Tim's Trip to Northern Italy

So this past week my class traveled around Northern Italy. We visited 5 cities in 8 days. Unfortunately Sophia wasn't allowed to accompany us because she's not a student in the program. Never mind the fact that she is an alum who is currently employed by Notre Dame. In any case Sophia came down with a cold while I was away so perhaps it was for the best.

We first took a train to Venice where we stayed for three nights. The whole concept of building a city in the middle of the ocean is pretty dumb if you ask me but it certainly makes for a cool tourist trap. It almost seemed fake, but I can assure you that there are in fact millions and millions of pylons (tightly packed tree trunks driven into the ocean floor to create a stable building surface) supporting much of the city. Not seeing a single car for three days was nice, but it was frustrating at times not to be able to cross the "street" wherever you'd like but instead wind your way through a maze of very narrow streets to find the bridge you're looking for.



From Venice we went to Vicenza, which is Palladio's hometown. Not surprisingly there were lots of Palladian palazzos and villas. Of course the best is the well known Villa Rotunda, which is pictured here.



After Vicenza was Ferrara, which is a medieval town that was expanded during the Renaissance. The medieval and Renaissance areas of the town sit side by side so you compare the very straight streets that lead to landmarks or important buildings with the older windy and narrow streets that developed organically over time.



While we were staying in Ferrara we took a day trip to Ravenna, which is home to many early Christian (Byzantine) churches built during the 5th and 6th centuries. Brightly colored and extremely intricate mosaics decorate the interiors of the churches. It's amazing to think that they were designed 1,500 years ago! The photo included here is a detail of the mosaics inside the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.



We left Ferrara to head to Bologna for one night before returning home. The University of Bologna is the world's oldest university. We were lucky enough to get a tour of part of their library. This portion was built in the 1750s. It's one of the best rooms I've ever been in. The photo hardly does it justice. The wood is walnut and it gives the space a very warm feeling. Busts of authors line the top of the room and serve as organizational reminders for the books found near them.



Although it was fun to be away from Rome for a little while, we were all pretty exhausted by the end of the trip. It's good to be back. Luckily we have a week off for Fall Break before classes resume. I definitely need it.

Becoming a Vat Rat

On Friday, I made a journey to the Vatican Archives and Library. This experience is worth noting. I should first explain that I am doing research at the Vatican for a drawings exhibition on the Notre Dame painter and professor Luigi Gregori (1819-96). The exhibition comes out of a year-long project with his drawing collection held at the Snite Museum which will also be the host of the exhibit. Before Gregori started as a professor at Notre Dame, he was employed at the Vatican as a painter and art counselor for Pope Pius IX. I am hoping to find out more information about his life while at the Vatican.

Archives and Library is limited to researchers with basic credentials (an MA) and adequate research goals. This was not a problem as I had copies of my degree and a letter from the Snite explaining my research needs. However, the library and archives are not easy to physically access. There are no large signs proclaiming their presence. In fact they are on the very interior of Vatican city, not in Saint Peter’s but adjacent (see map). What I needed was a guide and I had a good one, Professor Ingrid Rowland.

Professor Coleman, my MA thesis advisor and the initiator of the Gregori project, had the forethought to contact Professor Rowland and ask if she would kindly escort me the Vatican on my first trip. Professor Rowland is an architectural historian who teaches one of Tim’s classes (she is the cat lady from a previous post). Turns out, she loves the Vatican library, goes there all the time, and wanted to visit the archives in order to find some lace from Malta.



So we set off on Friday via the line 62 bus that travels up the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and stops at the Porta Angelica or the main gate into Vatican city. To get to the gate, one has to push their way through large groups of tourists trying to take a “candid” shot of the exclusive country. Then, one has to get pass the Swiss army guards and if you don’t know what they dress like, it is ridiculous so here is a picture. There are three checkpoints with these guards. We passed through because Professor Rowland had her library pass and could explain that I was also there to use the library but had not received my proper badge.

