Benvenuti a tutti! Welcome to the CET Siena blog, where you can read about the latest happenings at CET Siena. Hear students tell it like it is so that you can see what we've been doing throughout the semester.
CET Academic Programs is a private study abroad organization based in Washington that has been designing and administering innovative educational programs abroad since 1982. Study abroad programs are offered in China, the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Syria and Vietnam.
Walking into the Sienese Duomo is like meeting a celebrity. I have studied art history for the past two years; have repeatedly heard the names Duccio and Pisano; and have seen photos of both Duccio’s Maestà, once displayed in the Duomo, and the Duomo itself on a projector screen. But having a physical interaction with a three-dimensional object, particularly a building, is far more insightful than a photograph can ever be.
Although I have never been part of an organized faith, it is hard to believe when entering the Duomo that such a magnificent building was made by human beings. In our CET class Sienese Art and Architecture, I learned that people during the middle ages thought of medieval cathedrals as products of God for God, and that artists were just intermediaries between God and the physical world. However, knowing that artists over 700 years ago collaborated to build and decorate such an amazingly sumptuous yet refined building—divine inspiration or no—always melts my mind. And the fact that I stared at photos of Pisano’s pulpit for almost a day back in Baltimore, not to mention for homework here in Siena, didn’t help calm my racing heart when I finally got to approach the stone masterpiece.
Besides having the opportunity to see artwork in real life—not on slides—and to learn about new artworks and historical traditions, living in Siena has given me a whole new conception of what life can be like. I could just say that I am experiencing a different culture from that found in the United States. However, I am so delighted by the Italian appreciation for living that I must say, Americans would be healthier were they to work and think at a slower pace. The generalization that Americans work too hard and that Italians work too little should be taken with a grain of salt; but, coming from a university that is inundated with stressed out twenty-somethings, I can tell you that there is a better way to live than sitting at a desk in the library for twelve hours a day. Art is all around us—Italy makes this opinion seem like a fact—but it is not worth anything without someone to momentarily appreciate its beauty.
Ciao a tutti. So much has been happening this past month in Siena, but since Nick decided to ignore the Palio, I’ll start there. The Palio is a horse race devoted to the Virgin Mary held in Piazza Del Campo every July 2 and August 16. 10 horses race, 1 wins, the winning contrada wins the Palio, a banner. It was an experience like no other to be in the Campo squeezed in with thousands of people, waiting for two hours as a medieval procession of parading horses and alfiere (flag throwers) performed. The actual race took less than three minutes, but what a three minutes they were! 5 of the 9 jockeys running (one of the horses died in a practice run, which is why only 9 raced) fell off during the race, one would have won had he stayed not hit a flag! Oca, the goose contrada, won, and that night, lights flickered all along the campo as the Oca members drummed and waved their flag around Siena all night. I’m pretty sure they are still celebrating the win… one can only wish the US was older so that we could have something so rich in history and cool to watch!
Right after the Palio, we got to celebrate Independence Day. American Independence Day! Other than Oca parading around the Palio, nobody in Siena really did much for the holiday. We did our best to make up for them. We all gathered at the Pogg and created an All-American feast, complete with burgers, ribs, potato salad, watermelon, and of course, the traditional berry American flag cake. And what would any international July 4th be without an 80’s classic? (Can anyone feel the Danger Zone Take your Breath Away?). The biggest disappointment (at least for me) was the lack of good old fireworks. What’s July 4th without some bombs bursting in air? Anyway, I think we did our country proud with our attempt.
Also, our Art History class has taken some field trips in the past few weeks, including trips to San Gimignano, Monte Oliveto and Pienza. San Gimignano was home to towering Torre, Venaccia grapes and then world’s best gelato (so they say…). Monte Oliveto was home to frescos detailing the life of St. Benedict and Pienza was the town of Enea Silvio Piccolomini (aka Pope Pius II). But, I think most of us would agree that the best part of the latter trip was the cheese tasting after art class. We got to learn how they make different cheeses, and sample different varieties of Peccorino, a sheep’s milk cheese, and ricotta, which they say will not make you fat. If only we could bring some of that wonderful cheesiness back to the US.
