View of the Palazzo Pitti from Boboli Gardens
Kate, Caitie, Steph, Vanessa
Walking through Boboli Gardens
View of Florence from Boboli Gardens
Peonies in Boboli Gardens
Catt
Monday, June 3, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
A Saturday in Fiesole
View from a park in Fiesole
View from a park in Fiesole
Caitie, Vanessa, Caty
Vanessa
Rachel
Caitie
On a monastery in Fiesole
Buying jewelry from a man who has been selling in this spot for many, many years.
Lunch
View from the Fiesole Museum (filled with Etruscan artifacts)
Falling for Firenze
The people are what make Florence what it is. Yes, we are surrounded by some of the world's most beautiful art, but the people give it energy. The last several days I have found it easy to let the works of Michelangelo envelope me - which is exactly what I wanted even before we landed in Italy. I have been seeing works of art that I have studied in class and seen in books that I have wanted to see for years. The last two nights something almost more beautiful than the art clicked for me. Last night we were walking through one of Piazzas. It was dark and the city was alive. Street vendors were throwing these light up toys in the air, creating this show of colorful dancing light. People were dressed up ready to enjoy what the evening had to offer. People on bicycles flew by as though they were riding quickly on wings of an eagle. Everything was fast and seemed effortless in its swiftness.
This evening as we were walking back from south of the Arno we explored the area around the Ponte Vecchio we couldn't help but feel the energy emanating from everyone just soaking in the evening. Today has been our first sunny and warm day since we have been here. The bridge was swarming with tourists, with very few people speaking the same tongue. As we moved through crowd I made a couple interesting observations. All of the tourists understand how wonderful a place Italy is, offering to take pictures for each other. Couples in love, families vacationing together, and friends enjoying the evening all crowd to enjoy the river as a local musician plays in the setting sun. Everything seems to picturesque. The artists of the city have emptied from the seams in hopes that a willing tourist will purchase some of their work. And right beside the many talented men and women creating quasi-orginal work are the street vendors lining up their poster prints of the famous artwork that reside inside the city walls. New and old collide everywhere you go. Originals and reproductions find a way to live side by side.
Today we toured the museum in the Palazzo Pitti where art seemed to be overlapping and layered on top of other art. The palace is beautiful and there isn't a single square foot of wall that isn't covered by an important work of art. I couldn't help but notice as I walked through its hallways that the artwork was hanging on walls that had been placed in front of the original walls of the palace. The walls beneath are obviously ornate, but has been transformed into a museum for the masses to explore. This represents Florence and Italy in a peculiar way. You have this city that is full of antiquity and beauty, yet it is unlikely that you will go down a street without finding graffiti. We have talked in class about why this is. Native Italians live amongst all of this perceivable beauty, growing up almost blind to it. So it makes sense that graffiti is on some of the oldest walls, and painting cover up paintings. There is so much art, but what is even more beautiful are the people that fill the cities. The people who congregate to see some of the greatest creations brought about by the hands of a human being. One of the first nights in Italy we "talked" with a group of women in a small hill town. We didn't understand a word they said, but their presence welcomed us more than I am sure they realized. Humanity speaks louder than art, it just takes a moment (or a week) to really breathe it in.
This evening as we were walking back from south of the Arno we explored the area around the Ponte Vecchio we couldn't help but feel the energy emanating from everyone just soaking in the evening. Today has been our first sunny and warm day since we have been here. The bridge was swarming with tourists, with very few people speaking the same tongue. As we moved through crowd I made a couple interesting observations. All of the tourists understand how wonderful a place Italy is, offering to take pictures for each other. Couples in love, families vacationing together, and friends enjoying the evening all crowd to enjoy the river as a local musician plays in the setting sun. Everything seems to picturesque. The artists of the city have emptied from the seams in hopes that a willing tourist will purchase some of their work. And right beside the many talented men and women creating quasi-orginal work are the street vendors lining up their poster prints of the famous artwork that reside inside the city walls. New and old collide everywhere you go. Originals and reproductions find a way to live side by side.
