CULTURAL INTRODUCTION TO ITALY
SPRING
2018 FLORENCE ITALY
Travel diaries
endicott! FUA Florence University of the Arts & Endicott College
endicott
college A note from the staff:
Spring 2018 CITI Pre-Semester Field Learning Week I had the great pleasure of participating in the Spring 2018 Cultural Introduction to Italy: Field Learning Week, and it is an experience I will not forget! On paper, this course is a wonderful exploration of Italy. However, the week is so much more than sightseeing. It is a crash course in Italian history, with a peek at the “underground Italy” that exists in Rome. It is an art lesson, with frescoes, brilliant architecture and gardens that will amaze you. And yes, it is a lesson in an important topic of conversation: food. Make no mistake, by the end of this week, you too will find yourself talking about food…while eating. The faculty and staff at FUA (who are fantastic, I will add) have created a week that gives you a taste of what Italy has to offer, and once you have left your latest destination, you wish you had more time. You’ll want to know more about Rome, and hope there is another agriturismo on the schedule! I cannot say enough positive things about this week. I left Florence so happy to have participated, needing to go back, and wanting to learn Italian. Grazie di tutto, FUA.
endicott COLLEGE
Tess Bundt
Rome was a very large and overwhelming city. However, it is full of history and monuments making it so beautiful and interesting. Around every corner, I was able to see something incredible. It was amazing to see how everything was still preserved for people to still see today. Buildings and monuments were still intact. Art is also heavily valued here, and it has been kept for people to look at and enjoy to this day. Caprarola was a small and beautiful town and commune in the province of Viterbo. Here, we saw a palace that was built by Pope Paul III and then completed by his grandson. Walking through this palace was like walking through a piece of history. The Villa Lante is formed by two houses that are nearly identical to each other. The art within the buildings covered the walls and ceilings was so unbelievable and
you can only imagine how long it took to cover every inch of those houses. Walking through the gardens felt like something out of a movie. In Bormazo we saw the Park of Monsters. The artist that commissioned the sculptures was grieving his late wife. The monsters we saw were incredible, and it was amazing that they were still intact after all of these years. Perugia and Orvieto were both beautiful towns. Orvieto was by far my favorite place we went to during travel week. Walking down the streets was like something out of a story book. It is exactly what you imagine Italy to be. The quintessential feel of Orvieto was so welcoming and inviting and I loved every second of being there. Perugia definitely felt more modern and had much more to do. Wine in Italy is essential. It is very important in their culture. The purpose of wine has been
around for so many years, yet the traditions of it have remained the same. It was very interesting to learn how to properly enjoy the taste of wine and what tastes better with certain meals. The food culture here is very intense; I don’t think I had one meal that I didn’t enjoy. Food and wine are staples in Italian culture and it was so interesting to learn more about it. Assisi is beautiful town full of religious history. It is known for being the birthplace of Saint Francis. The churches in this town were amazing. They were filled with art that seemed to tell a story on the walls. The views from the streets were also incredible, being that it is a little hilltop town. You could see fields and mountains for miles. Seeing this with the beautifully built cathedral just made for a perfect picture.
Lillian Maggs
Rome was one of my favorite cities we went to during our travel week. This was because I had never been in a city that was filled with so much art and history. We saw many incredible things in Rome but what really blew my mind was seeing the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Pantheon in person, the structures were truly incredible. I have seen these buildings and monuments in movies and learned about them in class, but seeing them in person was completely different due to the massive size they were. But with our awesome tour guide I learned new information about each building and structure that I never knew before.
SPRING
2018
Like the fact that the colosseum is the largest amphitheater in the world! Visiting Bomarzo was so fascinating to see because of the numerous gigantic basalt sculptures it contained. This gave me a different perspective on Italian art. It also was so impressive to see that this park was created all the way back in the 16th century. And all the sculptures were still in great shape. Caprarola was also another town that I absolutely loved visiting. I loved how every aspect of the Gardens of Palazzo Farnese were so carefully thought-out so that the guests that visited could really enjoy their time there and relax. It was interesting to learn the history of the garden and how it turned into the cardinal’s summer residence. Visiting Perugia and Orvieto was my favorite part of our Pre- travel week. Both of these cities were so unique and different than anything I had seen ever before in my life. Orvieto captured the exact essence of a small
Italian town that I expected. It felt like there was something special or magical about it. As you walk up the hill, out of no where you see the Duomo, it blew my mind that this gigantic. The outside art of the Duomo and the columns told such an amazing story of the history of Mary and Jesus. Again, I cannot believe the amount of detail that was put into these designs especially for that time, it truly was impressive. Perugia was unique in a different way; it was a faster paced city but was were fascinating. Visiting the chocolate factory was one of my favorite activities we did. I really got to understand how important a family business is in Italy. After being in Italy for just a week, I began to truly understand the true meaning of wine and food in the Italian culture. It really is apart of their culture. Visiting the vineyard was very beneficial because we learned all about the history of wine making.
endicott COLLEGE
Gwen Paseka
The city of Roma was our first stop during travel week and was our first opportunity to learn about the beautiful, historical country we would be living in. The most breathtaking and fascinating site was the famous Colosseum, which was created during 70 A.D. with the purpose to entertain the people with gladiatorial and animal combat. It was fascinating to see how much of Ancient Roma was buried underground in the Roman Forum, as well. In the beautiful, quaint town of Caprarola, we toured The Villa Farnese, which was once a fortress for the Pope, passed down to his grandson. This site was full of gardens, fountains, and hidden secret theaters for entertainment for their guests. The similar Renaissance style can be seen at Villa Lante, too, which is a unique garden with ponds, statues, and other beautiful outdoor sites. In Bamarzo, we visited the unique Garden of Monsters and saw the large fantasy sculptures throughout the forest; such as The Ogre.
One of my favorite parts of the travel week was visiting the small town in Umbria; Orvieto. This was one of our first opportunities to explore on our own, speak with the locals, and travel to the edge of the town’s cliff through the quiet, narrow streets. In Perugia, the capital city of Umbria, we saw many symbolic structures, such as the marble fountain with the carvings of biblical scenes and zodiac signs, and the Griffon symbol of the city. It did not take long to discover the importance of wine and food in the Italian culture. It came as a (wonderful) surprise to me when dinners consisted of numerous courses and wine pairings to enhance the meal. I also really enjoyed how the Italian culture uses food to socialize and meal times consist of spending long periods of time with friends and loved ones. Some of my favorite meals were the numerous types of pasta, risotto, vegetables, and cheese. Although we saw church after church during travel week, it was always delightful to see
that each was a little different. In Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco portrays ancient gothic art with lifelike faces and loads of color, since the frescoes have never been retouched. The frescoes also included the life span of St. Francis. The breathtaking high view from the Basilica of San Francesco was my favorite landscape photo taken during the travel week because of the mountains and steep incline up the hill. The Cultural Introduction Week has helped me step out of my comfort zone and feel like a global citizen because I was able to challenge myself by speaking the language and interacting with the locals. I also found myself trying new foods, new activities, and new customs of the culture. I made sure to take advantage of all the opportunities given me; even climbing 551 steps to the top of the St. Peter’s Basilica!
Talia Bertolotti
Rome was one of my favorite cities. There is so much art, history and Italian culture in the city. Just by walking through the streets you can easily see the connections between all the ancient historical sites to the people. Rome started off by being founded by the two sons Romulus and Ramous, they were raised by a she wolf and after an insane battle, the roman empire became to what it is known today. In Caprarola the main thing to see is the village and the huge mansion. The gardens reflect to the history of the town by connecting nature and city. Villa Lante, is most famous for the secret garden, similar to Capraola but an entire different take on the design of the garden, it is more abstract and connects more to nature than the town of Bagnaia. Bomarzo is known for the
SPRING
2018
secret cove of the monsters known as the villa of wonders, ting together mythology and fantasy in nature. Perugia is a town mainly know for their chocolate. We actually don’t know who the town was directly founded by, the Umbrian’s or Etruscans. From the battle of sentino it then became a roman city. Orvieto: is a town created from the Etruscans and soon became close to the Umbrian way of life. Orvieto today has many famous churches and museums that began when the city first created. The dumo is the most important religion artifact of the city. The way Italians eat and drink is like a celebration. They take their time, and really understand what they are eating or what wine they are drinking. Each wine is preserved differently in each city and makes it important to what the city is today. The food is very different from each region and from the north and the
south. Wine was known as the past second drink in Italian culture. This history of food in Italy is so unique compared to other cultures because you see it in many different countries around the world today. Assisi Is known as one of the most religious cities in Italy. Here it was the birthplace of St. Francis and he was a person who only wanted to help others and make the town better. There is so much catholic history in this town and being the birth place of St. Francis makes the town even more unique. As well as religion many artists started in this town because of the huge religion aspect to the city. Italy was... the food, its so different than American food and everything is fresh here and you eat many courses! This week definitely helped me prepare to eat like an Italian for the rest of my stay.