and salt did me good because my sore throat/mini-cold seems to have gone away. That evening Ana Rose and I had dinner with Stella and Lino – her fabulous spaghetti to start and a very good fish dish for our second course that consisted of smoke swordfish layered with sliced green apples, olive oil, lemon juice, lettuce, and walnuts. Stella is so intrigued by my kickboxing DVD that she had me demonstrate to Lino after dinner my punches and kicks since he’d never heard of kickboxing, or “chick-boxing” as Stella accidently called it! Tonight we are headed out to one of our last contrada parties before leaving Siena – I can’t believe my time here is almost over!

Santa Maria della Scala

On Tuesday, after a very difficult Italian test in the morning, I was excited to tour Santa Maria della Scala with my Art/Architecture class. This used to be Siena’s hospital – but it was much more than that, and became a self-sufficient town within Siena, complete with streets, a granary, apartments etc. As a hospital, it was very modern for the 15^th century – we saw frescoes depicting the hospital and its functions. For instance, sheets were changes twice a week (very hygienic for that time) and doctors examined (and tasted! yuck) urine. However, the hospital was also a hostel for pilgrims to have a free place for food/bedding on their way to Jerusalem, which is how Santa Mara grew up so big. Plus, it spent the equivalent of three castles to buy a “nail from the Cross” as a relic, thereby attracting even more pilgrims and gathering donations. Through these donations, they were able to maintain an orphanage. Frescoes also depicts scenes from the orphanage, and it incredible learning about their modern ideas for charity too. During medieval times, orphanages solely provided food and bedding for the orphans, so when they turned 18, they were out on the streets again – to either enter the church as a nun or priest, become criminals, or prostitutes. However, Santa Maria not only provided basic needs for their orphans, but they also provided schooling. Boys learned to read and write, and could easy get a job when they were 18 – usually at Santa Maria. Girls were taught a trade and were provided with a dowry to marry. Another interesting aspect of touring Santa Maria was seeing the underground parts – where the city and apartments existed. Since Santa Maria was self-sufficient, they produced everything they needed on-sight, including sheets for the hospital with the Santa Maria “logo.” Beneath it, is a city with streets running through it – and parts of it have been excavated so we could walk around. Parts were very creepy, however. For instance, they had many Brotherhoods, which were essentially volunteers for the hospital but picture a fraternity house. These Brotherhoods had skulls on the entrances with warnings, and contained rooms for lounging around, a chapel, meeting rooms, and a place for their relics (aka secrets) – and this was all underground. It was dark and decorated very morbidly, like what I would imagine a fraternity house during initiation would be like. In another section, we saw a huge pile containing bones – even more creepy! These were all from the Black Plague, when Siena was reduced from 50,000 to 15,000 people, and most died in this hospital. In addition, this area has been turned into an archaeological museum, so we saw Etruscan tombs and urns. It was a very good class, and it was amazing that this was all right next to Siena’s Duomo.

Today (Wednesday) has been a typical day of classes, but what was interesting is that during our Art/Architecture lecture, we learned about Caravaggio and his influence on Siena’s painters. When we toured the Uffizi this Sunday, they were having a special Caravaggio exhibit – so the lecture was very pertinent! In addition, it was free gelato day through CET – always making for a great end to the day! Unfortunately today my throat has been hurting a lot, so at dinner tonight, Lino and Stella poured me a glass of red wine calling it “Italy’s disinfectant”! Stella also made me her “Bedtime tea,” like she always does whenever any of us doesn’t feel 100%. So buona notte!

After our Peruvian meal, with Francesco, Natasha, Ana Rose, and Stella

Telling bye to Guisy at the bus stop

Peruvian meal

Monday was a very fun day of connecting with people and building relationships here in Siena. After Italian class (our test was postponed until Tuesday, thank goodness because we needed extra practice!), I went with Ana Rose to Guisy’s apartment – one of the Italian roommates. (I’ve been spelling her name wrong in the blog.) She invited us over for lunch because she was heading to Sicily that day and wouldn’t be back to Siena until after we’d left. So she made a pasta salad for us as a little goodbye luncheon. We then helped her bring her luggage to the bus stop and saw her off, after exchanging emails and Skype names. I’m looking forward to staying in touch with my new Italian friends here, though it was sad not knowing when we’ll see Guisy again. Then Ana Rose and I went grocery shopping because she was preparing a Peruvian meal for us tonight (her mom is Peruvian and Stella was very intrigued to try Peruvian food). This proved to be a difficult task because Italian grocery stores don’t carry products we’re used to, such as condensed and evaporated milk, different canned sauces, etc. since they make everything so fresh. However, we improvised and Ana Rose got busy cooking! That evening, Francesco (Stella’s son) and his girlfriend Natasha (who is pregnant and could have their son any day now!) joined us for dinner. They arrived around 8:30pm and we had a leisurely dinner with them until a little before 11. It was so enjoyable getting to know them better, and Natasha is so sweet. We told funny stories and talked about our interests – Natasha teaches dance. We all thoroughly enjoyed Ana Rose’s dinner too, which started off with ceviche (raw fish that has been “cooked “ in lemon juice) and onion. Then we had shredded chicken with a yellow pepper/spicy pepper seasoning with walnuts over lettuce– so delicious! Of course the Italians wanted bread with it too J Then for dessert Ana Rose made cookies called alfajores, shortbread sandwich cookies with a sweet caramel filling in the middle- yum! Francesco also brought a bottle of Chianti Classico (from a vineyard right next to Siena) from his wine shop – a nice addition to the meal. It was a great evening and we all loved trying new Peruvian food! Afterwards Stella commented that I understand so much Italian – even though it’s more difficult for me to speak it since I have a limited vocabulary and only know the present tense – she was very complimentary of me being able to follow the Italian conversations!

