Field Trip

School Field Trip! On Friday I joined the garden class once again to another two destinations: Acquapendente (“Hanging Water”) and Pienza (known for its amazing cheeses). Despite the frigid temperatures, I was able to see one of the best preserved Renaissance gardens in the world, and also a replica of the crypt Jesus Christ is buried in Jerusalem. Aquapendente’s basilica was originally a church then converted into a basilica. Down in the crypt you can see part of this transition with ancient pillars not lining up with the dimensions of the surrounding basilica.  This is the second church I have been to which has been transformed over time into a beast of a basilica: Acquapendente and the one in Assisi. Had the churches remained in their simplistic nature I believe their beauty and historical significance would have been even greater. Besides the fascination of Jesus’ crypt, this basilica also was host to a local competition of artists. Each of the paintings I photographed below are composed of all organic materials: leaves, rocks, brambles, etc. Besides the actual fascinating makeup of these paintings, the content of the paintings are rather intriguing.

After our tour of the basilica, we walked through the town of Acquapendente for a “culinary experience.” However, since that culinary experience was a bit out of my price range I went to a nearby restaurant and paid half the price for an incredibly delicious prosciutto pizza. After lunch, we got back on our luxurious tour bus (not kidding, this thing even had a button to press if you would like a beverage during your ride, sadly the flight attendant was nowhere in sight) for another forty minutes until arrival at our next destination: Pienza. In Pienza we first went to a Palace, which we weren’t allowed to take pictures of which is why you won’t see any below. When Pienza was constructed, it was built as a “perfect town.” Meaning everything—the cathedral, palace, market place, government building—were all built around the town’s main square. This Palace was in the town’s main square. The only part of the palace we were allowed to photograph was its Renaissance garden and amazing views. It is said the best view of Tuscany can be seen from right where I was standing.

 The Artwork inside the church:

 The replica of Jesus' crypt

 Trying to warm up

 Some more art

 "No, no, no, I'm running things around here and I say we go by that huge group of college kids, they might give me a treat or pet me."

 Welcome to Pienza

 This is Luisa, friend and language partner

 Renaissance Garden

 Someone lost a foot...see it?

After the tour we were free to explore the town for a bit. I went with Christina Thompson, my cuisine teacher and also the garden’s teacher, to a cheese shop. The cheese shop was powerfully aromatic. We were given samples of some of the cheeses the man had to offer. The unpasteurized cheese was amazing! The texture and taste was so different than the pasteurized cheese I am accustomed to. After purchasing €4.00 we were out to find a café to warm our chilled fingers around a nice cup of pudding-like hot chocolate. The town is not very big, so where did we find the cafe? In the main square of course. Ciocolato Caldo con Panna is amazing! It really is like drinking hot pudding—yum!

Cheese!

 Rollin in the Hay

 Wino

 Postcard status right here!

On the bus ride back to Viterbo we passed many little towns I wish I could explore. All of the towns are built on top of hills and so even from a distance you can see just how beautiful they must be.

Yesterday I was supposed to go to a small town with a lake called Bracciano, unfortunately those plans got confused and I ended up going to the Monster Park, finally! Bomarzo appeared to be a working town as I spotted my first truck (besides the little work trucks seen everywhere, which look more like golf carts than vehicle actually allowed on the roads). The monster gardens, also known as “The Sacred Woods,” were at the bottom of the town, sprawled in a small valley overlooked by the town of Bomarzo.

 Bomarzo

In the 1500’s, Bomarzo’s Lord’s son, Vicino, retired from his military career and began constructing the monstrous sculptures out of peperino rock depicting monsters, giants, sirens, and demigods. These sculptures were placed against a background of gorgeous gardens as well as waterworks. Now, there is no water, except for a few waterfalls, spewing from the many fountains and baths around the property. After a series of witty and satirical monuments, one’s tour is ended at the solemn monument dedicated to Vicino’s dead wife, Giulia Farnese.

Walking through the Sacred Woods you feel like you have stepped into Sherwood Forest or some other fantastical land. I half expected to see mermaids bathing in one of the pools underneath a waterfall, or nymphs playing above in the eerie, whispering trees. 

 Leaning House! Makes you feel a bit like you're in a fun house at the fair.

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

After a day playing with the monsters, we were feeling a bit monstrous ourselves. Rather than enjoying the very flat, greasy pizza the Lazio region has to offer, we followed our grumbling bellies to Enio’s pizzeria. Here, pizza is served not flat as paper but with a crust tasting much more delicious than the cardboard, burnt kind we have become accustomed to. Enio smiled his black-toothed smile as he handed over two pizzas: one margherita pizza and a four cheese pizza. Both pizzas were quickly consumed by us with glee. The four cheese pizza, after eating a piece of the other pizza, tasted surprisingly like pineapple for some reason. The others said I was crazy, but I swear, I tasted pineapples.  I think I will be returning to Enio’s as much as I possibly can. Unfortunately this taboo pizzeria is not within the city walls and is thus quite a walk from my apartment. But the pizza is well worth the cold walk. 

