The Longest Blog Post Ever.

Hello. It has been far too long since the last time I updated this. If you decide to read this post, you should probably grab yourself a cup of coffee…and maybe a light snack.

So the last time you heard from me, I was preparing for my Northern Trip… well I just got back from my Southern Trip. In between my travels, I have been happily back in Rome, unhappily slaving away in studio. Now that I am back I have the weekend “free” to update you on my journey.

NORTHERN TRIP

We left torino and went to Padua, where we stayed for 2 nights. It has a beautiful medieval center, and is famous for its Piazza delle Erbe (vegetable piazza) and Piazza della Frutta. Food has been distributed in these piazzas since the medieval era, and it still exists as a place to buy fruits and vegetables today.

Padua is just a 40 minute train ride from Venice, where we visited a night and a day. It is so unlike anything I have seen. No pictures can really do it justice. There is such a strange contrast between the really dense, dark streets between the tall buildings, and the open areas along the Grand Canal. Not to mention there are a bunch of smaller canals weaving all throughout the city. The Palazzo Ducale is perhaps one of the prettiest things I saw in Venice, that and sunset on the water.

Vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal 

Rialto Bridge

Palazzo Ducale

After leaving Venice, we visited the Brion Cemetery, which was designed by Carlo Scarpa in the 50s and 60s. It’s a highly detailed concrete construction.

Then we went to Vicenza, which is sort of a city for architecture pilgrims. Palladio, an early renaissance architect who wrote a treatise on architecture that revived many classical ideas lived there. He designed half the town, including the Teatro Olimpico, a half-dozen palazzi, and the beautiful Villa Capra Rotunda.

Teatro Olimpico

Villa Capra Rotonda

We then headed to Verona, yes, the town from Romeo and Juliet. It is the town with the most Roman ruins, after Rome. It is yet another beautiful medieval city, and its main piazza is gorgeous. It also has some of the prettiest church interiors I have seen.

Urbino was our next stop. It was ok. It was like a less impressive version of Orvietto. It had a few cool paintings in its museum, but if the coolest part about a town is the paintings, that’s not really saying much. My not so positive opinion about Urbino is mostly a result of the fact that it took 8 hours of travel time (there and back) to spend 3 hours walking around a nearly empty town, and we did not get to go to Milan because of it.

The best part about Urbino is that it was followed by Florence. Florence is probably my favorite city that we visited. Mostly because of the Duomo there. Santa Maria dei Fiori is the first church since the Roman era to have a dome of that size. Brunelleschi had to completely reinvent the wheel (or more specifically the arch, the dome, and masonry/construction techniques) in order to make it a possibility. I have wanted to see it ever since I learned about it. Unfortunately, the day I went to climb it, the dome was closed for a special event in the church. On the bright side, it gives me the excuse to go back to Florence again. While I was there I also visited the Uffizi Gallery. So many breath-taking experiences in this city.

View from Piazza Michelangelo

Duomo

Castel Vecchio

Duomo

Santa Maria Novella

ROME

After all of that travelling (and all the issues with the Torino apartment) it was SO NICE to be back in Rome again! I absolutely love this city. The weekend after we returned, a lot of people went on other side trips, but my friend Aviel and I stayed in Rome and explored… and cooked… a LOT of food. It was wonderful :)

Fig and Gorgonzola Risotto

 Santa Maria in Trastevere

Santa Cecelia

Temple of Portunis

Santa Maria in Cosmedin

Vittorio Emanuele II monument

SIENA

Another part of our school program is a series of day trips to nearby cities, one of which was to Siena. I am so happy I got the opportunity to go there. It is probably the best preserved example of a medieval city, and another one of my favorites.

Piazza del Campo

Duomo

illuminated manuscript

SOUTHERN TRIP

While the North has some of my favorite cities, the south is DEFINITELY my favorite region. The landscape, weather, people, and attitude are so different from the north. While the northern trip was about appreciating architecture/urbanism, the south was all about appreciating life.

The drive on the first leg of our trip was the longest yet, so we broke it up with a short visit to Castel del Monte. It is one of the most geometrically perfect examples of military architecture.

When we were done with the castle we hopped back on the bus and headed to Lecce. I absolutely loved it there. The entire city is made out of the local white stone, that is very soft and easy to carve. This allowed them to get very get some very intricate details in their stone work. But beyond that, it was just such a nice place to wander around. It was beautiful, and had such a nice atmosphere.

Artisan bread festival... if you ever get the opportunity to try the Lecce signature pastry, pasticiotti, then you should. so delicious

did i mention we were there for halloween?

We spent the night and a morning in Lecce, then in the afternoon we visited Otranto. Otranto is a small city, by the sea, and by far my favorite thing about it was its proximity to the water. The city was interesting, but it was completely deserted (it’s mostly a summer vacation town). And the water was so perfect and beautiful. When we were done with the city we went to the shore and visited the light house. It was such a strange and beautiful landscape, and I had a wonderful time collecting sea shells. This may have been one of my favorite days in Italy.

The next day we visited Matera. People have been living there since the Paleolithic era. The dwellings are all built in caves, and on top of caves. In the 50’s, the government forced people out of their sassi because the living conditions were too harsh; typically, 6 children, 2 adults, a horse, and a hen and her chicks all lived in a one room cave… without plumbing.

ancient church, now under one of the city's piazzas

some of the original inhabitants lived in these caves across the valley thousands of years ago

We then headed to Salerno. They already had their Christmas decorations up. Apparently they are actually left out all year because the inhabitants are too lazy to take them down. But I think it benefits the town. St. Matthew’s remains are said to be in the cathedral there.

St. Matthew's crypt

The next portion of our trip was supposed to be on the Amalfi Coast, but a landslide blocked the road to get there. So instead, we switched the program around and went to Pompeii. It was absolutely incredible. I have wanted to go there since I was 8 years old and learned about it for the first time. It was nothing like I imagined. It was gigantic, and so well preserved!

basilica

resident of pompeii

We spent the night in Sorrento, and then headed to Naples. I absolutely loved it there too. It is crowded, busy, dirty, hectic, and wonderful. I loved almost everything about it: the pizza, the narrow streets, the crowds, the cannoli, the nativity shops, the historic sites, the gelato, the proximity to the water… everything except the traffic. Street lights and signs are literally just suggestions. Neapolitans go both directions in traffic circles. And when I say that I loved the pizza, I mean it. It is literally the best pizza I have ever had in my life. We went to the restaurant that supposedly invented the pizza margherita (pizza with tomato and mozzarella). It was phenomenal. After I finished my dinner I ordered another one to go for my lunch the next day. Soooo delicious.

church facade

convent garden

galleria: if only all shopping malls looked like this. 

castel al'ovo

The last day of our trip, the road to Amalfi was still blocked, so instead we climbed Mt. Vesuvius. Vesuvius is the volcano that erupted and destroyed Pompeii. It is only half the height that it was before that eruption, because the mountain literally exploded and spread itself all over the area in that eruption. It is still an active volcano, but the crater is blocked by solid rock that formed during the last eruption in the 1940’s, which means that the next eruption will be another explosion. Pressure is constantly building inside the magma chamber. You could see the volcano smoking from inside the crater.