Welcome Back?

Hello my readers,

I am going to revert from speaking Italian because just hearing that language right now breaks my heart </3 .

I am currently typing this entry in the air port and all I can say is I Hate America!! I have never felt such a part of a culture: a culture that actually takes pride in their art and their food; a culture who adopts you as one of their own; a culture where you can walk outside on the beautifully paved streets glance amongst the gorgeous church works and feel like you are living a part of a sacred history.

I know this is kind of ironic being how I wrote in the beginning how much I felt like I did not belong in Florence but now I know more than ever that it is my home. If I could marry an Italian and stay in the country forever I would. I am a Florentine tried and true and I don't belong in America anymore, from my dress and new hair style which is so foreign to my for fun reading materials which hold basis in art and Florentine culture, to the very fact that I wanted to scream blasphemy at the sbarro's in the airport for their claim to have whoestyle "Italian' cooking.

I feel like Florence is my home, The Florentines are so cultured and take so much pride in their culture. What I wouldn't give to stand at a coffee bar right now and have an espresso. Well at the airport you can go and get a cup o joe at dunkin donuts served to you in a paper cup, how classy! Then you can go and order a medium drink at any drink place in America and being the definition of fat central they will serve you their version of an Italian multi-grande! Italians have so much pride for others yes they push and shove to get a around but they do it with class as opposed to city slickers who are just flat out pushing and shoving. Italians are also patient they take their time and reason with others for example, I checked my bag in Rome to New Jersey and the Italian airline worker was so patient and sent the bag through even though it was a tad overweight, I get to America and the airline worker has the nerve to argue over 5 pounds say "I'm just doing my job hunny" and send me off with a 50 dollar surgcharge. I think the Newark airport is just the definition of America and what a disgusting and capitalist society it is.

When I go home to my home town I will be living my life in bohemian style again avoiding fast food and most likely going vegan because I don't think I can tolerate American cheese anymore let alone there sad excuse for gelato they call ice-cream. I am anticipating sinking into a depression and just reminiscing and writing about Florence and trying to hold onto it so it doesn't fade away into a sweet memory. I suppose there is a silver lining to it all, I am coming back in the spring and I will be attending new art courses in contemporary Italian society, curatorial studies, art preservation, Italian cooking and my favorite and a surprise for all of you my fellow readers working as a docent in Santa Maria Novella J

As mentioned previously, I have wanted to be a docent since the beginning of this summer at my local excuse for an art museum, now I am interning as a tour guide in one of the most sacred churches in the world! My apartment next semester will also be lavishly flourished with a king size bed and situated right next to the Mercato Centrale and right down the street from Santa Maria Novella. So I suppose I couldn't be a more fortunate person. I just feel like I gave so much of my heart to a city and I cannot take it back with me. I also feel very protective of that city and it really breaks my heart when other people insult it and abuse their privilege of being in such a beautiful place. To those Nay Sayers who have the nerve to insult Florence this is all I am going to say: Your experience is what you make it: I am going to go back on my pretentious shyness and make an allusion to one of my favorite artist's Botticelli: Imagine yourself riding a scallop pushed by the wind to a destination, you have the choice of what direction you will lead. Flora bestows her mantle on you, warming you with her Florentine pride. You have the choice to where you want to go and what you want to do and how this experience will affect you as a human being. Let the compass rose be your guide and ride the wind.

I feel like the Venus who has been blown back from Florence to Cyprus against her own will and wants to go back to Florence once more. I am in a transition again riding the wind. The compass rose to my heart leads to Florence but for now I am back on the island of Cyprus waiting for the winds of fate to blow me back to the country that I love.

</3 Jenna

Up Close and Personal with Michelangelo’s David!

Ciao i miei amici,

I first off want to apologize for this long awaited post, I just have been so overwhelmed by all my traveling that I have yet to find some spare time to blog. However that is until now.


As mentioned in a previous entry, where I stress subjective viewer-ship as opposed to introspective viewer-ship I mentioned how viewing art with others is a great way to reflect on a work of art as a whole.  I feel ever since my experience in the Palazzo Pitti as well as the Uffizi I have grown rather accustomed to the social museum experience. I still love to reflect introspectively on hidden gems within the small churches and palaces of Florence however when it comes to major tourist museums as seen with the Academia sometimes it is just best to be subjective.


I visited the Academia with my two dear friends who both possessed an extensive art background. One had previously seen the David before, while the other like myself was seeing the David for the first time. Upon entrance into the Academia, I was filled with gratitude for my friends of the Uffizzi card. A crowd nearly blocked the entrance and the foyer of the first gallery was congested to the brim with buzzing tourists. Then came the moment of anticipation, after viewing and commenting on various works of byzantine and renaissance church art we ventured down the long and narrow hallway to the room of The David.  My friend expressed the magnificence of David prior to my visit and warned me how he would catch us off guard upon entrance into the hallway. However, at the time I dismissed his wariness, yet of course he was right.

