La Vita è Bella

One of the really cool things about our classes starting up is the completely free Fridays and the idea of a 3 day weekend! Yes, I am living the dream (and I promise, I am learning things!)

This Friday, Jodi asked if any of us would be interested in going on a short day trip to Arezzo which is a Tuscan city that is about an hourish southeast of  Florence. It was not a mandatory trip and only 8 of us ended up going (plus Jodi totally nine) and we hopped on a train and we were whisked away to the charming little city.

Personally I think Arezzo is my favorite place that I have visited so far for the fact that it is so small. You can walk from one end of the city to the other in maybe 20 minutes/ half an hour. Its not jam packed with people (or tourists) and there is a lot of greenery (trees, un mowed grass, park space) and of course its in Tuscany territory so it is quaint and charming and full of history. It also happens to be the city that the 1997 film "La Vita è Bella" or "Life is Beautiful  was filmed (and I have seen about half of it, in Italian in Italian class the day we took one of our final exams.) So when we first got there, one of our stops was the cafe that is featured in the movie. (And Jodi treated us to a cappuccino and a pastry too. (Since I don't drink coffee I had a really yummy hot chocolate. And they aren't joking when they say its hot.) Like true Italians, we stood at the bar, munched on rich pastries, and drank little cups of coffee before heading out on our days excursions!)

As always we toured a couple of churches (Santa Maria dela Pieve, Church of San Dominico, both of which were free I believe, the Basilica San Francesco and La Casa Museo de Ivan  Bruschi) however the contrast of this trip was they were slightly more Gothic in style than they were Renaissance style (meaning less fresco work, and some stain glass windows with high high vaulted ceilings. While I personally really enjoy Renaissance style art (and not so much Gothic art) I much prefer Gothic architecture and churches. I love how grand they are with the high vaulted ceilings and the towering stain glass windows. It is interesting to me how they can make me feel so small and humble being surrounded by such beauty. So I really enjoyed these churches. 

Jodi, who adores Vasari, took us to go see his house. Vasari is responsible for compiling a work of biographies of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance era. He himself was not a nobleman, however is was upper class and had money to spend so his house is quiet grand and richly decorated with stunning fresco he had commissioned to decorate the house for his bride. It is a place I would defiantly recommend going too, especially since I wasn't allowed to take pictures. So you have to go see it for yourself. Its a really pretty home. 

Armed with maps, we were released on our own to explore the city and return to Florence when we wanted after the trip. Megan, Anicka and I, not overly hungry, decided to wander around looking for a cheep sandwich for lunch. Not being terribly hungry, we forgot about lunch for a couple of hours and just wandered around the city (not getting lost because it was so small) finding pretty views, taking cute touristy pictures, and being mistaken as British people (by little 4 and 5 year old school children.) When we did remember about lunch, we found a cheep giant slice of pizza for 2 euro place (we all had spinach and mozzarella) before heading off to look at the Roman Amphitheater.

Unfortunately due to hoolagins with a need to deface things, the amphitheater is fenced off to help with a graffiti problem. I'm not going to lie, I was rather disappointed I couldn't get closer, but it was still cool to see it (and it got me super pumped for Rome!)

After the amphitheater the three of us headed home making it back just in time for supper. All around, it seemed that everyone I talk too, agreed they loved how quaint and classic Arezzo is. If I had to pick somewhere to live in Italy, I think it would be Arezzo. With a country home in Chianti country so I could have a sprawling villa and a wine/olive farm. So, if you find yourself in Italy, hit of Arezzo for a day.

It is more than just seeing pretty things and eating good food.

This week marked the official start of classes for us ACM students. We have been taking intensive Italian since we got here, but that has now tapered off to a normal style class and we have picked up three more classes in addition to Italian. I am currently enrolled in a class with Professor Josepine Mariotti (Jodie) called Patrons and Artists in Renaissance Florence, a class with the visiting professor, Steven Sacks from Cornell College called Esotericism and Art: Imagination and Landscape in the Florentine Renaissance, and finally the ever popular drawing class at Cecil Studios.
Luigi is still my professor for Italian and he keeps it light and fun and interesting. Lately he's been hung up on pumpkin pie because he likes it a lot, but they don't have that here in Italy apparently. He asks Megan daily "What is that think I like? That thing with the zucca?"
Class with Jodie is super cool. We are knee deep in learning about the Medici (and it was in her class that I had to wear the skirt of shame on Tuesday because my shorts were too short) Her class almost never meets in the class room, we are almost always on cite looking at wall fresco's or buildings. On Thursday we got to go to San Marco's, and see a lot of fresco work by Fra Angelico (works that I recognize! Another shout out to Ms. Belich and high school AP Art History!)
Esotericism is a tough class I'm not going to lie. Its a hard subject to study because it is very ambiguous and as much as Professor Sack's says its not a philosophy class it totally is. Mixed heavily with religion. The readings are very dense and dry (and Professor Sacks full on admits to this) but they are interesting and they have really good points if you take the time to break them down. Professor Sacks is also a ball of energy. He's super quiet when the group goes on tours but when you get in him in the class room or if he has something to talk about, away he goes. He's the kind of Professor who just likes to challenge you, or tell you know, or attempt to force you into a whole in the corner just so he can make you think and teach you to from an argument. (This is where I take a moment to shout out to Mr. Mateske, Mr. Young, Mr. Schenck, Joci, Tim Moore, John Kaminski, Mr. Aloha, and every other people who ripped me to shreds in APPSE and taught me to think and argue accurately and fact based on my feet.) He's also my professor who looks like our family friend John Ash and he says funny things like "Okay friends. Lets go break into some synagogues). Needless to say this class keeps me on my toes :)
Which brings us to drawing classes at Cecil Studios. http://www.charlescecilstudios.com/
This is where I am learning to draw. I came to Italy in hopes of learning from Italians who could judge my work in Italian so I wouldn't know what they were saying. Turns out my teachers, Tom and George, are British, so I know full well what they are saying. And let me say they are so nice, they make me want to cry sometimes. They are incredibly patient and positive (and super duper young! Tom just finished up a commission for a portrait of a British Court Justice. He's maybe 30.) The studio its self is really pretty and historic and super cool to learn at. I have to keep a sketch book and we are working on life size figure drawing with pencils and later we'll be working with charcoal off casts.
And in other news, I signed up to take a cooking course too! One of the host mom's of two other students (Jori and Marit) runs cooking classes for American students and she is opening classes up to ACM students which is super cool. We'll have 4 classes over the course of Saturdays in November where we will learn about Italian cuisine and diet, and how to make a full Italian meal (ALL the courses). And I'll get a cook book in the end :)
And that is about it- that is about all we have been up too. Its been a busy week to say the least with classes actually starting. It blows my mind that already I've been here in Italy for over a month, a week ago I was in Venice, and in less than two weeks I'm going to get to see my parents who are coming over for my fall break and my friend Sam who is currently studying abroad in Jordan. Time is absolutely flying and as much as I wish it would slow down a bit for me to catch my breath, I keep looking forward to the next great adventure (which is generally what I'm going to eat for dinner.)