Thursday, February 4th

Ciao Ragazzi!

What a day we all had today. We started out with a trip Caritas, and
this long awaited trip was well worth the wait. We learned about the
available means for the incoming immigrants, their situations and
their stories. But most importantly we learned about how much the
employees at Caritas truly care about the people that walk through
their doors. The manager of the center even told us a story that
occurred almost 10 years ago. These people dedicate their time,
connections and hearts to the immigrants that enter their offices, its
truly touching.

After Caritas we headed to the focal point of the Catholic religion,
The Vatican. We saw painting from every time period, every art style
and every available type of creative outlet. Painting, sculpting and
even tapestry were available for viewing. The most remarkable and
debatable pieces we saw was of course the Sistine Chapel. This
incredible dome that has every inch of Michaelangelo’s style in each
stroke had people feeling very difference emotions. Some felt let
down, the art didn’t live up to the hype it had been given while
others stood in awe at the masterpiece above their heads.

Overall the day was long, exhausting and truly exhilarating. Caritas
showed us much about the cities efforts in immigration and how giving
the human heart can be. The Vatican was an expression of the talents
among past and present artist as well as the capability for people to
have authentic faith. Even the unreligious can feel a sense of
divinity in the incredible surroundings of the Vatican.

Buona Sera Tutti!

Monday, February 8th

We are on to week six now… entering the second half of our adventure here. Twelve of the fourteen of us went to Venice for two nights this weekend, which made our free morning today especially nice. We had a light day of classes, just art history from 3-5.
Carisa gave an in-depth, enlightening presentation on the Church Triumphant, the history of the Jesuits in Rome, and guided us through the Il Gesu and Sant’Ignazio churches. We debated the methods and intentions of the Jesuits in their evangelical sweep of the globe in the 16th and 17th centuries while sitting on the steps of Il Gesu. The all too familiar roaring, beeping, screeching of the Roman traffic provided an ideal setting for our discussion… joke.

Although the façade of Il Gesu isn’t overly impressive, the inside is spectacular. Upon entering the church, your eyes are immediately drawn to the high alter where there is a massive, gold-encrusted Jesuit emblem. The ceiling is covered with frescoes and statues, creating a three dimensional effect… and the sensation of “ascension”. Everything in the church seems to be in the process of being pulled heavenward.

After visiting both of the Jesuit churches, Lisa took us to one of her favorite cafés and bought us coffee! Lisa is too good to us sometimes… it’s a wonderful thing. I had the best cappuccino I’ve ever tasted in my life; sugary, frothy, and delicious. The point is, today was just a great start to the week.

Wednesday, February 3rd

We started the day with Art History as we crossed the Ponte Sisto to Trastevere so that Sijia could lead our discussion of the Villa Farnesina. It was here that we learned all about the extravagance and showmanship that went into Augustino Chigi's entertaining of foreign royalty and the Pope himself. I think we all could take a few pointers from him, like how we could throw our gold place settings into the river... as long as we think ahead to lay out a net to catch them.

Inside this pleasure palace of the Chigi family we were introduced to several beautifully preserved Renaissance frescoes (some painted by the rock star of the Renaissance, Raphael) depicting the romances of the Roman Gods including the tale of Cupid and Psyche. The paintings allowed us to show off our skills at identifying Gods, Emperors and signs of the zodiac; some of us more than others.

Once we had had our fill of the opulence of the palazzo, we all went our seperate ways until we met back up for an hour of Italian class with Fede.

After that, we moved into the conference room of the Rome center for a special viewing of the film "Nuovomondo" or "The Golden Door" followed up by a question and answer session with none other than the writer/director Emanuele Ciralese himself. The film itsself was mesmerizing, with a blend of magical realism and historical fiction to tell the story of a family of sicilian emigrants who come to Ellis Island at the turn of the century.

During the discussion afterward we were completely enamored with Ciralese, whose charm and charisma oozed out of every story he told. We also were pleasantly surprised to find that he had a very poiniant point of view on the issues and themes we have been discussing in Julie's class, including Italian amnesia, immigration, identity, and discrimination. All in all it was an illuminating discussion of both social issues and the process of filmmaking that we would have missed had the film not been mandatory. I guess our teachers really do know what's good for us.