Michelangelo's David

If there was only one word to describe the David, my one word would be Magnificent! His location within the Academia greatly attributes to his idealistic nature for he stands fourteen-feet high over his fellow spectators. His architectural placement contributes to his stance and beauty as well. David is situated at the end of the Academia hallway in a round; above him is a glass copula which projects naturalistic light onto his beautifully toned body. What is so fascinating about David's placement in the round is it allows the viewer to experience all 360 degrees of his gloriousness.

My friends and I decided to view the front of David first, I must admit I am a perfectionist thus I was awestruck upon his viewership. He was magnificent: his hair was perfectly quaffed, his muscles were toned, his facial features were alluring and his stance in his victorious contrappasto was so life-like and entrancing. We then proceeded to view David from all angles and sat within the round for nearly an hour commenting on Michelangelo's craftsmanship. In all honesty, pulling myself away from the David was far more difficult then I could have ever imagined, he was so captivating and handsome that I just felt so lost within his gaze. Ok I suppose it sounds like I have a school girl crush on the David but it is hard to stop staring at something that beautiful!

The Academia embodies the David; this museum is far smaller than portrayed and is comprised of mainly church works. Yet, David stands on his own as something so captivating that he beckons forth millions of tourist every year to witness his magnificence. Thus, he has lured me as well as many other fellow art lovers to question the definition of perfection.

A preso,

~Gianna

    

My Appreciation for the Art Blogosphere

Ciao I miei amici,

First of all I want to apologize for my hiatus these few weeks. But I must say throughout this time, I have visited some absolutely incredible museums and churches which I am eager to write to you all about in my upcoming entries.

Yet, I first want to reflect on an incredible phenomenon that has changed my worldview as we know it. This is of course the Art Blogosphere, I initially wrote my blog with the purpose of serving as a travel journal for my friends and family back home. But suddenly it transformed into something totally unexpected, I figured my main focus on most entries would be art oriented but I had no idea that my blog would morph to be counted among the ranks of other Art History Bloggers. I want to thank the incredible bloggers I have read along the way who have made me feel so welcome into the community. A special thanks to H for his kind words and assistance and to his friends M, A and Dr.F.

I am just a mere college student studying abroad with big hopes and dreams of one day making it in the art world, I have high hopes of either being a curator or perhaps writing for Art Forum. I understand these are big dreams but thanks to the art blogging world I feel like these dreams could one day be a reality. Art is my love, I feel like I have sacrificed so much socially because very few people my age are on the same wavelength as me. As seen in my bio I am a very introverted person and when I start talking about art to peers my own age I often come across as elitist or pretentious. The fact is I am not an elitist I just really love art and I love reflecting on it with others who live for the subjective view as I do. I now live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world known for its art. I look out my window and there is Santa Maria Novella, I go to get a gelato and there is the Duomo, everyday on my way to class I pass the Pallazo Strozzi. I not only see art history each and every day, I live and breathe it. Which is why my dear readers I couldn't bear to leave Florence thus I will be studying new topics next semester in accordance with museum exhibition, art expertise , art restoration and hopefully though a family connection intern at the palazzo pitti. I have big dreams and I know Florence will take me far so I will keep dreaming and keep writing so stay tuned for the promised church entries and of course my trip to the Louvre and Academia

A preso,

~Gianna

A Surprise Post: Unearthing the secrets beneath the Medicee Chapel

Ciao I Miei Amici,
Now normally i am not a photo blogger, since i leave the photo blogging to the photographers ;), I in fact did not take any of the pictures that you are about to see, my  fellow fresco classmate Darlene is the one who i owe the credit too, but I was a part of the experience. I understand the virtual viewership of this imagery  is no comparison to real life but i hope you enjoy this special post.


Unearthing the secret.....

Enter the Cappele di Medicee home to the tombs of the revered Medicee family
 and our hidden piece of art history.

Michaelangelo's monumental Tomb of Giuliano di Medicee
 Upon entrance locate the monumental tombs of the Medicee crafted by Michaelangelo

Near the monument room of the Medicee there is a small room off to the side 
Now if you are lucky like I am and have one of the best restorators in all of  Florence as your teacher
then you will gain access to this secret passageway  

Congrats readers you have now reached a hidden secret in art history many wish they could behold, 

 Welcome to the Hidden Sketches of Michaelangelo!

