MEET PROF. CARRARA

She is my teacher for Renaissance Art History 397 & Modern Italian Art History 472. I can only dream about having the life she has had. First of all, she absolutely loves her job. ARH 397 is a survery of Italian Renaissance art covering three centuries; Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance. We do a full Renaissance immersion with lecture classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Then on Wednesdays we go on a two hour tour throughout the city and Florence's finest museums. My Modern Italian Art class is very special because we are taken at night to some of the wealthiest Florentine houses and castles to see the family's private collections!
But the real reason that I love Prof. Carrara is because of her stories she told me about when she was my age. My friend Caroline got to know her very well during the tour today and she even told us how she fell in love with her husband, its magical.
She came to Florence as a young student, who had begged her father to let her study abroad. Once he finally came around to the idea he told her that he would send her to Florence as long as the house she stayed in for her homestay had no young Italian sons. She got in touch with an older woman who had no children and loved the idea of hosting a young american student at her house. She told Carraras father that she had no sons, only a nephew who came around for tea but that's it. Her father accepted and Carrara flew to Italy soon after. She fell in love with the city, the lights, the streets, the windows, the art, everything. She became very very close to the woman she lived with, almost like a real daughter. Her "homestay mom" invited her to tea with her nephew one sunny afternoon, and Carrara told us "It was love at first sight." She fell in love, married her dream man, and moved to Italy to become a mom and now an amazing professor. She told us, "the most important thing is to be happy. I am a very hapy person as you can tell. I love what I do, I love where I live, and I am happy to say I am still just as deeply in love with my husband as when I first saw him." She then went on to tell us that her husband owns A CASTLE and we will be going on a private tour of her castle and her private art collection.
Fairy tale come true.

ORIENTATION DAY

Ciao!

Last night I got together with some new friends after our dinner. There are six of us that have already gotten close, three boys and three girls-two from Gonzaga, two from Lafayette, one from UMiami, and myself from UOregon. It's exciting getting to know people not only from another country but from all over the US in my hall. The pensione manager gave us a glass of wine after dinner and we all sat around a table and talked for a few hours before getting too sleepy.

THE DUOMO

Orientation was this morning. We were introduced to the staff; two Americans, one Swede, one German, and one Italian. They explained the Italians laws and how to blend in as best we can to look and act like Italians. They gave short guidelines to the trips we will be taking this term.Of which i will be participating in: Munich-Germany, Dublin-Ireland, & Budapest-Hungary.

A WALK IN FIRENZE

Afterwards, Kalea and I went on a walk around Florence. Its very windy and rainy right now, unfortunately the umbrella that my mom got for me right before I left is already broken from the weather. We shopped around and bought some essentials like fruit, scarves, and another umbrella. The best pick up line that I heard today was a man who leaned over and asked Kalea "hey you, Americana! You Jennifer Lopez's sister?!" Hahaa.

CARNIVALE

We also quickly stopped by the Duomo once again. Im already starting to feel my italian come more naturally as I tell everyone I meet, "Conosce poco italiano, mi dispiace!" We also came across a beautiful little carousel that I promise to actually ride once the weather becomes warmer. Florence is filled with glowing lights, it already feels much more magical that the US.

Just received my room assignment for Firenze; 85 Cavour, Room 5
I’m in a quad room with my friend Kalea and two other Gonzaga students.

Hotel Giglio Florence is a 3 star hotel, located on the second floor of an historic building on Via Cavour, one of the important streets in the centre of Florence. It is within easy walking distance of Florence's most important historical sites and museums. Hotel Giglio Florence has recently been completely renovated, offering its guests all the modern comforts in a distinguished atmosphere.

To see a google.map of the location of my pensioni and the university that I will be attending, CLICK HERE

To see my pensioni, hotel giglio, CLICK HERE

25 days until italia!

"Gonzaga chose Florence because the city is central to the past of Italy and to European civilization itself. Capital of the region of Tuscany, Florence inherits the culture of the Etruscans, the mysterious forgotten people who were heirs to the glory of Greece long before there was a Rome. The city was founded by Roman veterans returning from the wars. More than any other city of Italy, Florence was the stalwart defender of civic liberty during the Renaissance. Her intensely loyal citizenry produced the people and ideas that served as models for a Europe in transition from the medieval to the modern."

"Florentine museums are crowded with the paintings that transformed European taste in the fifteenth century; her streets are lined with buildings that initiated modern architecture. Yet, the city is more than a museum piece. It is intensely alive - a center of modern art, fashion, and refinement."

"Florence is also central to Italy’s present. It is three hours by train to the region of Lombardy, the humming center of Italy’s economic miracle and a stepping-off place for the ski slopes and lakes of the Alps. It is also three hours to Venice, a city which no photograph can do justice. It is two hours to Rome, capital of Italy and of the Church, where ancient, medieval, and modern culture mingle in every street. It is four hours to Naples, Pompeii, and Mount Vesuvius, the southern region no traveler would want to miss."