[A] My time in Florence

Siena is a 75 minute bus or train ride away from Florence, one of Western Civilization's greatest treasure troves of culture, and naturally my vicinity brought me there on a number of occasions- three for class, three for fun, one of which was with Pomai. I have seen the center and the suburbs, the major churches, the more major art, the Dante society, the European Institute, the Doors of Paradise (and the replicas that stand now in their place), and the hollow Duomo; bought fioretine stationary, leather, fabric, and of course food. I have eaten my way through a visiting German Christmas market; viewed the city from above, smelled the city from below; taken a cappuccino at the former home to the Italian futurist movement; strolled on the Ponte Vecchio at dusk with my girlfriend; relived the bonfire of the vanities in Piazza della Signoria; and pretended to be a young Michelangelo marveling at the works of his artistic predecessors. 

 The city has opened its walls to the world, ushered into a new era by the prosperity of its bankers and the success of its artists, eclipsing its former neck-in-neck rival, the still-bitter Siena, as it would have not thought possible; briefly acted as the capital city to a fledgling republic, a role that required destroying most of the medieval city that remained; braved a two-year battle between Germans and the Resistance, divided by the Arno river that runs through the center; birthed literary geniuses like Dante, Petrarca, and Boccacio, who served as the models for a fledgling Italian language; given queens to France; given a king to greater Tuscany; invited Fra Girolamo, a.k.a. Savonarola, as a welcome voice of change; and burned Fra Girolamo in an act of popular solidarity.

 My studies may very well lead me back to Firenze, and despite its conversion into a tourist utopia, I don't think I would resist all too much.
-A

[A] My time in Rome

By far the most excellent way to get to know Rome is to have a beautiful girlfriend there to visit each time you go. So excellent, in fact, that by the time I leave Italy, I will have been in Rome on 9 separate occasions. With Pomai I have seen a great deal of the city's art, history, and culture, and have had a few unique experiences that for me have come to define the city.
One of my favorite areas, not surprising because of my acute city-induced anxiety, is Villa Borghese, by most reckonings Rome's most beautiful municipal park. On our anniversary Pomai and I rented a rickshaw and pedaled around briefly, which is one of my fonder memories of Rome (and in general). The park overlooks much of the city, including a view of Piazza del Popolo that extends to St. Peter's on the horizon.

Another favorite spot was Palazzo Barberini, which I went to with Pomai and my dad when he visited. It is a small collection of important art from the high middles ages to baroque, with notable pieces from Caravaggio and Rafael, and two staircases designed respectively by the rivals Bernini and Borromini. The best part to me was the palace itself- former home to a pope's nephew, and later to a number of cardinals and popes. Just on the edge of the old city center, it is tucked away into a peaceful world of its own.

On a class trip, outside San Giovanni

A good piazza can really make a difference in the dynamics of city life, and I feel like Piazza Navona is in rare company in terms of atmosphere. It is the site of another Bernini/Borromini duel, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers erupting directly in front of a church designed by the other. It is relatively small, with a prime location just minutes from the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, and Piazza di Spagna, not of course to say that this is what it was designed for. The resulting sentiment, however, is that of being enveloped in history and in life. Here is Pomai all bundled up after a dinner in the area:

The depth of history in the Roman Forum and its Capitoline vicinity, including the Colosseum and Trajan's column, was to me astonishing. I had always conceived of Rome as ancient, but did not ever fully comprehend the extent to which the history was integrated into modern city life, or in plain sight piled on top of itself. The forum is the embodiment of this idea- ruins of 1500 years of history have melted into an area of no more than a football field, in it is there by the original hill of Rome that most of the political and cultural development of the Western world took place. A stroll through can take as little as 10 minutes, but there are things to study for days.

I had two chances to stroll through the Vatican museum collections, and both were rewarding as artistic experiences. My favorites were Laocoon and Rafael's School of Athens, notwithstanding Michaelangelo's masterpieces because nothing could be fairly compared to them.