Upon entrance into the room of Michaelangelo's hidden sketches i was in sheer awe and amazement, pictures alone cannot describe what a milestone this experience was for me in my art history career. I was viewing the most basic of form's the inner ideas and the  hidden sketches of Michaelangelo!

 In the process of constructing the Medicee monuments, Michaelangelo would escape to this room beneath the Chapel to contemplate and map out his inner ideas. These sketches were the fruits of his labor and as we can see many of these basic ideas rose to fruition in the creation of his frescoes and monuments.  

I hope you enjoyed this surprise segment on La Vita e Bella, This was an experience of a lifetime and i'm so thankful i am fortunate enough to share it with all of you 


A Preso,


~Gianna

The Pallazo Pitti: The Bartolini Tondo

Ciao my readers. As mentioned in my site's profile and previous entries, I am a very introspective person when it comes to my viewership of art. Yet, an incredible opportunity presented itself which allowed me not only to come out of my shell but experience art in a completely different way. Thank you H from Three Pipe Problem for your incredible insight. Ever since the day I stumbled upon the Three Pipe Problem in search of a certain Botticelli picture, I have been following your blog religiously, it was such an honor to spend the morning with you at the Pitti Palace. Inspired by H, I have decided to present this entry with a new perspective. 

Although my blog mostly covers museum viewership and reactions, I have decided to go in a new direction for this entry in tribute to the Three Pipe Problem.

The Palazzo Pitti, home of the palatine galleries

The Palazzo Pitti is grandeur personified, it is an aesthetic and societal biosphere made up of many dimensions. From the silverware, modern art and palatine galleries to the Boboli gardens, this palace of mass exuberance is one step below Versailles. I have never been a fan of the Rococo and gilded splendor so it was no surprise upon entrance to the palatine galleries that I was blinded by the overly gaudy décor. Gold leafed walls, frescoed ceilings and antiquities of gilded splendor encompassed the interiors of the palatine galleries. Although my main focus on this entry is set on a particular piece and not the palatine galleries themselves, for a better understanding of the history of the palace and the Medici family, read H's post at my site(link below). 

The dizzying opulence of The Palatine Gallery

In my opinion, less is more when it comes to the exhibition of art. However, upon viewership of the interior palace it appeared the Medici failed to acknowledge simplicity and wished to display the best of everything, thereby overly congesting the art works within each room. While I walked the halls of the palatine galleries with H, I wanted to experience the details and styles of each renaissance artist however I found myself overly distracted due to all of the works crowded within each room. 

As mentioned in previous entries, I dislike guided tours because I wish to experience art introspectively but I found myself in tune with H for I sought to ingest all the knowledge H had to offer, I wanted to know more about the Carravagisti and the Raphaels, as well as any other artists that came up in discussion. There weren’t many tourists in the gallery and we talked throughout our entire viewing experience. Yet, there was one moment when I went silent, that moment was brought on by the viewership of the Bartolini Tondo.

Filippo Lippi, Bartolini Tondo 1465-1470

The Bartolini Tondo By Filippo Lippi(1406-1469) is housed in Room XXI of the Palatine Galleries. It is displayed on the back wall of the room is showcased by its large scale size and opulent frame. I was immediately drawn to this work and was at a loss for words, all I could do was stare in amazement. I attribute my amazement to the history behind this immaculate tondo. 

The Bartolini Tondo was the earliest form of a renaissance tondo, or painting presented in a round format. Prior to its creation, renaissance paintings were created in panels or in the style of frescoes but never set as a round. However, Lippi’s tondo led a revolution of tondos to follow, as seen in the rounds by Botticelli and Michelangelo. The tondo was commissioned by the noble silk merchant Roberto Bartolini, with the purposeful shape of a birthing tray to honor the birth of his first born child. 

It serves as a celebration of birth and matrilineal lineage. It depicts a Madonna and Child intertwined with scenes from the lives of her mother St. Anne. The Virgin serves as a focal point in the foreground while her birth and conception are displayed in the background. Lippi’s tondo is alluring not only in a religious and societal context but also as a work of incredible craftsmanship through its architecture and proportions. I was very fortunate to be amongst a fellow art lover while having such an aesthetic experience, I am rather inclined to Lippi in general since he was the mentor of Botticelli but I often undermined him for Botticelli, I now hold a deeper appreciation for Lippi as well as subjective art viewership. 

“I just loved the Bartolini Tondo so much I had to get a  postcard of it!” one of many postcards from my many museum trips 

Thank you H and my fellow readers for following my blog and watching me grow in my aesthetic experience. Who knows perhaps sometime soon, I will take a guided tour.