The week after the Palio, most of us traveled to Naples and the Amalfi coast for the weekend. All I can say is that every minute on the Mediterranean was worth it; I have never seen such a blue oasis before in my life and almost didn’t want to leave. One of the highlights of the trip was a boat ride around Capri, on which we were allowed to swim through some of the notable grottos of the island. I learned just how salty the Mediterranean is that day, but every grain of salt still in my throat was worth the views. We all decided that one day, we’ll live on the mansions of the cliffs and enjoy the wonder of the Mediterranean for the rest of our lives… at least it was a nice thought. The next highlight was the ruins of Pompeii. It was really cool to see such a well-preserved town thousands of years old and understand how people lived many eons before us. It’s so sad to imagine that most of the art was lost not due to time, but improper restoration techniques L We also learned the hard way that even when they say there is an 11:45 bus, it doesn’t mean it will actually come. On a brighter note, we got to see fireworks (better late than never right?) and it is hard to go wrong with a trip to the coast.
The next weekend, most of us split up to do our own adventures, such as seeing Bolonga, rafting in Trento, and going to Sardinia. I went to Rome because after years of Latin, I could not miss out on seeing how the ancient Romans live. All I have to say is thank you whoever decided to make Rome walkable in 2 days! Two big lessons of the trip: when booking a hostel, ALWAYS get a confirmation number or e-mail. We got very lucky and found somewhere to stay, but to any future travelers, heed these words accordingly. Secondly, we decided that after a day of walking, to go sit down and see a movie. We chose to see Transformers 3 in Italian (mostly because you don’t need English for that series!). I understood most of the plot, but missed some of the jokes. The weird aspect of Italian movie theaters, or at least the one we were at, was that you were assigned a seat in the theater. One person in the group bought his ticket later, and had to sit somewhere else, which seems really strange. But, when in Rome, do as the romans (command).
This summer in Siena has truly been more than I could ever have wanted: I got to learn another language, use it almost daily, and travel around one of the most truly scenic countries in the world. All I can say is that this summer has been AWESOME!
It's July 3, so the ‘Palio di Siena’ was yesterday. The cornerstone to the lives of the Sienese, it is a cultural experience like no other. And I am not going to talk about it. Pick up any Rick Steve's or Lonely Planet and they can tell you all about it (or Jon or I will in a few weeks). Instead I want to talk about the actual Siena, the one hidden behind the picturesque postcards and the fanny packs. Because every day, as the shadows from the Palazzo Pubblico grow longer over the Campo and the throngs of tourists take the ‘rapida’ bus back to Florence, Siena makes its transformation into an actual city. And a city isn't a city without night life.
Siena is pretty similar to a US college town. Practically devoid of anything resembling a proper nightclub, the youth scene here thrives on relaxing in the Campo with some wine. Every night starts and ends this way, with little alteration. Bars pepper the border of the Campo, each selling their own version of cheap, good red wine, packed with Italians, Americans, Australians, Germans. Everyone is engaging in the same nightly ritual surrounded by a city that has stayed largely unchanged for 700 years. It is unquestionably a cool feeling, to sit and socialize in the same spot that the Sienese of old did, in a Piazza that has remained relatively unchanged since its heyday.
Down a side street off the Campo sits Bella Vista, one of the most relaxed, but by far the most interesting, night spots in Siena. Owned by two immigrants from the Ivory Coast, the walls are completely covered with posters and magazines, engulfing the bar in a bizarre collage of celebrities from the 50's to now. The unique interior attracts travelers and Sienese alike, creating an international bonding experience over a good mojito and unending reggae. The owners dance wildly behind the bar and spark conversations in French, Italian, and broken English. Great place, great times.
If the bar scene wears you out, which it is want to do, you can always talk one of your new Italian friends into taking you to an Italian college party. We first arrived in Siena as exams were ending, and one lucky night we got invited to a party thrown by the University of Siena before all of the students left to go back home for the summer. Two things became instantly apparent as we arrived in the courtyard of an old church. First, Italian dance music is still about five years behind the American scene. Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On" blared from the DJ booth, taking us back to 2003. Second, the vast majority of the students could not dance. It was at this moment that I realized I may have been born in Italy, as this would be a pretty accurate description of myself. We awkwardly shuffled to "Stacy's Mom" for hours.
