We watched the complete and wonderful photo and video summary of our trip, and the special feature, ‘death bus’.. nicely capped by a round of hugs, and the signing of Brads guitar (the one he bought in Roma). Although I missed my hug from Rus, he made a point of coming to get one, and to remind me that gruppo cinque was my group.. I was the center around which people were selected, and I was successful in my role. He thanked me, whole-heartedly, and I was grateful. Reflecting back, at times it felt as though I did not belong to any group within the group – I’m solitary by nature, but when all others seemed to pair up, it was noticeable and maybe a little saddening.

What Rus reminded me in saying this, was that in not belonging anywhere, I belonged everywhere.. able to bond the smaller groups and maintain the cohesive spirit. I sought out the lonely ones, or the ones I had not talked with/walked with recently, and made a point of seeing how they were doing. I suppose it’s one of my gifts I was unable to define before coming to this place with this group of talented students and friends.

I will remember these days. I will remember all that I saw, and all that I learned. I must remember my time in Milano, and Firenze, and Chianti/Dolciano and Roma. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes only once, and this was it. ItaliaDesign 2008, GruppoCinque.

Grazie mille, Arrivederci, e Buona Notte.
rbo

Today we rented some cars and drove up to Omegna to visit Bialetti and Alessi. Rus had been trying for years to have an interview / factory tour with Bialetti, and this year we finally had the opportunity. The drive itself was up through tunnel after tunnel with lush greenery and foggy rain the entire way.

Once we arrived in Omegna, a small factory town at the foot of the alps, we learned that they could not do it earlier because the factory was undergoing machinery changes. The women were very kind, and they allowed us to take photos throughout the entire factory. When we reached the packing area, I was taken back to my time at Dickson’s last summer (and empathized with the workers packing and stacking the boxes, also because their jobs are soon to be replaced by machines)

The best part was after our lunch (at a place they recommended). When we returned, they had gift bags for each of us, which included a small moka express.. it is only for 1 cup, and they seem quite cheap, but they were free nonetheless, and simply added to the overall feeling of welcoming. To top it off, the sun had come out by that time, and we could see the snow from the Alps peeking out above the valley. We said goodbye, and it time for Alessi.

Every year, Rus has gone up to the Alessi factory. Sometimes for a factory tour, other times for interviews in the Museo Alessi (an archive of all the prototypes and other items from Alessi’s past). For us, it was only a visit to the store.. but it was a good visit! We probably bought too much, but with smiles on our faces we packed into the cars and began to drive back. As we turned onto the highway, the mountains in the distance glowed under some of the most beautiful lighting I have ever seen – complete with soft blue clouds in the sky above and bright rays of sunlight filling the space below. It was wonderful.

.. and so was the orange juice squeezed from my very own Philippe Starck ‘rocket’ juicer..

With the energy spent on that, and on using the metro no more than twice a day (the weekly pass only allows 2 uses per day), and attempting to not spend as much on food, I’ve become completely exhausted, and in doing so, quite homesick. I wouldn’t have minded a good, vancouver lunch with some friends back home today.

It’s a bit of a sad note to end the trip on, but we do still have 7 days remaining, with studio interviews and factory tours. Heck, just on Friday, Stefano Giovannoni took us on a tour of his home after our interview. It was like Cribs, italDesign style.

At least I still have Barcelona, if I can figure out how to get there and where to stay when I arrive (and what to do while I’m there). Beach sounds good, as well as a few architectural sites like the mies van der rohe pavilion and of course everything by gaudi.

Once we reached the destination, after a number of stops including two in Pisa (where I think I may have seen the top of the leaning torre), we walked for a good 20 minutes until we hit the coastline. From there, we found a place to buy a beach towel and asked about the free beach options. The woman directed us further south across the marina, and said it would be about a half hour walk. Half an hour later, we were maybe halfway there, so hot and hungry we turned around, found dinner, and decided to splurge on one of the hundreds of private beaches lining the sea.

20euros for the three of us, and an umbrella and 3 chairs wasn’t a bad deal, so we gladly paid and found our spot. Like Lido, the beaches here are nuts… only worse. It was row after row after row.. mile after mile of umbrellas and chairs. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I certainly won’t take our extensive free beaches back home for granted any longer. After a few dips in the Mediterranean, where we saw decent sized fish jumping at about waist-deep water, and a couple hours too many in the sun, we found some cheap gelato and walked back to the station, catching a train less than 10 minutes later. Nicely timed.

