Chiese, Cenacolo, and Confetti in Milan

February 25

Lori, Christina, Joanna, Carmen, Lauren, Katie, Duncan, Sherie and I met up at the train station early Saturday morning for our four-hour train ride to Milan. Upon arriving, we walked across town to the Zebra Hostel (which was decorated just as tackily as you can imagine). After checking in, we ate lunch at a cafeteria-style restaurant, where we learned that caf food in Italy is just about the same as in the US. The plan was to visit the Duomo in the afternoon, but as soon as we rounded the corner into the piazza, we were doused in confetti. We had stumbled into the midst of a huge Carnevale parade. I imagine that this wasn’t nearly as elaborate as Venice, but at least now I can say I experienced the Italian festival.

In order to escape the crowd and stay together, we met at the entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is an open mall with gorgeous arched glass ceilings. At the crossroads, there are three designer clothes shops and a McDonald’s (one of these things is not like the other, one of these things really does not belong). We ended up at a park where we enjoyed the green grass and beautiful weather (almost seventy degrees!).

The first church we visited was San Marco. I originally was just going to dart in while the others studied the map, but as soon as I walked in, I could sense the presence of a Caravaggio painting. It was the strangest feeling, but the aura of the church said, “There’s a Caravaggio here.” So I started peering into each of the side chapels. The last one I checked, there it was—The Deposition (or Entombment). I’m so glad that my new friends understand my little freak-outs at times like this.

Next, we stopped at the Castello Sforzesco. There were people everywhere for Carnevale and Women’s Fashion Week (unfortunately, we didn’t see Tyra Banks). We spent some time people watching, aka giggling over the cute costumes that all of the little children were wearing. After tearing ourselves away from all of the cuteness, we encountered more celebrations in the form of an African drum ensemble, so we danced in an empty corner of the street before continuing.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Milan was to see Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Unfortunately, one needs a reservation way ahead of time and it tends to get rather expensive (there was an open slot for Sunday morning at 8:30 for around 40 Euro). So I settled for the next best thing: seeing the church. My friends stopped me outside of the courtyard to take a picture of me freaking out and then I ran inside the courtyard and hugged the nearest column. Yes, you read that right. I hugged the building. I bought a postcard, peaked into the church, and then stood in the doorway of the reception area for the lucky people who had reservations and money. Good enough for me (for now).

February 26

This was my first experience staying in a hostel, so I slept with my purse under my pillow. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad, except for the obnoxious drunk guys who came back in the middle of the night and wouldn’t shut up, even though we asked them in four different languages. And then I forgot that hostels don’t provide towels…but at least we got free breakfast! We split up and headed to the Duomo. Italy doesn’t have a lot of Gothic style architecture, so this breathtaking cathedral was so unique to everything I’ve seen so far.

Then we went back to the Castello, which is the home to at least fifteen different city museums, all for 1.50 Euro. Best deal ever. I was determined to see Michelangelo’s last statue, unfinished because he died before it was completed. I love seeing unfinished sculptures like the Rondanini Pietà because it’s a glimpse into the artistic process, a chance to see Michelangelo’s vision in the process of emerging into life. Plus, the Castello is home to the Sala Delle Asse, which da Vinci just happened to fresco!

After reuniting with the rest of the group, we visited an actual carnival on the other side of the Castello. A few people went on rides, while other succumbed to the smell of fair food. My lunch was a frittelle con nutella (coated with “parmesan cheese,” aka lots of sugar). We found a small (but free!) aquarium on the outskirts of the park, which was an interesting but fun change from all of the artworks we have been seeing. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the streets of Milan—I really can’t get over how modern it is compared to the rest of the cities I’ve visited so far. This is the first time I’ve seen skyscrapers anywhere in Italy, which was a small culture shock. We had a one-hour delay in Bologna on the way home, turning the four-hour trip into five, giving me an extra hour of homework time, but cutting into my sleep time. But I had a wonderful weekend, so I didn’t mind at all.

Vissi d’Arte, Vissi d’Amore

February 21

The Medici class met at Santa Trinita, looked at some frescoes, and focused on the Sassetti Chapel, which was painted b Domenico Ghirlandaio, who just happened to be one of Michelangelo’s teachers. We then walked over to San Pancrazio, which has been renovated into a modern art museum. However, the Rucellai Chapel has been preserved and it is the home to Alberti’s Temple of the Holy Sepulchre, aka the tomb where Christ was laid after his death. Obviously, he’s not there, but upon squeezing in the tiny door, we encountered a life-size statue of his body sprawled out on a table. And it was dark. So I didn’t stay in there very long. The temple was constructed during Florence’s efforts to establish itself as the New Jerusalem. The afternoon consisted of attending an opera orientation and booking our tickets to go to Milan this weekend!