Today we toured the museum in the Palazzo Pitti where art seemed to be overlapping and layered on top of other art. The palace is beautiful and there isn't a single square foot of wall that isn't covered by an important work of art. I couldn't help but notice as I walked through its hallways that the artwork was hanging on walls that had been placed in front of the original walls of the palace. The walls beneath are obviously ornate, but has been transformed into a museum for the masses to explore. This represents Florence and Italy in a peculiar way. You have this city that is full of antiquity and beauty, yet it is unlikely that you will go down a street without finding graffiti. We have talked in class about why this is. Native Italians live amongst all of this perceivable beauty, growing up almost blind to it. So it makes sense that graffiti is on some of the oldest walls, and painting cover up paintings. There is so much art, but what is even more beautiful are the people that fill the cities. The people who congregate to see some of the greatest creations brought about by the hands of a human being. One of the first nights in Italy we "talked" with a group of women in a small hill town. We didn't understand a word they said, but their presence welcomed us more than I am sure they realized. Humanity speaks louder than art, it just takes a moment (or a week) to really breathe it in.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Rainy day in Siena. Cloudy day in San Gimignano.
Siena
You can't tell, but these umbrellas belong to Kate, Caitie, and Steph. In Siena.
Siena
Vanessa in Siena
Kate in Siena
Caitie in Siena
Steph in Siena
San Gimignano
Enjoying the view through the camera lens in San Gimignano
In San Gimignano
Our guide, Guido, points something out in a piazza in San Gimignano.
Tower with flowers in San Gimignano
What a week it has been!
Since the Thursday we left Lincoln, it has felt like a whirlwind! The best way I can describe our week is that there aren't enough hours in the day! I'm starting to feel like I have a grasp on the center of the city and that I can find my way to our classroom (which is right by the Santa Croce), the Duomo, and back to our apartment. Then I can base where things are off those three places.
Even with this new confidence, I feel like I may be hitting the low part of my culture shock. This means nothing more than that things annoy me that normally wouldn't. Yet, this is showing me a huge difference between my Midwestern culture and the Florentine culture: the awareness of your effect on other people. We, as Midwesterners, tend to stay out of others' way or at least say excuse me. This isn't the case here, people just cut in front of you at the cafe and will cut you off as you walk down the street without saying a word. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a difference and something I have a hard time getting used to. In class, we discussed it briefly and we said it's aggressive behavior to us, but not to the Itailians and that makes it hard for me to deal with because it's strictly my own cultural barrier.
Although my perception is gloomy at times, I can't even begin to describe the beauty here! We went to Siena and San Giminagno today and the view was breathtaking! Both of the cities are on a hill and showed you countryside as far as the eye can see! Everything was just so green and lush! Beauty doesn't just mean the countryside though, food can also be beautiful and ever since we got here it has been! I've decided that my favorite meal so far is tortellini with cream and ham! It's to die for! Things are so filling that all of us average only about two meals a day, but I know if I could eat more I definitely would just because everything is delicious!
But hey I have two more weeks to try everything!
Here's to many more delicious meals!
Ciao,
Caitie
Learning about Florence
I can't believe we have been here for almost a week now! I feel like I have learned so much already about the Italian culture.
I know the blog is a few days late so let me recap the previous two days,
Tuesday morning after another short night of sleep we woke up to a beautiful but cloudy day. At ten we met our guide Lena at the school for a walking tour of Florence. Lena would probably cringe if I called her a tour guide. She teaches Art History at the school and gave the background and explanation of why things were the way they were. She took specific places and went into great depth of their history rather than simply identifying everything that we saw with brief explanations.
The tour started at the Piazza Della Signoria where the Palazzo Vecchio is. I know these names may not make sense to someone who hasn't been here but I recommend researching them. Originally the famous statue of David stood outside the Palazzo Vecchio. The Medici (which was one of the most prominent families in the history of Italy) placed it outside the doorway to remind everyone who came in how wealthy and important their family was. During the tour we learned more about the Medici family and the neighborhoods throughout Florence. Our tour ended at the Accademia Gallery where the statue of David is located now. Lina got us reservations so we skipped the long line and got right in. After the walking tour I think all of us were happy that we didn't have to stand in line.