It wouldn't be Siena if the contradas didn't have an input on the city's night life. Contrada parties are where the Sienese really let loose and create some of the best experiences for us here in Siena. Two weeks ago we went to a party in the Wave contrada, where a member of one of the home stay families was playing with his band. We went in expecting an Italian pop or rock band, but were instead met with an Elvis lookalike singing, in jumbled English, 1950's rock standards. Standing underneath the Tuscan moon, watching an Italian rock band play the most lively rendition of "You Really Got Me" we had ever seen while everyone around us thrashed with the beat, we all had the same thought: How were we lucky enough to experience this?
Ciao a tutti! As hard as it is to believe, it’s already been two weeks since we all came together here in Siena. I have never been to Italy before…or any country outside the US for that matter. Even better, I came here with no knowledge of Italian, so even the most mundane occurrences become an adventure in the blink of an eye. It was a huge culture shock arriving in airports in Europe and realizing that English was no longer the dominant language and that I was in a minority. No matter how many stories you hear from others, nothing can prepare you for the initial reaction to being in a place much unlike your own. It was kind of cool in retrospect to be mistaken for German at the Munich airport, except for the fact that I was rushing to make a connection and know absolutely no German, which at the time was somewhat overwhelming. It seems that everybody, even those who’ve had years of Italian, spent at least 20 minutes in Florence searching for the bus station to get to Siena, which, personally, was very satisfying when all you know is “Ciao” and “Grazie.”
I was extremely impressed with my first experiences in Siena. We all took cabs to our apartments or home stays, and the one thing that needs to be mentioned is that Siena is a medieval, pedestrian city, so cars drive on small, curved, stone streets filled with people walking in every direction. The phrase “foot traffic” comes to mind constantly when walking in Siena. Even a person with a good sense of direction can get lost in this city the first few days; I got lost on the second day just by taking a right fork that curved opposite the direction of the event I was going to. Oops. I also learned that I live at 13 Via del Poggio, the furthest apartment from the CET center, but I live next to the Duomo (dome in Italian) and Piazza Del Campo, two awesome landmarks that will be the coolest neighbors I will ever have in my life. The Pogg is a great place to live and is becoming the place where everyone goes, and will be a prime location for future students.
Siena is a great place to learn Italian because not many people here speak English, as you may find in the touristy cities like Rome and Florence. It was very intimidating seeing the upper level people being able to order a pizza in perfect Italian when I had to use the universal language of pointing to what I wanted, not even knowing how much some of the things cost! One of the first things I learned in Italian class was how to say I am an American (sono Americano), but considering my limited vocabulary and horrible pronunciation (and the fact that some people at grocery stores started speaking to me in English) I don’t really need that phrase. The classes themselves are interesting, because they are all taught in Italian, even for the entry level course (myself included). I thought it would be overwhelming, but the way it’s being presented is clear enough that we all can understand it. We’ve learned the basics so far, such as numbers, articles, greetings, days of the week, etc, some of which included songs about tables and dances created in the 80s. Thankfully, Rebecca Black’s "Friday" has not invaded Italy and was not required to learn the days of the week (which we were coincidentally learning on a Friday). The first couple of weeks, we have 4 hours of Italian, sometimes coupled with 2 hours of Art and Architecture. To some, this may seem much, but considering we live in medieval Italian city, I think we’ll bear it.
It hasn’t seemed like long, but we’ve begun to assimilate into the Italian culture. Since those of us living in the apartments either have to eat out or make our own food, we’ve taken on the communal tradition of potluck apartment dinners, where we each contribute something (such as vegetables, antipasti, pasta, meat, wine, etc) and cook at a different apartment each time, which both splits the cost of an huge meal and allows us to bond together as a group. At our second dinner, two girls brought a couple of bottles of Spumante (sparkling wine) that was on sale for 0.84 € as their contribution to our meal. From these inexpensive libations came a priceless experience as the corks unexpectedly blasted towards the ceilings of the apartment as we tried opening it. We have since learned the proper way to open sparkling wine (and to question wine costing less than 1 euro). So far, I’ve made green beans, bread pudding (with all the leftover bread from our other meals), and pasta with homemade sauce. Others have made roasted vegetables, chicken, gnocchi with pesto and vegetables, and cucumber and tomato salad. It really is fun to come together and make these meals, and it’s probably much cheaper than the restaurants. Also, since Italian meals seem to consist of mainly bread, cheese and pasta, we can make something slightly lighter for ourselves (if we so choose!). After dinner, we usually talk or play Scopa, an Italian card game that can be played by either 2 or 4 people, trying to get the most points by getting certain cards from a deck that is only sold in Italy.
