Spoken For

Wonder. The dictionary defines "wonder" in the noun form as something strange or surprising or a cause of surprise, astonishment, or admiration. I would say that wonder is the first word that came to mind as we ventured from structure to structure, building to building. The train ride from Rome to our first destination was a bit suspenseful. All I really knew about Florence was that it was going to be cold and we were going to get a chance to visit the Duomo. It was a bit like this for each city on the itinerary. I think we all knew a little about each city but until you experience it full on, can you really get a sense for the architecture and the wonder of it. 

As we entered Florence and headed to our hotel, the streets were filled with people and vendors. Florence is known for its leather production so as you walk down the streets, shop owners are pushing there leather bags, coats, wallets, belts, and gloves in your face. Santa Maria Novella, was first on the list. I cannot begin to count the number of times this facade has appeared on slide shows and history tests however the first word that came to mind was "wonder". Studying the geometries, patterns, and diagramming the facade made such a bigger impression than looking at a picture. I remember Eric giving us all the "let's go" sign and none of us got up. We were all so into our sketching and understanding all the geometries of the building that he pretty much had to take the pencils out of our hands so that we could move on to what was next on the agenda. Little did we know, next on the agenda was the Duomo. 450 steps later, we were on the top of a cathedral designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. Talk about wonder... a 360 degree view of the city. How Other than the architecture, I think the other best part of Firenze was our group dinner where we were served Florence Bistecca and vegetables on the side. It was a nice change from our pasta and pizza diet.

Next thing we knew, it was time to board the train and head for Venezia (Venice). Again, as we approached Venice, the suspense was building. I have heard about Venice, seen Venice on the television, and even in movies and it was exactly as I was picturing it. The Grand Canal running through the center, small canals intertwined with the city, steps from buildings leading right into the water and disappearing. There are small bridges that lead you over the canals as a Gondola boats makes it way under you with the operator singing in Italian. While in Venice, we visited Piazza San Marco and two other beautiful churches, Il Rendetore and San Giorgio. The two that we visited were in my opinion more unique than most that we had seen that week. They we simple on the inside. Lots of white but to me that made them more beautiful. It didn't have an over excessive amount of tchotchke. It is such a different way of life on the water. They use Vaporettos (water busses) to get from place to place within the city. I would love to go back in the warmer months and see what the city is like.

                            

                                       

On our way to Vicenza, we stopped in Verona for the day to explore some Carlo Scarpa architecture. We saw,what looked like a cruise ship in my opinion, building as well as a few other buildings. One of the most interesting of the day was CastelVecchio. This is an old Castle that was restored by Scarpa in a very unique way. He wanted to respect the old yet combine the new. So in many places he made a clear distinction between what was old and what was new. I think my favorite aspect of his architecture are his stairs. He made sure there was a separation from the old wall with the new stairs. He designs stairs with a unique design and even with a specific way to walk up them. As soon as I saw his triangle steps, the word wonder came to mind right away. I have to say however, his triangle steps were very comfortable to walk up. Next stop Vicenza!

Vicenza was a unique city in itself. There were not too many popular landmarks that one would know off the top of their head. It was however filled with Palladian architecture. Palladio was an architect from the 15th century. We were given a opportunity to visit Villa Rotonda, a renaissance villa designed by Palladio built on a hilltop right outside Vincenza. It is know to be one of his best works. Most people are allowed to just walk to grounds of the villa however because our Program Coordinator Marina is awesome, she was able to organize a tour of the inside. This is rare because there is a family in Italy that actually owns the Villa. They come in the summer months and stay a few days at a time. It was just awesome to sit and sketch the exterior for a few hours then head in and experience the inside of the amazing piece of architecture that so many buildings from today use as a precedent. It didn't even take walking inside of this beautiful piece of architecture before the wonder feeling set in. With its strong axes, geometries, and views, it was hard not to be amazed. 

Last and final destination was Milano. Milano is very different from all that we have seen since being in Italy. It is the fashion and economic headquarters of the country. As a result, it is much more modern and contemporary. Much of the architecture is apartment building that were built in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is the first city that we got a chance to see skyscrapers. We packed a lot within our two days here. Once again, we got the chance to climb to the top of the Duomo in Milan as well as to visit another Castle, however not nearly as cool as the one by Carlo Scarpa. The second day was a bus tour and we were given a chance to get off take pictures and experience the building. We saw a Renzo Piano building that was extremely modern and very different from what you typically think of Italian architecture. The colors and shapes of buildings in Milano was something I took note of. And I cannot forget to say that the front store in the Renzo Piano building was an Aston Martin store. Lets just say I got a couple good pictures of the one. What could be better, Aston Martin and beautiful architecture!

Wonder. I had to keep pinching myself a few times throughout the trip just to make sure that it was real life. It is a totally different way of doing school. As Dr. Dawson says all the time, "don't let school get in the way of your learning". We are definitely not letting school get in the way of our learning here in Roma. It was an exhausting week and it was funny that we were all ready to back home to Rome. We did have a little issue getting back home however... 20 minutes outside of Milano and our train decided it was going to stop working. So we sat for about two hours until they could bring us another one and they just moved all the passengers off one and on to the other. And then we were on our way for our 3 hour train ride from there. Like Gram always says, "It's called makin' memories". And I will tell you one thing, there was a lot of memory making this past week!