Travel Writing

During Monday’s travel writing class we had a visitor: Mary Jane Cryan, author of multiple travel writing books: Etruria - Travel, History and Itineraries in Central Italy, English Connection, Affreschi Exploring Etruria, and Travel to Tuscany.

 I bought her book Etruria-Travel, History and Itineraries in Central Italy. The book offers a wealth of information about the surrounding area’s history and evens suggested itineraries for day trips, some of which I hope to complete during my time here.  If you would like to see a picture of a few of my class members and I receiving her book click on the link below:
http://50yearsinitaly.blogspot.com/  During this class my instructor pulled me aside along with another student who is a journalist back in the states, and told us about an internship opportunity. The internship would be working with a magazine editing and performing other various tasks. This, added on top of the opportunity to be published with Il La (“In Lazio” magazine), is opening my eyes to a part of the literate world I had never before been exposed to—except for the brief stint I had with the Penumbra literary journal.

Firenze

I am back from Florence and I will never be the same-just to be a little dramatic haha! One weekend in Florence is not enough to accomplish everything worth accomplishing. My feet hurt terribly at the end of the day from rushing around the city, getting lost numerous times, waiting patiently in museum lines, and reaching many places after they had already closed for the evening. My feet were consoled with the amazing gelato I found nearby the Duomo.

Our first night in Florence consisted going to the Da Vinci museum, walking along the Ponte Vecchio, enjoying the city lights reflecting on the River Arno, and then a quiet dinner at Trattoria Nella. One of the girls with me ordered an amazing spinach and ricotta ravioli dish with a sweet walnut sauce. It was amazing! (The next night I would try to order a similar dish at a different restaurant, but it came nowhere near to as delicious as the first dish). When we asked the owner’s son how to make the dish he simply replied that it was a family secret, but that it was simply baked walnuts, cream and butter. I’m going to try this for sure whenever I can because I fell in love with this dish!

 Da Vinci's flying apparatus and a mirror grinder.

 Spicy Spaghetti for dinner-yummy

 Rubbin his snout to make sure I return to Firenze, gave him some money to further the bribe.

 Yeah, climb those once a day for the rest of your life and you would look like Hercules! Sheesh!

 Look at that View!

 Chocolate Time!

Ponte Vecchio was beautiful! The Arno was so peaceful and magical reflecting light from the love-locked lampposts—it’s tradition, an illegal tradition, to place locks on the lampposts along Ponte Vecchio to seal the love of two lovers. Walking along the bridge there are hundreds, possibly thousands of these locks, many with names and hearts etched on their sides.

The next day I went to the Accademia first thing in the morning. The halls are filled with magnificent pieces of art, but truly the only one I will recall in the years to come is Michelangelo’s David. I had no idea how huge he was! Michelangelo certainly had a lot of patience to sculpt something of such an enormous size with such precision. After standing in awe of the David, I climbed the Duomo. Let me tell you what a hike that was. I actually got dizzy at one point from continuing up the spiraling staircase for such a prolonged period of time. When we reached the top I glared at the women—many much older than I—who were able to make the trek wearing high heels! How?!?! The views from the top of the Duomo were spectacular! You could see all of Florence and I was quickly able to distinguish where I still wished to visit before the end of my time in Florence.  In the distance was Santa Croce, the burial place of many famous people such as Galileo and Dante and also the home of a leather-making school.  I could also see the Uffizi Gallery sitting quietly next to the river and the Accademia (the home of the magnificent David) which I was very eager to see. After spending more than enough time on top of the Duomo—enough time even to share a little chocolate snack—we headed to the Uffizi. The lines were incredibly long so we instead went to the cold church of Santa Croce, watching everywhere we stepped to insure we didn’t step on an important burial site. The evening was filled with walking around seeing the city’s different sites, eating and of course walking the street market, attempting to haggle. I have learned that I am not a good haggler. I think it is mostly because I pity these men and women who stand outside, no matter the weather, displaying their wares, hoping they will be able to make enough of a sale in the day’s time to feed their children at home. Of course they are all probably millionaires and I am just a naïve American girl, but I still find it difficult to talk down the price when I know what my money could do for that person. But hey, I did still manage to walk away with some deals, but I’m not going to tell you what I got te he, you’ll just have to wait and see.

The next day we rushed to the Uffizi gallery very early in the morning to avoid the long lines. I could have spent a lifetime in there and never fully see everything. I spent the most time staring at The Birth of Venus and an unfinished sketch by Da Vinci. I even attempted a sketch myself, feeling prompted by the kind, painted eyes surrounding me, as if urging me on in my mediocre attempt to compete with majesty. Toward the end of my stroll through the museum we were practically running because we hadn’t realized how long we had already been inside and we had to rush back to the hostel to pick up our belongings before our train.

I wish I knew I would one day return to Florence, although I did rub Porcellino’s snout to ensure my return, so it is pretty much a sealed deal I will return someday.

Today, I had my first lesson in Tuscania with local jewelry makers Rita and Marco. Learning a new craft with a language barrier is an interesting experience. I found myself learning so much new vocabulary along with learning about how to make jewelry. Today, we focused on sketching what I will be soon making into a navello (ring). I’m returning next week to begin a wax mold of my project.