La Settimana della Cultura

Auguri Amici!

And so it arrives, “La Settimana della Cultura” (The Week of the Culture) in Firenze. As if I wasn’t already swimming in Fiorentina culture. Fiorentini anxiously await this week as it signifies “free ingress” to the many eminent museums and palaces. I am definitely taking advantage, passing go and saving two hundred dollars (which seems like 3 euro these days…).

Eccola qua (here it is), an interesting side-note. Among the hundreds of Italians infiltrating i palazzi, i musei e le chiese (the palaces, museums and churches) epitomizing Firenze’s existence as a predominant tourist hotspot, there are also some seizing the day and going to the cinema, as viewings cost only 1 euro this Thursday. And so, the digital world meets the classical. The integrated circuitry of modern artwork and the preserved artistic masterpieces, which ironically are considered the foundation for the contemporary, merge to form a week of… culture?

And so I ask myself if this is a risky move, including movements of modern culture in Italy’s week of cultura. American students, flooding Firenze, appreciate this taste of home, surely. Tacky as many are, I must remember that I too am an American student. And Fiorentines like us. Without tourism, largely stemming from Japan and the States, Firenze’s economy may not be able to sustain all of these museums and their precious contents. History would be largely forgotten. But what are we supporting? Bars and cinemas? Or sculptures and palaces? My signora, having harbored nearly four generations of students studying in Firenze, clued me in on an interesting fact. As it seems to her, student interest in antique institutions is on the serious decline. My generation, digitally fascinated, frequents more often the discotecca next to “Santa Croce Church”, especially when there are specials. And so culture evolves.

This weekend I am making a trip to Assisi, Italy. Expect to hear from me soon!

-k

La Costiera Amalfitana

Ciao! “La Costiera Amalfitana” was like magic. Rain included, the panoramas were unlike anything I had ever seen. One such vista: tiny villas sprinkled over cliffs “verde” (green), withstanding the constant battery of the waves crashing at their base. I use the term crashing, but really this is a mere connotation of waves. Waves are all different. Or at least, Italian waves. Those incoming on this coast seemed friendly, surfing towards the shore. It is easy to write with associations. But beware; overuse could render wrong conclusions as connotations often facilitate our perspectives and world views even if small. For example, let’s look at some things typically associated with the south of Italy. The mafia. Violence. Trash. Dialects so forte that effective communication seems impossible. I’m thinking that sometimes it takes actually seeing a place with one’s own eyes to figure out the truth. It’s true. The sunny south is shadowed by the mafia’s corruption. Yet, southerners combat this by throwing on a “paio di occhiali da sole” (pair of sunglasses) and giving smiles to everyone. Or in my case, half an orange (grown on a nearby cliff, no doubt). After diving into the icy (but friendly) waters on a pebbled beach in all of our clothes, a couple of elderly Italian men basking on the same beach, and adorned in their finest speedos (2 each, of course, one for swimming, and one for changing into after swimming, so as not to get too cold in sensitive areas), obliged to take our picture. Then later, one of them (strutting in his dry speedo) traversed all the way across the beach to the place where we were stretched out and offered us the half of an orange that he didn’t finish. With this gesture, communication never seemed so effective. This example lies among many. On this trip, travel was lengthy, but well worth it. I saw Positano, Almalfi Town, Sorrento and my personal favorite Altrani. I even ate pizza in its alleged birthplace: Napoli. There aren’t many tourists on the coast at this time of year so many of the usual crowd-pullers were closed. My group's best company were the many dogs that lounged around the tiny cities. Carefree and friendly, like their owners. I look at this as an adequate addition to my authentic emersion into Italian culture. Che felicità. Unfortunately, travel isn’t cheap (even with free oranges). I’m taking a “piccola pausa” (small break) from traveling until “aprile”. I’m lucky that Firenze is so cool. Until later! -Kels

fra i frati ed i mosaichi

Auguri! Sadly, the Perugia plans disintegrated last minute. Maltilde assures me that there are better weekends for our rain-check. I suppose she is the expert. Providentially, we made another trip to the “Monastero della Certosa di Galluzzo”, located in a suburb of Firenze. Situated high on a scenic hill, this religious home reaps the benefits of the beauty associated with Tuscan landscape while housing some manifestations of rustic fiorentino talent. These frati (monks) share their home with an impressive art collection, including sculptures and frescoes by artists such as Jacopo da Pontormo. The tranquilità of the courtyards, the lavish trimmings of the church and other areas of worship made for a charming alternative to Perugia. So many tourists will never experience this hidden wonder of 'la cultura fiorentina'. Lucky me. Saturday, I traveled to north. Ravenna: an illumination of relative prosperity during the Dark Ages. Gothic mosaics fabricated during this time are the city’s major claims to fame. My “travel tribe” was the same as my trip to Verona. We are a good fit, and plan to make more day trips together in the future. After goggling over the mosaics in places such as the “Basilica di San Vitale” and the “Mausoleum di Galla Placidia”, we hopped a tiny treno (joking about the "Little Engine That Could") and took the slowboat back to Florence. C'era vino. (There was wine). Tomorrow I am heading down to the Almalfi coast. Until after! -K