Another way to eat at lower prices is Aperitivo, in which you purchase drinks and then have access to a variety of foods such as sandwiches, pasta and salads, with a larger selection on Fridays. The only thing better than the meals is Gelato Giovedi, when CET provides us with free gelato from Kopa Kabana, a hidden gem of Siena, every Giovedi (Thursday). Seriously, who doesn’t love free gelato, especially with a group like CET Siena Summer ’11? My goal for the next couple of weeks is to be able to translate flavors so that I can make the ultimate combo!
Since I’ve never been to Europe and may not come back anytime soon, I plan to do a lot of traveling on the weekends. Our first weekend, we all went to Arezzo, a small town about an hour and a half away from Siena, and visited their monthly Sunday market and took in some wonderful views from the park on the top of the city. This past weekend, we all went on a hike through the Tuscan hills from Serre to Asciano sponsored by the program. As a hobby photographer and having been to the Grand Tetons in America, I must say that pictures almost do not do justice to the views of the rolling hills and vast landscapes we visited.
The next day, a few others and me tried to go see the leaning tower in Pisa and the city of Lucca, andwe had our very first traveling mishap. We were confused about the ticket for the train, and by the time we found out that nothing was wrong, we fought our way through a mob of screaming Italians in the underground passages of the station, but the doors of the train were closed and it left without us! I’ve missed subways like that before, but it’s a bummer to be able to touch the door of your train and not be able to go into it. But, instead of giving up, three of us headed to Firenze (Florence) and made the best of a rough situation. We got to see the David, Ponte Vecchio, and magnificent views of the city. I even got to haggle down some sunglasses from 10 to 7 euro (a skill that I hope to improve upon)! It was weird in Florence because it was filled with more tourists and was more English speaking. I actually missed everything being in Italian and not understanding anything; it sounded better. It wasn’t a huge disaster after all.
Even though we have less time here, the summer semester seems like it is the best time to come. Other than the freak downpours that can happen faster than you can say contemporaneamente, the weather is beautiful and perfect for travel and other leisurely activities. We have a wine tasting next week, a pasta making course sometime in July and of course, free Gelato Giovedi! And last but certain not least, we get to go to the Palio, a horserace of pride for the 17 contrade (districts) of Siena, devoted to the Virgin Mary. Out of all the ways to experience another culture, I couldn’t imagine a better program!
Though we have only a short two weeks left in Siena, we’re undoubtedly ending our semester here on a high note; April has been chalk-full of adventures!
First of all, CET took us on a bike tour in the Tuscan countryside. While I admit that our butts were a bit sore at the end of the day, it was otherwise an absolutely fantastic trip. Most of the CET students attended, as did Anna, our Resident Director, and several of the Italian roommates. We had a guide take us through (flat, luckily) beautiful fields scattered with horses and Margarita flowers. We also stopped in a tiny like town to enjoy some breathtaking views.
For Easter weekend, a group of girls and I decided to venture south: we visited Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri (the Amalfi coast.) We left early Friday morning and took the train to Naples where we headed immediately to Da Michele’s Pizzeria (yes, where Julia Roberts’ character goes in Eat Pray Love!) In short, the pizza lived up to its reputation as the best in the world. Naples, too, was fascinating. While the city has an unfortunate garbage disposal problem (weeks worth of trash line entire blocks), both the city’s architecture and the city’s emanation of life and excitement make it a truly exhilarating—and necessary—place to visit.
On Saturday we visited the ruins at Pompeii—not to be missed! We got lucky and had great weather for roaming the enormous archeological site. I was honestly blown away by the size of the city of Pompeii and how well intact many of the structures, wall paintings, and artifacts were. (We also got to see a great collection of artifacts from Pompeii in Naples’ archeological museum the day before.) It was also cool to see Mt. Vesuvius in the distance looming over the ruined city.