What is really amazing about being in Vatican city is the calm. One goes from an utter chaos at the gates to a barely populated, walled fortress. Those walking around are equally quite: nuns, monks, priests, researchers. Something that also peaked my interest was a mention of the amenities including a post office, a pharmacy, and a grocery store! I plan to research these as much as anything else. I am hoping for special products like “Pope Pops” and “Heavenly Honey Clusters”.

The library and archives are separate entities. Which means I had to get two different passes. At each place there was a wait, document exchanges, waivers signed, and pictures taken. In the time span of a little over 2 hours I ended up with two photo ids which seems reasonable as they provide me with amazing access to some great research resources and who knows what else. “Vat Rat” is the endearing term Professor Rowland used for herself and other academics devoted to this illustrious place. I can only strive to be one of the rodents.

The Anatomy of an Italian Shower

This is bound to be one of my less glamorous posts but life is not always pretty, even in scenic Italy. So to the bathroom…

The bathroom in our apartment is not set up for a shower in the American, perhaps modern sense. There is a bathtub and then a faucet for filling the tub. Slightly above the faucet is a shower attachment with hose.

Problem A: There is nowhere to “hook” or fasten the shower hose except just above the faucet that is only slightly above the tub ledge.

Problem B: The faucet and shower hose are mounted in the center of the tub. So if one wants to stand and hose off (while holding the shower hose) water sprays out into the room.

Problem C: There was a shower curtain rod with hooks but no shower curtain. We could not find a shower curtain anywhere. Seriously nowhere and I even asked at work. I mean I work with a bunch of people who also live in Rome, no answers.

With this set of problems we started the semester by bathing and washing our hair in the sink. But I hate baths, a lot. So I got tired of that archaic form of human grooming and devised my own shower.

Here are the components to our new fully functioning shower: a wall mount for a woman’s razor, two rubber bands from the States that once bound broccoli ( they read “Organic US Produce”), a suction cup from a wall-mount Italian toothbrush holder we bought for our toothbrushes, and two unused government issued recycling bags.



The solution was attaching a suction cup to the back of the shower hose so that it could be stuck on to the wall when needed. Luckily the hose reaches far enough to be stuck onto a sidewall. Then I cut open the trash bags, punched holes at the tops, and threaded the shower hooks through.



For the inventive shower solution that has bettered our lives immensely, I would like to thank my mother, my Davidson education, and American ingenuity.

Roman Cuisine or the Lack There Of

So as our blog followers know, I began this Roman culinary adventure without an oven. Disappointing for a foodie but not the end of the world. Well, that has not changed but for the past two days we were without a range top.

Let me say that our range top was not stellar from the outset. There are no temperature controls although it lists six settings. I literally stand over what I am cooking at all times and move it from burner to off burner. This annoying action provides me with a relatively consistent “medium” setting. However the burning of risotto still occurs.

Well without the use of this lovely appliance I was even more at a loss. I was very beside myself as I contemplated a week without carbanara. Yet, then we remembered what really is amazing about Italian food: the ease.

Italians enjoy a multitude of picnicking foods that require no cooking. And the produce, oh the fresh produce! So we have switched our meals from pasta dishes to an assortment of cured meats, olives, Caprese salads, artisan cheeses, crusty breads, local fruit, wonderful canned tuna, and an excess of dessert pastries.

And while I am writing on Roman food, let me say that the organic trend has caught on here. In the grocery stores there are sizable selections of organic food items. In fact, last Sunday morning, when we were on a trip to the Colosseum, there was a large organic food festival. The pictures are from this wonderful event. It was a national activity in which 100 piazzas around the country hosted an organic food market that Sunday.



Of course, I had no idea, didn’t bring a wallet, and only had 3 dollars in change. We bought peach preserves from a nunnery that had a booth there. The preserves are divine (pun intended).