February 22

The Saints class started out at San Marco, visited Sant’ Appollonia (the fresco of Andrea del Castagno’s The Last Supper influenced da Vinci!), and then, after Italian, we stopped at the Galleria dell’Accademia (where I had to be physically guided away from Michelangelo’s David in order to study some more altarpieces…). We were all exhausted by the end of the double session, so Professor Solberg let us go half an hour early. I went home, rested, then met up with Lori, Amy, and Dawn at Nerone for dinner. Fettuccini alfredo—the best pasta I’ve ever eaten (it’s going to be difficult to go back to the Oak Room’s Pasta Bar next term). After dessert (apple cake), we hurried across town to see Tosca, a three act opera in which (SPOILER ALERT!) everybody dies. The sets were awesome and the conductor was hilarious. I did not fall asleep during the opera (only during the intermissions—25 minutes is a decent nap when you have been stressed about papers and midterms).

February 23

During my free morning, I started reading Alberti’s “On Painting,” specifically, Book Two. Basically, he sums up everything I’ve wanted to say about all the paintings I’ve been seeing. It’s awesome. Callie and I got gelato in-between classes, then afterwards I decided it was too nice to go back home and do homework (a reoccurring theme by now) and decided to go out wandering. I found my way to the river and went into Ognissanti. Tucked away in one of the chapels is Sandro Botticelli’s tomb. Finding that basically made my day. I continued on to the other side of the river, where I ended up just a teensy bit lost for no particular reason. On the way back through Piazza della Repubblica, I found a pink stretch limo.

February 24

I used Friday to tie up a few lose ends. I went back to San Lorenzo and used the second half of my ticket to view Cosimo the Elder’s simple but colossal tomb, pondering over why there weren’t any sculptures on Donatello’s tomb, and willingly spent twenty minutes looking a small bits of dead saints in elaborate reliquaries—when I could have been sleeping in, mind you. I also went back to the Bargello to explore some of the sculpture rooms I didn’t get to see on my first visit. The tourists are starting to emerge in masses. I ate lunch in the Piazza of Santa Maria Novella and soaked up the sun for an hour before I had enough energy to move again. Then I went back to San Pancrazio to the Marino Marini Museum. I don’t know what I was expecting, what I didn’t expect what I wasn’t expecting. Basically, the modern art just wasn’t my style.

After some window-shopping, I met up with Amy, Lauren, and Carmen to climb to the top of the Duomo (finally!). The entrance and exit led us just inches away from the frescoes. It’s difficult to understand just how enormous these figures have to be in order for the audience to understand the scene from the ground. I cannot imagine the work that went into painting that. Four hundred and sixty three stairs got a little claustrophobic after a while, but the view was worth it. We picked the perfect day to go, it wasn’t crowded or too cold and the sky was perfectly clear. I had fun pointing out all of the surrounding churches and landmarks. We were there at five, when all of the bells started going off around the city, which made the experience even more magical. Afterwards, we recuperated with gelato at Vivoli (peanut butter and hazelnut).

Come Si Dice “Nerd” in Italiano?

February 18

Jodie had been mentioning the significance of Prato a lot during this week’s lectures, so I decided that touring the town would be a good day trip. I arrived in the midmorning and headed straight to the Duomo of San Stefano to escape from the rain. Right inside is the chapel that holds the Virgin’s belt. Of course it’s hidden away in a big elaborate altar behind a gate, but every once in a while, they take it out and display it on the pulpit on the outside, which was sculpted by Donatello.

The main reason that I wanted to go to Prato was for Lippi’s frescoes. It was totally worth three Euro to be the only person (beside the ticket people) to be in the church, back behind the altar, the chapels all lit up for me! I gawked at the scenes of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Stefano for about half an hour. The best part: Lippi doesn’t let the architecture define the scene. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it—basically, a figure is standing on one wall, but his hand is reaching on to the next wall. It’s so cool!