Tuesday, February 2nd

Ciao Ragazzi!!!

Welcome to the second day of the first week of February, wow we are almost halfway there. Can you believe it? I know I can’t but it is interesting to see how much more integrated we all are into this city. We know are way around (for the most part) and barter like it’s nobody’s business.

Today like most wonderful Tuesday’s began late in the afternoon. After all gathering in the honors classroom, we sat diligently, immersed in conversations for the next two hours. Our guest speaker not only got us talking but was able to get us to really talk and think about art. Contemporary art has no real timeline, it has no real definition, and the difference between the value of a piece of art and what it is valued at. We talked about the city of Rome. The street performers as a form of art or graffiti as a form of anarchy against the artistic rules we are given.

We also learned from our speaker the value and importance of keeping art a priority. Rome has few schools, few majors within Universities dedicated to art and very little appreciation for contemporary work. This is interesting to think about considering that investing in art, like you would invest in a hedge fund, is more successful then most other investments. There is money to be made in the field of art, or in the business should I say. In the past few years it has become apparent that being a successful artist includes being a savvy business man/woman.

After are amazing speaker had to leave and a quick lunch break we were back in action. We worked on an exercise that forced us to remove our inhibitions and take on the form of another person that we have been fortunate enough to meet.

People fell into the roles of police officers, gypsies, waiters and even characters from the books and stories we have read for class. It was a bit odd at first just walking around not quite understanding what to do. But the moment that I decided to not care about everyone else and real focus my mind and hone in on an alter-ego everything changed. I suddenly was a rude, over-confident Italian who hates tourists with a fierce passion, it was amazing.

Lastly we finished our day at a contemporary art gallery on the other side of the bridge. It had photos of the Berlin wall, taken artfully and artistically with different lighting and experimental angles. They had painting that up close looked like splattered paint but when you take a step back, forms a perfect picture, it was incredible.

Over all it was a vert long day, but worth every minute. See you tomorrow!!!

Monday, February 1st

Buon pomeriggio!

We started off the day early with art history at nine while the group was still recovering from our whirlwind trip to Florence and our weekend travels. However, Lisa being the pro that she is knew to treat us all to a caffeinated pick-me-up from one of the best cafès in Rome to ensure a lively discussion.

Our first destination was the Chiesa de San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) to see Michelangelo’s Moses. The artist himself said that this was his best work. After reading a glowing critique and detailed psychoanalysis by Freud, the class took upon the task of judging the sculptor’s true intent with the piece. We also experienced the quintessential example of an obnoxious tour group as their flashbulbs attacked the frescos with the urgency of the paparazzi when Brangelina enters an airport.

Next, we compared the Moses to Michelangelo’s Risen Christ in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. This is a lesser-known sculpture that throughout time has been criticized as what the kids today would call an “epic fail.” However, upon entering the church and knowing its intended orientation, we saw first hand the importance and influence of proper framing and viewing. The statue literally transformed before our eyes as we viewed it from different angles, going from a paunchy and disproportionate Jesus to a Christ ascending with fleeting majesty.

It was in this vein that we had to reconsider how we had viewed art thus far. How much of our opinion is influenced by how a work is framed? By what the “experts” tell us? The beauty of today’s exercise was that we could walk away preferring one sculpture to another and defend its merits beyond what any art historian had said before.

Later this afternoon we met again with Fede for Italian and learned some key Italian gestures. Some favorites were “You're crazy” and “Madonna Mia”.

Since we struggle with the language so much already, it’s nice to know that we can be understood in sign.

Now… forgetaboutit.

Wed-Fri, Jan 27-29

Ciao!

I realize it’s been a long time since we posted everything…maybe because we were in Florence too busy doing all the things that are bloggable.  Actually, I just didn’t bring a computer.  So here’s a digitized version of the handwritten journal I kept so diligently in the meantime.

 

Wednesday:

            This was our first day in Firenze and sure enough it was a busy one.  The air was cold but the sky was clear and cloudless—much more agreeable weather than the freezing rainstorms predicted.  With any luck the weathermen will continue to be wrong.

