I really enjoyed our travel for the
most part. While at times I was thinking to myself why are we in this dinky,
little town, I would have never traveled to many of these places had it not
been for this travel class. Some of the towns we went to had some magnificent
sites that I am really glad I saw. For example I would have never gone to Ravenna
most likely and seen all of the buildings filled with mosaics. We learned a lot
about different parts of Italy and the three regions that we traveled in. There
was lots of food, which is always a good thing, and we were really able to
experience the local tastes of the regions. The free time we were given was
definitely enjoyed to go and explore by myself and again eat some local food.
Soph's Travel Adventures
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Ravenna
Today
we visited Ravenna which is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. Similar to Venice, Ravenna was built on a
series of small islands in a marshy lagoon. We started our tour with the Basilica di San
Vitale. It was one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine
art and architecture in Western Europe. The church has an octagonal plan and is
supposed to symbolize the seven days of the week plus the Day of the Resurrection
and Eternal Life. The central section of the church is covered with mosaics. Above
the triforia, sacrifices from the Old Testament are depicted. All of the
mosaics were created in the Hellenistic-Roman tradition, so they are lively and
imaginative, full of rich colors and they have a certain perspective. They have
a very vivid portrayal of the landscape, plants and birds too. Inside of the
triumphal arch there are fifteen mosaic medallions depicting Jesus and the
twelve Apostles and Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius. At the foot of the
right wall is a mosaic depicting the East Roman Emperor Justinian I standing
with court officials, Bishop Maximian, palatinae guards and deacons.
After the Basilica, we visited the
Mausoleum di Galla Placidia. It is a Roman building, that is one of the eight
UNESCO World Heritage sites. Formerly it was the oratory of the Church of the
Holy Cross, but it now contains three sarcophagi. In the largest sarcophagus,
the remains of Galla Placidia was believed to have been there, but it was
accidentally burned in 1577. The sarcophagus to the right is attributed to
Galla’s son, Emperor Valentinian III or her brother, Emperor Honorius. The one
to the left is her husband, Emperor Constantius III. Mosaics cover the walls
just like many other buildings we visited.
We then saw the Battistero Neoniano,
which is the most ancient monument remaining in Ravenna. It is an octagonal building
that was partly erected from a Roman bath. The octagonal design is seen in
basically all Early Christian baptisteries, again the octagonal architecture is
seen here. We see the number eight in a lot of the religious buildings in
Ravenna. The original floor is about 3 meters underground now so you can no
longer see the proper structure of the building. The center ceiling mosaic
depicts John the Baptist baptizing Jesus; around the center is the procession
of the twelve apostles. This is also one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in
Ravenna.
We ended our tour with the Basilica
di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. It was the palace chapel of Ostrogoth King Theodoric
the Great during his first quarter of rule, but then reconstructed under the
rule of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. On the upper side of the left wall
are 13 mosaics depicting Jesus’ miracles and parables. On the upper side of the
right wall are 13 mosaics depicting the Passion and Resurrection. The row of
mosaics below the first 13 on both sides are haloed saints, prophets and
evangelists (16 on each side). Below those on the left wall are 22 Virgins of
the Byzantine period, with the Three Magi in the front moving towards the group
of Madonna and Child surrounded by four angels. On the right wall are is a
procession of 26 martyrs with Saint Partin and Sait Apollinaris in the front
leading towards a group representing Christ enthroned by four angels. The
mosaics in this building were stunning as well. Again this is one of the UNESCO
World Heritage Sites.
I really enjoyed Ravenna. Out of
all the towns we went to and all of the sites we visited, I found the buildings
and decorations in Ravenna to be some of the most interesting. I am always
fascinated by mosaics so I may be a little bit biased towards them, but I truly
thought the mosaics we saw were gorgeous.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Assisi, Montefalco, and travel to Ravenna
Today
we visited Assisi which is where St. Francis was born. St. Francis formed the
Franciscan religious order in Assisi in 1208 and St. Clare the founder of the
Poor Sisters was also founded there. We first visited the Basilicia di Santa
Chiara. It is dedicated to and contains the remains of Saint Clare of Assisi. Next,
we went to the Piazza del Comune which has the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo
and the Torree del Popolo on two sides with a fountain in the middle. The
Temple of Minerva is also facing this Piazza. We then walked through the
streets of Assisi to get to the Basilica di San Francesco. It is the mother
church to the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor, or the Franciscan Order. It
is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. In 2000
it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Basilica is split in to two
sections known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church and also a crypt; this
is because it was built in to the side of a hill. In the crypt, the remains of
St. Francis are buried. Both the Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with
frescoes by various late medieval painters from the Roman and Tuscan schools.
The range and quality of the difference frescoes makes the basilica an
important example of the development of Italian art in this period.
The Upper Church consists of four
ribbed vaults. The entrance vault shows the Four Latin Doctors of the Church:
St. Gregory, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine. The frescoes in the
Upper Church show different parts of The Bible. Both sides of the nave are
decorated with 32 different scenes from the Old Testament and the New
Testament. The most important frescoes here are in the lower part of the nave
that were painted by Giotto. These frescoes demonstrate major events in the
life of St. Francis and are painted so vividly that it is as if Giotto was
right there when the events occurred.