The plan was to return to Florence with time to get up the Campanile for sunset – it’s now open Fridays and Saturdays until 10pm. We arrived, found our bikes, and headed over, buying a ticket for the tower and Baptistry (which was also open late) at around 8pm. Crowds passed us as we climbed up, and once we reached the top, we made up 3/5ths of the people there. Once again: magical. We made it at the perfect time for the sunset, and i can’t say I’ve ever seen a sunset like that before, and probably won’t see one like it for many years to come. Once it entered the haze near the mountains on the horizon, it became so red and full I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I poked my head through the cage surrounding the lookout, and enjoyed it. While doing so, a few of the other guys made it up just in time to see the final sliver dip below the mountains, and we all got to share in the moment, as the lights of the city began to sparkle.

Afterwards, we visited the Baptistry then biked towards the Arno to visit our first Alfredo place in Italy, where the waiter was kind enough to give us 10% off after I showed him my international student ID (so that thing DOES work). Brad was a little disappointed his Fettucine Alfredo was the Italian version of Fettucine (not the Tagliatelle that we call Fettucine in Canada) but it was still tasty, and we ended the night off with some more sweet gelato.

As far as today goes, I decided to take a me day. I slept in till 9 or so, worked on some assignments, sorted through some photos, and only left the house to visit the laundromat and grocery store. I figured after my slight burn, it would be a good plan to drink a lot of water and take it easy. Unfortunately, it meant an entire day where I didn’t visit any of the museums I wanted to visit, and the days remaining are dwindling. I have yet to see the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Marino Morini, the Santa Maria del Fiore and museo, among many others. In saying that, it feels as though I haven’t seen anything yet. It’s the same sort of feeling I had in Rome, where I missed many key things due to time constraints, such as the Sistine chapel and Tempietto. But there is simply too much to see. I will visit Florence again,,, I must visit it again. So perhaps I will make a point of visiting the places that will not be the same in the future – the free gems spaced throughout the city. And on that note, I need to get to work on this paper due tomorrow.

Buona Notte,
rob

It was a neat experience to be able to see and compare the different cenacoli from the different artists and time periods. Andrea del Sarto’s is my favorite, due to the vibrant colours and expressions, and how he placed Judas next to Jesus on the same side of the table.

Among the other works of art we saw that day were at least two annunciations within the San Marco, upstairs in the living quarters, which was in itself a very cool experience.

Afterwards, we headed home for some dinner, then Brad, Derek, Murray, Kiks and myself hopped back on our bikes and rode to the Arno to find a spot for the San Giovanni fireworks show. Think English Bay fireworks, but instead of an entire bay to view them, there is one river and the roads and parks surrounding it. Packed. Paaaacked. Luckily we found a spot for our bikes, and weaved through the crowd, finding a pretty decent place to stand and watch the show. People cheered. It was grand.

To end off the night, the 5 of us rode to the Santissima Annunziata to relax on the steps of the Ospedale with Brad on the guitar and Derek on vocals. The Mosquito song was the main feature of the night. Sadly, we didn’t attract much of an audience apart from one guy who needed a light. So we returned home.

The next day was a bit of a bust. I had planned to go with Brad, Simon, and Karen to the leather market and art store before climbing up the mountain to visit San Miniato. The chain on my bike had fallen off quite a few times over the past week, but the 25th was the worst day yet, as one of the links actually broke. Thankfully I wasn’t too far from the bike shop, because we had gone to ask about the bike renewals. So after getting the chain back on my bike only to have it come off again a few spins later, I walked it back. At first they said it would take a few hours, but a couple minutes later the guy said he just needed 10 minutes. And a new chain was mine.

I then returned to the leather market to buy a few things, visited a travel information place in the underground galleria to ask about train tickets to Cinqueterre, and rode back home to shower and change. Brad and I hit the art store to buy some paper and pencils/charcoal, which, after siesta, made it around 6:10pm, and I didn’t have the energy to bike up the hill to the church which closed at 7. So we went home, bought some more frozen cheeseburgers (so good) and relaxed, running out to use the internet across the street for a bit.

Today was one of the days I’d say I planned well. For one of our projects, we were required to visit 10 sites (to be documented in writing/sketches/photos), 3 of which had to be paid entry, and 3 of which would hopefully result in one of those ‘transcendent moments’ for another project. My plan was the Science Museum in the morning, followed by the Uffizi, then the Piti Palace and Boboli Gardens, and San Miniato and the Piazzale Michelangelo, before meeting up with the gang at an Alfredo place in the centro.

