Spring Break: The Best of the West

Midterms have finally ended and I only have exciting things to look forward to this spring break!

Tomorrow I leave for a 10 day trip to see five of the most amazing cities in the world!

First stop is Berlin! 

The second stop is Amsterdam, Holland

The Third stop on my tour will be Brussels, Belgium. 

The Fourth stop is Paris, France.

And Last, but certainly not least, I will be spending the last few days of spring break

in BARCELONA 

Early Classical - Roman Art

Riace Warriors- 460-450 BCE. Bronze 6'6" High, Hollow Casting. Currently reside at the Museo Archologico, Nazionale, Reggio, Calabria. They were found in the sear near Riace, Italy. They were in the sea for over 2000 years. From early classical period. When found they were covered in a thick mud and had to be cleaned. It was surprising they were still in tact.

Parthenon- by Kallikrates and Iktinos. 447-432 BCE. Doric Temple. Located in Acropolis, Athens, Greece. Classical Greek Art. Facing South East. Harmonic Proportions because they believed beauty can be achieved that way. A plan of 17 x 8 columns. It was made to shelter the Gold and Ivory statue of Athena. 

Sarcophagus- 520 BCE. From cerbetari Italy, now in Museo Nationale Di Villa Giulia, Rome. Its medium is painted Terracota. Etruscan art. Sarcophagus means flesh eater. Expresses the dominance of women in a relationship. Wife is talking away and the husband is just listening. This is unique because it was uncommon in Greece during this time. Since they are sitting on a casket is shows how the Etruscans had a more gentle approach to death. 

Augustus of Prima Porta- located in Prima Porta Italy in the Vatican. 20 BCE. Medium: marble. The artist is Tiberia. From Roman art, it is the early first century CE copy of ca. 20 bce. Augustus appeared as a never aging son of God. Portrature is one of the most important genres of roman art. 

Colosseum- Located in Rome, dates 70-80 CE, concrete barrel vaults, constructed by Vespasian and his sons. It is the worlds largest Amphitheater on land. Vespasians first undertaking after becoming emeperor. It was built on the property nero confiscated for himself from the roman people to build a private villa for himself. It once held up the seats for 50,000 spectators. 

The Florentine Way

Walking through the leather market this morning was like self inflicted torture. At every turn are luscious leather bags, purses, boots, shoes, wallets, jackets etc. I finally decided, after being here for 2 months, it was time to buy a real florentine leather item! Do I get the  E100 leather jacket or the E25 wallet? All the leather in Florence is so pretty it is so hard to choose. Well, I decided on the wallet, for now, as it was too cute to pass up. You're welcome Mom... 

Then Maddie and I decided to try Anna's Bagel in Florence. It is the first time I have seen or had a bagel since I was in Italy. And to make matters better, they also had large American coffee to go! I of course, got both.

Unfortunately, now, on this beautiful sunny day in Florence, I must go study for midterms! Such a rough life. 

Art and The Leaning Tower of Pisa

This week in my art history class we took a visit to the Bargello Museum. There, we focused a great deal of our time on the two panhels of "The Sacrafice of Isaac" (The Old Testament story where Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac) by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. These two panhels were a competition for the east doors of the Florentine Bapistery. Both Brunelleschi and Ghiberti were the finalists. However, Ghiberti ended up winning because he only used one piece of gold (gilded bronze 1'9" X 1'5.5") making the panhel lighter and cheaper. But don't feel too bad for Brunelleschi, as he made the dome of the Duomo.


Below you can see the two, very different, depictions of this story. Brunelleschi follows the theme of Italian Gothic Sculpture, showing a very vigorous and strong interpreation of an angel stopping Abraham from killing his son. Ghiberti portrays elegance and kindness as the sculpture of Isaac is gracefully posed. 


Brunelleschi (Top) Ghiberti (Bottom) 

 




Friday continues to be artsy as Kelsey, Devin, Michelle and I went to Pisa, Italia today. The leaning tower was very cool to see and the white marble was very beautiful! 

