Buon Viaggi Italia

Today seems like a normal day. I got up this morning, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and got dressed. Nothing special really, except for the fact that this was the last time I would wake up to the cleaning ladies carrying on in Italian. The last time I will shower in the small telephone booth sized shower. The last time I can look out my window and see the layers of roof tops march up the hill with their green shutters and potted plants. The last time to feel the warm Tuscan sunlight on my face (actually it is cloudy today so that last one was merely for literary emphasis).

I have 6 hours left here in Castiglion Fiorentino. One more lunch. One more trip to Hermes Cafe to say good-bye to Enzo. And one more trip down the hill to the train station. Both of the other schools have already left. The entire mood of the place has changed entirely. It seems awkwardly vacant. But what a run we have had. What an amazing set of experiences. People are great. They are the ones who have made this trip amazing: From Tony who was always a delight to talk to and give us insight, to Jen, Rob and Kristen that were a blast to hang out with, talk to and so helpful, to Sharon and Garnet who made all our tours happen, to Clanis Viaggi for helping us plan our personal trips, to all the other students, and to every random Italian that I met along the way. Thank You.

With the close of my time here in Italy a new adventure begins. I do leave this afternoon for Florence to catch a night train to Munich. From there I will be spending two weeks backpacking around Europe. Our destinations are as follows: Munich, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Paris. We have roughly 3 days in each city, it is going to be an amazing two weeks.

I am not certain whether I will have an opportunity to post again until I return home on the 22nd. I miss you all, and I can’t wait to be able to share some more of my travels with you at a later date. Wish me good luck, and I will see you in two weeks.

A World Without Scale

This past weekend Tim, Heidi, Aj, and I went to Cinque Terre. It was absolutely beautiful despite the train strike that caused us to almost be stuck in Florence. Every train we rode this weekend was delayed, but thankfully we never missed a connection despite having to run a couple of times to catch it. Or having the train stop at the end of the platform so that people could only get in the first two cars.

In case you don’t know Cinque Terre is a National Park in Italy that is along the coast about an hour northwest f Pisa. It is 5 small hill/harbor towns that are connected by trails.  We stayed in La Spezzia which was about 5 minutes by train from the first town (Rio Maggiore). We also visited Porta Venere, which was another amazing harbor town. This region is known for Pesto, so we had it at almost every meal, and there was some amazing seafood as well.

I only have ten days left in Italy before backpacking around Europe for two weeks. Tomorrow we are going to Tivoli. We have a lot to get done in Studio before Saturday, and Sunday is our exhibition of the work we have down this semester. So on that note I will leave you with a few pictures until after then.

The Beatles vs. Jimmy Hendricks and Janis Joplin

On Wednesday we went to two gardens for our weekly field trip. Each had a different character. Villa Lante was the first garden we visited in the small town of Bagnaia. The sacred forest of Bomarzo was our second destination. In seminar on Tuesday we were discussing the difference between Classicism and Romanticism. We decided that Classicism was about order, rules, and regularity; romanticism is more about intuition and feeling. We tried to come up with some concrete examples of the differences. Tony offered the bands mentioned in the title as possibilities. Villa Lante is a formal garden representing order and symmetry. While the Bomarzo ‘Monster Garden’ is more romantic and natural. I use the term ‘romantic’ in a liberal manner. It has more to do with fantasy or mysticism in my mind. Both places were spectacular in their own right. Although Bomarzo was a bit more of a playground (which my inner child loved) than the more formal Villa Lante. On the other hand Villa Lante was easy to sketch and analyze.

As of today I only have one more month to be abroad. I am happy for this fact, but I am also saddened by it.  I have loved my time here. I truly believe this has been a life changing experience, but my money is running out and I miss certain things about the United States (namely my family and friends).  I love you all and hope to see you soon.

It should be easy for your to decipher which place is which, but the first set of photos are from Villa Lante and the last few are from Bomarzo. Enjoy:

Hello my name is Matteo…Mathew. If you sit down we will go.

The bus driver was getting impatient with people on Wednesday, and I do not blame him. We left about 10 minutes late because people were a little slow getting up on Wednesday. This week we encountered yet another atmospheric condition for our field trip: fog. We begin to climb up this mountain weaving back and forth, and the fog only gets thicker and thicker.

