The art in Italy is amazing! I am truly at the epicenter of some of the greatest artists whom ever lived. Everyone you go in Italy there is something artistic about it and I am amazed at some of the paintings, sculptures, and buildings I have seen in person. In Arezzo itself... it is a major medieval town and parts of the medieval wall still exist and are standing. Several buildings are standing from the middle ages and are as old as the 1400-1500 hundreds. It is just beautiful! The Monastery the students will live in a few years from now is from that time period and I can just imagine the nuns and monks (it was a building for one group and then the other at different times) studying, gardening in the back-yard, and praying in the various spots throughout the huge, timeless structure.
One of the courses offered here that several students are taking is an Art History class taught by the director of the program. He takes them on several field trips to different cities to see the art and I have tagged along on those two trips thus far. We went to Siena first and then to Florence. Although museums are popular, a lot of art is located in churches and we visited many of them. In almost every city in Italy there is a Duomo, or a Cathedral, which is a city's biggest church. They are always over-the-top, beautiful and amazing! The one in Florence can literally take your breath away. I have been to Florence three times now and the Duomo still gets me. The first time I went was with Alyssa on my Labor Day and we had lunch with a couple of her friends, did some sight-seeing, and then I shopped at H&M (my new favorite store!) while she was in class that night. The second time I went was on the field trip and we visited three different churches to see the art. I always get to hear Kirk talk about the works, too, and he is a really great lecturer and knows so much. One of the things that impresses me the most about the churches are the huge doors. The doors are nearly as tall as the building itself and its incredible. We were standing in one place to observe some art when Kirk told us we were standing on an old grave sight for infants whom had been killed. It really took me back. The third time I went to Florence was with the daughter of a professor I work with, Suzette. I love them and I am so glad we all work together. They make me feel like family and they are so great! Hannah and I went to Florence to shop (I really needed pants), to eat at Hard Rock, and to eat a canoli. Canolis are amazing, mmm! I love them and Florence has the best ones. I've had one all three times I've been there. Florence is also famous for its real leather, which is expensive, but really pretty. They have a leather market, which is very famous. Italy also carries a plethora of my favorite jewelry, cameo, and Florence has a lot of it. I LOVE cameo and I and going to have to break-down and spend the money on some! I love jewelry and it's bad here how much there is...
Anyhow, back to art... there are details in these churches that you do not even know about unless you look closely. They are very carefully thought-of and decorated and I literally feel privileged to be able to see some of this stuff with my own eyes. I am not Catholic, but in the Catholic faith, especially in Italy, I have picked up on the idea that they put more emphasis on Mary, not Jesus, and most of the art is religious. I even got to see some old sheet music in Italian from the middle ages! The stained glass is also beautiful. The churches are still operating for services, but opened to tourists at other times. When you go into the churches your knees and shoulders must be covered, so ladies are provided with a scarf to cover-up with if you do not bring anything... Well, you have to purchase a scarf. Nothing is free in Italy. Not even condiments for your hamburger at McDonald's in Florence (there are two) or public bathrooms, sometimes. Yes, when I ordered my burger I asked for ketchup, mayo, and mustard and my total ended up being a little over eight euro. That is way over 10 dollars! Lesson learned... I have a lot of funny stories like that! Siena is really great, too. I talked about the piazzas in Italy in an earlier post and Siena has one of the largest piazzas in the country... it is huge! It is this giant, opened circular area with shops and restaurants lining it. Each year the Siena Palio takes place in the piazza and I hear it is pretty crazy! It is a horse race that lasts a very short amount of time, but the exciting part is the crowd. It is incredibly crowded and people are nuts, apparently. I would love to go and stay in one of the hotels above the piazza to watch it. Go check this out if you want to learn more about it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palio_di_Siena
I have also been to Cortona twice, which is another city really close to Arezzo. I actually went today. The first time I went was just to look around and visit with a few of the students and another professor and today we went as a part of one of the required classes the students take, called Getting to Know Arezzo. We visited a vineyard to learn about wine production and it was pretty fabulous to see all of the work that goes into making wine. Did you know some bottles have to sit two years and you have to rotate the bottles each day in order for it to be ready?! It was a lot of fun! I don't come from a family who drinks, but drinking wine here is second nature to Italians. They don't drink it to get drunk... they just drink it because they enjoy it. It's also very cheap in Italy and it is not considered something "bad." It's just their drink.
I really am loving everything I get to see here in Italy and I know there's only more to come!
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