    

 


The Cathedral complex at Pisa expresses Romanesque architecture. The construction of the Pisa cathedral began in 1063 (The same year work began on St. Marks in Venice). The Pisa project was funded from the victory over the Muslims off Palermo in Sicily in 1062. Interestingly, the tilted axis of the bell tower resulted from settling foundation. Apparently the tower began to lean during construction and inclines about 15 feet at the top. 

                        

Siena, San Gimignano and Assisi!

 This weekend was jam packed. On Thursday Devin and I met up with our friends from UNH! I had the most delightful banana daiquiri at Tiwana.. while everyone else had giant margaritas! (Aimee and I will be going back for the Guacamole) 

Saturday we were all up bright and early and headed for Siena and San Gimingnano. Both Tuscan towns were extraordinarily beautiful and full of art and culture. In Siena we went into the St. Catherine Church (She shares my middle name so I love her).. and saw her finger and head. I mean, her real finger and her real head.. really cool and absolutely morbidly disturbing. After touring the city all day we went to lunch and had the traditional "pici" pasta of Siena. It was a really thick pasta but very good! Afterwards we sat in the square where the horse races take place. It was so awesome and I am sure beautiful at night time when all the restaurant are lit up! I also learned that during the horse races people are trapped in and only allowed to leave by ambulance and helicopter.. therefore many people urinate in the square. I loved hearing that as I was lying down on the ground.. 

  

LATER, we were off to San Gimignano. There we learned that these buildings were the inspiration for the Twin Towers:

After we had a guided walking tour of San Gimignano and saw great views from the "Fortress" we stopped to get Gelato at the "World Champion" Gelato place. Apparently it is one of the best Gelato places around. I ordered Caffe, Pistachio and Chocolate YUMM. 

Today ( Sunday) ISA embarked on an excursion to Assisi. Different from the usual Tuscany, Assisi is part of Umbria and is the only Region that is not near the water. Assisi was gorgeous and extremely quiet. There, we had the opportunity, again, so see the Relics of St. Claire.. this time her whole body. Oh how I love skeletons.  

Again, we had a walking tour of the city where we saw gorgeous sights, churches and the basilica of St. Francis- Truly beautiful. 

 The Church of St. Francisco 

Acqua al 2

Just got back from the most delicious restaurant in Florence! - http://www.acquaal2.com/
It is pronounced: Acqua Al Due. Known for its Blueberry  Steak and apparently its strawberry wine. Since strawberries are my favorite food on the face of the earth, I obviously had to order a glass and I am happy to say it is the best wine I have ever had in my life. I ordered the Penne Vodka and skipped the blueberry steak however, the bite I had of Michelle's was amazing and I will be ordering it next time! The owners of this great place also opened an 'American Diner' next door. Devin and I tried it the other day and it reminded me of how much I love America! It is also the only place in Italy that (To my knowledge) sells iced coffee. 


But anyway, back to the strawberry wine-- if you have not heard Deana Carter's song "Strawberry Wine" listen to it now.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up06CryWQpE&ob=av3e

Truly Tuscany

Devin And I on the Ponte Vecchio 

This weekend was a blast as it started with awesome weather. I am happy to say that I have stopped wearing my knee-length North Face coat and the record breaking cold weather in Italy, has finally come to an end. Devin and I spent all of Friday walking around Florence and enjoying the Amazing scenery. Later we met up with Maddie, Kelsey and Michelle for lunch and I had curry for the first time in what feels like forever! That night Adam was visiting Florence and we got Gelato just over the Ponte alla Carraia Bridge!

Saturday was also full of excitement as ISA was headed to Arezzo and Cortona for the day. Arezzo is the town where the film "Life is Beautiful" was filmed. It was a beautiful place and not very touristy which was nice for a change! Devin and I ate 5 Euro Pizza at a Restaurant there, which is amazingly cheap compared to Florence. Later that day we went to Cortona where "Under the Tuscan Sun" was filmed. It was amazingly beautiful and a true tuscan-hill-town.

Me in Arezzo 

On Sunday my roommates and I went to the Opera, "Tosca", which was in all Italian language. It is a tragic love story and is very famous in Italy. Of course my roommates and I took full advantage of this opportunity and dressed to impress!

With only one day of classes left till the weekend I can't help but be excited for all the excursions I am going on in the next few days: Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano and Assisi!