~Gianna

A shared post with H Niyazi: Two masters, Jupiter and a Palace Doorway

by H Niyazi

Hello Readers. My own art+history blog, Three Pipe Problem has been up for almost a year now, yet one thing I have never had the chance to explore are my  responses to seeing artworks in situ. This is primarily as I am located in Australia, and do not get to see the Renaissance and Baroque works I have spent so many years studying. As a result, I tend to write about the history and symbolism in these works. But today is a special treat! During a recent trip to Florence, Gianna and I decided it would be an interesting idea to visit a gallery together and then do a post swap. She would be able to share her amazing reflective experiences at my blog, and I would have the unique chance of talking about seeing a Renaissance master in person, something which I have not done before.

The Palazzo Pitti

Firstly, a bit about my background. I came to art history through my study of literature and history first. I knew about the Medici and Dante long before I knew about Raphael and Botticelli! Although I went onto pursue a career as a Health Professional, I have always been fascinated by the history of art, in particular how use of subject matter and symbols can reveal so much about the artists and the patron. In travelling to Florence, I must admit a significant deal of trepidation - how could these works measure up to the highly idealised view of them I have had in my mind for over 20 years? I am still reeling from what I saw in Florence. The mystical fog that was 'Renaissance' to me was very much shattered. I think this is a pitfall of studying these works for so long without ever having the privilege of visiting them. However, I won't dwell on this too much, it is something I will be better able to deal with in my future writing. For now I would like to focus on one curious palace doorway!

The Palazzo Medici, later owned by the Riccardi family

Gianna and I visited the Palatine Gallery on Friday October 1st. The Palatine Gallery is of course located at the Palazzo Pitti, the stately palace of the Medici Dukes. As a student of history and lover of antiquity, these later Medici have always rubbed me the wrong way! Gone is the humility of Cosimo The Elder, the burning love of knowledge and literature of Lorenzo The Magnificent. These Medici were no longer just bankers and wealthy patrons, they were Pseudo royalty, thrust into greatness by favour of the Medici Pope Clement VII, who granted the Medici the title of Duke, starting with Alessandro de Medici in 1530.


 By the time of Cosimo I de Medici(whom Italians refer to as Cosimo Primo), the Medici Dukedom was in full swing, and the immense wealth of this once humble family went into acquiring and glorifying the Pitti Palace into the Ducal Residence. The result of this was a degree of opulence that was to later inspire the building of the Palace of Versailles.



Unlike Cosimo the Elder, whom when building the original Palazzo Medici deliberately had Brunelleschi scale back the scope and grandeur of the building, these later Medici went out of their way to show their superior wealth, not only in relation to their peers, but their Medici ancestors as well. They started the trend of over sized palace windows, simply because they wanted the windows of their palace to be larger than the main door of the original Palazzo Medici! They even had the infamous Vasari corridor built, to allow them to travel from the Uffizi(the offices of Medici business ventures) and The Pitti Palace, simply so they would avoid having to mix with the rabble in the street(and the likely due to fear of attack).





Hence, as all good wealthy patrons do, the Medici went about amassing an unparalleled art collection. Going beyond humble commissions of wedding paintings like Primavera and Birth of Venus, these later Medici were directly depicted in fresco, painting and sculpture, multitudes of times, across the city and all across the many gilt rooms of their palace.



Going on a tour of the palace today, you will get to see a throne room, which served this purpose during the later phase of the palace's occupation. The original throne room was located in The Sala di Giove(The Hall of Jupiter). This hall's ceiling was decorated by Pietro da Cortona, and shows Jupiter crowning the Prince, a direct reference to the Medici Duke receiving their power from God, or in this case, the Pope, whom happened to be a relative of his.



Going through the Pitti with Gianna on this day, I think we were both overwhelmed by the opulence of this place. I definitely was, and each room I went through I found myself less in awe of these later Medici. We discussed the Pitti as a precursor to Versailles, and the tremendous negative effect that had on French society. Despite the amazing art on display, I have to admit the Pitti Palace is not a place of awe and wonder to me - but more so an ugly reminder of the tremendously corrupting influence of wealth.

Going through the Palatine Gallery however, you will get to points where you are confronted with works that will stop your reverie on wealth and power, and make you appreciate the art itself. It was two paintings in the Sala di Giove which did these for me. The first was La Donna Velata(Woman with a veil) by Raphael. One of the most famous portraits of the Renaissance, there it sits in the Medici throne room. I found this immensely poignant as this portrait is believed to be Margerita Luti, Raphael's lover, who was the daughter of a baker of Siena. This is why a later portrait of the same woman is called La Fornarina, or little baker girl!