We arrive at Montepulciano. We stopped to see a early Renaissance church. Tempio di San Biagio was interesting for several reasons:

1. The church was built outside the city.
2. It is set on a grassy plinth, separate from everything.
3. Organic ornamentation blends with the geometry of the church.
4. The second tower was supposed to be identical to the first, but was only built up to about 15 feet, and a clunky hip roof capped it off.
5. I have proved to you that I am in fact an architecture nerd.

We then rode the bus to Pienza. It was supposed to be a very scenic drive, but due to the fog we didn’t see much. We were going a long a ridge, and all of the sudden we could see a break in the fog, and before us was a beautiful rolling hillside of vineyards. It was spectacular. I can see why it is said to be the most beautiful area of Tuscany.

Pienza is a curious little place. It is another hill town with spectacular views of the valley below, but what makes it a delightful place is pecorino cheese, and Pope Pius II.  The Pope wanted to transform the medieval town into a modern Renaissance city. He envisioned a perfect city. Utopia was never achieved due to the fact that he was only Pope for six years before his death, and the shear expense a feat of this scope would be. The only thing completed was a small piazza  that was flanked by his Palazzo, a new Cathedral, the bishop’s house, and the town hall. All of which were very nice renaissance buildings.

The main attraction for the day was of course the lunch. Remember the pecorino cheese I was telling you about. We had heard about this lunch. It is legendary. It was to be the best meal of our Italian adventure.  The four courses did not disappoint. This is what we had (These are Laura’s Pictures.):

First Course (Primi Piati): I am not sure what to call this. It isn’t quite bruschetta. But the various spreads were delicious. One was onion, and the other two darker ones were unique flavors to me. Although I am told it was truffles and mushroom based.

Second Course (Secondi): Lasagna Bolgonese with pecorino chese. I must admit I had two helpings of this.

Main Course: Oops. We got too excited about the food to snap a picture of it. We had Salad and French Fries with a piece of roast beef, chicken, and a sausage. The sausage was my favorite. It had a nice smokey flavor.

Desert: Tiramisu. Laura said this picture makes it look like a hotdog. This is the best desert that I have had here. A beautiful finish to an amazing meal. Needless to say I ate too much. I really couldn’t help myself. I think almost everyone felt that way. The afternoon was spent fighting off a food coma. Very Nice.

Here are a few more pictures of the day (in no particular order):

In Florence We Say Buona Sera in the Afternoon

I do not mean to confuse you this post is principally about PERUGIA.

The title of this blog is something our history of science professor said. It made it sound like they only say ‘buona sera’ (good afternoon) in Florence. It struck me as a funny comment. I apologize if you do not get it or think it is funny.

It seems as if each town we visit is even more wonderful than the last. Perugia is a gem not too far from Assisi. The Perugians have embraced modern architecture in a way that we have rarely seen in Italy. Maura was our tour guide again. She has come to be one of my favorites. We entered on the low side of the city and took a series of escalators to get up to the city center. We went through a tunnel and emerged in some sort of cavern, but it was man made with brick vaulted ceilings. This was the old foundations of a large fortress that once stood as a symbol of oppression for the people. The pope built it to defend against the local people, not outside enemies. The architect built the fortress on top of the existing city. You can see the medieval streets, and some of the workshops  that were preserved. Where there once was sky now there is brick.  An entire section of the city was erased from the people’s memory. When they regained independence the people destroyed the fortress, but kept the foundations as a reminder of what their town used to be.  Aldo Rossi did a piazza and the surrounding buildings near the train station. I was excited to see it, but let’s just say it looks better in photographs. Photoshop can make almost anything look good. We rode the Mini metro, which as you will see is pretty small. It was designed by Jean Nouvel, and the stations are quite nicely detailed. We also encountered a medieval aquaduct that is now an elevated pedestrian path. Other than that we saw a Palazzo, Cathedral, couple of fountains. You know the usual stuff.

Buona Pasqua

I thought I would post a few more images of Castiglion Fiorentino. There has been a buzz around town lately due to the activities that surround Easter, and primavera.