After leaving, I visited the Duomo museum (and saw Donatello’s original pulpit right up close!) wandered into a few more churches before stumbling upon the Castello dell’Imperatore. I’m not entirely sure that I was supposed to be in there, but the doors were open and nobody yelled at me, so I enjoyed the view. My ticket from the Duomo also got me into the Mural Museum. If you’re interesting in Botticelli, Lippi, Donatello, Daddi or Raphael (!!!), you should go to this place. Tiny, but beautiful.

While waiting for my train, I wandered over to the other side of the tracks where I discovered a series of famous works of graffiti (well, famous in such a way that I’ve seen the images all over the internet, but didn’t realize that they were actually in Prato). So I walked along the entire wall several times, filming and taking pictures of the individual figures.

Upon arriving in Florence, I ran into Katie and we met up with Shayla for another trip to the chocolate festival (last time, I swear!). We went back to Pitti Palace and visited the Costume Gallery. I’ve never wanted to play dress up so badly in my life. Except in the room where they keep Cosimo and Eleonora’s burial clothes—what few scraps are left, that is. That was just a bit creepy—they dug ‘em up, stripped ‘em down, and then stuck what was left of ‘em back in their tombs (I’m assuming without any new clothes). We wandered around the Boboli Gardens until closing and I got to see the Grotto (there used to be a pool for goldfish in the ceiling!).

February 19

Another early morning that turned out to be awesome. Lori, Jules, and I met up in Fiesole where we finally got into the Archaeological Museum. Right inside the entrance is the Roman amphitheater—that we got to walk on (as long as you’re not climbing over the stones and being destructive, you can walk on the ruins). We had fun guessing what each of the ruins used to be, then attempted to translate the signs (the vomitorium is an exit, not a place to go be sick). The interior museum has a lot of pottery, marbles, bronzes, etc. Even though it was misting, we took the time to walk back up the hill to marvel over Florence’s beauty. I returned home and spent the rest of the rainy day working on my paper (Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes, one of my favorite subjects).

February 20

After a short in class session, the Saints class visited Santa Maria Novella. Although it’s right next to Linguaviva, it’s the only other main church of Florence that I hadn’t visited yet. I have to say that the façade is one of my favorites. And seeing Masaccio’s Trinity was a huge plus as well. Santa Maria Novella is a Dominican church, the opposite of the Franciscan Santa Croce. We visited the Strozzi Chapel and the Spanish Chapel. After finishing my Medici paper, I started on my Saints midterm. I’m still managing to balance homework and exploring…well, for the most part. I can sleep when I go back home.

 

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough in Assisi

February 17

One of the perks of this program: we get to take private buses to and from our destinations. I had planned to use the two-hour bus ride to catch up on homework, but it was more fun to look at the countryside pass by outside the window. We drove by Lake Trasimeno, which the largest lake in the Italian peninsula, before arriving at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli at the foot of the hill of Assisi. This is where the Porziuncola, or the small church where Saint Francis started out, is located. Francis also rolled in the rose gardens here, which is why the flowers don’t have any thorns. In the hallway to the gardens, there is a statue of Francis with two real white doves sitting on it. Francis died in this church, but his relics are kept at the Basilica of San Francesco, a fact that has caused a division between the Franciscan order—the church is obviously too elaborate to coincide with the vow of poverty that Franciscans believe in.

We took the bus up the hill to visit this famous pilgrimage. While the exterior is big and bright, the interior of the first church is dark and (for me) claustrophobic (compared to the basilicas I’ve become accustomed to visiting). However, the frescoes were unbelievable. So many frescoes, all in relatively good condition, and I could recognize the influences and think of some artists who may have studied there. We saw his crypt, then we climbed up into the second nave and examined over twenty-eight frescoes depicting scenes of Saint Francis’ life. I now consider myself an expert in his life.

After a quick hike (hahaha) up the hill to see Santa Maria sopra Minerva (a church that uses the façade of a Roman temple), we had a group lunch at some kind of community center (meat and potatoes—probably the most American thing I’ve eaten in Italy). Our last main stop was a trip to Santa Chiara, the church of Clare who represents the female Franciscan order (of course it’s pink). The crucifix that told Francis to rebuild his church hangs in the nun’s chapel and there are also garments that Clare and Francis wore hanging in an exhibit across from Clare’s relics.

