Ciao, Tutti!
We got a gloriously late start today with our first class at 1 PM. Some busy bees got up early regardless, but there were more than a few good college students who managed to sleep through the extra time.
The only class we had today was Roman Borders, in which we had back-to-back guest speakers. The first was Gregory O. Smith, an expert on urban planning and regional organization from Cornell University. He regaled us with an overview of environmentalism, population growth, immigration and settlement, construction patterns and political preferences in Rome. Everyone was impressed with his breadth of knowledge although I’m curious just how many of the people he branded communists and fascists are official party members.
The other speaker was Amara Lakhous, the author of Clash of Civilizations over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio. What a fascinating man! An authority on the complex immigration issues of the country from any perspective. He fielded our many questions through a translator, who was herself amazing in her ability to on second joke around in Italian and the next speak in crisp English. Amara autographed everyone’s books and took several pictures with us adoring fans (as seen above).
Tomorrow we head out to Florence. The week is about to turn into a whirlwind.
Ciao!
I like the photos, and the text nicely captures the day.
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