How wonderful I thought, to have the Medici dukes prancing about under a portrait of a bakers daughter! Incidentally, I also think that the previously described incident where Gianna was accosted by a drunk guide at the Bandini Museum is related to this point. This person described Simonetta Vespucci as working in a bakery, of which there is no evidence. Evidently this drunk museum attendant is getting Simonetta and Margerita mixed up!

La Donna Velata, in its current position, sits on the left side of a doorway in the Sala di Giove. What struck me with wonder was how on the other side of this doorway was a work by my other Renaissance favourite, the enigmatic Giorgione. There are some paintings in the Uffizi that are tentatively 'attributed' to Giorgione, and the attribution to this particular work,The Three Ages, is also strongly contested.

 As I  have been discovering, Giorgione is a mystery, but not as much of a mystery as people like to hype him up as. This mystery is more a result of a combination of a lack of  documented evidence, and some over active imaginations filling the gaps!

Just as many other artists produced works with a mixture of religious and worldy symbolism, Giorgione was no different. It is easy to get swept away by the description we have of Giorgione by Vasari, the poet and lute player, who was in love with antiquity and charmed Leonardo da Vinci with his wit when they met. Vasari's meddlesome storytelling is really starting to grate on me as I find it is almost always his anecdotes that have resulted in the hazy perception we have of Renaissance artists. I'm starting to become more enamoured of the reality evidenced by facts of the day - the 1500s was still a time ruled by a type of spirituality that is extremely difficult for a modern viewer to grasp. Hence, just like Botticelli'sVenus is an allusion to The Sacred Virgin of Pagan and Christian Lore, Giorgione's Three Ages also starts to make sense as a work which can be acceptably viewed in a sacred sense as well. For more info on this, I refer you to this post by Dr. Frank DeStefano. I was delighted to be able to report to Frank that the sheet of paper held by the youth in this painting clearly did not indicate it was sheet music, as the philosophical reading of the painting indicates. It is equally difficult to say it is scripture either - like most of Giorgione's amazing symbolism I believe the ambiguity is quite deliberate, and hence allow the 'sacred and profane' readings to safely coexist.


 I would like to thank Gianna for an enjoyable morning at the Palazzo Pitti. It was definitely an eye opening experience. I very much look forward to hosting her post at Three Pipe Problem. It is simply delightful to have an art history student that is such a talented writer contributing to the ever growing art blogosphere.



Kind Regards

H Niyazi

Melbourne Australia
threepipeproblem.blogspot.com

The Long Awaited Post: The Uffizi! Part I

Ciao I Miei Amici,

I am finally proud to say that this Saturday i went to the beautiful Uffizi Museum. Eversince, my survey to Renaissance art class, I have dreamed of viewing works by the great Italian masters and this weekend that dream became a reality. However, I was unable to view the museum in its entirety since the Uffizi was far larger then I ever imagined.

My tips before going to the museum is do not underestimate its size!  If you are a tourist in Florence give yourself a full day for the Uffizi, if you are abroad like myself do not get down on yourself, there will be plenty of times to make visits to the Uffizi. Also, wear walking shoes and be ready to climb plenty of stairs, its a bit of a trek but it is well worth it! and keep in mind that  there is only one way into the Uffizi and one way out.   Also, if you are as lucky as I am, see if you can go to the museum with a fellow art buff . Viewing art with a fellow art connoisseur really enhances the experience!  I was so fortunate to have my friend and fellow art student with me, he had previously been to the museum and had a great sense of direction. He also is very insightful, we spent hours discussing various paintings and looking at works by the masters and relating them to not only our subjective views but to the artwork as a whole.

I often overlook most church art as overly exuberant  since Giotto, Duccio, Cimabue and Ghirlandio were highly commissioned church artists whose works embodied gilded splendor. Yet, upon entrance into the first room  of the museum, my friend gazed intently at the church works in front of us. We went up close to the works as well as afar. we also commented on the color palate as well as the figurations. I surprisingly enjoyed the church works because although  many of their subject matters were the same their depictions and interpretations on religious subjects varied. It is also fascinating how each artist displayed there own trademark style:  no Madonna and Child were the same. My friend jested how Madonna and Child's must have been all the rage in 15th century Florence and upon hearing the commission by the patron the artist must have cringed and thought to himself "Oh no not another Madonna and Child!"