In the late afternoon, we were free to explore the rest of the hilltop city on our own. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (finally!), so Duncan, Callie, and I started meandering up the hill. We found a Roman tunnel that lead to a parking garage, then visited the Cathedral of San Rufino. The poor church doesn’t get much attention because Francis steals most of the spotlight, but I found its Romanesque façade (complete with animal sculptures!) and glass floors (to display Roman ruins underneath) to be captivating.

Then we continued up the mountain for the most breathtaking view of the countryside ever. The panoramic view overlooking Florence from Fiesole will always be my favorite, but standing next to the Rocca Maggiore, gazing out over the mountains and fields is a close contender. On the way home, we watched Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna (Brother Sun, Sister Moon), a film which tells the story of Francis and Clare. Just another reminder that Assisi is a “one saint city.”

Cioccolate e Compiti

My week consisted of a lot of both (chocolate and homework, for those of you who don’t have an Italian-English dictionary nearby). However, one took up more of my time than the other one, I’ll let you guess which one was which.

February 12

I started my day with homework, but then my host parents had family over and I felt weird hanging around, so Katie and I ventured downtown to visit the chocolate festival. After drooling over the numerous booths, we settled on chocolate covered strawberries, possibly the best that I’ve ever eaten. It’s amazing to see how elaborate some of the venders had gotten with their creations (I thought that kind of work only went into Food Network Challenges). We finally tore ourselves away from the Piazza della Repubblica and I went on a hunt to find somewhere quiet to do homework. And failed. Every café that I’ve become familiar with was closed, so I ended up wandering around for an over an hour before finally hiding away in the corner of a café near Santa Croce. When I got home, I found out that Daniella and Andrea’s grandchildren, Marco (ten months) and Massimo (five years), were staying for dinner. They are so cute! Andrea, Katie, and Massimo had a sword-fight after dessert while I held onto a giggling Marco.

February 13

For some reason, I thought it would be okay to wear only one pair of socks to my Saint’s class at Santa Croce. Big mistake. Pros of visiting in the winter: fewer tourists. Cons of visiting in the winter: while the churches may provide protection from the wind, they’re often even colder than the outside. Between the cold and being faced with overwhelming frescoes and sculptures, we’re completely exhausted after a three-hour class. Thankfully, my energy was replenished during Italian when Umberto taught us how to sing “7000 Caffé.” My Spanish professor at Knox also used songs to help us learn—and when you sing a song for fifteen minutes, it tends to get stuck in your head…

February 14

…which explains why I woke up with the chorus stuck in my head. The Medici class met at San Marco—a church that is actually heated! We entered the museum to find a group of elementary school children seated in a semi-circle around an altarpiece and decided to do the same while listening to each other’s reports. Upstairs is Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, a fresco that I’ve been fascinated with since I can’t even remember.

On the walk back to Linguaviva, one of my classmates suggested that I stop by the Medici Chapel (connected to San Lorenzo, which we visited a couple weeks ago. I had planned to visit later that day, but it was closed by the time I got back). We had gotten out of class a bit earlier than usual, so I went. All I can say is that the Medici really know how to flaunt their power by making you feel so small and insignificant. And that was the most beautiful altar that I have ever seen in my life. And then just around the corner is Michelangelo’s unfinished sacristy. So many treasures in one space!

After Italian, a group of us went back to the chocolate festival (it never ends!). We found a vender that sold a cup of strawberries drizzled in hot chocolate and topped with whipped cream. Worth it. Every time I go back, I find a vender that sells more chocolate for less—if it’s a bargain, then I have to buy it (best deal so far: 100 grams for 4 Euro). To get away from the food, we walked to the river, where we eventually split off into little groups. Christina, Joanna, Lauren, and I ended up walking out onto an outcropping on the Arno River, taking pictures and enjoying the sunlight. Valentine’s Day ended with pizza, Skype dates with my roommate and boyfriend, and more homework.

February 15

None of my classes met on site today, but I had fun nonetheless. Umberto handed out the lyrics to “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” in Italian: “Tutti Quanti Voglion Fare il Jazz” (which actually translates to “Everybody Wants to Play Jazz”) and we sang that at the beginning of class before delving into review for our next quiz. After dinner, Professors Ruth Caldwell and Uwe Rudolf had a get-together at their residence, which also doubled as a birthday celebration for Sherie. We sat around, tasted wine, ate desserts, and talked for a few hours.

