Florence Part Uno

This week has been fairly rough; so much homework, so little time. Although I enjoy learning about WWII, just looking at the 570 page book, Italy’s Sorrow, was overwhelming. However, once I actually began reading it, 570 pages did not seem like too much. The book is a brilliantly written account of several people’s lives during the war on both the Allied and Axis side, which is a very easy read for a history buff like me. On top of that, I had a whole chapter’s worth of workbook assignments in Italian, a book to read for Italy Today, and to plan my upcoming weekend in Florence. After doing a lot of whining, I realized that if I spent more time working and less time whining that I may actually get some things done. Who would have known that tactic actually worked!? I finished all of my work, except planning my trip to Florence which was left in the hands of Kayley, who admitted to me that she enjoys museums and history as much as I do. On a more positive note, my classes are going very well despite the amount of homework I have afterward. I feel as if I am learning more and more of the Italian language as the days go by, with thanks to our wonderful Professoressa Franchesca. Not only does she tolerate us girls, but also gracefully answers any (and usually there are many) questions we ask. This may seem like the basic student-teacher function, but in Italy their teaching style is different; it is more lecture based than structure based. Thanks to her willingness to teach, I find myself able to hold small conversations with people and make my way around Italy. My new favorite words are ‘questo’ (this) and ‘dove’e’ (where is). These words make it easier to ask questions when I need help or get lost; the latter happens quite often.
After a semi-stressful week, a weekend in Florence was just what I needed. The city of Florence was created during the Julius Caesar’s dominion as a trading post. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Florence and Italy alike went through a ‘Dark Age’ until its economic success created an elite class, namely the Medici family. The Medici was successful bankers who funded the development of churches and creation of artwork. Some examples of the artists of Florence are Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Dante, Botticelli, Donatello and others whose work can still be seen throughout the city. This city’s history and culture was a perfect mixture for everyone here, having at least one thing everyone likes. On Friday evening, after arriving at our hotel, I went to Kayley’s room as she was planning her day for tomorrow. She told me several things Hillary and she wanted to do such as the Cattedrale de Santa Maria Novella, the Palazzo Davanzati, the Museo di San Marco, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore, the Uffitsi, and last but not least the market. I immediately told her that I was sticking with her for this trip and I was excited to do so. Saturday morning we all were up and ready by 8:00 a.m. and ate breakfast together. It seems like every experience is a learning experience here because the Italian hotel breakfast is different from American breakfast. The girls and I hurried downstairs for our waffles and pancakes only to find coffee, orange juice, croissants, and ham. Once again we had to remind ourselves that we are in Italy, and ate our Italian breakfast that was quite good. Our favorite thing about this breakfast was the mini Nutella packets that, embarrassingly enough, we all grabbed to put in our purse as a souvenir.
After breakfast Kayley, Hillary, and I started our walk towards the Cattedrale de Santa Maria Novella. The Cattedrale de Santa Maria was built on the site of the 9th-century oratory of Santa Maria delle Vigne in the middle of the 14th century. Built by two Dominican Friars and designed by Leon Alberti (no, not the owner of the house I’m living in) the church stills stands with its green and white marble exterior. What blew the minds of my friends and I are that they built this gigantic marble stone church without any of the technology that we have today. I can barley pick up my backpack let alone a huge marble slab and arrange it in an intricate way. The exterior of the church was nothing compared to the inside; it had frescos everywhere, along with crucifixes galore and many tombs of priests. My favorite part of the Santa Maria Novella was the fresco behind the altar. Looking to the right, there were angels looking down upon their loved ones on earth, and to the left was all the different levels of purgatory. Of course, it could have meant something completely different than I interpreted, but for me that was the powerful story the artist was portraying. After looking at all the church I paid a small donation to light another candle and pray for my family, which has become a habit for me. It is weird because before I came here I was not very religious and now I go to churches almost every weekend, light candles and pray.
Upon leaving the Santa Maria Novella I noticed that the Palazzo Davanzati was close, so I separated from the group and found my way there with Kelsey. The Palazzo Davanzati was once the home of a noble family, but now is a museum meant to illustrate a traditional Florentine house. It is decorated with furniture that has been donated or taken out of museums. I was really excited to see this because I am very interested in the history of culture, but I found myself a bit disappointed. First off, I went there with the cognition that it was free, but when I arrived I had to pay two euro. After paying the two euro I was told I could only go on the ground and first floor, the other three could only be viewed with a reservation. The ground floor was decorated with pictures of the people who opened the museum and a chair or two, and the second floor had a bedroom, a dining room, and a room filled with lace from around the world. It was very interesting, but not much to see. I tried to get Kelsey to sneak up to the other floors, but Kelsey being more reserved than I, refused and also reminded me that I am not to get arrested in Italy. In one of the rooms, I did notice that above the fire place they had family crests and the Davanzati married into the Alberti family twice, which I was fairly proud of because I am living in an Alberti home.
Kayley is obsessed with anything to do with office supplies, and when I called her to see where she was I was not surprised when she told me she was in a paper store. When I finally found the paper store, I noticed a couple of people around the owner. When I inquired as to what he was doing, I discovered he was making a design for his paper and that everything with design in the store is handmade. He pours wall paper glue into a tub, then drops color into the glue until it spreads, then he repeats this process until he has used all the colors he wanted to. After this, he takes a stick and makes whatever design he feels like, then puts a piece of paper on top of it and there was his designed paper! While the paper lover looked around the store, I tried my hardest to talk Italian to the owner, until he revealed that he spoke English, Italian, French, and Spanish. After speaking what Kelsey calls “Spitalian” (a mixture of Spanish and Italian) with him for a half hour, all the girls made their purchases and the nice man decided to give each of us a free sheet of his paper. On top of that, he gave us a VIP card that gives us a discount every time we go in. I was very pleased by this, so I gave him more business by buying a couple more things.
The fun detour preceded something I enjoyed very much, the Museo di San Marco. In the Museo di San Marco allowed us to tour an old monastery and see the rooms of the monks who lived there, as well as the tools and hymn books they used. I was very excited to see the different frescos in each room, and, like every other museum I go to, I had a favorite room. It had one of the largest frescos, a hole in the floor which allowed me to see an underground fresco, and you could see the garden from the window. When we reached the last room of the monastery, we received a phone call from the other girls informing us that they were hungry, so we all went out to lunch. The restaurant we ate at was called Il Ghilardeli, it was a very nice restaurant that fit every one of Bekah’s criteria. There everybody got either pizza or some form of carbohydrate and protein, the perfect combination for what we were about to do next; climb the Duomo of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore!
To be continued….