Thursday night I traveled to Florence and stayed the night with my friend Lydia. Lydia, who has been in Florence for the academic year, is packing up the entire contents of her one bedroom apartment next to the Duomo and is leaving for the states in 10 days. Needless to say there was much talk and reflection about our overall experiences here. She too is experiencing both the utter bittersweetness of leaving Italy but going home.
The next morning, I awoke and met up with my other friend Sarah at the Santa Maria Novella Train station and headed to Siena (FINALLY). Absolutely beautiful, Siena is a city that still appears as it once did in the 13th century. The story behind Siena is that, for many reasons, during the 13th and 14th centuries, the city was in direct competition with it's close neighbor, Florence, as the culturally 'the' place to be. Due to a devastating plague and other financial reasons, eventually Siena waved the proverbial white flag and gave up, handing Florence all the fame and glory of the city where the Renaissance was born. Two residual affects of the clash can still be seen today. First, Siena's wealth of Trecento (13th century) art. The Pinacoteca Nazionale houses one of the greatest collections of Duccio, Cimabue, Giotto, Martini, etc....albeit the Ufizi's collection...in Florence. Second, the still standing riff between the Sienese and the Florentines. It seems the several hundred years just isn't enough time to put aside old grudges. In any event, the campo, Duomo, and other museums were more than impressive and I am so glad I got the opportunity to see it. That night, Sarah and I headed back to Florence where I ended up staying another night...I just cant get enough.
Florence never ceases to amaze me. I have been there now at least four times officially, once guided by a professional art historian, and I still have not managed to see everything. So, overjoyed that I had been given the opportunity to see more things, I headed off again. This time around I hit up Santa Maria Novella (Fillipino Lippi and Ghirlandaoi (teacher of Michelangelo) frescoes), Santo Spirito (famous Brunelleschian church), the Bracacci Chapel, and the convent of San Marco.
The last of the series, San Marco, absolutely blew my mind. In the 15th century, Fra Angelico, a monk/painter, frescoed many areas throughout the convent including many small meditation cells frequented by the Florentine celebs Cosimo di Medici and Savanarola. In any event, his annunciation, which you stumble upon at the top of a staircase, basically inspired just about every famous Renaissance artist. It utterly took my breath away (and almost my life as I snapped an illegal photo and had to run from a guard). This small convent is certainly off the beaten path, however, if you are ever in Florence and are all at interested in Renaissance art, you must go. It was the perfect end to what will probably by my last trip to Florence for quite some time (I was also thrilled because this is the third time I have tried to go and it is always closed. This time it was free entrance...go figure).
On my walk to the train station and my ride back, I continued to think about my overall experience here. I don't think I have ever been so internally confused as to how to express my feelings. Really the only word is bittersweet. On one hand, I can with absolute certainty say that the hardest thing about being here was the inaccessibility to my family and friends. I have always known, but now completely appreciate the way I feel about them and how fortunate I am to have their love and support. No place will ever truly feel like home unless they are there. On the other hand, I could not possibly have dreamed for a better education experience in regards to art, language, culture, and myself. I have both seen and learned an incredible amount over the past fews months. I will not say that all has been good, but certainly important. So much of this experience was nothing like I expected it to be. Living abroad has been incredibly hard and barriers have been met at every corner. Yet I can say with complete certainty that I tried my hardest, experienced the most possible, and never gave up. There is no real purpose to this blog other than to just have some form of outlet for these queries. I think these thoughts will completely haunt me until I get on the plane back to the States. Dad would say don't sweat the small stuff...so I won't...completely.
Best, Lauren
Songs of the Week:
These Days - Jackson Browne
Halo - Beyonce
Not California - Hem
Rich Girls - The Virgins
Lesson Learned - Alicia Keys ft. John Mayer
Good Friend - Plants and Animals
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