Final Week

Sunday and Monday was spent finishing projects and studying for our Art History final exam.

Tuesday morning we had the Art History exam, then went up to the studio to continue finishing projects.

Wednesday we went on a field trip with Brenda and Ferro to Villa d'Este, a mansion that had been turned into a museum with an incredible garden in the back.

Thursday was spent getting ready for our open house/ showcase that was that night. When it was over, we went to a nice, traditional Italian dinner that was paid for using left-over funds.

All we had to do on Friday was clean up from the open house and pack as most people were going home on Saturday.

And that was it. After two months, the program was over. But just because we were going home doesn't mean that we would ever forget our time in Roma, Italia....

Milan

Lindsey and I woke up at about 3am to get to the bus stop to get to the train station. We arrived at the Termini train station about 4am, then caught a bus to Ciampino airport for a 6:50 fight to Milan. In Milan, we took a bus to the Milan train station, then walked around for a few hours. We went past the church that holds the "Last Supper", but they were sold out so we couldn't see it. We couldn't even see the regular part of the church because it was already closed for siesta. Oh well.

We then found a castle that had been turned into a museum. We took a few pictures of the draw bridge, then continued through some gardens where we found another museum. We went into one of the exhibits where you could interact with the things on display.

We then went around to the Duomo

Before hitting up the shopping center.

The story of the bull is that if you put your heel in the whole and spin around, it will bring good luck.

We walked to our hotel, which was located by the train station, to check in and rest our feet. We went back to the Duomo for dinner and to watch the sun set, but wanted to be back to our hotel before it was too late.

The next morning, we went to a villa and walked around some gardens

By this point it was time to get back to the train station to catch a bus to the airport. We finally got back to our apartment between 9:30 and 10pm that night.

Art History

For art history on Wednesday, we went to Piazza Nivona and talked about Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers", then over to Trevi Fountain, and ended at the Spanish Steps. Because I had seen all these either wandering around or with another professor, I don't have any new photos.

On Thursday, the class went to the Borghese Gallery. We saw Bernini's "Apollo and Daphne", paintings by Caravaggio that showed when he was just starting out to when he was most famous, and a piece from Michelangelo's first Pieta (the one that is currently in St. Peter's is the second one). They didn't allow pictures, so I don't have any images to go along with the stories- sorry!

Book Workshop

Today we had a guest come in and teach us how to make books. Sounds boring, I know, but not when you realize the materials we used. For the front and back covers, we had plywood. We covered part of both to make the first layer of the binding. We then decorated both outside covers with... well, anything. Fabric, sea shells, rocks, and jewels were most common, but there was a palm tree, moss, and a spoon. The inside was next, and most used fabric to keep it small.

Michelle (L) and Sarah:

We then created pages out of different types of paper- music sheets, cardboard, construction paper, etc, just about any type of paper you could get at an art store.

My book:

All of this was held together with two types of glue mixed together. We let them dry for the next few days before taking them back to our apartments. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we did it.

Capri

Saturday morning, Lindsey and I woke up at 4am to catch a night bus to Termini Train Station. We arrived about 5:20 to catch the 5:41am train down to Naples. Once there, we booked it over to the Bay of Naples where we caught a 9:30 ferry to the island of Capri.

Looking back at the port, there was this castle:

There were a LOT of cruise ships around. Lindsey ended up sitting next to two guys who worked in entertainment for the one pictured below. They said that they worked two days/ week, then got the rest of the time off-- THAT'S the kind of job I want!

View of Capri from the ferry:

We decided to do a boat tour around the island, hoping to go into Blue Grotto, only to find out that the sea was too rough and it was closed. Trying not to let our disappointment get to the best of us, we did the boat tour anyway.

The entrance to Blue Grotto:

Green Grotto, so named because of how the water reflects off the rocks:

White Grotto:

The Lover's Arch:

We then went up to Capri Town. This is the view from the top of a 5 minute tram ride:

We then walked around Capri Town for a while, looking at a variety of shops, many of which were high end like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. This is the view from the tram on the way back down:

We laid on the beach for a little bit to dry off after going into the surprisingly warm water, caught the 4:30 ferry back to Naples, then slowly made our way back to the train station. Arriving there, we saw that there was a cheap train to Rome leaving in 5 minutes, so we bought the tickets, then ran to the train. Turns out it didn't leave for another 15 minutes, but we're glad we made it.

We got back to Rome about 9:30, finally getting back to our apartment around 10pm. It was a long day, but totally worth it. So far, Capri is one of the most beautiful places I've been to not only on this trip, but in all my travels.

Pompeii

On Friday, Lindsey, Tyler and I went to Pompeii with another group from Penn State. The bus ride was long and cold, but it was nice to have goosebumps rather than sweat covering my body (ew, I know, but it's true).

The guide took us around, starting with the Forum where we saw an altar that would have been used for sacrifices, a few columns that at one point made a temple to Juno, and the walls of a basilica:

We then made our way over to the theater:

Before going to the brothel:

Mt. Vesuvius:

We saw the House of Mysteries, which has a surprising amount of surviving walls:

I wish we had been able to spend more time walking around, but the ride back was full of stories told by us as well as the Penn State group, which helped the ride back go much faster than the one down.

Bernini, Borromini, and Caravaggio

The Saint Cecilia paper has been turned in, and we've been busy going to a variety of churches, focusing on Bernini on Wednesday and Carvaggio on Thursday.