It went off pretty well, except when I ran into some teammates who just came out of the Uffizi saying the current wait was about 2 hours. I didn’t need to wait for 2 hours to see a pile of tourists blocking paintings. So one museum visit under my belt (the Science museum had an interesting exhibit on Galileo’s Telescope.. felt very Science World, but Italian), I headed over the Arno to check if the Chiesa di Santa Felicita was open – we tried to visit it the first day, but missed the open hours that day as well. Rather than be discouraged, I moved on with my schedule, and walked up the street to the Piti Palace, enjoying the Boboli Gardens, Pompeii horti reconstructions, Porcelain museum, and Medici Science museum for a good 3 hours. It was beautiful and relaxing, and a good decision to hit the park during the heat of the day.

After finding a quick sandwich, I returned to the Santa Felicita where I finally was able to enjoy the lovely mannerist Deposition by Pontormo then rode to the base of the Piazzale Michelangelo and walked up for the view. And what a view it was, looking directly up the Arno and the hills beyond. Climbing my way up further to San Miniato, I ran into many students sketching and drawing the view. It’s Florence, the city of perspective.. and like I said, everyone is an artist.

Up at the church, there were young people everywhere sitting, sketching, learning. The church itself, one of if not the oldest in the city, is remarkably different from others I’ve seen so far, with a crypt included underneath the choir, making the apse almost completely non-visible from the pews. Deciding to enjoy my time at the top of the mountain before closing at 7, I wandered through the cemetery, finding a spot on top of the wall to sit. And there I sat for a good 20 minutes. Thinking, watching, reminiscing, dreaming, as birds flew overhead, and bugs sang. Cypress trees in the foreground, Duomo in the distance, and the city of Florence before me.

I suddenly realized why the city feels more comfortable than Rome – the mountains. The river and surrounding plains are bordered with mountains, in contrast to the sprawling developments of Rome and what I understand Milan will also be. They contain, and provide refuge.. things I seemed to take for granted in Vancouver (which we all think is crowded..!). With this in mind, I slowly walked back to the entrance of the church to sit and write and sketch a bit of the cityscape available to me before slowly making my way down to the river and meeting up with the gang for dinner (where I made friends with the waiter thanks to my international student card). Just another day in Florence.

Parking my bike, I noticed the forecourt to the church was open. I walked in to view the frescoes and was greeted by some wonderful music emanating from the speakers hidden amongst the columns. I carefully looked through the windows of the doors to the church, and noticed some sort of concert going on. After a few minutes of deliberation, and seeing a number of people come out, I decided to go in.

It was a trio; flute, cello, and harp, with a woman performing a narration between movements. Not wanting to interrupt the event, and not knowing if I was permitted to be there, I stood at the back beside the doors for what was probably half an hour before deciding it was safe to find a seat.

What beautiful music it was, and what an opportunity. Here I was, in Florence, one of the most artistic centres in the world, enjoying a concert of pure, classical music, inside a centuries old basilica. I was more than pleased to have worn my collared shirt, since many of the others were dressed in good shirts or evening gowns. Morgan, entering mere seconds after I decided to find a seat, came and sat next to me and there the two of us enjoyed the remaining 15 minutes. Beautiful… it was simply Beautiful.

I later found out, after picking up one of the forgotten programs, that it was a concert/fundraiser marking the 720th anniversary of the Ospedale, on the east side of the piazza. 720th. Wow.

Full of appreciation, we rode back towards home, stopping on a walkway over the railyard to let the night sink in a little longer. The lights on the mountain in the distance reminded us of home, and just for a moment I was homesick. But it was a good homesick – the kind that made me appreciate everything I have back home, and everything I have here, right now. It also helped me appreciate a few of the things I have gained since embarking on this trip: a big one being a number of good, close friends, and a renewed love of biking.. Though certainly not forgetting the knowledge, experience, and inspiration that are so key to the life of any who spend real time in Florence. It must be impossible to visit this city and not be changed by it. It’s real. And I’m here.

After 2 days in the city, I can already understand why. Florence, unlike Rome, is a very welcoming city. Many people know some english here, along with the foreign students or tourists, and if not, they’re very open to helping you out as best they can. But more than the people, this city simply feels intellectual. I find I keep needing to remind myself the number of amazing works of art and architecture hidden here.

Yesterday morning we biked over the Arno to the Chiesa di San Spirito; one of the few full buildings Brunelleschi bad built. I remembered a little bit of it from the presentation by Morgan and April in the spring, but it wasn’t one of the churches I was eagerly looking forward to. So when I stepped through the doors, I did not expect what I received.