February 16

The Medici class met at the original Medici Palace to view one of their famous chapels. The frescoes are all portraits of family members, artists, and other important people whom the Medici associated with (kings, emperors, probably some popes—normal acquaintances). We learned about the exciting life of Fra Filippo Lippi: studied under Masaccio at the Brancacci Chapel, was kidnapped by pirates, climbed out of windows using bed sheets to “frolic in the meadows” (as Christina put it) with nuns (yes, that’s meant to be plural).

After a rather grueling Italian quiz, I had some free time. And instead of going straight home and doing homework (I promise, I’ll start reading again as soon as I post this), I took a walk. I spent most of the walk at the Parco delle Cascine, which is to Florence what Central Park is to New York City. It’s right along the Arno and the Florentines were out enjoying the almost sixty degree weather. According to Wikipedia, the park stretches 3.5 kilometers long and 640 meters wide (over two miles by a little over a third of a mile), so that was a really long walk. Which was enough justification to play “I hope this bus goes by somewhere that looks somewhat familiar” in order to find my way home.

I found flowers in the park! That means it'll stay warm, right?

Everywhere! (That’s a Contradiction in Terms)

I have reached the halfway point in my ten-week program and I’m having some conflicting emotions. I’m torn between homesickness and exploring, museums and homework, sleep and daylight, sickness and cold weather. There’s simply not enough time in the day and it’s beginning to catch up to me.

February 6

After drying out from Rome, we were back in class. The Saints class met up at Orsanmichele to have a more in-depth look at the tabernacle the holds the miracle-working Madonna. We went across the street to another church to discuss Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, but we were kicked out because mass was starting. After a short break (and some cappuccino), we reconvened in the frescoed halls of Santissima Annunziata, the church that I had stumbled into a week or so ago. Turns out that the baldacchino that I was so fascinated by is extremely important. It protects the image of the Annunciation, which is believed to be the oldest miracle working Madonna in Florence (there is controversy over when it was created, but the members of the church don’t want tests done on the fresco so that they can continue to believe their original claims. There’s a lot of that going on here. Original this, first one to do that, and to say otherwise—blasphemy! But I digress). We were kicked out again because mass was starting, so we ended up back at Linguaviva, where it was warm.

Santissima Annunziata

February 7

The first session of the Medici class met at the Bargello Palace. Like many of the other museums we’ve visited, the building has gone through a number of different uses, including a jail (which is why all of the walls were whitewashed and most of the frescoes were lost). But today, it is a sculpture museum of some of the most famous works in Florentine history. Such as Donatello’s David and the original competition panels of Isaac’s Sacrifice that Donatello and Brunelleschi created in the competition for the Baptistery doors. Then, upstairs we saw Verrocchio’s work. Verrocchio experimented in almost every medium, but he is best known for being one of the greatest teachers of the Renaissance. His most famous pupil: Leonardo da Vinci. After lunch, we had a makeup session in which we got to go back into the off-limits area of the Duomo again—not to see Saint Zenobius’ relics, but to study the decorative wooden inlay of the Sacristy more closely. We did the same thing in the Baptistery as well—I still can’t get over how elaborate that ceiling is.

The courtyard of the Bargello

After class, I rushed home to change for dinner before attending my first professional ballet. After a quick meal (prosciutto and funghi calzone) with some friends, we all walked over to the theatre to see a production of “Il Lago dei Cigni” (Swan Lake). It turns out that this particular performance was a conceptualization. At the intermission, the group of ACMers who had gotten tickets together all turned to each other and asked, “So…do you know what’s going on?” Turns out that Tchaikovsky, the composer, was also a character in the show…? I think. Nevertheless, the dancing was beautiful (how is the human body so flexible?) and the visualizations were astounding (lights, rain, costumes, simple yet effective).

February 8

The Saints class met at the Uffizi to study altarpieces. We spent almost three hours going over various interpretations of the Madonna, the Crucifix, and different saints’ lives—and we only made it through four rooms of the entire museum. This is the kind of learning that I came to Florence for! (Something I had to remind my aching feet and grumbling stomach.) Life after Italian class consisted of trying to catch up on homework—including my first paper. For Saints, we had to write two pages, analyzing one panel from either Ghiberti’s north doors or Pisano’s south doors of the Baptistery. I have not written an art history paper since last spring (the Greek art class that I took in the fall did not require any papers, just tests), so I was actually a little too excited to write this paper. An added bonus: I can go and look at the real door in order to write this analysis. Not a pixilated slide on a projector or a discolored photograph in a book—the actual, physical, real door panel. I could have even touched it if I were so inclined (and a little bit taller). I’m still trying to wrap my head around this opportunity.