Florence pictures

Ponte Vecchio

The Duomo in Florence

Firenze – il grande fine a il benissimo weekend

On Sunday we had already reserved our train tickets from Venice to Florence (we learned from our earlier mistake!) so we caught the 8:30am train for a comfortable and air-conditioned trip on the Eurostar to Florence. We arrived at 10:30am, just in time to head to San Lorenzo market where Ana Rose wanted to buy some handmade necklaces for her friends. We then went straight to Florence’s Duomo – this weekend’s theme seemed to be HUGE churches and baptisteries! The Duomo was sculpted with pink, green, and white Tuscan marble and looked extremely grand. Although I’d seen it a few years ago, I forgot just how striking is it. Since it was Sunday, they only let people in after mass was over. But we were intending on going to mass so we were allowed inside and sat in one of the front rows. We were early enough to see a tiny, old priest walk around greeting people before the service. Inside the Duomo actually was not nearly as impressive as the other churches we have seen, and it was a lot more plain than its outside. However, the architecture of the dome and its ceiling is incredible, with Giorgio Vasari’s and Federico Zuccari’s Last Judgment painted on the inside. Mass was good (they had the English translation of the Scriptures, which were helpful!) and was the most crowded church service I’d been too, which wasn’t surprising. Afterwards we headed straight to the Accademia for our reservations (grabbing a panini along the way). Even though I had also already seen Michelangelo’s David statue, its magnificence still shocked me as I walked into the museum and saw the 14-foot David at the end of the hallway. The detail of every muscle that Michelangelo carved is incredible. And fun fact; the marble that Michelangelo used was rejected by all other sculptures during that time for not being good enough – I guess Michelangelo proved that it’s the artist, not the marble, that makes the masterpiece. The Accademia also has some unfinished Prisoners statues by Michelangelo, which I didn’t appreciate on my first visit but now know that his inspiration came from part of Siena’s Cathedral. Next we booked it to the Uffizi Gallery for our reservations there. But not before taking in the views (and pictures) from Ponte Vecchio – Florence’s most famous bridge over the River Arno. Although the river is kind of green, the bridge is still pretty. The Uffizi Gallery takes about two hours to tour because there is such much notable art. Since I’d seen the Botticelli paintings before – Birth of Venus, Allegory of Spring, etc. – and da Vinci’s work, such as the Annunciation, I was very excited to take in the medieval art, which I’d passed over last time. (Although don’t get me wrong, the Botticelli’s, da Vinci’s, etc. were still utterly amazing!) However, we’d studied almost all of the paintings in the medieval section in my Art and Architecture class, so it was extremely interesting to see them in person. For instance, both Duccio’s and Giotto’s Madonna and Child were influential works, as they experimented with three-dimensionality. Giotto’s Madonna is particularly important because she is portrayed as normal and human, instead of idealized as was common during this time. However, my favorite work to see this time was Simone Martini’s Annunciation, which we studied in class for being so important for striving for realism. It beautifully depicts Mary as being young as well as skeptical and afraid of Gabriel delivering the news to her. It is a large altarpiece with a gilded background, making Mary’s blue robe, which she draws up around herself for concealment, stand out. I ended up writing my Art/Architecture paper on this piece since I was so inspired by it. By the time we finished the museum, Ana Rose and I were exhausted. Not only was it hot (a theme of the weekend!) but we were carrying out weekend backpacks around all day while touring all of the museums and walking the city. So we headed back to the bus station and caught the 5:20pm bus back to Siena. On the ride, we met a professor who was heading to Siena to study Italian since he teaches opera and music. When asking where he taught, he replied that I wouldn’t have heard of it because it’s a small college in Illinois, called Augustana. Needless to say, he was surprised that I was actually quite familiar with it (well its basketball team anyway!) and explained that my boyfriend played for Wheaton – small world! We were able to help him get oriented to Siena and how to get to his apartment once we arrived. That evening, Stella made us crustinis and a delicious mushroom chicken dish for dinner. She was very excited to hear all about our adventures… and enjoyed seeing the pictures that we put on Facebook too (yes, Stella has a Facebook!).

Venice pictures continued...

View of Venice from Doge's Palace

Rialto Bridge

Rialto Bridge with all of the boats of the festival passing by

Venice pictures

Doge's palace

Glass-making demonstration in Murano

St. Mark's Basilica

On the gondola ride with the gondolier Stefano

One Venice's many canals

Venezia e’ bellissima ma troppo caldo!