Duccio's Madonna and Child

 Giotto's Madonna and Child

After some wonderful introspection upon the church works and some stimulated conversation with my friend, my friend and I ventured into the Botticelli Room! Words alone cannot describe the sheer awe that overcame me upon entrance into the room. Literally, I was in visual ecstasy. Across from me was La Primavera, to the left of it was Mars and Venus and to the left of Mars and Venus was the Birth of Venus. I always assumed  Botticelli was a neo-classicist mythological painter. However, Botticelli was also a church painter. I was completely unaware of just how many church works he had created . I apologize my readers for calling myself a devout fan of Botticelli when in reality, I have mainly followed his mythological works. Now, after this eye opening experience and sensory overload of Botticelli, I plan to look into his work as a church artist.  In keeping with my love for Botticelli's mythological works,  i cannot  stress the  magnanimosity of his large scale paintings. Every detail was magnified, and each detail appeared far more clear and concise, than  it would ever look in these pictures.

Botticelli's Birth of Venus

Botticelli's La Primavera

The only downside in viewing these works is how they have been preserved, the colors were far more faded then I imagined and the figures appeared mildly distorted from up close as opposed to far a way . Overall , I was so enthralled with these works that  it was difficult to turn myself away from them to view other pieces within the Uffizi. After the Botticelli room, I casually glanced at works by the  masters on the way to the  exit, However,  my main focus of the day was in viewing the church art and  the Botticellis.

This was just my first time visiting the Uffizi and I promise there will be more write ups to follow. So stay tuned for more postings on the Uffizi, I promise they will not disappoint.

A presto
~Gianna

Be Italian!

Ciao my readers,
I am at a loss for words right now because I have experienced so much this past week let alone this weekend and  a part of me wants to talk about art history while another part of me really wants to talk about my acclimation to Italian culture. So though this is not to bore you, I am going to go with the latter. I promise my next entry will be filled with  art experiences.


 My Dear readers I am not Italian, nor is my name really Gianna, rather it is Jenna. I am just your typical american girl. Before Italy, my Italian experience included dining at an Italian restaurant and studying Italian at my local college.  Immediately upon arrival into Italy, everything from the way I dressed, to my mannerisms pegged me as american but now something amazing has happened. I am Italian! Now of course i say this more in the metaphorical sense since i will never be Italian thanks to my bloodline. However, if i were walking down the streets of Florence in no way would you guess i was an american.

My definition of studying abroad as opposed to others varies, for those of you who are unaware Florence is a major attraction site for american college students. Everyday on my way to school i will always run into those few select american students hung over from there gallivanting  that previous night.  I want to make it clear that Florence is a beautiful place and it saddens me so, that it has become such a party city.

My first few entries i was in major culture shock because i had never been exposed to so much partying and i felt like a wallflower in a completely different world. American girls are immediately branded as wild and vulnerable by any Italian man. My first few days i would get invites for free drinks and flyers to local clubs. I tried playing on these wiles but after partying a few times I felt  so ashamed of myself for becoming the definition of the american abroad. Therefore,  I sought to stay in my room, sulk and count the days until i would happily be back in America. Yet, after two weeks i came to the realization that going abroad is what you make it.  I decided I no longer wanted to be the American in Florence and so i sought to embrace this new culture.

In all honesty, acclimation takes a while and my first step in acclimating to Florence was getting my bearings: I remember my first few days where i would follow my house mates for dear life for fear if i didn't keep up with them,  i would lose my way home. I also recall standing in my doorway nearly in tears since i did not know how to operate the lock on my apartment door.   Ordering at my local gelateria and caffe bar were a chore in itself , the waiter corrected my pitiful Italian while the women at the gelateria sneered at my failure to specify cup or cone. This frustration with Italy continued, I had no sense of direction and a walk home could take an hour maybe more due to one wrong turn.

I have grown so much upon my arrival to Italy to where i am now. It's absolutely amazing  the effect a change of attitude can have on a person. Below is an account on a day in the life of myself in Florence:

This morning i woke up and decided i would walk to the central market and buy ingredients to make a delicious pasta dish  which my mother makes for me at home ( I rarely ever cook since i'm insecure about my cooking ). With ease i walked to the market and upon arrival went to the individual vendors and bought all my ingredients as well as lunch in fluent Italian. After my shopping trip, i went for a granite at Grom which is one of the best gelateria's in all of Florence however it is often packed with tourists for some reason ,though i really have embodied being Italian and i am never asked what ice cream i would like rather i am greeted kindly with a ciao.  Later, I decided to be even more independent and set up an account at my local library so i no longer  would have to study alone in my room. The local library is very Italian and can be intimidating  but to the the best of my ability i officiated the signing of my card and membership. There, I did homework for a few hours and then headed home to cook a delicious home cooked pasta dish with the ingredients i bought at the market .

I guess you could say my ever-growing eagerness to learn has allowed myself to integrate with a new culture. I came here to experienc  art and culture in new and exciting ways and now i finally am , I underestimated what lengths it would take to be a part of that culture however through all my mispronunciations and misdirections, I learned part of acclimation is making mistakes and learning from them.