The Temptation by Ghiberti

We ended up watching the news at dinner. While I missed practicing Italian, it was interesting to see what’s going on in Italy (snow) and how Italian news differs from American news (erm, non lo so). Basically, it looks like all the snow that was supposed to fall in the Midwest over the last year got dumped all over Italy. There’s over a meter of snow in some places that barely ever get any flurries and no one (understandably) is prepared. Thankfully, Florence is situated in just the right place in the mountains so that the snow isn’t reaching us. But the cold is.

February 9

The Medici class visited the Brancacci Chapel at Santa Maria del Carmine, which was another example of, “Oh, I’ve seen that in a book before, but I didn’t realize it was in Florence!” I’ve been here for five weeks and I still haven’t discovered everything (this makes me happy). The chapel was collaborated on between Masolino and Masaccio, who were helped out by Fra Filippo Lippi when he was a young boy, whose son Filippo Lippi actually ended up finishing the Chapel, which was studied by Raphael and Michelangelo (who had his nose broken there for making fun of another artist). The connections! The influences! The beauty! Ahhhh!!

The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

Then we walked over to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito. I wish that this church had been finished according to Brunelleschi’s original plans, but he died just as the first columns were going up. But it should have been very Baroque (curvy, convex, concave) from all of the apses that line the entire nave. There’s even a crucifix that some art historians speculate could be one of the very first works by Michelangelo (although it really doesn’t look like his style).

February 10

Palazzo Pitti is enormous and I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll have enough time to explore all of its museums. After lunch with some of my classmates, I headed over Ponte Vecchio to the former Medici residence to see the Modern Art Gallery. And I must say, it was a bit of a culture shock to walk into a room that wasn’t filled with depictions of the Madonna, or altarpieces, or mythological allegories. I was a little lost among the portraits and landscapes of the eighteenth century. But then I found the Italian Impressionists room and felt more at home.

Pure chocolate

Then, on the walk back into the center of town, I discovered the Chocolate Festival in Piazza della Repubblica. Win! So I bought a cup of hot chocolate to warm up. Richest substance I’ve ever tasted, I could barely finish it. It looks and tastes like someone melted bittersweet chocolate-chips into a cup. Over dinner, we discussed pets. In Italy, rabbits are only used for food, not domestic animals. And now I miss having pets around even more.

February 11

Jodie made special reservations for us to view the excavated remains of the Roman amphitheatre below Palazzo Vecchio. I hadn’t realized that what still exists in Rome used to exist in Florence. The space has only recently been excavated and has only been open to the public (by appointment) for the last two or three years.

Oh, and somebody's skeleton was discovered down there

After the tour, Jodie led us around the museum of Palazzo Vecchio, which used to be the Medici’s palace before Palazzo Pitti (and Ponte Vecchio is part of a passageway that connects them both). I seriously cannot fathom how rich the Medici family was, just to have this many elaborately decorated palaces. Some of the rooms have just been reopened after renovations, so this was the first time that some of our professors have even seen the rooms as well. Highlights: Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes and seeing the scaffolding that covers up the painting by Vasari that might possibly be covering up Leonardo da Vinci’s lost “Battle of Anghiari.” On that note, I think it would be so cool to be an art restorer, but I don’t think I’d have the patience. Plus, to be responsible for something so priceless…never mind, I take that back. That’s not the job for me. I’ll stick with museum curator.

According to the myth, it took Judith two swings to behead Holofernes. If you could view it at eye level, you could see that there's already a cut in his neck

Italian Ice

February 3

Rome was certainly not what I was expecting. I fell in love with the city the second I hopped off of the train, despite the fact that there was nothing extraordinary to elicit such strong feelings so soon. But soon enough we were skirting around the puddles of the cobblestone streets towards the Tiber River. The first major monument that I saw was the Castel Sant’Angelo, which I later confirmed to be a landmark from Angels and Demons (I love Dan Brown’s books!). And then I realized that the big dome in the distance was Saint Peter’s. That’s when I started freaking out.