Friday morning Ana Rose and I awoke early to catch the 8:30ish train to Venice. After the 25 minute trek to the station, we found out that the train was sold-out already. So we headed back (all uphill!) to Stella’s and waited until the 11ish train. After all this walking with our weekend backpacks on, we felt like we needed showers, but good thing we waited because the trip to Venice was extremely hot since the trains were not air-conditioned. Unfortunately since we missed the early train, we had to take the very long journey, with an hour “layover” in Florence. The train cars were like ovens in the 100 degree weather, so by the time we arrived in Venice a little after 4pm, we were dripping wet. Although we were a little bummed that we could have been there a little after noon had we made reservations for the early train, you live and learn! Plus, we met a very nice lady on the train who told us about a festival happening in Venice this weekend (more on this later!) and informed us what authentic Venetian food to try (i.e. calamari, mussels, and clams). So by 4:30, we were in the middle of St. Mark’s Square in awe. We still had our backpacks on and hadn’t checked into our hotel yet, but we couldn’t wait any longer to see Venice’s landmarks. St. Mark’s Basilica was incredibly impressive and huge! It was beautiful, especially with the Grand Canal running behind it. I was surprised at how large St. Mark’s Square was too (about two football fields long). Not only was it filled with people (Venice is always crowded but especially so this weekend because of the festival) and pigeons were very abundant too! After taking in all of St. Mark’s Square, including the grand Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower) with bronze men called Moors swinging clappers to ring the bell every hour, we ventured to find our hotel. Thankfully, we had Rick Steve’s guide to lead us to the hotel because Venice is very, very confusing. Over the course of the weekend, Ana Rose and I managed to get lost multiple times even though we were frequenting some of the same places. Yes, we both do have bad senses of direction, but the streets are also tiny and curving every which way with no understandable cut-throughs. Plus, there are bridges and canals to contend with too! But we made it to our hotel successfully, and the lobby was very nice with a window looking out over a canal. However, “hotel” is a loose term because our room was on the fourth floor in a tiny room with no air-conditioning. (We shared a bathroom with the floor.) So with heat rising and no air flow, it was yet another oven! Thankfully, we did have a small fan. Heat and trying in vain to escape it was a large part of the weekend because it’s the hottest summer that Venice has experienced in twenty-ish years! After taking a cold shower (the shower actually didn’t have hot water but it definitely didn’t matter) and resting for a little bit after our journey, Ana Rose and I headed out to find a place for dinner. We found a place called Gigi’s and took the advice we were given and had calamari, mussels, etc. – mine over risotto and Ana Rose’s over pasta.

Then came the highlight of the day and a very special surprise from my parents who emailed me and said they wanted to treat Ana Rose and I to a gondola ride! We bartered down the price and increased the time of the ride and got a wonderful gondolier named Stefano (he was excited we had similar names!) to take us around the canals for a 40ish minute trip. Venice looked so beautiful at night, with the canals light by the moon (Ana Rose and I kept joking how romantic Venice is supposed to be). Plus it was a much cooler evening than the day, so it was an extremely enjoying ride! Stefano told us about his family and how his father was a gondolier too, and he pointed out notable sights around the city. It was definitely the perfect way to see the city and appreciate all of the canals. Afterwards, we headed to St. Mark’s Square and took in all of its beauty at night with all of the lights. Since it was the weekend of the festival, a stage was set up at the far end of the square and an opera performance was put on. Although you had to pay to sit and see the opera, it was all outside so the square was filled with people enjoying the music reverberating throughout the square. Ana Rose and I sat and listened/watched the lights of the stage since the singers were a little too small to see. It felt so Italian right in the middle of St. Mark’s Square!

Saturday morning, we woke up early to beat the crowds of tourists. We had free breakfast provided by our hotel – though by breakfast, I mean several bread rolls spread with nutella. We went to St. Mark’s Basilica and got in line around 9:15 to be one of the first in when the doors opened a little before 9:45. It was perfect timing because we beat all of the tour groups and were able to walk around the church without it being too crowded. Inside was, as expected, very impressive! It was huge and the entire ceiling and walls were covered in tiny pieces of gold and colored mosaics. There were scenes depicting stories from the Bible including Noah and the flood, the Last Supper, and the Pentecost. Each piece of tile was cut in irregular shapes to reflect the light, and the mosaics truly sparkled. Sunbeams shined through the windows of the front dome, illuminating the scenes as well. Even the floor was a mosaic in intricate patterns and multi-colored.

Afterwards, we took a waterbus to Murano. It was about a 20 minute trip past several islands off of Venice. It was so interesting seeing how Venice operates like a city on the water, with water taxis and buses running on schedules. Murano is known for its glassmaking, so the first thing we did when we arrived was see a glassblowing/making demonstration for free in one its several glassmaking shops. It was so interesting seeing how quickly and flawlessly they could turn a piece of flaming red glass into a vase. Then, we saw glass be molded into a colorful horse. During the demonstration, we met a family with five adorable (and well-behaved) children who had been on our waterbus, and we palled around with them during our time in Murano. After the demonstration, we were led into their shop in hopes of us purchasing something. Not everyone was led up to the large exhibition – we only got to go because the family we were with was really looking to buy something. It was incredible seeing all of the glass sculptures, lamps, vases etc. that had been made and how colorful and intricate it all was (and how expensive). It was like a museum tour. Ana Rose and peaked in other shops afterwards then got paninis to eat outside in the shade before catching the waterbus back to Venice. On the trip back, I stood outside so I could feel the breeze and take in the views as we approached Venice.

Our next stop was to Doge’s Palace, in St. Mark’s Square. Doge’s Palace (aka Palazzo Ducale) was the seat of the Venetian government and home to the duke for 400 years. It was grand and impressive with a 24 karat gold ceiling above the steps leading up to the rooms. The whole palace is filled with paintings and artwork, and some of the notable ones were Tintoretto’s “Triumph of Venice” depicting Lady Venice and Tintoretto’s “Paradise,” the largest oil painting in the world. It is over the duke’s throne and shows Christ and Mary surrounded by 500 saints. The story is that the day Tintoretto finished the painting, his daughter died, so he painted in a 501^st saint, resembling his daughter, right in front of Mary. There were also many paintings by Veronese. The most impressive room of the palace was the Hall of the Grand Council, which is 175 feet x 80 feet and holds 2,600 people. Lining the room are portraits of all of the dukes, but one is blacked out because he opposed the will of the Grand Council and was beheaded! Out of the window in this room is a gorgeous view of Venice’s waters. The Doge’s Palace then leads into the prisons and the Bridge of Sighs, so called because as the prisoners were brought to their doom they passed over this bridge and got one last look at Venice, and sighed.

By this time it was after 3pm, so Ana Rose and I slowly made our way back to our hotel, exploring some of the streets on the way/looking in some shops. We were in desperate need of showers and a nap! After recouping for a couple hours and letting the sun go down a bit, we headed back out a little after 6pm. We went to see the Rialto Bridge, one of the world’s most famous bridges because it is so big and impressive with all of its stone. Plus, it offers a wonderful view of Venice. While we were taking pictures and exploring this new part of Venice, we watched boat after boat, filled with people dancing to festive music, pass under the Rialto Bridge. It was such a sight! It was all a part of the Festa del Redentore, happening this weekend. This is a festival that has been occurring in Venice since 1577. It is in celebration of protection from a bad plague and the construction of the Redentore Church (Redeemer). Festivities occur all weekend, including gondola races, which unfortunately happened after we left. However, we did see a large part of the celebration when at dusk all of boats decorated with bright colors, balloons, and bright lanterns, traveled down the canals to St. Mark’s Bay and passed under the Rialto Bridge. Later that night, they all end up in St. Mark’s Bay making a long row/”walkway” from boat to boat from Venice to the Island of Giudecca, where the Redentore Church is. We watched this parade of boats, wishing we had some connections in Venice so we could be a part of it because it looked like so much fun, before heading to dinner. We chose a restaurant off the beaten path that we’d stumbled upon earlier, called Taverna SanLeo. They had a prix fix menu for only 19 euros (cheap by Venice’s standards!) so we got a pasta course, meat dish, and dessert. We also ordered a glass of their surprisingly very good house white wine too. I had the tagliatelle pasta with mussels and a light olive oil sauce. For my main course, I had sea bass with a zucchini cream sauce with a small salad on the side. Very delicious! And dessert – gelato with berries of course! It was a very unique restaurant with bright orange decorations and artsy paintings on the wall. We really enjoyed our leisurely dinner, appreciating what we came to call our “splurge” weekend because Venice is so expensive. Afterwards, we headed to St. Mark’s Square to stake out a spot along the canal for fireworks in celebration of the festival. So many people crowded the square, so it was good we got there early because we had amazing views. All of the boats from the parade were lined up and their lanterns illuminated the sky and the canal. At 11:30pm the fireworks started and were beautiful over the canal! They lasted past midnight and were such a sight to see! Although it was crowded, it was such an experience being a part of the Festa del Redentore festivities. Throughout the night beneath our hotel window, you could hear boats going by playing music and gondolas with accordion-players.

It’s time for dinner, then study time for my Italian test tomorrow, so our Sunday spent in Florence will be in the next post. Enjoy the Venice pictures!

Piccolomini Library - the frescoes, the Three Graces statue, and the illustrated songbooks

La gatta faceva le fusa (The cat purred) - Lyrics from La Gatta

Today in Italian class Marco said he had a “sorpresa” for us (a surprise). Elena is always singing in class, so today he brought in a song by Gino Paoli called “La Gatta” (“The Cat”). We had the lyrics typed out for us with some blanks for us to fill in as we listened. The song included several of the vocabulary words that we’ve learned, such as parts of a house and direction words. After we’d listened to it a couple of times and filled in the blanks, he had Elena and I sing along! It was a lot of fun and we were joking with him, saying he should record us so we could post another video to our blogs!

Click this link to listen to the song "La Gatta": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWhpczgVLXg

Also in Italian class today, we had to draw a blueprint of our rooms back home and then describe them to each other. I misunderstood and started drawing our whole house, so Marco thought it was very funny when I asked him how to say “pool” in Italian… whoops!

That afternoon for our Art History class, we went to the Piccolomini Library, which is in Siena’s Cathedral. The library contains ten frescoes on its walls depicting the life of Pope Pius II, who was from Siena. The frescoes are mainly done by Pintoricchio, and they show Pius’s political and intellectual life rather than anything religious. The most famous fresco is “The Meeting Between Frederico III and Eleanor of Aragon,” whose marriage was arranged by Pius. In the background is a beautiful depiction of Siena, and Eleanor is portrayed as looking bashful upon meeting her future husband. The ceiling of the library was incredibly ornate with a lot of mythological symbols. Also in the library are pages from songbooks, which are decorated with incredible, colorful painted flowers. Lastly, the statue of The Three Graces is in the middle of the library. It’s a famous statue representing Venus’ attendants, and it shows that Pope Pius II celebrated pagan love over religious or spiritual love. After touring the library, PG took us to get gelato because he couldn’t give his lecture in the library. As we sat inside at a cute gelatario by the Cathedral, PG gave the history behind the frescoes. Too bad history class doesn’t always include gelato!

After going for a run, I was very excited for another pasta creation by Stella. Tonight for dinner, Lino came over and we all enjoyed my favorite pasta dish from Stella so far. She put tomatoes and almonds in the food processor and mixed it with pesto, lots of garlic, and crushed red pepper. She mixed bowtie pasta into this sauce and added fresh parmesan cheese on top, which melted over the hot pasta. Our meat course was a steamed white fish, followed by a mixed salad and watermelon. At dinner now, I am saying half of my sentences in Italian, which I am excited about. Lino finds it so funny, because I always try to use new words that I’ve learned that day in my conversation. Now, I am going to go pack for Venice – Ana Rose and I are leaving for Venice in the morning, spending Friday and Saturday there. On Sunday, we’re going to Florence to visit the Uffizi and Academia museums. I’m very excited because I’ve never been to Venice (Venezia), and the last time I went to Florence (Firenze), I didn’t have the art history background that I’ll have now when touring the museums. I’ll be back Sunday night but will have to study for an Italian test on Monday, so check back Monday for an update on my travels!

Bruschetta and octopus ink

This week has been a typical school week but with some Italian flare. We’ve had class (sadly, in a classroom for our Art History class… we’re not out and about Siena until tomorrow) and I continue to learn more Italian each day. Monday was mainly a recovery day from the busy weekend, getting organized after Italian class and enjoying catching up with Stella about our travels. We tried to stay inside most of the day because it was insanely hot and humid! I don’t think I’ll complain about the Florida heat when I return home because at least I have air-conditioning to return to! Then Tuesday, I had my Italian and Art History class. In Italian, we were learning possessives and Marco wanted us to practice them using our family as an example. Since I have a small family and no siblings, Marco had me use John and his family as the example. For instance, “Sua madre si chiama Lisa, suo padre si chiama Steve, e le sue sorelle si chiamano Amy e Emma.” Marco had no problems spelling the names on the board except for John’s, which he first tried writing as Gian (the Italian way), then Jhon, then Johon. At any rate, Marco is now very familiar with the Shackelford family! Tuesday afternoon I was scheduled to have my first meeting with my new language partner so I could practice Italian and he could practice English, but unfortunately he never showed up, but waiting in Piazza Mercato for him wasn’t too bad since it was somewhat breezy. Then after Art History class, everyone in the CET program got ready for our Bruschetta night! Two of the girls came up with the idea of a bruschetta potluck – at 8:30pm we all met at their apartment bringing our favorite toppings for bruschetta and they provided the bread, olive oil, and oven. They have a nice terrace/balcony outside, so they set up a picnic blanket for everyone to sit on, played music, served wine, and we all enjoyed the cooler evening. Everyone’s bruschetta was very tasty! Ana Rose and I made a “caprese salad-esque” bruschetta: pesto, mozzarella, tomato, olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top of the bread – all toasted and warm! Others made roasted veggies, eggplant, and prosciutto toppings. For dessert we had nutella, peanut butter, and honey bruschetta – yumm… It was a fun evening, and I was quite full afterwards because Stella still made us some dinner before we left, since according to her “Bruschetta does not qualify for dinner.” So Ana Rose and I enjoyed her delicious couscous and vegetable mix beforehand too.

Today (Wednesday) was thankfully overcast in the morning, so we didn’t have to sweat through Italian class. We learned a little more about Marco’s family too. For instance, his children are bilingual because his wife is from Connecticut. Marco met her when she was studying abroad in Italy and was one of his students! When I mentioned that the Shackelford’s used to live in Connecticut too, Marco starting laughing, saying that everything led back to them! Then that afternoon I had Art History and we learned about a statue that I had seen on my trip to Lucca with Ana Rose – PG was very impressed that I knew the history behind the statue! It’s always exciting seeing art that we’ve learned about. We also studied Michelangelo today because he was very influence by Sienese painters. I found the information we learned about Michelangelo’s Creation of Man in the Sistine Chapel (the one with God touching Adam’s finger) very interesting because Michelangelo took a traditional subject and added theology to it. In the painting, Adam already has the perfect, physical human body but he is not “created” until God touches him. Through this, Michelangelo shows that what makes “man” man is God’s touch, giving Adam a soul and life. Also in the painting, God’s cloak envelopes him and the angels so it resembles a brain. In this way, Michelangelo shows that all of the present exists in God’s brain (Mary/Eve –it’s debated who it is- sits next to God) so the human dimension is only where time as we know it exists. Lastly, Michelangelo’s angels do not have wings because they fly because of faith, not wings. Then after class, we had our free gelato day! Always a welcome treat with this heat! Tonight for dinner Stella made a Sicilian meal consisting of swordfish simmered with sautéed tomatoes, onions, olives, and capers. But the most unique part was the spaghetti with garlic and octopus ink sauce! The spaghetti noodles had turned completely black from the ink, and as we ate, all of our teeth and tongues were turning black too! It was definitely unique and fun to try, but I’m not sure if I’d venture to make it back in the States. Cuisine is such an integral part of Italy, and I love our leisurely two-hour/longer meals too.

A few more photos...

Views from the Fortezza in Arezzo

in Piazza Grande (in Arezzo) where Life is Beautiful was filmed

Our cheese tasting!

The owner of the Pecorino factory giving us a tour

Picture time

The gardens in San Quirico

The monastery in Monteoliveto

With Ana Rose and Anna (our Resident Director) in Pienza

Pienza

Tuscan Tour Continued...

On Saturday, after our tour of Pienza, we headed to l’Abazzia di Monteoliveto Maggiore, a Benedictine monastery founded in 1313. It was a beautiful brick building and inside were about fifty frescoes by Luca Signorelli and Sodoma, depicting the life of St. Benedict. The frescoes were very colorful and lined the walls leading to the main chapel. Unfortunately, the monastery was closing early, so we were not able to spend too much time enjoying each one. We did, however, see inside the cathedral – another picturesque medieval church. After touring the monastery, we had lunch at the top of the hill at a café. We sat outside on their quaint terrace, and had light lunches to save our appetites for the cheese tasting that afternoon.

Our next stop was San Quirico, a small town – even tinier than Pienza! We visited it for class because it has one of the only medieval “ospedale” still in tact. An “opsedale” is a hospital but in medieval times was used for pilgrims to stay in as they traveled to Jerusalem along the Francigena Road. We also saw an old church, with statues of lions by Giovanni Pisano – similar to the ones he did in Siena. The three entrances to the church showed the three different time periods and histories of San Quirico. The first one had lions, which were not realistic and made with not as nice materials. The second door showcased Pisano’s lions, with an elaborately decorated door – the height of San Quirico as pilgrims passed through. The third entrance reveals San Quirico’s decline because the town did not have money to decorate the door and its façade was plain. San Quirico also had a large garden with typical Tuscan tall, green, narrow trees. The town was so small that we only spent a little over an hour there, but I enjoy seeing towns that I would not have been to if not for my Art and Architecture class.

Then we were all excited for our next and last stop of the day… the Pecorino cheese factory! We visited a small factory, yet it had 230 acres and 700 sheep! The factory is one of the smaller ones because it is family run with only 7 employees. However, it has perfected the art of pecorino cheese and knows all of its employees personally, so it continues to outperform some of the larger competitors. We started by meeting the owner, who gave us a tour of the factory and explained how cheese is made. The smell was very strong – a little too overpowering for me. The process was very interesting to learn about (though the owner only spoke Italian, our Resident Director Anna translated for us). He explained how you first let the milk sit before adding an enzyme which helps it coagulate. You then break the cheese/milk product up, putting it in different containers and turning them over at certain times until it firms up into cheese. The process is very formulaic, with certain time periods for doing each step. Once the cheese sets, the whey is used for making ricotta cheese. Then the cheese it laid out on long, wooden shelves and must be flipped over every couple of hours until they are no longer damp. The next step is to keep them in a refrigerated room for up to one year – depending on how long it is to be aged. Every ten-twelve days the mold is brushed off (we saw a cheese that had mold covering it before it was scraped off, and it looks very disgusting!). The mildest cheese is aged for two weeks, then one is aged 40 days, the next 90 days, and the oldest is covered in walnut leaves to increase its flavor and is aged for a year. After the tour, the owner explained how to do a cheese tasting. He led us into a cute room with a wooden table displaying all the food we would be tasting. We sat at little wooden benches that lined the walls, next to a window looking out onto the fields. You taste cheese from the youngest to the most aged, and before you taste it, you must break it in half and take in the smell. Also, you drink young wine with young cheese and old wine with aged cheese. In total, we tried five different pecorino cheeses and ricotta. However, we ate much more than that sounds because along with tasting each cheese by itself, we also paired it with honey and jams that had been made at that farm as well as on bread with olive oil made there. My favorite was eating the cheese with the huge, fresh pears they had! However, the honey, jam, and olive oil were also quite delicious with the cheese since the very aged ones were a little bit pungent for me. My absolute favorite was the ricotta mixed with a little bit of sugar or honey – it tasted just like dessert! In between tastings, we sipped on wine to cleanse our palates too. Needless to say, we were all very full after the tasting on the way back home to Siena! We arrived back home around 6:30pm, and Ana Rose and I had dinner with Stella. Unfortunately I couldn’t really enjoy dinner because I was carsick from the ride back, but after a good night’s rest I woke up feeling better.

Then today, Ana Rose, Melissa, Hannah, and I took the 10:10am bus to Arezzo for a day trip. Arezzo is where the Italian movie La Vita e Bella was filmed (It’s called Life is Beautiful in English and is such a great movie! I watched it before coming to Italy so now I want to see it again after being here, since it’s in Italian.) Arezzo is a small town, but Piazza Grande, where part of La Vita e Bella is filmed, is a beautiful square. It has buildings, which display the crests of noble families in Italy, as well as an old church. For lunch, we sat in a restaurant in the piazza, enjoying how peaceful and quiet the piazza was since Arezzo is not a touristy town. After taking pictures in the piazza and reenacting the bicycle scene from La Vita e Bella, we walked to a big park in the middle of the fortezza (an old fort). The fort overlooked the countryside, and the park sprawled out to Arezzo’s main cathedral. We spent about an hour walking around and taking in the views before returning on the bus home. We only spent about three hours in Arezzo since it’s a small town and very hot out, but we really enjoyed our visit! That evening, Stella took Ana Rose and I to the Piazza del Campo to see the drawing for the contradas that will race in the August Palio. Seven of the contradas are already determined, based on who raced last year, leaving the last three to run up to chance. The seven contradas running have their flags displayed out of the Palazzo Pubblico windows in the Piazza, and as they select the next three contradas to race, their flags are put up – huge cheers erupted from the contradas chosen as well as from the rivals of contradas NOT selected! When Onda’s flag was displayed, men from that contrada rushed to the front of the piazza and started climbing up the windows of the Palazzo Pubblico, celebrating the selection! Then for dinner, Lino (I learned tonight that I’ve been spelling his name wrong) came to eat with us. Stella made a barley salad with red beans, onion, and mustard seed for our pasta dish then served fish browned with flour and a side of carrots. I’ve missed eating fish, so it was a nice surprise! After dinner, I had to interview Ana Rose, Stella, and Lino in Italian for my homework, asking them questions about their family. They were very patient with me as I figured out all of my questions and wrote their responses down, but I think everyone enjoyed the conversation since it was interesting to learn about everyone’s backgrounds. Now we are watching the World Cup final before heading to bed… Be sure to look for pictures from this weekend that I’ll put up tomorrow! Buona notte!