Mass was still underway, but the tourist information guard allowed us to sit at the back until it finished. When it was over, we explored the church, admiring Brunelleschi’s fine architectural science, and Rus came over to me and said it was my kind of place. And it was. We talked about it for a bit, and when I walked a little further it really hit me.

This was perhaps the first time I had visited a building of this type that was specifically designed (and designed well at that) to illicit the sort of awe-inducing reaction I was having: it was a cerebral space created to bring people closer to God.

And in knowing that, and seeing that, I was inspired to think that I might someday be able to create the same experience for someone else.

Here my love of architecture found context.. and a base from which to build upon. What this church did for the renaissance, is perhaps what a creation of my own could do for the 21st century. Hey, I’m in Florence, I’m allowed to dream big.. nay, I’m required to.

Continuing on that theme, we visited the Santa Maria del Carmine to view the early renaissance frescos in the Brancacci Chapel before going back across the river to the Santa Croce. The basilica was undergoing rennovations to the timber roof structure, but we were able to see most of the restored work, as well as the tombs of Michelangelo and Dante, to name a few. We then headed into the central court to view Rus’ favorite piece of architecture in the world: the Pazzi Chapel.

Built by Brunelleschi before his San Spirito, the chapel is a perfect example of his reinterpretation of Roman classicism. Although, my favorite place within the Santa Croce complex was most certainly the cloister. The contrast in space was palpable, and silence was in abundance. Florence had been treating me well and this was a wonderful gift to round out the afternoon. We sat in the shade in the southwest corner while Rus told us the following assignments, and the rest of the day was ours, so most of us explored the works in the other buildings before closure at 5:30.

… at which time Brad, Morgan and myself biked over to the rental place to pick up some biking gloves, then headed back to our ‘hood for some food. We found a decent pizza place where we met an leather-designing Argentinian living in Spain and working in Florence, who had lived in New York for 35 years previously. He reveled in the wonderfulness of Spain, particularly Barcelona, and so my post-Italy plans were solidified. I would indeed need to spend as much time in Barcelona as possible. We biked our 15euro, 30″ pizza to the nearest green space and enjoyed before heading home to watch Espana vs. Italia (where i quickly fell asleep)

They are so different, Rome and Florence. I thought Rome was my kind of place, but Florence has already given me so much. I could spend months here and still not be ready to leave. I suppose I’ll have to try my best with the week I’m given.. thankfully our main assignment for this place is to seek out moments of truth. Transcendent moments: 3 moments in which I feel alive.. moments that answers the reasons I’m here.. moments unique to this place, and this time. Moments of interaction, or conversation, or realization, without other members of the group. What a great project, no?

For the last night, after our hot, 3hr project presentation session, we cooked up whatever food we still had in preparation for the drive in the morning. Most then went down to the park beside the palazzo, while I walked down the entry road to find a good spot to watch the stars. Near the end of the road, I found a place to get through the trees into the corn field, where I was greeted with an amazing view of the full moon, stars, corn and tuscan hillsides, with a perfectly built tree right in the middle. Everything glowed from the light of the moon, and birds, crickets, and frogs were singing the nightly symphony. I sat, and I enjoyed it for a good 20 minutes before going to find the others near the fireflies and packing up for the night.

After about an hour of sleep, I was up again to wait for the sunrise. I woke up Brad and Derek so they could film it, and out we went to that same spot (which didn’t turn out to as great for the sunrise – too south-facing). But time was short, so they set up anyway, and I walked off to see if I couldn’t find a spot… and I did. It required a bit of running down a narrow country road, but I was greeted with a beautiful view of the sun rising behind a misty field lined with trees. What a way to end my stay in southern Tuscany (the region better referred to as Chianti)

We loaded up the vehicles and hit the highway, making the obligatory Autogrill stop along the way. To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to Florence. It seemed like a big museum town, and after hearing comparisons to Siena, I really didn’t feel the need to stay here. We found our apartments, walked into the center to climb Brunelleschi’s Duomo, and get our first big glimpse of the city. Afterwards we visited the Santissima Annunziata piazza where a couple childrens choirs were singing on the steps outside the Ospedale. Ok, Florence, you get a few points for that.

Then after viewing the renaissance frescos within the forecourt of the church, we headed for the bike rental place before riding around the ring road and back into the centro for dinner. Biking works much better in Florence than Rome, and these bikes are even fun to ride. After another expensive dinner, and some gelato we went to get our passegiata on.