For over 500 years Castiglion Fiorentino has held the tradition of holding Processions the week before Easter.  There are 3 brotherhooods, black, blue, and white) each does charity work throughout the year. We wait along the street for about 30 minutes. I see a light emerge from around the corner. Robed men, women, and children flank the street in two rows. Each one grasps a torch. 6 men carry a statue of Jesus, while a few others walk barefoot balancing a large wooden cross against their chest.  The municipal band followed behind the brotherhoods and behind them the crowd joined in the procession. These pictures try to communicate the feeling of the evening, although it was in many ways undescribable.

These are not in any specific order. I hiked up to the Castle Montecchio that is across the valley and up a hill. The views of Castiglion were spectacular from up there.

You Can’t Save All Souls

This week we got up early and walked down the hill to the train station to head toward Orvieto. Orvieto is another hill town, well better to call it a cliff town. It is the location of the other Kansas State University Study Center. I was excited to see some friends, and see what their experience in Italy has been like.

I sat next to Tony on the train, and I enjoyed chatting with him about everything from what it is like to be a teacher to sketching to philosophy. The title of the blog is something Tony said to me about helping struggling students. I find the overall teaching philosophy to be interesting. At what point do you give up on a student? At what point do you tell somebody you can not achieve your goals? By every rule in the book I should be one of those statistics, but because of my determination and perhaps stubbornness here I am: a fourth year studying in Italy preparing to graduate next May.

We arrive in Orvieto about an hour later, and we take the funicular up the hill to the old city.  Remnants of a Papal fortress still remain along the outskirts of the city. The citizens of the town destroyed the fortress because it was a symbol of the Pope dominating them. It has been converted into a beautiful park with panoramic views of the valley (pictured above.)

They day started out great. We met up with Maura, who was our tour guide in Assisi. As we were walking around the fortress an old man came up to us and started talking to Maura. He was full of life, and kept telling Maura how beautiful she was. We soon found out that this man is a local artist who has recently completed two new sculptures for the transcept of the Duomo. What an honor to be speaking with a local master. In the picture to the left (from left to right) you can see Maura, the sculptor, and Tony. You can also see Dylan in the background who visited us from Dessau, Germany where he is studying for the semester.

Above is a picture of St Joseph’s Well. It has a skylight in the middle with two double helix stairways along the rim to allow one for people to go down, and the other going up.

We took a bus from the fortress to the city center to save some time. On the bus Cody noticed that the sun was reflecting off his watch. He shined it in Tim’s eyes and all over the bus, and out of the blue Dylan noticed something a bird had left a present on the sleeve of someone other than Tim’s shirt. Cody decided to shine some light on the situation. The entire bus was engaged in the ensuing uproar. The funny thing about this is that later that week I was leaning against the wall waiting for the Easter procession to start when I heard something splat on my jacket. Yep a bird, a pigeon to be more precise had chosen to christen me as well. I guess it was Karma from laughing so hard at someone else’s misfortune.

We went to the duomo where we saw some friends hanging out in the piazza doing a site analysis.  This church is over sized for the population, but it was commissioned by the Pope to enshrine a piece of cloth that miraculously had a blood stains on it.

This Church is one of the best examples of Italian Gothic. The verticality is expressed on the exterior, but interrupted by the horizontal striping on the interior. The Duomo had beautiful alabaster windows, and amazing frescoes.

After touring the Duomo and walking around for a bit we toured the study abroad center. Their studio seems to be more rigidly organized in rows, while in Castiglion we have a more open environment. For Lunch we got a Doner Kabab, which was so good. I am hooked. I have had them before, but this time I knew I would want another one soon. We went back to one of the guys apartments to eat and hangout. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two programs.

The rest of the day was spent walking down the corso, and then along the wall/cliff. And of course we got Gelato. This is one of my favorite places in Italy. The Cliffs have created a unique condition for how the town was developed. The clusters of homes, the panoramic views, and the local artisans combine to make this town unforgettable.

Here are a few more pictures from that day:

(Click on the picture to make it bigger.)

I Think I Just Earned a Potato Chip

I am going to be making my Italian Theatrical Debut this Thursday. I am a Roman Soldier in the local passion play here in Castiglion Fiorentino. This is my costume, but don’t worry there is a spear and a shield to go with it. Below you will find a group shot of my with the girls who are playing the part of townspeople.

