luce d'oro

This morning had an art history lecture on Sienese art, then basked in the sun outside of Villa Ullivi for a bit before Italiano. After class decided to take some pictures and capture the pomeriggio sole. One might think that after five weeks living on this campus I would run out of beautiful things to capture, but this is by no means the case. There's always something new and beautiful that I haven't posted here yet. Allora, le mie foto:

Also, yesterday morning I made a second (and likely final, the saldi attract way too many tourists) trip to the mall and made some solid purchases, among them a pair of khaki suede Ferragamo pumps. This picture doesn't do them justice, but trust that they're pretty fabulous and will last for decades:

That's all for today. Domani Marc venga qui!! :) Bene bene! More soon. A presto.

Ciao Amori!

Laura

Behhhnaaaay behhnayyy (bene bene).

Began today by painting a fresco in art history class in the art studio next to Villa Ullivi. That was quite the production, and very, very interesting. As our Professor kept assuring us "fresco is the hardest type of painting! So this is like giving a beginner piano player Mozart to play." We painted with "Giotto's palette", and although there were by no means any replications of Giotto's artistry, we learned a lot and had fun being artisti.

After that it was off to the Piazza della Signoria to meet Gao for a pseudo Italian class under the loggia and then a scavenger hunt! We started at Santa Croce, where Gao gave us strange Italian instructions, and off we went. We did some photo-shooting, met a live Gipetto, read some Dante inscriptions and failed to identify churches. So, the scavenger hunt was a blast for about an hour, then we decided to quit with half of the second page incomplete and return to Gao with tired faces and whines for gelato (to which he complied!). Pictures from our Florentine frolic:

(insert photo-shoot. Mio, Audrey, Cat)

(A Pinocchio store! We found Gipetto!)

(Brans remember this dress? Still there. Still fabulous.)

Currently finishing up some art history reading in my colossal Hartt book about Sienese art, then passing out. A domani: THE MALL! The sales officially started all over Florence today, so this visit to The Mall (yes, it's capitalized, it is indeed a proper noun) should be even more thrilling than the last. BENE!

Ciao Amori!

Laura

Lunedi

Began today by heading into town in search of the myserious Buonuomini Chapel for an art history paper. At the bus stop, I managed to have a conversation with an Italian woman in Italglish (does that work? like Spanglish? but Italian....whatever, you get it) that involved us complaining about the bus being late by throwing our hands up into the air with me saying "non lo so!" and her saying "sono addormentato!" It was pretty funny, I kept cracking up and interjecting a "si" and of course a "bene" or five whenever necessary. I learned that she is from Switzerland and her native language is German, and she learned that "mio famiglia e Italiana pero io...only speak...un po!" Anyways, she got a kick out of me.

Managed to find my way to the chapel, which was hidden in vicino della casa di Dante, ran into my professor inside the chapel, and then of course got rained on (because it wouldn't be a day in Italy without me getting caught in a monsoon). Made my way back to Villa Natalia to have lunch (Silvia, the head of the cafeteria, now greets me with a "ciao bella," which obviously makes me incredibly happy. Gluten-free pasta AND a "ciao bella"!? Perfetto!)

Then it was off to Italiano, during which Gao gave us his number, followed by a "yea but don't hassle me." Oh Gao, chiamami! A domani painting a fresco in the morning over at the art studio (should be interesting) then a SCAVENGER HUNT for Italiano around Firenze, bene bene!! Currenty listening to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (freaks) and finishing up some art history work. A domani.

(La Bella Luna)

Ciao Amori!

Laura

Siena

"It is the hard-won harmony between man and nature that makes not only the landscape of Italy but also the art of its people different from any other in this world." - Frederick Hartt

After waking up and doing a ballet barre this morning, I embarked on a solo day trip to Siena, doing typical Sienese things like admiring the Duomo, getting lost in little streets, and dining in the Piazza del Campo. Pictures from my journey:

(NICK THIS IS FOR YOU!!! Niccolai, Niccolai, does whatever a Niccolai does...)

(S. Domenico Church)

(post-thunderstorm and getting mildly hit by lightening. che pizza.)

(The Duomo)

(memorial wall in the Duomo)

(Piazza del Campo)

Allora, io sto stanca! About to go read Cennini's The Craftman's Handbook and call it a night. A presto :)

Ciao Amori!

Laura