Weekend tour of the Tuscan countryside

This weekend I travelled through Tuscany to several small Tuscan villages that I never would have had the opportunity to visit if it hadn’t been through our Art and Architecture class. The places we went are not readily accessible by public transportation, so the program rented a bus for us. We left Friday afternoon at 2pm, after a leisurely morning with Stella. Our first destination was Pienza, and we arrived around 3:30pm. We checked into our B&B, a quaint accommodation with air-conditioning in the rooms and huge showers! Then we explored the town for the remainder of the afternoon. Pienza is small but has a lot of history (which I’ll explain later on). It is a Renaissance town as opposed to the medieval architecture we have been seeing. But its best feature is definitely its views! I know in every blog post I mention the incredible views of Tuscany, but these just might take the cake. First of all, on the ride to Pienza, we passed fields of sunflowers – right out of a Tuscany postcard. As we drove through the hills, the sunflowers made the valleys below look like they were sprinkled with bright, yellow pollen. In Pienza, you could see the mountains and fields for miles – the perfect backdrop for the colorful doors, awnings, and brilliant flowers. Everything was in bloom! Pienza is not a tourist destination, so we wandered its streets, observing local life and looking in some of their shops, including hand-painted ceramics and handmade jewelry. We stopped for gelato (of course!) in its main piazza, enjoying some shade. The entire weekend the temperatures were in the upper 90s, so it was quite hot. According to Stella, Italy is having unseasonably hot weather after an unseasonably cold winter. Ana Rose and I ended the afternoon by sitting in a beautiful park amongst flowers of every shade. It was the perfect spot to journal and write postcards and letters before heading to dinner. Our CET group had dinner together at a restaurant called Trattoria la Ciochiocciola near our B&B. We sat outside in a courtyard with a white awning and greenery and purple flowers crawling up trees. We had a very nice meal, starting first with a mixed assortment for our antipasta course, consisting of grilled eggplant and peppers, different types of carpaccio, as well as crustinis with mushroom, tomato, and pâté toppings. For my main course, I had a spicy tomato sauce over penne pasta. Yum! We had a leisurely dinner, and on the walk back to the B&B, we saw hundreds of stars – such a beautiful sight over the Tuscan countryside!

In the morning, PG met us at our B&B to give us tour of Pienza/our class for the day. Here comes the history lesson: Pienza was a town built by Pope Pius II, who was a member of the Piccolomini family, one of the most aristocratic families in Siena during the 15^th-16^th centuries. Pius II wanted to build a quintessential Renaissance town, so he had everything torn down and rebuilt in the Renaissance fashion – and it’s stayed that way ever since. We toured the cathedral as well, which was interesting because it has only a few Christian symbols or paintings and the majority of the decorations are of the Piccolomini family crest. Pius II was much more concerned about his political status than his religious one.

I will continue writing about our weekend travels, including our tour of the monastery in Monteoliveto and our cheese tasting at the Pecorino factory tomorrow! Right now, I need to go to sleep because unfortunately with the winding Tuscan roads, a travel bus, and hot weather, I returned home today not feeling very well; a combination of carsickness and dehydration, is my guess. I’m hoping after a good night’s rest, I’ll be fully recovered tomorrow. Songi d’oro! (How Italians say “sweet dreams,” literally “dreams of gold.”)

Come si dice 'disgusting' in italiano?

The rest of this week has been nice and relaxing (after my midterms all finished up!). On Wednesday, we had a girls’ movie night, watched Julie and Julia and ordered yummy veggie, margarita, and sausage pizzas. Anna, the Resident Director of the CET program, and Guizzi (one of the Italian roommates) also came, so we were able to spend time with them too. Then Thursday, I only had my Italian class in the morning. Marco had us bring in pictures of our friends and family (since we are learning all of the family terms) and explain in Italian who everyone is. It was a fun exercise to talk about everyone from back home and share a little bit about ourselves. Our homework for this weekend is to interview three people in Italian and write a paragraph about their families (in Italian of course!); Ana Rose and Stella are excited to be my first two interviewees! The remainder of the day Thursday I read, did some homework, worked out and asked Stella, “Come si dice ‘disgusting’ in italiano?” which she found very funny and taught me the phrase “sono schifa e fare la doccia” - “I’m disgusting and need a shower!” It’s so hot here that even just walking to class (and especially going for a run outside!) is enough to make everyone’s face beet red. It’s funny to think back on when I first arrived in Siena, and they were having unseasonably cold weather! That evening, we had our weekly Gelato Giovedi “Gelato Thursdays” with CET, which is always nice to have a free gelato! One of the girls in the program has the motto that if she doesn’t pay for her gelato then it doesn’t count, so she can have two in one day on Thursdays… I think we’re all slightly addicted to it! That evening, Ana Rose and I had dinner with Stella and had a conversation about Latin roots of Italian. She loves that I have a knowledge of Latin! We had crustini, frittata with ricotta, salad, and watermelon for dinner. Afterwards, Ana Rose and I went with some of the other girls to an Irish Pub. It was a nice evening so we really enjoyed sitting outside at their tables that overlooked Piazza Gramsci and visiting with each other/practicing some Italian.