After two long days of traveling and site seeing, we headed to the touristy yet beautiful town of Sorrento where we spent all day Sunday on the beach soaking up the sun. Finally, on Monday we took a ferry to Capri for the day. Capri was the definitely the highlight of the trip as it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We started out with a short hike around Capri to the impressive Arco Naturale (a huge arch-shaped rock formation.) Next we took a bus (that did cliff-side switchbacks—a little scary) up to Anacapri (the higher town on the island of Capri.) There we opted to do the 10-minute chairlift ride to the top of Monte Solare (worth it!) where we had amazing views of the entire island. We were so high up that the sky and water blended together—it was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately it rained in the afternoon so we couldn’t see the famous Grotta Azzurra. But we ended up having a nice time wandering the streets of Capri, window-shopping the plethora of designer stores and admiring the wealthy vacationers!
April has also been full of class field trips. My Imagery and Public Space class has taken two trips to Florence where we have conquered Florence’s most famous museums and artworks—everywhere from the Churches of San Lorenzo and Santa Croce to the Bargello Museum, the Museo dell’ Opera at the Duomo, the Galleria Academia (home to Michelangelo’s David) and the extensive Uffizi Gallery. It’s really been a blast learning about the most important artists and works of the Renaissance in class and then going to see them in person immediately after so you can get close up and really appreciate what makes them so special.
Finally, my Sienese Art and Architecture class took a field trip the other day to a monastery called Monteoliveto and a town called Pienza. Monteoliveto was beautiful for the fresco cycle in its cloister painted by Sienese Renaissance painter Sodoma. And while we went to Pienza to see a Renaissance palace and church built by Siena’s Pope Pius II, we were admittedly more excited to taste Pienza’s famous cheese! Indeed, the Pecorino was phenomenal.
And while finals start this week, tomorrow CET is taking us on a relaxing trip to nearby thermal hot springs. In the meantime, we’ll be trying hard not to think about how quickly the next two weeks will fly by!
I’m not lying. If you are a beach person, consider studying in Siena. Now that April is here, the warm weather has arrived. What that means is that by day the Piazza del Campo is packed with locals, university students, school groups and tour groups, napping, chatting, people watching and, most importantly, soaking up the sun. In fact, I’m not ashamed to say that on Tuesdays, my day off from classes, I happily spend my day away sitting in the sun reading, sketching, and even photographing some of the characters I often spot, only getting up for my afternoon gelato.
Spring break was two weeks ago and everyone returned from successful trips—to London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Lisbon. I, however, stayed in Italy because my mom came to visit! We spent the first half of the break in Rome, which, in short, is a spectacular city. Indeed, Rome has all the trappings of a modern metropolis; yet, around every corner is some crumbling reminder of the ancient world or some elegant marble fountain. Of course, the food is unreal: don’t go to Rome without trying the Gnocchi and the Carbonara. But most of all, you absolutely must get some Roman gelato, especially at Gelateria Giolitti near the Pantheon. You won’t be disappointed.
Other Rome highlights? Obviously the Colosseum, the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, and the Pantheon are all unreal. But I also really enjoyed the Bernini sculptures and Caravaggio paintings at Galleria Borghese (reservations needed), the street performers and artists in La Piazza Navona, the shopping in Trastavere, and the delicious food in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto.
After getting our fill of the city, my mom and I retreated to the Tuscan countryside, first making a two day stop at home in Siena. No trip to Siena is complete without being blown away by the sheer beauty, elegance, and wealth displayed by Siena’s medieval cathedral or without spending a couple hours people-watching in the Campo—so we did both. We also had (excuse me for returning to the topic of food) the most fantastic dinner at Siena’s Taverna di San Giuseppe. We sampled some hearty Tuscan classics like Ribolitta Soup as well as out-of-this-world homemade tiramisu. This restaurant is a must.
Last stop: Cortona. Yes, yes, the town from the famed Under the Tuscan Sun. But, it turns out, Cortona is deserving of its reputation: literally built on a mountainside, Cortona, a tiny city of 2,000 (and very welcoming) people, offers the best views of stereotypical Tuscan countryside. We topped off the Tuscan experience by getting a tour guide to take us to a nearby vineyard to taste some Nobile di Montepulciano (the famous wine of the Montepulciano region.) After, we took a drive through the country to the equally picturesque town of Montepulciano (where Twilight was filmed…cool, eh?)
Last weekend everyone opted to stay in Siena to recover from our weeks spent traveling. But the great thing about Siena is, though a small city, the main streets in the historical center are always packed and buzzing with tourists and locals alike. And if you need to get a break from the crowds, in just a few minutes, it’s easy to stumble across one of Siena’s quiet and quaint residential neighborhoods. What’s more is that Siena has lots of hidden treasures that day-trippers rarely see, such as botanical gardens, the Medici fortress, the Orto de' Pecci park, and a swanky tearoom.