We had practice last week, which turned into a comedy. There were several directors, one of whom kept on singing “Jesus Christ Superstar”  every time we walked by. One of the other Roman Soldiers commented that their were too many cooks in the kitchen. So funny. This has been a great opportunity to meet some more of the locals. The language barrier is still an issue. It seems like there is always a lot of gesturing, and grunting. Go non-verbal communication! They invited us to dinner after the performance which I am sure will be wonderful. I am a little surprised that more people didn’t volunteer to participate, oh well. Gotta Make the most out of every opportunity. We go on at 9 pm. Wish me luck!

The title of blog is something Tony said to me after we both tried to relearn how to properly construct a one point perspective. Tony, I think you earned another potato chip for taking these picture for me. Thanks.

That’s a Lot of Pasta

Today we helped unload 5 trucks full of pasta. It was bucket brigade style. We have to work to earn our keep around here.

Just to warn you now this is going to be a long post. If you just want to see some pretty pictures, I won’t judge you, but just skip to the end.

SPRING BREAK. . .

Tim, Aj and I leave the Lido (an island in Venice) at 6:25 am to catch a 7:40 train to Vicenza. We had to leave early because there was going to be a train strike. We arrive in Vicenza at 9 am, through a series of mishaps and missed buses we make it to the Villa Rotunda around 10:30, we sketch and document the building for the better part of an hour then head back to the train station to catch a 12:08  train to Verona.

Verona is a beautifully scaled city. They have some how modernized the city in a way to keep the medieval charm. Some streets were widened to allow 4 lanes of traffic, while other streets would remain narrow, and be reserved for pedestrians. In Verona we see a Roman Amphitheater, and the Castlevecchio Museum.  Now on to Milan.

Milan. What is there to say about this place. It is beautiful. It is designed. The Milan Centrale train station is by far the most beautiful we have seen. Another reason why I love Milan. . . We were offered a free can of coke as we got off the train. We go to the Cathedral (which is a beautiful example of High Gothic architecture) and the Vittorio Emanuel Gallerie. We spend the night in Milan. Four cities in one day is absolutely exhausting.

Before catching our plane to Barcelona we go back to the Cathedral and Gallerie then journey to the edge of town to see the Fiero Milano (one of the largest exhibition spaces in the world.) We arrive in Barcelona and go to the Ramblas. This is an amazing boulevard full of activity at all hours of the day. The center portion of the street has been planted with trees and given to the pedestrian. There are little cafes and newsstands. Barcelona is full of life.

Our room is on the fourth floor, but it overlooks the Ramblas and we have a balcony. This is what we see:

• Caixa Forum (Done by Isosaki, Not Herzog and De Meuron. )
• Barcelona Pavillion (Mies Van Der Rohe)
• Botanical Gardens
• Park Guel (Antonio Gaudi)
• Forum (Herzog and De Meuron)
• Diagonal Mar
• Picasso Museum
• Cathedral
• Frank Gehry Fish
• Sagrada Familia (Antonio Gaudi)
• Casa Mila (Antonio Gaudi)
• Casa Botilla (Antonio Gaudi)
• Merecado di Santa Catarina
• MACBA (Richard Meier)
• Arch di Triomph
• Bridge by Calatrava

Our last night in Barcelona we ate dinner at an Irish Pub. Yes in Spain. They are actually quite popular. And of course it was called SCHILING’S. Cheap good Food. We ordered chips with Queso and Guacamole thinking we would get really good nacho cheese sauce.  We forgot that queso is just cheese in Spain. It was great, but it was just some cheese sprinkled on tortilla chips with Guacamole.

We take a “Night” train from Barcelona to Madrid. We had heard that trains in Spain can be a little sketchy so we spend a little extra for the ‘Preferente’ class.  We had to go through metal detectors and have our bags screened. We go to wait for our train and see these trains with little more than benches for seats. Are you kidding me? How am I going to sleep on that? Then our train pulls up the conductor tells us to go in the next car, and we find our seats in a private cabin designed for 6 people. The seats reclined almost fully into a bed. It was glorious. And so comfortable. They also had a snack bar in the next car, so we got a midnight snack before going to bed.