Walking through the Piazza della Signoria and enjoying the sculptures in the Loggia di Lanzi, I started to understand this city. I was surprised at the amount of english-speaking tourists, but most of them blend in very well (usually due to the clothing, but also the lack of obnoxious colours or speech). We continued past the Uffizi, and along the Arno to the Ponte Vecchio before going back for the bikes…

At that point, most followed the prof back to our apartments 15min east of the centro, but Morgan, Derek and myself were ready to take advantage of our first taste of real freedom, thanks to the bikes. We headed over the Arno and up the hill past the Piazzale Michelangelo, to enjoy a cold beverage on the steps of the Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte. And there we were. A few friends, shirtless, sweating buckets, at 12am on the steps of a church overlooking the city of Florence.. Duomo and Torre di Palazzo Vecchio in full line of sight. Life experience +1, followed quickly by a well-deserved coast back down the mountain and a soft, comfortable, single bed. Finally.

So after spending much of the day lounging around, we packed into the cars (a small van, fiat, and alpha romeo) and headed for Bagno Vignione to get a quick look at the springs in the center of town before driving to Pienza. Neat town, I can see the appeal of the place for the Tusccan tourist (luckily we pulled up just as the last tour bus was loading). The team did their research, the rest of us helped in the form of photos or other, and I caught my 2nd amazing Tuscan sunset. We ate a good dinner, loaded up again, and wound our way back through the dark countryside to our home in Dolciano, outside of Chiusi.

Once here, Rei, Jenny and I headed for the gardens just outside the main palazzo for the nightly firefly show. I had never seen a firefly in real life before this trip (saw a few on the first night), so it was a magical moment. Thick brush on either side, a few tall cypress trees lining one dge of the gravel road, and tiny blinking lights floating throughout. We caught some in a ziplock bag to show the others before setting them free.

I understand the appeal of Tuscany. When we first arrived 2 days ago, we drove through storms and pockets of sun, and much of the day continued to be variable. A group went off to the supermarket to buy some food and necessities while a few of us stayed to watch the bags and wait for the sun (Marino wasn’t home when we arrived). So we sat on the portico overlooking the small courtyard and countryside beyond, and relaxed.

I missed Rome at first, but I’m starting to adapt to this place. When the sun began to set, I was certainly pleased to have a real sunset.. in Rome, it’s basically day time, then a few minutes of orange light beams through the streets, and suddenly it’s night. Here, the rolling hills and fields and vineyards pick up the glow and the dew in the air and create such a breathtakingly saturated vista, combined with the fading layers of hills and the beams of sun through the sky, that it’s virtually impossible to capture in anything other than memory. We tried, but photos can’t see it, and words can’t describe it.

I’ll look forward to hitting the pool at some point, and visiting Montepulciano to conduct our research (we drove by it on our way there and back, and it does seem to be what I expected). But I’ll also look forward to returning to civilization when we drive up to Florence next week. – That’s one thing I’m still having a difficult time adjusting to – the scale of everything here. Everything is so close. From Rome, it was a 2 hour drive to Dolciano. It will probably be another 2 hours or less to Florence, and along the way, all of these hill towns seem to be within an hour of each other. This is the same as Rome was, where wandering for 20 minutes, we would stumble upon site after site of the places we studied. They were so grand, but so close.

That’s it for now. I need to figure out if we’re visiting Chiusi today.

rbo

After returning home, brad, derek and myself grabbed our computers and headed out. It was our final hours in Roma, and I didn’t want to spend them sleeping. We headed for the Campidoglio and I kept on for a bit to enjoy the shadows in the back overlooking the forum. What a sight to behold at night. The lights and sounds of the surrounding city proved only to distinguish the contrast between the dark silence of the forum. This play wonderfully highlighted the ancient textures of the arch of septimus severus, and the temple of saturn; the scale of which was hard to grasp amongst the tourists and overcast sky..

But last night, it was surreal. I could easily imagine a trimpual march through the imperial core.. visualizing the forum as it was intended to be. With the colosseo, gently lit, standing strong in the distance, the power, and might, and legacy of Rome became fathomable at last. So I sat, overlooking the ruins of what I consider the most powerful civilization in history, and I got it. And I loved it. And it was one of my most favorite moments in Rome.

After a quick visit to the park above the Campidoglio we returned to the Celio to use the net, when I finally uploaded some photos and said some hellos.. and when 3:30 rolled around, we headed back. I could have easily given Derek and Brad my bag and toured the city till dawn – cameraless, but not without a memory and words with which to communicate it, but it was bed time. And now I am in Tuscany, in Dolciano, outside of Chiusi. And as I said last night, I am already Romesick – homesick for the eternal city. City of life, history, chaos, and something that cannot be put into words. I will FOREVER cherish and remember my time in Roma.