How can I begin to describe the Vatican? Well, I can’t. I just remember feeling overwhelmed as the arms of the colonnade welcomed me into St. Peter’s Square (which is exactly what they were designed to do). I’m having trouble even finding the words to write about it now. Basically, it’s beautiful. Being surrounded by such magnificent architecture, knowing that it houses some of the most precious artworks in the world within its walls—just knowing that I was in its vicinity was a dream come true.

Our first main stop was the catacombs. As the Swiss Guards ushered us through security, it began to snow. Big, fat, wet flakes of snow (this will be important later). Anyway, we were led down underneath Saint Peter’s. Constantine completely leveled the area, which was the site of an ancient pagan burial ground, in order to construct the church. The reason that the area was excavated was that the church was searching for the remains of Saint Peter (he was martyred and then Christians had to hide his body because Christianity was still illegal at this point, something like that). Well, in 1968, the Vatican confirmed that they found his remains (his feet are missing because he was crucified upside-down). And I got to see them, tucked away in a corner, underneath Saint Peter’s basilica, where only 150 are allowed per day (while over 150 thousand people visit upstairs per day).

Still reeling from that, we were ushered up some stairs and right there, without any warning, we’re in the middle of Saint Peter’s, smack dab in front of Bernini’s Baldacchino (a large Baroque canopy that sits over the high altar of a church). And right behind that is the cathedra that houses the remains of Saint Peter’s chair, also by Bernini. If you haven’t guessed by now, everything in this church is HUGE. I have never felt so tiny in my life. I was literally spinning in circles, making sure that I got a glimpse of all of the statues. Including Michelangelo’s Pietá!!!

But then we walked outside. I checked the weather before we left. I saw that snow was in the forecast. And I thought, “Ha, it’s Rome. The snow won’t stick.” Wrong. I should have invested in boots instead of extra socks, because by the time we made the trek around the walls of the Vatican, up to the museum doors, I was drenched. We spent most of our lunch hour huddled around the dryers in the bathroom, wringing out our wet socks. I was half convinced that I had frostbite, but I found some plastic bags to separate my feet from all the layers of cold/wet/grossness and prepared myself for the Vatican museums.

Slushy sidewalks

The Vatican Museums are home to some of the most priceless masterpieces in the world. It would have taken days to see the entire place, but Professor Solberg made sure we saw the highlights (thankfully, walking that fast made my feet warm up). So, I got to see Laocoön and His Sons (Michelangelo was present for its excavation), Raphael’s The School of Athens (he painted Michelangelo as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus), and finally Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Callie, my freak-out buddy, linked her arm through mine as we entered, just in case. But I didn’t pass out. My jaw was literally dragging around on the floor the entire time, and I didn’t hear a word of Professor Solberg’s lecture, because as I looked up from The Last Judgment, I realized that I was standing directly under the outstretched arms of The Creation of Adam. Overwhelming? Just a bit…

The evening consisted of holding a hairdryer over my shoes (cursing the Italians for not having dryers), eating pizza, and bonding with my classmates before passing out in a warm bed.

February 4

My Midwest Mentality told me that all of the streets would be plowed and all of the museums would be opened again by morning. Hahaha, no. We were supposed to tour the Colosseum and Forum, but our tour guide and the city workers who usually guard the monuments had no way to get out of their homes. Jodie wasn’t feeling well, but Professors Solberg, Caldwell, and Rudolf braved the cold wet slush and took us out for a walking tour of the city. We went to Capitoline Hill, where we saw the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius covered in snow.

It was then that I started to realize the number of people crowded the piazza. The Romans were out, taking pictures, being tourists in their own city. The last time that Rome had a significant amount of snow was 1956 (it snowed in 1985 as well, but it didn’t stick like this). And that’s when I realized: I may be miserably cold and wet, but I’m living in a moment of history. How many people can say that they’ve visited snow-covered Rome? So I decided that I was going to be overly optimistic for the rest of the visit.

This wasn’t difficult. Because we turned the corner and, oh look, there’s the Forum (I actually didn’t see it right away because I was too busy looking at my feet, trying in vain to avoid the slush). Wow. If I could go back to one moment in history, I would want to see this place before it fell to ruins. At one point I was eye level with the carvings on the side of Arch of Septimius Severus. Then I realized that the huge stone structure in the distance was the Colosseum. And that’s when I started freaking out. No words, just how? And where’s my time machine?