On Wednesday we went to Santa Maria della Vittoria to see Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Teresa".

Shown in 'Angels and Demons' as the second to last church, it looks slightly fudged in the movie to make the action work (the arrow actually points North if you look at a map, not West as the movie says). Talk about disappointing!

We then went down the road to San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane designed by Borromini.

At the time, Borromini was criticized for using geometry rather than sticking with tradition- notice that the interior is an oval shape, and the exterior shot is an octagon? However, a few years later, none other than Bernini designed a church (Sant'Andrea al Quirinale) that looks surprisingly similar.

The next day, we met at Santa Maria del Popolo to look at a few Caravaggio paintings, but there are signs posted requesting that you don't take photos. So instead, here's one from the piazza:

We walked over to San Agostino to see 'Madonna of the Pilgrims'.

We had a few minutes to look around the church, which is when I saw an altar for the Madonna, who people will pray to specifically about childbirth. I was amazed at the amount of 'It's a Boy!/Girl!' balloons or such that was left, causing me to take this photo:

We then went over to San Luigi dei Francesi to see some more Caravaggio paintings, these following Saint Matthew's story.

When Jesus first came to him:

Writing the Gospel:

Martyrdom:

Afterwards we got gelato before going back to studio for Mixed Media.

Week Five

Monday proved to be most exciting as we decided to celebrate 4th of July instead of having class. There was BBQ'd chicken, bread, olives, pasta salad, and watermelon. Not 100% traditional, but definitely reminded us of home.

Tuesday for Art History we saw two different churches, looking specifically at the differences in tomb design between a 16 year old boy and a cardinal, and comparing that with a sketch that Michelangelo had done for the boy's tomb.

Wednesday, instead of it being the Painting class, it has now switched over to a course called Mixed Media. Because I'm not officially in the class, I don't have to come into the studio, but I usually do to work on my Painting projects.

Thursday we went to the Capitoline Museum, which has a massive collection of statues, reliefs, and busts.

(The face of Medusa:)

(This whole 'painting' is actually a mosaic:)

Friday is now a free day, which was spent reading an article and starting an outline for an Art History paper that is due on the 15th. Lindsey and I also started planning a trip to Milan the 22-23rd by booking our flights and hotel. We've also decided to do a day trip to Capri next weekend on Friday if our papers are done, or Saturday.

Friday night, a group of us met our two Art History professors (one teaches on Tues, the other teaches on Thurs) at the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Ceiling, among other things.

(The view of St. Peter's dome from one of the courtyards of the Vatican Museum:)

(In the Hall of Maps, some of them had various sea creatures drawn in the water:)

Yesterday was spent reading the second article for the Art History paper and going to the first church, in which we looked at two frescos and an oil painting of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. We also found out through a Facebook message that half our roommates had decided to go on a weekend trip, though they failed to tell us where they went.

Today I went to the flea market with Lindsey, then to the second church to look at a marble statue of St. Cecilia, again for the paper. So what's this paper about, that I have to do so much prep work for it? After reading two articles and looking at two frescos, an oil painting, and a marble statue, along with the atmosphere of where these pieces of artwork are held, I have to write a 5-7 page paper about how the different materials (fresco, oil, marble) represent Saint Cecilia , and how the settings of their works of art play a part in our experience.

I'd go on, because I can tell that every one of you who reads this is simply burning with jealousy that I get to write this paper, but instead I'll stop procrastinating the writing of it, and get it over with.

Florence and Venice

At the crack of dawn on Thursday morning, we managed to get ourselves over to Termini to catch our train to Florence. Arriving about 10:30am, we discovered the baggage check had been shut down, so we pulled our straps a little tighter, got our bags relatively comfortable, and lost no more time before getting a move on it. We walked around the Duomo

before going to the Uffizi, a museum known for its Renaissance art.

Out front, they had statues of various artists that were shown inside, such as Da Vinci:

and Michelangelo:

We then went over to the Academia to see Michelangelo's 'David', as well as moldings and casts made by the artists before they started the real thing. Again, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but I did pick up a postcard...

Afterwards we went back to the train station and were on our way to Venice! We had a decent meal, then sat on the Grand Canal watching the boats go by for a while before turning in for the night after a long day.

On Friday, we got up and went to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a museum of modern art (paintings and a sculpture garden) where this woman lived and was buried.

It, like the Maxxi, was a nice change of pace.

We then went over to San Rocco where Tintoretto did a lot of this work and where his 'Crucifixion' is, his most famous piece which takes up a 30'x 20' wall. Lindsey, Tyler, and I then broke off from the group and bought a few things and wandered a bit, finding the Rialto Bridge:

before going to San Marco, known for the church:

as well as the pigeons (Tyler):

(Rob (L) and Tyler running at the birds:)

We then explored the town some more before heading back to the hotel to drop off packages and then went to dinner where we met a couple from England who had been to Venice a few times, so we asked them what they're favorite part of Venice was and what they'd recommend doing. We struck up the conversation for so long that we didn't realize the restaurant was closing and ended up getting kicked out. Haha, oh well.

This morning, Lindsey and I got up early and were on our way to the Murano island, known for its glass. We saw a demonstration:

He made a pitcher:

then a horse:

and then his assistant blew this, let it cool for a second, then broke it as the finale:

Walking around, we found this sculpture:

So the most amusing part of the weekend? Seeing all these gondolas lined up, coming down the river:

However, my favorite picture that I took is probably of the Duomo in Florence: