Ci vediamo a presto, Roma.

Firenze, Venezia, Verona, Vicenza, and Milano… These are destinations that most people only dream about visiting and until I arrived in Rome I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to experience all of these, let alone all at once over a weeks time.

Friday at 8:00AM the 20 of us along with Marina, Eric and his wife will begin our tour of Northern Italy beginning in Firenze and ending next Friday in Milano. We will spend the next 8 days immersed in the fashion, culture, environment, art, architecture, and cuisine of these vastly different areas.

La pratica vale più della grammatica… (Experience is the best teacher)

So we've successfully made it through the first week and have already begun our second. Only a week in and it already seems like time is flying. With every street you wander down there are new things to see, discover, buy, try, or taste. The adventures are endless yet time is very limited. Thankfully our adventures continue even in the classroom; rather than sitting in an artificially heated environment listening to hours of lecture our classes take place in the classrooms of Roman streets, piazzas, and buildings. Both our history and sketching class is primarily structured out and about the city learning, sketching, and analyzing.

View from the top of Il Vittoriano

Of course our projects for studio draw from urban conditions throughout Rome. Our first project is to experience and analyze an assigned Piazza in Rome; decide what type of Piazza it is, what makes the Piazza work, what interferes with the Piazza's purpose. For this project we are split into 7 groups; my group members are Corin Capodilupo and Lisa Nucera. Our Piazza is Piazza Santa Maria sopra Minerva, formally known as Piazza della Minerva.

Piazza della Minerva

(Looking towards the Pantheon)

Classes Monday-Thursday went pretty successfully giving us a chance to get acquainted with our environment and responsibilities. Friday morning we gathered to spend the day touring the 7 Hills of Rome (walking about 4 or 5 of them in the process). While we all took hundreds of pictures, the images themselves don't even begin to communicate the spirit and the beauty that every place we went embodied. The history and majesty of each location was unspeakable; it is something that can only be experienced. Overlooking the Forum at 10 in the morning with a haze hanging amidst the ancient remains was awe inspiring and surreal.

Overlooking the Roman Forum at 10am

Monday morning was our first History class; the theme of the class seemed to be centered around the different origin stories of Rome in relation to the city and its ruins. We traced the different stories to their possible setting in Rome and encountered many ruins that bring the origins to life. With the presence of the oldest Roman ruins located where it is believed the city started, the origin stories (while often classified as myths) gain a dimension of reality.

Temple of Hercules

Mentioned in Origin Story

Vada, Vede, Mangia... (Go, See, Eat...)

I'm happy to say that Katie, Kelly, Andrew, Corin, Stephen, and I all arrived safely in Italia Thursday morning and made it to our hotel. Unfortunately our experience with Italy and Italian culture our first day was not as pleasant as one could hope for and I will be honest when I say that we were all a little discouraged, maybe a little angry, and certainly exhausted.

First impressions aside, our trip got progressively better, along with our opinion of Italian culture, upon arriving in Roma to our housing. We quickly saw the welcoming, hospitable, and friendly side of Italy. Our housing, to say the least, is beautiful. We have a wonderful courtyard that allows us to enjoy time outside without having to leave our residence. There are other students living here who study at different universities that we have yet to meet and the elderly individuals living here have been nothing but charming and pleasant. After getting moved into our corner room overlooking the water and the courtyard, Kelly, Katie, and I went out into the surrounding area to explore and found the best little bar (a place where coffee, food, and - yes - alcoholic beverages are served; more like an american caffe, however, than an american bar) where we all had a cappuccino and sandwich and enjoyed talking with our barristo and waiter. They were so kind and keep calling us their "bambina" or "bambine (plural)", which means female baby or child, as an endearment and gave us amazing italian cookies when we finished our sandwiches and cappuccini.

Later in the day (after unpacking) we went for a run along the Tiber and learned that it's necessary to dodge cars or sprint across the road in order to make it successfully to the other side without getting hurt or killed. Italian drivers are crazy. They speed profusely, drive on roads/down alleys that most americans would never attempt, and - for those of you who have seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun - "Green means go, yellow means speed up, and red is... just a suggestion." In the evening we went as a group to dinner with all the other kids studying in Roma through Catholic University to a restaurant that we had taken over for the night. They served us a multiple course meal complete with anti-pasta, salad, soup, pasta, dessert, and plenty of wine. After feeding ourselves full, the architecture students split off with our professor, Eric Jenkins, and his wife and walked from Travestere to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. Then we all split off to explore some more or to have a drink at a local bar but by the time we got back to our rooms our feet killed and we were beyond exhausted.

This morning Claudia (the woman in charge of our housing) took the 20 of us architecture majors to a typical Italian breakfast consisting of a cappuccino and a sweet roll and then we learned how to ride the bus to St. John's for orientation. Most of the day consisted of orientation but Katie, Kelly, and I stumbled upon a little pizzeria where we got the best pizza we've had so far on this trip and did a little shopping before returning to our housing for rules etc. After a nap we went back out exploring and had dinner around 9 o'clock which is typical for Italians at a fairly low priced but delicious little restaurant. Following dinner we enjoyed our first real gelato which is an experience in itself (a great experience) and  walked around the city. So far the best part about living where we are is that we can walk and explore everywhere! We've eaten and shopped with the locals, separated ourselves from the tourists (though it's clear that they know that we are Americans or at least not Italian...), and we've never really felt in danger. The key thing is to trust our instincts individually and as a group. It's amazing to be so mobile and not have to rely on cars or even public transit. No wonder Italians are all so skinny... they seem to walk (or at least be able to) everywhere. 

Hopefully with all the walking we have been and will continue to do we will all be able to enjoy all the wonderful food and coffee but not see how much we've been enjoying it every time we look in the mirror. But now it is time for bed as it is going on 3:30am and we have a long day of exploring (and shopping) planned for tomorrow. I apologize for the overload of event by event narration that this post contains but in my excitement (and exhaustion) it seemed necessary :)

Arrivederci America, Buongiorno Italia

Time flies and before you know it something long awaited has arrived and you're not sure if you're truly ready. That's where I find myself this morning; waiting in the Rochester airport for a flight that'll take me to Philly and then onto Rome. Roma, Roma, Roma... how long I've been waiting for this trip, how hard I've worked for it, and now it's here but my excitement has turned into nerves and fear. But the excitement still lingers and much of the reality of this trip has yet to hit me.

While I have done a lot of traveling this will be my first time leaving the States, this is also the longest I've ever spent away from home, and will have limited contact with family and friends from home. I know this sounds very silly for someone in their twenties but considering how close my family is it's always hard when I'm away and missing out on what is happening with the renovations of the house and the transitional period that my whole family is going through right now. None-the-less, this trip will be my transitional period, my time of growth, and new experiences.

My goals for this trip are as follows:
1. Immerse myself in the Italian culture; speak as much Italian as possible, learn as much as possible, and try things that are unfamiliar.
2. Take it all in; enjoy and try to see the lessons in every building we look at and every trip we take.
3. Travel as much as possible
4. And lastly, get an A in studio. This one may sound funny but I plan to use this trip to try to revitalize and remember why I love architecture and reconnect that love with my work.

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and plan to make the most of it. I am fortunate enough to be going with a great group of peers including my two best friends. This blog will help share our adventures with those at home and will also document my work during the next four months.

Enjoy <3