Pomai's neighborhood is also really cool. Trastevere has an atmosphere to itself- smaller streets are preserved where in the center they were fascidestroyed, and the hang-your-laundry-out-the-window spirit lives on in the old little fiats, stubbornly low-priced coffee bars, and terribly uneven cobblestone.

Rome has become a second home in Italy, and I am grateful to have enjoyed it with such a wonderful host.

[A] Campania

The second week of September, eager to see more of the Bel Paese, three friends and I headed south to Campania, one of the poorest regions of Italy, but also one of the most beautiful and culturally rich. My roommate Christian and I took a night bus from Siena that landed us in Naples on Friday before dawn, around 5 o'clock. It was an abrupt introduction to some of the more widespread social maladies of the city, which sits on Italy's western coast. Trash heaped in the streets, a train station full of displaced residents, and a traffic system built on two parts insanity and one part irreverence. I was eager to escape slightly south, towards Pompeii and Sorrento, where we planned to stay. We took the first available train to Pompeii and waited in the small suburban center until the gates opened to the archaeological park, first in line for the former coastal city.

It was my second time in the park- the first was with my mom and sister in 2007 as part of a cruise. This second time was much more pleasant, as it was completely empty. I find things much more enjoyable when not crowded. The weather was ideal, and we spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon wandering the excavated roads at the foot of Vesuvius.
We took a regional train down the coast and got off, somewhat mistakenly, at St. Angelo, one town over from Sorrento. We went in search of food and found a "magic pizza sandwick" (a saltimbocca). Walking then to Sorrento, we met our friends at the rented apartment and wandered around the small bur ferociously touristy town. Luckily we were just late enough in the season that no crowds were overwhelming.

On our Saturday we headed down to the pier to take a private boat tour of Capri and the Amalfi coast that we had set up ahead of time. We spent the entirety of the day on the water and/or eating, circumnavigated Capri, and swam off of the dock of a house formerly owner by the Italian designer Valentino. There were also brown jellyfish. It was a great trip.
The next day we spent time in town, and Christian and I headed back towards Naples in the late evening to get a pizza and catch the night bus. The pizza redeemed Naples briefly, until we once again climbed over the trash to get to the bus stop.

[P] Italy. October 9th and October 15th - 17th.

 One of my favorite trips I have taken so far is to an organic vineyard outside of Rome for a lunch and wine tasting. We started out where they actually turn grapes into wine and got to taste different wines at different points in the fermentation process. We then visited the actual fields and ate grapes straight from the vine! Finally we headed to the last part of our visit - back to small medieval town on a hill where we ate a hearty lunch and went underground to where they store their special spumante in facilities built straight into the rock. Needless to say, we also tried about nine different wines and passed out from wine-food comas on the way home.

The next weekend we made the trip to Perugia, Italy for the Eurochocolate Festival! We started out at a chocolate factory outside the town and free treats. After learning how delicious products were made we proceeded to the town to continue our gluttony. There was chocolate everything, even ravioli and kebabs! My favorite was trying the hot chocolate... which is really just chocolate that is hot and has to be eaten with a spoon. It was actually a bit like pudding.

The next day Alex and his father, who was visiting for the week, came to Rome. We started the day off by (finally!) going to the Vatican museum and St. Peter's Cathedral. I saw famous works like Laocoön, Raphael's The School of Athens, and Michelangelo's Pieta. And of course we drooled over the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel! The next day we did a bit of a walking tour of the city. Before we hit up all the major sites, we started out at Palazzo Barberini. We visited the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica and saw pieces by Carvaggio, Raphael, and Bernini. All in all a great Roman weekend.

[P] Amalfi Coast. September 24th - 26th. Sicily. October 1st - 3rd.

Over the span of two weekend trips I visited the south of Italy and experienced many of the classic Italian stereotypes, both good and bad. Amazing food, mafia type shenanigans, Italian stallions, and both Napoli style strikes and pizza.