We didn’t linger at the amphitheater because our professors wanted to make sure that we saw the Basilica di San Clemente before it closed. After a while, you’d think I’d be sick of all of these basilicas, but I find that each one is more interesting than the next (in their own way). I’m especially fascinated by the excavations and here we got to see the remains of a Roman residence, frescoes depicting pagan beliefs, and remains of the original basilica. I never realized that all of these religious structures were built one of top of the other.

After the tour, we had some free time, so Lori and I went back to the Colosseum to gawk some more. I dodged through the crowds of Romans, who were sledding, building snowmen, and throwing snowballs at each other, in order to touch the side of the Colosseum (from now on, just assume that I’m freaking out. It’ll save space). We walked by the Column of Trajan (which depicts Roman battles) and the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (which celebrates the first king of unified Italy). We stopped back at the hotel to rest before going on the next guided tour. Turns out that our hotel is right next to the site of the Theatre of Pompey, where Caesar was assassinated.

We headed over to the Pantheon (not Parthenon), which is an ancient temple (one of the oldest buildings still in use, surviving because the Christians wanted to turn it into a church) dedicated “to every god.” There is a twenty-seven foot hole in the top of the dome, which is its only source of light. Raphael is buried here and the rotunda was the inspiration of several architects, including Brunelleschi. Next, we went to admire the frescoes of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which is the site of Saint Catherine’s body (we saw her head in Siena).

After stopping at Giolitti’s for gelato (because it’s never too cold for gelato), we went to San Luigi dei Francesi, home of the Contarelli Chapel. Basically, I got to see three Caravaggio’s: The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, The Calling of Saint Matthew, and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. I took a Baroque art class last spring and we spent two weeks studying Caravaggio alone, so seeing these in real life was a big deal for me. Afterwards, we headed over to the Four Rivers Fountain, which is another site from Angels and Demons (Jodie told me that during one of her visits, she saw Tom Hanks running around a piazza, filming the movie). Bernini is truly a genius when it comes to sculpture.

This concluded our walking tour with Professor Solberg, but Uwe (Professor Rudolph) said that he was planning on visiting the Spanish Steps and we were welcome to join him. So most of us took off after him, running through the slippery cobblestone streets as the sun set over Rome. We paused at the Trevi Fountain to make a wish (more Baroque sculpture! This must be heaven!) before finally slipping up to the Spanish Steps (so named because they are located in the Spanish quarter of Rome). There are 138 steps and it was a heck of a lot easier climbing up them then it was coming down because they were so slippery (this is probably where I strained my knee). We booked it back to the hotel, ate at a restaurant around the corner, and then I went back to my room, watched the Cosby Show dubbed in Italian, and passed out around eleven.

February 5

The city was still shut down on Sunday, with no hopes of anything opening up any time soon (the mayor had already announced that school was cancelled for Monday). Again, the professors offered to take us on another walking tour (I have the absolute best professors ever). So Lori, Sam, Duncan, and I visited Sant’Andrea della Valle (which boasts the second biggest dome in Rome) and the Basilica di Sant’Agostino (where Caravaggio’s Madonna di Loreto is supposed to be, but it’s currently at an exhibit somewhere else).

Uwe offered to show us around some more, so we walked down to the Tiber River and saw the Isola Tiberina, an island that is shaped like a boat. Our main goal was to reach the site of the Circus Maximus, aka the place where chariot races took place. That day, the surrounding hills had been taken over by Roman children who were sledding for (most likely) the first time in their lives. We glimpsed the Bocca della Veritá (Mouth of Truth), which will supposedly bit your hand off if you tell a lie. We thought that we saw the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, but it turned out to be the Temple of Hercules Victor, which is right next to the Temple of Portunus (are you keeping all of these straight? I’ll quiz you later. Multiple choice).

After cutting back through the Forum, we went back to our hotel, got lunch, then boarded a bus to head back to Florence (early, because the bus driver wanted to get going before the roads started icing over again). We had the bus to ourselves and I kind of passed out while everybody else watched The Gladiator (in Italian, so I didn’t really understand what was going on anyway). While climbing the stairs at a rest stop, I realized how much my knee hurt from running up those steps and walking on my tiptoes all weekend to avoid slush. But I quickly forgot about it when I found a Nutella snack-pack. The rest of the way home I was a little nostalgic—outside of my window looked just like the Midwest (well, a little more mountainous). But even though I was cold and wet all weekend and was only able to see the exteriors of most of the famous places in Rome, I recognize that this was truly a once in a lifetime experience.