The Lower Church was designed by
Brother Elias. The large doors have a rose window above. The doors portray
stories from the lives of St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Louis and St. Anthony. The
bust of Pope Benedict XIV is also portrayed here because he granted this church
the title of Patriarchal Basilica and Cappella Papale. When you enter the lower
basilica, you feel as if you are actually underground. The frescoes are darker
and there are not many windows so it seems as if you are below ground when in
fact you are not. The oldest fresco in the church is in the Lower Church, the
artist is unknown. This fresco is five scenes from the Passion of Christ on the
right side and on the left side there are another five scenes from the Life of
St. Francis.
Both the Upper and Lower Churches
were beautiful. It was unfortunate that some of the frescoes were not as in
tact as they used to be because of the earthquakes that had occurred, but they
were still very impressive. After Assisi, we travelled to Montefalco where we
had an olive oil tasting, lunch, and a lesson with a certified sommelier. I was
a little disappointed with the olive oil tasting. I was expecting our visit to
be more about the olive oil than the wine tasting, but it was the opposite. We
tried multiple types of wine and the sommelier we had accompanying us showed us
how wines are tasted and graded. We were told to pick out certain flavors and
aromas. She did a good job of showing us how wine does not just taste like wine
to a lot of people and how much of a process the flavoring of wine takes. What
it is aged in makes a difference in the taste; there can be more of a rosy
taste in it because of how it is aged, etcetera. After lunch were able to see
the machinery used to make the olive oil and we were explained the process
which was interesting to see. At the end of the day we left for Ravenna, our
last destination of our travel.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Todi and Perugia
Today
in Todi we saw the Church of Saint Fortunata. It is not considered a basilica
because it is not owned by the Pope and the Church, it is owned by the
municipality of Todi. The outside was not completed so only the bottom half of
the church is decorated by carved marble. Represented on the outside was good
and evil by fig leaves and grape vines; a bacillus representing evil also; and
also a naked nun and friar. There are many stories behind the naked nun and
friar and nobody really knows the true story. The inside of this church was
fairly plain; in the crypt was the tomb of Jacapone. His body was not actually
put in to the church until 300 years after his death because he was
excommunicated from the Church ten years before his death. The Bishop of Todi
decided that Jacapone deserved to be buried inside of the church because his
excommunication was not a huge deal. He also honored the fact that Jacapone did
a lot for not only the church but Todi and he deserved to be recognized; so his
tomb was put in to the church in Todi. Todi also has a basilica. The basilica
is on the main square in Todi, but the Church of Saint Fortunata was more
important to the history of the city.
In the
afternoon, we visited Perugia which was one of the larger towns that we visited
and the capital city of the Umbria region. It was one of the main Etruscan
cities; today it is known as a university town with the University of Perugia,
the University of Foreigners and other smaller colleges. One of the main attractions
in Perugia is the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. The outside decoration was never
completed but is covered with white and pink marble. Outside of this Cathedral
is the Fontana Maggiore. It is a medieval fountain that was made between 1277
and 1278 by Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano. It was part of a program of
local improvements that began in 1278 to celebrate the independence of Perugia.
The basin has twenty five sides with sculptures representing prophets and
saints, the labors of the months, the zodiac signs, scenes from Genesis, and
events from Roman history. After spending some time in the main square we began
walking further in to town. We had some lovely views of the whole city, which
was too big to see in the amount of time we had. After our tour, we had some
time to walk around by ourselves. Because it was a Sunday, there were a lot of
people out and about. Families were getting gelato; people were hanging out on
the steps of the Cathedral and in the main square, so people watching was
readily available. It was nice to see so many people out and about. So many of
the towns that we had visited were bare of people because it is offseason and
locals are on vacation and there are no tourists. The fact that Perugia was a
bigger town and had universities so there were students also helped; but it was
definitely a nice change of pace. The chocolate and the gelato was also a bonus
of the trip!
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Potluck Night
Tonight
our dinner consisted of a sort of potluck which we all contributed to. We had
to chosoe an Italian dish and then prepare it for the whole group. It was
interesting to see what foods people chose to cook because some were dishes
which have been very introduced in to American lifestyle a large amount like
lasagna and pizza and there were others which you do not find so often like
bruschetta. I thought it was a really enjoyable activity that we did; we all
turned out to be pretty good chefs!
Personally,
I made a family recipe that has been adapted from a dish my family used to get
from a restaurant in Italy, we call it pasta rolls. It basically is rolled up
pasta sheets, with ham and cheese on the inside, and a cream sauce. I was a
little scared to make these though because they are a dish that my brother and
father used to make together; whenever I asked to help I was told no by my
brother because it was “father, son bonding time.” So even though I have been
eating pasta rolls my whole life and I have seen the process before, I had
never made them; I was scared that I would not be able to live up to my brother
and father’s process. While to me they may not have been as good as the ones
from home (mainly because they were not made with the same love and bonding
time), they were still very good. I was proud of my final dish and thoroughly
enjoyed our home cooked potluck meal.
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