The weekend of the 24th I headed down to the Amalfi Coast with several of my roommates and other Study Abroad Italy students. Our weekend of sun and surf was unfortunately interrupted by rain but we still managed to have a good time. A bus drove us down the coast to Napoli, which is known for its dangerous streets, garbage strikes,  and as the home of pizza. We experienced a little of this when Mt. Vesuvius' workers decided to go on strike and the part of our group planning on hiking the volcano had to change their plans. We also got to see some taxi cab-bus driver coordination that gave us a further taste of the South. Our first stop was the island of Capri. We used it as a home base and traveled by ferry to the coastal town of Sorrento and later back to the bay of Naples. Back on the mainland, we traveled to the ancient of Pompeii and even stopped at a Buffalo Mozzarella factory on the way home.

 

 

The next weekend I headed to the island of Sicily to spend the weekend in Siracusa. Continuing the theme, we stayed in the historic center called Ortigia, which is an island within the island of Sicily. It is an extremely interesting area historically. Founded by the ancient Greeks it has been under, among others, Byzantine, Norman, Roman, and Spanish control. Saturday morning we toured and tasted our way through a fresh market and spent the afternoon on a farm riding horses at the base of a mountain. Sunday was spent at an archeological park that included an ancient rock quarry, the Ear of Dionysus, and probably the biggest Greek alter. However, our true activity was eating. I have never had so much delicious food in my life, not to mention the best lemon gelato I have ever tasted. Sicilians have a different take on traditional Italian cuisine with refreshing takes on pasta and lots of seafood. They are also the original cannoli makers! I am officially obsessed.

Soundtrack to Europe.

.
Waka Waka - Shakira.



We No Speak Americano (Pa-Par Americano) - Yolanda Be Cool.



Stereo Love - Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina.


Edward Maya - Stereo Love
Caricato da tarantulaaa. - Guarda gli ultimi video musicali selezionati

Alors on Danse - Stromae.



Call on Me - Eric Prydz. Warning: Explicit video.



Enjoy!

[P] Rome. September 1st - 18th.

 A very delayed first impression of Rome:

 
We arrived at the Eternal City on the first of September. Alex and I said our goodbyes as he made his way to Siena, Italy and I joined my fellow study abroaders. We were taken to our new home in Trastevere, an up and coming neighborhood that still maintains a bit of a bohemian vibe and has been compared to New York's Greenwich Village. The main square, Piazza Santa Maria, boasts cobblestone streets, picturesque buildings, and one of the oldest churches in Rome. This is also where my American-style school, John Cabot University, is located near the river. Across the Tiber is the old Jewish Ghetto and Campo di Fiori. All in all, a great neighborhood to be in, even if our apartment is further away from the hub and has more graffiti than cobblestone. I live with seven other girls from all over the States and share a room with a great girl from California. Despite the Real World-esque of it all, its worked out quite well.

At school I am taking four classes, fewer than normal, that are all taught in English except for my language course. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have Intermediate Italian (Italian professor), Western European Politics (American professor), and International Economics (Italian professor). On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have International Affairs (Bulgarian professor). And, luckily, on Fridays we have no class! The university, like all things in Italy, is much more unorganized and can be quite frustrating at times but has been a good experience.

My first couple weeks were spent adjusting to my new home. And to be honest, I had a very difficult time. While Rome continues to grow on me, it can drive you crazy. I've learned that its necessary to retain a sense of humor but it took me awhile to get past the lack of efficiency and organization, and get used to the slow pace (bus drivers getting off to take a coffee break), dog poop littering the side walks, and the smell of urine in certain places. For an idea on how Italy measures up to the rest of Europe watch the video below. As my dear friend Antha put it, "Italy is like the crazy cousin with the tattoo and the tendency to scream secrets when drunk [about] Europe".



Trips during this time included a welcome trip to Ostia Antica, a preserved Roman city similar to Pompeii, an amazing four course lunch at Borgo di Tragliata organic farm, hiking Monte Catillo, and a beach day with the roommies.

Also some typical Roman sightseeing including: the Pantheon, an ancient temple dedicated to all of the Roman gods now used as a Catholic church;  the Trevi Foutain, as seen in La Dolce Vita and where tradition has it that you throw a coin in and wish to return to Rome; the Spanish Steps; the hated Victor Emmanuel monument, which destroyed part of the Roman Forum; and, of course, the Colosseum.