Vicenza

Vicenza

"Palladio's City"

When arriving to Vicenza you can see the medieval walls that seem old and non impressive, but once you see the entrance to the historic center,get ready to get you mind blow away by Palladio's creations. Every three block you can find a work of art that you want to marvel for hours.

Teatro Olimpico

Print in the gift shop>

I cant even start to explain the feeling you get,when entering then theater. The space is quit and be expected to be silent. When I first walked in, I felt over whelmed by how much detail there was.

La Villa Retonda

When I first studied the villa in History class it seem like this enormous building. When we arrived i couldn't believe it was small compared to the other building we had seen. The inside is beautiful but they wouldn't let us take pictures.

Lecce: Down to The Boot

From Tuscany to Lecce

Buon Giorno, It has been only one month on the journey of a lifetime, with so much to tell and so much to show it is hard to keep it brief. As we travel through the diverse mesh that is the context of Italy we find ourselves converging more and more into the culture of the Italians. Two weeks ago we explored the culture of Tuscany and all that it has to offer. The food, wine, art, and of course the Architecture proved itself worthy of any Kodak moment. Last weekend, Stephanie and I made our way down to the boot of Italy on the adventure of a lifetime. With only three days to spare we made sure to engulf ourselves into the scene that is Lecce. Six hours by train ride, Lecce lies along the east coast of Italy. Thus the train runs down the coast line with some of the most beautiful ocean views I have ever seen. Lecce is said to be called the Florence of the South, a title which proves to be true, as it has a very distinct and strong culture different from the places we have been so far. The urban fabric of the city displays itself in a very exciting way, as its 16^th century baroque facades seem to melt away into the sky. Made mostly out of a limestone the architecture is unlike the architecture of the classical renaissance. It is rather ornate and alive with sculptural detailing unlike the architecture of Siena or Florence.

Friday night we made our way out into the city with the bed and breakfast behind us. The town was alive with people walking, talking, and doing something. Lecce is proud of the Architecture, for the buildings become brightly light up using artificial lighting. This method of lighting is something I have yet to see on our stay here in Italy. That night the food was good as we sat down at a winery to relax and get something to eat. We had a taste of the wine in the region called Primitivo, which was very good in comparison to some of the wine in the Marche region and Tuscany. The dinner was amazing except for the coastline Gypsy’s who are very aggressive toward people here. For three hours, different ones would walk up to us and try to persuade us to buy roses or some other gypsy trinket. LOL

The next day was a full day in the life of an Italian as our bed and breakfast was actually an apartment with a full functioning kitchen. We attempted to make some coffee in the morning as we made plans for the day. Once again we stepped out of the apartment and headed for the main piazza where there is a 1^st century Roman amphitheater. While there we noticed people setting up for a concert that was going to take place that night. After, we headed to some other important buildings including The Church of San Giovanni Battista, Santa Chiara, and the Piazza Del Duomo. All of the buildings were wonderful; unfortunately we could not get into them, because they were full functioning buildings, and the public was not allowed in. That night we found ourselves in the main piazza waiting for the concert to start. Wandering past the hundreds of people we saw three guys stretching next to a speaker playing some hip-hop. The three guys eventually started to breakdance, putting on quite an amazing show. After we stood outside the amphitheater and looked down upon the concert. The concert consisted of a bunch of different shows strung together, with an artist painting along to the beat of the music.

All in all Lecce was quite the sight to see, I would recommend it to anybody who is willing to travel down to the boot of Italy. The Architecture is quite amazing as it displays itself very proudly at night and in the day. Ornate and sculpturous, Lecce is unlike anything we have yet to see in classical Italy. The people are wonderful and had a strong sense of the arts as there was an amazing overlay of contemporary arts on top of the baroque city. This meshing of the old with the new is what makes it an interesting place to visit.

-Nick Faller

Oct. 6, 2011

Tuscany Trip

Saluti da Urbino! This week's blog will be written by none other than the group's Asian sensation, An Nguyen! Special thanks to Marco Gonzalez for the pictures as my camera's battery fried when I plugged it into a European outlet. Now into the third week of our program I would like to encourage future participants to bring an umbrella and waterproof shoes with very good grip. The previous post by Amber Winslow mentions how much we employ our legs as the main mode of transport but another thing to bear in mind is that Urbino is very hilly, ADA would faint at sight. Expect to return home with fantastic legs!

Our first class trip took us south to the region of Tuscany where we visited Siena, Florence, Pienza, and Montepulciano. Here we had the great fortune to stay just a few blocks away from the Piazza del Campo in Siena. I would like to extend our gratitude to our hosts, Eugenia and Mierco, who were able to book us these accommodations as many places would hang up at the mere mention of American students.

Now I'm no connoisseur but I will be so bold as to say that the food in Siena was without a doubt the best I've had in my life. Make sure to try the steaks at any restaurant here and the gellateria next to the Piazza del Campo.

Of the numerous buildings we visited in Siena it was the Cathedral of Siena that made my jaw hit the floor. The scale, the decor, the atmosphere, everything about it is breath-taking.

Even if you're afraid of heights I would strongly encourage you to climb up the Torre del Mangia next to the Piazza del Campo where you'll be rewarded with a view far beyond the extent of the city.

Forewarned by Professor Alexander and Eugenia we hung on tight to our wallets and passports as we toured Florence, a gorgeous city even considering it's recent decline. Of the buildings toured here my personal favorite was Michelangelo's Medici Chapel where we were unfortunately unable to take pictures.

The Cathedral of Florence, bigger than Siena's by far. I was unable to go inside due to time constraints but those who did highly recommended it and even climbed up to the dome.