As you walk in the Accademia Gallery Michelangelo's unfinished slave statues line the walls. The figures look like they are breaking free from the stone. Caty thinks that this was the way he actually intended to finish them. Then we saw David. Some pieces of iconic art can be disappointing in person however this statue exceeded my expectations. You can see and experience the life that Michelangelo brought into this piece of marble. It was magical and will definitely be one of my favorite memories of this trip!
On Wednesday we met Rachel at the Bargello which is a sculpture Museum and saw Donatello's David as well other versions and sculptures. I enjoyed seeing them all on consecutive days because we were really able to compare their differences and similarities.
After the museum we came back to our apartment for class and we took Rachel to our favorite restaurant so far down the street. We found the restaurant on the first night we were here. It was late and we were starving so we agreed that we would eat at the first restaurant that we found and coincidentally it has been our favorite one so far!
After dinner we wandered down to the Duomo and walked through the Cathedral and then some of us went through the Duomo Museum! There is so much to say about both places I feel like I cannot give them the justice they deserve. That is how I feel about most of the things we are learning and seeing. On our tour Lena told us that, everything in Florence is the way it is for a reason. I have seen this to be true, it is a city with incredible history and depth. This month we are only scratching surface.
Ciao,
Kate
I know the blog is a few days late so let me recap the previous two days,
Tuesday morning after another short night of sleep we woke up to a beautiful but cloudy day. At ten we met our guide Lena at the school for a walking tour of Florence. Lena would probably cringe if I called her a tour guide. She teaches Art History at the school and gave the background and explanation of why things were the way they were. She took specific places and went into great depth of their history rather than simply identifying everything that we saw with brief explanations.
The tour started at the Piazza Della Signoria where the Palazzo Vecchio is. I know these names may not make sense to someone who hasn't been here but I recommend researching them. Originally the famous statue of David stood outside the Palazzo Vecchio. The Medici (which was one of the most prominent families in the history of Italy) placed it outside the doorway to remind everyone who came in how wealthy and important their family was. During the tour we learned more about the Medici family and the neighborhoods throughout Florence. Our tour ended at the Accademia Gallery where the statue of David is located now. Lina got us reservations so we skipped the long line and got right in. After the walking tour I think all of us were happy that we didn't have to stand in line.
As you walk in the Accademia Gallery Michelangelo's unfinished slave statues line the walls. The figures look like they are breaking free from the stone. Caty thinks that this was the way he actually intended to finish them. Then we saw David. Some pieces of iconic art can be disappointing in person however this statue exceeded my expectations. You can see and experience the life that Michelangelo brought into this piece of marble. It was magical and will definitely be one of my favorite memories of this trip!
On Wednesday we met Rachel at the Bargello which is a sculpture Museum and saw Donatello's David as well other versions and sculptures. I enjoyed seeing them all on consecutive days because we were really able to compare their differences and similarities.
After the museum we came back to our apartment for class and we took Rachel to our favorite restaurant so far down the street. We found the restaurant on the first night we were here. It was late and we were starving so we agreed that we would eat at the first restaurant that we found and coincidentally it has been our favorite one so far!
After dinner we wandered down to the Duomo and walked through the Cathedral and then some of us went through the Duomo Museum! There is so much to say about both places I feel like I cannot give them the justice they deserve. That is how I feel about most of the things we are learning and seeing. On our tour Lena told us that, everything in Florence is the way it is for a reason. I have seen this to be true, it is a city with incredible history and depth. This month we are only scratching surface.
Ciao,
Kate
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Around Florence, the early days
On the Arno River with the Ponte Vecchio in the background
Steph and Kate eating gelato on the steps of the Duomo
Vanessa and Caitie eating gelato on the steps of the Duomo
Today we had a guided art and architecture tour of Florence. Here is our guide, Lena, teaching us in the piazza outside Santa Croce.
The group with Lena in Piazza della Signoria
With Lena in Piazza della Repubblica
We stopped for a break and snack at Cafe Gilli. Kate and I enjoyed chocolate croissants.
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