At 2pm today, we are all heading to Pienza for our traveling seminar with the Art and Architecture class. I’ll write all about it when I return but to peak your interest I’ll say that on Saturday after visiting the abbey of Monteoliveto Maggiore, we are having a cheese tasting at the pecorino cheese factory! Stay tuned for more…

Video from Italian class

Mi chiamo Stephanie...

Palazzo Pubblico and other excitement in Italia

This week has been nice and laid-back, quite the opposite from last week’s Palio, but a good reprieve especially since I had my midterms this week. I’ll give a recap of the highlights so far. On Monday, when I arrived to Italian class, I went to our classroom as usual, only to be kicked out of the room by another Italian professor. I tried explaining to her that I had my “lezione” here every day, but she was insistent that I had to take a test. My attempt at Italian failed because she pushed me into the elevator and pushed floor two. Thankfully, when I arrived at the second floor I saw Marco, my professor, and explained to him the situation. He said that she thought I was a new student needing to take a placement test. Little did I know, that when class started 10 minutes later, I really did have to take a test – a surprise midterm from Marco! Somehow the date of the midterm was lost in translation for Elena and me, so it was my first experience taking a test I wasn’t prepared for. Thankfully we reviewed beforehand in class, so we both did fine!

On Tuesday for my Art and Art History class, we toured Palazzo Pubblico, a public palace that used to be where the Governo dei Nove (Government of the Nine) took place. It is now a museum, and we saw some very important works, such as Simone Martini’s Maesta. This painting was very beautiful as well as interesting because it was used not only as a tribute to the Virgin Mary but as a political symbol, showing Mary as Queen of Siena. It was painted a few years after Duccio’s Maesta that I’ve mentioned in a previous post, but it surpasses it in technique. For instance, Martini used molded gold, mirrors, real stone, actual parchment, and real silver on the painting. The other paintings of note that we saw were by Ambrogio Lorenzetti from 1338. These included the Allegory of Good Government, Effects of Good Government, Allegory of Bad Government, and Effects of Bad Government. It was very interesting to see the virtues extolled during the 14^th century; for instance, Justice is personified multiple times, more than any other characteristic of good government. As usual, we ended the tour by climbing to the top of the Palazzo Pubblico and seeing a wonderful view of Siena’s countryside – which made me very excited for this weekend’s traveling seminar with class to the Tuscan hills of Pienza and Monteoliveto.

Another highlight of Tuesday which has to be mentioned is the arrival of one of the CET’s student’s package of peanut butter! We all enjoyed some peanut butter cookies that she made, since peanut butter is nonexistent here! That evening, Leno joined us for dinner and brought along four flavors of gelato for dessert from Kopa Kabana, our favorite gelateria! With Stella’s antipasta of grapes and cheese, scrumptious cous cous (loaded with chick peas, sundried tomatoes, pinenuts, mint, olives, golden raisins, yellow pepper, tuna, etc.) and turkey with mushrooms, plus gelato, we were very content… Stella now knows the American term “food coma”!

Today in Italian class, Marco had a special “treat” for us. After having us write scripts about ourselves, saying to make it like a “Facebook page,” we recorded a video of us speaking on his computer, so we could practice our pronunciation. I have uploaded the video for your enjoyment (and my embarrassment!) … I still need to practice how to roll my “r’s”! Ora vado studiare (Now, I go to study) because I have a midterm in my Art and Architecture class in two hours!

Fourth of July, Siena-style

gli americani (the Americans!)

Sunday was a leisurely day, hiding out indoors from the 95 degree temperatures. However, it’s not much cooler inside since most of Siena does not have air conditioning. Studying for my Italian test Monday made July 4^th a little anticlimactic. However, all of the CET students got together and we had our version of an American BBQ. We organized a potluck and that evening had hamburgers, hotdogs, homemade mac n’ cheese, fruit salad, and homemade apple pie, while listening to our American music. With all of our red, white, and blue, we were quite festive, to the amusement of John Luigi (an Italian roommate) and his Italian friends.

Also that evening, I attended the once-a-month English service at the Anglican Church in Siena called St. Peter’s. It was held in a very small chapel, which was nonetheless beautiful, like most old buildings in Italy. There were only sixteen of us in the service, and I met most of them before it started. Everyone was very nice and welcoming, and most of them were British, who vacation in Italy every summer. I also met the priest before the service, so his homily that referred to John Adams writing a letter to his wife about America’s independence was humorous since he kept looking to me as the token American in the service. At one point he said (in his British accent), “You are all probably wondering why I am mentioning America’s Independence when I am on the losing side…” to which he then related it back to the theme of deliverance that the Scripture passage for this week talked about. After the service, I met two Italian opera singers from Florence who invited me to their performances, which occur every night in St. Mark’s (the sister church), and they offered to drive me back to Siena afterwards since the bus won’t be running that late at night. I got their email, so who knows, I may experience some Italian opera while I’m here too! I hope everyone had a wonderful 4^th of July!

A photo break during our bike ride around Lucca

A beautiful villa in Lucca

Piazza Anfiteatro, what used to be the Roman amphitheater (hence the pose)