Pisa

Hello,

It's Thursday night of the third week of school and I am very tired. But I have been wanting to make a new post about what I've been up to. School has been going really well. I like my teachers and they like me, and I think everyone's kinda surprised that I can draw. I like surprising people! Before I left, people asked me if my classes were going to be in English, and I didn't even know! Now I can tell you that the answer is yes and no. My classes are filled with people from all over the world, so there are a lot of languages flying around in class, but usually my teachers will explain in Italian and then explain again in English. But this isn't always so: my illustration teacher knows about ten English words. It's really entertaining to try to talk to each other! She's amazingly talented though, and you can learn just by observing her. In one of my classes, I am the only American. I am not looking forward to this because almost the entire lesson was Italian and then my teacher gave me the gist of it at the end. I felt like I was missing out. But I am taking a Printing on Textiles class with a woman who moved to Italy from Wisconsin, so it's really nice to talk to her =)

Homework has been fairly mild so far, and hopefully it will stay that way because I have lots of trips planned. I am going to Vienna & Salzburg in a few weeks, Scotland in March, Munich and the Amalfi Coast in April, and hopefully England for spring break. CAN NOT WAIT.

A few weeks ago, I went with a bunch of friends to Pisa. We saw the Duomo (cathedral), Baptistery, Campanile (bell tower), and Campo Santo. Of course everyone has heard of the famous leaning tower of Pisa. I was really surprised how much it leaned! It was the last of the building to be built and it leans because of weak subsoil and poor foundation. The building was left unfinished for a century and then the upper floors were built with one side taller than the other to compensate for the lean. Of course we all took the standard tourist pictures:

The Duomo was absolutely beautiful. The pictures don't nearly do it justice. Every inch of the space is embellished and filled with history. I don't know a lot about it, other than construction began in 1093 and in 1595 there was a fire that destroyed much of the medieval art. Possibly the most famous piece of art in the duomo is the pulpit, designed by Giovanni Pisano. There is also a very beautiful mosaic over the apse completed by Cimabue that I really love. 

The Baptistery is the largest in Italy. The Campo Santo was amazing. It means 'Holy Field' and it is a huge cemetery build on sacred soil. It contains a huge number of sarcophagi, sculptures, and wall frescoes. In WWII, the roof and many of the sculptures and frescoes were destroyed by a bomb. The whole thing was stunning, truly! And there was a small shrine with bones and other relics, which reminded me of the one in Carey. I love shrines!

Until next time!