         

We took the 8:45 express train from Rome and arrived here around 10 AM.  Class started at 11:00 with a coffee break at the most decadent café I’ve ever seen (also one of the only places in Italy to serve a frappucino).  We followed that with an overview of the Medici family’s beginnings and the life of Cosimo de Medici as we finished our snacks in the huge piazza outside the café.  Then it was off to the famous Duomo to see the fruits of Medici patronage.

            We were all let loose on the city for lunch before continuing the Art History lecture in Santa Croce where Michelangelo and Galileo are entombed.    We also looked at works by famous Early Renaissance artist Giotto and learned the bloody history of the Peruzzi family as enacted by Mick, Erika, Nick and myself.

            Around 4:00 PM we were released back to our hotel to thaw out after our extended exposure to the elements and prepare for an amazing meal at Trattoria ZaZa.  Every student received 20 euros to distribute among courses at their discretion.  There was a lot of cross-table sampling and very few plates were left with any food on them.  Isabelle and Marissa (Julie’s girls) challenged almost everyone to staring contests and went undefeated until stone faced Carissa out-glared them.

            We are all impressed with the city so far and can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.

 

Thursday:

            So it was another full day here in Florence.  After the food coma of last night we stared the day a bit slow with Hotel Giada’s continental breakfast.  Regardless what Lisa says to its discredit I’m pretty sure everyone found something to eat.  Then it was off to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the Medici family’s palace built a block from our hotel.  It includes the best surviving chapel fresco, depicting the three magi (with some suspiciously familiar Medici-looking faces among the crowds).  Truly incredible to see. 

Tooling around the rest of the building it was amazing, especially if you imagine the patter of bambini feet running through the opulent rooms or the scraping of sulky teenage Michelangelo dragging his feet—to imagine that people actually lived here!

We followed the visit with a breeze-though of the Museo del Bargello to see the two bronze Davids by Donetello and Verrocchio.  Donatello’s version at one point stood in the courtyard of the Medici palace and is the first bronze nude made since ancient times.  After lunch we swung through the Uffizi, the office space of the Medici’s which has now been transformed into a museum of Renaissance paintings.  It was truly delightful to see originals of so many iconic pieces of art.  After a quick tour of the most significant paintings we were left to our own fancies for the rest of the afternoon.  I haven’t heard back from everyone but it seems the time was not wasted; we have reports of wandering from Piazza de Donatello to Piazza de Michelangelo.  Derek and I chose to scale to Duomo for part of the time.

Hope tomorrow is just as exciting.

 

Friday:

            Today our class experienced a mini Black Friday.  After a quick spin through the Accedemia to see Michelangelo’s David (which, I admit, after of lifetime of being underwhelmed by pictures, is spectacular), Lisa introduced us to a friendly family of olive oil connoisseurs who taught us the subtleties of making and tasting olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  They also showed off some unbelievable Italian foods like sundried Sicilian tomatoes, truffle honey, sage salt and lentil pollen.  The prices were steep but not enough so to deter many of the kids from dropping some money in exchange for one ore more of those amazing treats.

            After lunch, Julie took us on a ½ hour train ride over to Porto, a nearby town known for its textile industry.  We walked through to experience the very different and modern-feeling town before examining a church with multiple chapels covered in frescos.

 

           For a final act of the night, Lisa took anyone who cared to drop more money to a leather wallet + purse store that knows her well.  She helped us all haggle so everyone walked away happy.  Hopefully no one reading this is vegetarian, because we killed a lot of cows today (see pic).  Tomorrow we have a tour through the Palazzo Vecchio (another, grander Medici living space which has also served as a prison and a museum) and hopefully the secret passageways that riddle the Medici palace before we scatter for the weekend.  Destinations include Cinque Terre, Assisi, Orvieto and Rome.  Florence has been amazing but it’s time to get back to the thrum of the eternal city.

Tuesday, Jan 26 epilogue: the Thriller

Derek got a great picture of our first guest speaker, Greg Smith.  I thought it was worthy of an extra post.