A Presto
~Gianna

The Bandini Museum: Botticelli's Virgin and Child

Ciao my readers,This is my third week in Italy and i am proud to say i have finally acclimated with Italian culture: I know some wonderful places for food and gelato; I am on the friends of the bar list at my local coffee bar and i can order food and go shopping at the market without speaking one word of English.  Along with this acclimation came some travels to see some  museums and churches.
I wish i could update my blog more regularly but i am just so busy experiencing the culture of Italy that i seldom have some quiet time for introspection.

Last weekend i was invited to travel to the Etruscan ruins of Fiesole, I must say if you ever are staying for more then a week in Florence you should check out the Etruscan ruins of Fiesole, they are absolutely beautiful, also if you go up for a full day they have the most amazing walking tours. I was in sheer awe of seeing the ruins of such a quaint village, i wish i could have held that feeling with me for the rest of the day.  Sadly, that was not the case. I have seen many different museums in my lifetime and experienced many different aesthetic environments but  i never expected i would ever have a drunk museum tour guide.

The Bandini Museum  was a very small museum with two floors featuring Italian Renaisance church works. As written before in a previous post i want to find these small hidden treaure museums since often those are the ones that are the most inspiring. Yet, one cannot find inspiration amongst the guide of a drunken person.  Thats Right, Our tour gide was drunk and even admitted to being drunk. I wouldn't normally complain about this since i rarely ever take guided tours because i experience art with my eyes and not with my ears. While i appreciate others knowledge on art, once i am in a museum i like to let the art speak for itself and  the moment i walk outside i become a giddy ball of energy going on and on about the artists and there paintings. ( my grandmother can attest for this many a time). However, while i am in the museum i am in my own world.  This may have been a one time thing which i very much hope so for the sake of the Botticelli and Giotto's at the Bandini museum but once my friends and i entered the museum immediately one of the workers who happened to be drunk felt it was her obligation to show us every work in the museum and describe it in full detail to "her knowledge".  Now i say "her knowledge" because everything that she described was inaccurate except for the most basic of facts.

When i look at paintings i like to look at symbolisms, i will see the oranges amongst many Italian Renaissance paintings and know they are to pay homage to the Medicee family, I also love religious and mythological symbolisms as seen in many works by the great artists of the Italian Renaissance. Yet, when i hear," This is one of the evangelists and clearly he looks angry so i would not put him by your bedside or else when you wake up in the morning you will wake up to his angry face." or "this apostle was painted green i don't know why he was painted green but clearly the artist wanted to paint him green." a part of me dies inside because if i ever described that to my art history teacher or wrote that on an art history exam i would be immediately discredited and lose all points for that section of the exam. I am also taking fresco restoration and clearly that apostle was green due to improper restoration. Yet, what broke my heart was when i found an unexpected Botticelli work within the museum and instead of allowing myself to have that aha moment and really reflect on Botticelli's brushwork my tour guide had the nerve to educate me on the conception of the painting. 

 I was staring eyes agape into a beautiful Virgin and Child by Botticelli .  when my tour guide decided to tell me about the muse of the painting who i already knew was supposedly Simonetta Vespucci, but the story i was told was as far away from the truth as i have ever known. My drunken tourguide interupted my aha moment to tell me a "vital "fact" She is very beautiful, No? " i replied" of course she is,  she is the same face of the Venus as well." then comes the saddest thing i have ever heard in regards to art history.... "Did you know that she worked in a bakery and every day when Botticelli would go in to get a brioche he would see her and wave to her and they fell in love and so he painted her." at that moment a part of me wanted to scream well i guess i was screaming inside for the humanity of art everywhere. To my fellow readers who are unaware about Botticelli. Here is the actual truth Simonetta was a noble woman who was admired by many men including the Giuliano Di Medicee in no way would she be working at a bakery let alone at one.  I apologize for my elitism readers but things like this cannot go unsaid, i really want to know how this tour guide got her job and how many people have left that museum thinking Botticelli's muse worked in a bakery. This was the first Botticelli work i have seen while in Italy  and sadly its viewer-ship had to be ruined by a drunken tour guide.  I understand this experience was most likely one of a kind, but i have wanted to be a  museum guide for a  summer job and was rejected because i was to young. So i just can't help but feel broken to see someone with the summer job of my dreams abusing the privilege. 