The highlight of the weekend, however, was a birthday bash for one of the girls. We had a potluck dinner and the whole group attended. I am proud to say I successfully made Pici con Cacio e Pepe (a Sienese favorite.) It was great to the have the whole program together and, what’s more, we had some complimentary music from a practicing Lupa Contrada (“Wolf Contrada”—one of Siena’s neighborhoods that participates in the annual Palio) drummer outside. Only in Siena.
I think that wraps things up for now. Tomorrow I am going to Florence for the entire day on a field trip with my Imagery and Public Space class. And then on Saturday we are all very excited for our program-run bike tour in the countryside! It should be a blast.
A few weeks ago before Spring Break, I took a day-trip with some friends to see Montepulciano, the picturesque Italian town located at the top of a hill about an hour from Siena. Here’s what went wrong:we decided to go in the middle of a holiday weekend celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Italy’s Unification and while there didn’t appear to be transportation problems in Siena, we got off the train in Montepulciano to find the station itself closed, taxi drivers on their break and the bus on a very limited schedule.It’s here that I should probably mention that the Montepulciano train station is 9km away, or about 5.5 miles from the actual city, which is again located at the top of a hill.We wandered around the little residential area near the station looking for something to be open so we might find out how to get up the hill, but after nearly an hour, our knight in shining blue amour arrived in the form of a SITA bus which took us to the station just outside the city’s walls.
The views on the ride up the winding streets and hillside toward Montepulciano are simply breathtaking.The town, now popular with teenage girls for being one of the filming locations for the movie Twilight: New Moon, is very tiny, with only one main commercial road and square.We stopped for a leisurely lunch upon arriving at the main square and we were treated to this unbelievable view while eating what were quite possibly the best tomatoes I’ve ever had in my life and sharing a bottle of the town’s world-renowned Vino Nobile wine.
Following lunch, it was time to do some exploring, which included a visit to the Santa Maria delle Grazie church and then over to see this palace not far from the church, which was sadly closed, but had this little playground in its semi-formal garden.There, we returned to our youths and went swinging for about twenty minutes.
Returning to the age of now, we slowly meandered our way down the hill toward the SITA station, popping in and out of little shops and gelaterias.Since this was after all the 150th anniversary of Italy’s Unification, there were Italian-flag themed items everywhere.My personal favorites were the green, white and red pairs of shoes and the green, white and red painted bottles of wine that were arranged to look like they were arranged to look as if they made up one half of a double helix.I thought it was wonderful.
By the time we reached the main gate into Montepulciano, the sun was beginning to set and it was time for us to start making our way back to Siena.A quick stop off at the Conad to pick up snacks and then a short walk to the SITA station later, we were on our bus and all dozing off to sleep or reading after a long day.Fortunately, a kind lady on the bus who had heard us talking about getting back to Siena helped us realize that we were not actually changing buses at a station, but instead at a stop on the side of the road.Those were an interesting twenty minutes as we all stood there in the growing cold wondering if our bus would ever show up.
Montepulciano is one of those places you imagine all of Tuscany looks like; it has the views you see in movies, read about in books and about which you daydream.As with all picturesque places, getting there is never easy, but the payoff is more than well worth it.
ied art history for the past two years; have repeatedly heard the names Duccio and Pisano; and have seen photos of both Duccio’s Maestà, once displayed in the Duomo, and the Duomo itself on a projector screen. But having a physical interaction with a three-dimensional object, particularly a building, is far more insightful than a photograph can ever be. 
Architecture, I learned that people during the middle ages thought of medieval cathedrals as products of God for God, and that artists were just intermediaries between God and the physical world. However, knowing that artists over 700 years ago collaborated to build and decorate such an amazingly sumptuous yet refined building—divine inspiration or no—always melts my mind. And the fact that I stared at photos of Pisano’s pulpit for almost a day back in Baltimore, not to mention for homework here in Siena, didn’t help calm my racing heart when I finally got to approach the stone masterpiece.
better way to live than sitting at a desk in the library for twelve hours a day. Art is all around us—Italy makes this opinion seem like a fact—but it is not worth anything without someone to momentarily appreciate its beauty.