We arrive in Madrid at 7:15 am. I slept pretty well, but it is still early. We go to our hostel, and they let us check in immediately as well as give us free breakfast. Glorious. So far the trip has gone really smoothly. we never had to run to catch a train. We never got lost. We were able to see everything that we wanted to.

We go to see the Reina Sofia by Jean Nouvel and the new Caixa Forum by Herzo and De Meuron. They were both magnificent. We couldn’t find a good place to eat except McDonald’s. After we finish eating we get out our map and decide where to go next. All of the sudden Aj stands up and stares down this guy. He tried to steal Aj’s bag. Tim didn’t realize what happened and stood up also. Our hearts are pounding as the man runs out the door an across the street. That was our first close call. I could tell that Aj was a little on edge for a few hours after that. He said, “That guy had his hand on my bag. He had opened it and was ready to run with it.”

We meet up with my friend Jenn, who has been teaching English in Madrid since September, at the Puerta Del Sol. Which is not a gate it is more of a plaza. I really enjoyed the time spent with her, we were a little piece of home to each other I think. And we had our own personal tour guide.

We visit:

• Eco Boulevard (little bit more of an excursion than we thought it would be.)
• Mercado San Joseph
• Palacio Real
• Cathedral
• Plaza Mayor
• Plaza Santa Ana
• Thyssen Museum (had a wonderful Monet Exhibition)
• Retiro Park
• Crystal Palace
• Hexagonas Pavillion (a joke of modern architecture it was boarded up and falling apart. walked a mile through the ghetto/next to a prison)
• Matadero Madrid
• BiblioMetro
• Atocha Bombing Memorial
• Atocha Train Station (Rafeal Moneo)
• Olympic Tennis Stadium (Dominique Perrault)
• Usera Public Library (also a bit of a hike)
• American Hotel (Jean Nouvel)
• Puerta de Europe (Philip Johnson)

We get on a bus at 6pm on Thursday to go to Valencia for the Las Fallas Festival. We are staying with Jenn and some of her friends in a house outside the city in Buñol (where they have the giant tomato fight every summer.) The public transportation in Valencia is dumb. We wasted a lot of time waiting for trains that were late/ figuring out what train went where. We saw Santiago Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences and David Chipperfield America’s Cup Grandstand.  And then there was Las Fallas. It was crazy how many people were in the streets. There is another story about the last night in Valencia/ how we got back to Madrid. But I think I will save it for another time.

For now enjoy some pictures:

Here is One that has Not Sold His Soul to the Tourist. .

(I apologize for the delay in posting this, I will hopefully blog about Spring Break in the next couple of days as well.)

Venice. . .

A Private boat met us at the train station to take us to the Lido. (That is one of the neighboring islands.) Aj, Ian, and I were at a different hotel than the rest of the group. I laughed a little because some of them (who will remain nameless) were bragging about how nice their hotel was. We were going to meet them at their hotel, and we find out that there was no heat or hot water. I guess you win some and lose some. Both hotels were actually quite nice. We had a room that had two balconies, and overlooked one of the canals. The best part was that we had a normal size shower. (The showers at St Chiara are adequate, but not much more than 30 inches square.)

The weather in Venice was pretty nasty for the first two days, it snowed about 2 or 3 inches. Riding the vaporetto (water taxi) was interesting because of the weather the water was really choppy. I had fun, but a few people got a little sea sick.

We went into a lot of museums and churches because the weather was so bad. Most of the buildings had a rack or an area for you to put your umbrella. At the Stampalia Museum (by Carlo Scarpa) I left my umbrella by the door. Upon my return it was gone. . .  I was pissed.  I loved that umbrella. I got it for like $7, but it was really nice and sturdy. Gone. So somebody told me to just grab another one thinking that they had grabbed mine on accident. Sorry mom I may have took them up on their advice.  I am currently borrowing a wobbly umbrella, and waiting for the opportunity to trade it for my own trusty black one.

Is it sad that one of my favorite parts of Venice was eating at a Chinese Restaurant?

The Last day we were there the weather turned out to be really nice. Here are a few of my experiences in no particular order. . .