A Presto, 
~Gianna

Ciao Readers,
I feel very guilty about my last post, this in no way is meant to be a vent blog and really all i did in my last blog entry was vent minus my reference to the Botticelli's. Since this is a Travel blog i suppose culture shock and travels abroad go hand in hand my last entry is a perfect demonstration of culture shock. I came to Italy from a rural college in the middle of no where in a one street town and now i am in one of the busiest cities in the world and i am just getting my bearings. Also, within Florence i have already gone on two traveling trips one to Tuscany and the other to Naples and Capri. and both places are very different from Florence. more trips are in store and i am very excited for traveling but it does throw you off guard when you are slowly getting immersed into one surrounding  and suddenly you are in another culture. Luckily the transition within traveling doesn't last long but it is taking time.
I think the most difficult thing thus far about Florence is not adjusting to the city but to the people. I have great house mates and i mean nothing against them  but i am from a school where being a little bit dorky is a part of fitting in. its just so bizarre and i suppose culture shocking for me to me amongst such preppy non dorky people. I feel a little lost and have felt kind of out of the loop since i arrived here.  As mentioned in my profile i am a shy person, i just never knew how shy i was until i came here. A familiar face has made all the difference for me, i'm so fortunate to have my best friend from high school here with me. Its so great to have a fellow dork and culture enthusiast here with me to take in all the sights and culture. Since we have both been in Florence we have climbed two monumental buildings the Duomo and the citadel. having her here has made my experience thus far truly awesome i can;t wait to hit up the museums with her we are fellow culture buffs her in the classics and I with my art. I also am slowly but gradually branching out and making friends within my classes.
My favorite class by far is my fresco restoration class, the teacher has restored very famous works throughout the Uffizzi as well as some of the frescoes in Pompeii. The other students in my class really appreciate art and are either visual art majors or art history majors. we talk about art history for hours on end, Vermeer is one of the top favorites, the chieftains of the Italian renaissance are as well. The depth of what it takes to make a fresco is fairly simple: simply stencil the painting you want to rework , then create a  pattern by edging the stencil, once you have pattern set pattern by dabbing pigment with a sponge on plaster that will provide the outline for the work. the rest is pretty much a paint by numbers system and adding shadowing and transparencies where needed. OK so not that simple but in a fresco lab you can turn out a work fairly quickly.

My Fresco: Taken from Venus in Botticelli's Allegory of Spring

Since i have so much in common with my fellow classmates a few of us are going to the Uffizzi this weekend i am so excited one of my classmates as already gone twice and still has yet to see more. I am so excited for my i'm filled with anticipation i promise readers once i go to the uffizzi i will write you all about it. 

A presto, 

<3 Gianna

Trepidation

Dear Readers,
I Love Florence but really more as a vacation, vacations are different you go up for a few days meet a few people perhaps on the way and then you never have to see them again. you say you will stay in touch but it really never ends up happening. That is what most of my life has consisted of meeting people and then saying goodbye.  This summer i lost my best and only friend i had with me throughout high school. I guess you could say it was irreconcilable differences.In losing her as my friend a part of me dreaded meeting new people and still does how can you be friends with someone for almost 5 years and then just up and leave?  how is there a chance of even forming friendships when in the end nothing lasts? same goes for relationships.

 I have lost every childhood friend i have ever had all because i brought it on myself, i had to suffer and i couldn't just let myself be happy. I look in mirrors every day with disgust at myself trying to find that one feature even if its just my eye color to appease me but it never does. I have shamed myself far too many times that sometimes i don't even know who i am anymore. I'm at a crossroads now in a new country and instead of finding the silver lining of what is good in life even if it is not me. i am in dread of seeing the one thing that makes me happy for fear that i won;t be able to find anything else. I would love to write about art and the passion it brings me but where is the passion if i am dreading one of the only things that make me happy.

I feel alone and yet i'm so numb in feeling alone that maybe its what is best. Artist are tormented people i myself have been tormented since i was seven. i'm not good enough i don;t know if i will ever be, critiques terrify me, actually my own art work does because it never feels good enough. i would love to just paint over everything in white just let any sign of me trying to exercise my creativity disappear.

I suppose a blank canvas only works if you can put the past behind you, I can;t because i am so weak all the time from lack of caring and thus in that weakness shines through my vulnerability. o how i want to be loved and included and actually a part of a normal existence but i'm not destined for a normal existence i haven't since i was seven. The day i look in that mirror and realize i love myself maybe then i can create friendships and find love. but i truly detest who i am and i suppose it shines through for everyone else to see.

I am in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and am in fear of going to the Uffizi and seeing the Botticelli's. i'm afraid because once i see them i have no purpose no locus of reason to stay. i also am in fear because what if i see them and they don;t move me  and i am just left an empty hollow shell of a human being
filled with regret for believing art could combat her suffering.