More Travels All Over (And Shopping!)

It’s been another busy week of class, shopping (I caved), and travels galore. This week we went to Orsanmichele, a beautiful church with amazing sculptures of disciples and saints, Museo Galileo which held a lot of Galileo’s telescopes and little contraptions, the excavates of the old Roman Theater, and Palazzo Vecchio, translated to “The Old Palace.” It’s hard to believe that in only a week I have gone to so many different places and learned so many new things. Was it really just last Saturday that I went to Pisa?

The view from the third floor of Orsanmichele.

One of the many sculptures outside of
the building.

Orsanmichele, to begin with, is a church with statues standing in the niches built into the walls of the outside. The original statues were moved to the first floor of the building (second floor to Americans), but the copies were still amazing. Looking at the statues, Jodie challenged us to try and “read” the statue and describe the differences in their design. As an English lit major, I’m used to reading and analyzing passages, not sculptures, so I struggled while the other art majors seemed to get it quickly. Hearing other people analyze the sculptures, however, as well as having Jodie tell us all about it, helped get my feet wet in this new way of interpretation. It was fascinating imagining these sculptures being built back in the 15th or 16th centuries. 

Galileo's old telescopes.

Museo Galileo was one of those places dedicated to astronomy and science, two things I do not understand very well. But it was really awesome to see the old telescopes and learn more about Galileo. We had a guided group tour as we walked around looking at everything and taking pictures. Along with Galileo’s telescopes, heliocentric globes, and his body parts (no, seriously), there were giant maps of what the world used to look like to the explorers of that time. Looking at the tools the people in Galileo’s time used to look at and document what they saw in space, which seemed like an impossible place to go then, is fascinating. Even without the technology that we have now, they could still see and interpret so much of the world in their desire to understand it.

The old Roman Theater was an optional tour, but it was well-worth it and almost everyone signed up for it. It is one of the many archeological finds that would make any archeologist or historian excited. Underneath the Palazzo Vecchio and probably some of the streets is a theater where the Romans would watch their shows or plays. From the excavates, the architectural design of the theater can be seen as well as the layers of history along with it. Our tour guide told us that, as erosion went on and land started to cover up the remains, people would build on top of it. In the Middle Ages, after the Romans, people had built houses on top of the theater, and on top of those houses was built the Palazzo.

Digging down, it’s crazy to find so much history underneath when there seems to be so much history just on the surface. Watching the history channel or movies set in ancient Rome is nothing compared to seeing the real thing, or at least the remains of it. Archeologists really glean so much from the things that they find.

The room where the mayor would
give his speeches or whatnot.

After seeing the old Roman Theater, we went on a tour of Palazzo Vecchio which used to be, and still is, City Hall. The mayor’s office is still there and so many different people have lived and worked there. The decorations and designs all along the walls and ceilings were really beautiful and told so many stories of its own. Though the palace was used as City Hall, it also used to be the Medici family palace, and it’s obvious from the designs in some of the rooms. Other rooms used to be the offices of governors, and there was one that was once used by Machiavelli, a fun find for me.


Machiavelli's old office including his bust.

One of the beautiful ceilings.








All of this traveling really is a tad overwhelming, but the good kind of overwhelming. I love being immersed into all this history and art and getting pictures and windows into what life may have been like thousands of years ago. It always makes me wonder what life will be like for people thousands of years ahead, if the world will erode enough to cover our own houses to be dug up by archeologists then. Certainly the people in the past didn’t think about leaving behind remains for us to find today, but I’m really glad they unintentionally did.

Statue of David by Michaelangelo in front of
Palazzo Vecchio.

There is one more week until the two electives are added on and it starts feeling more like school. Most of the classes are going to be on-sight, however, which will make it feel less like a class and more like a field trip every time. There is an English bookstore that I fell in love with called Paperback Exchange. I really want to buy everything there and they do have used books for cheaper. It’s also a good place to buy textbooks for class, though the little ACM library has many of the books the professors want on reserve for us. I’m planning on waiting to buy textbooks until the professor tells us specifically what he or she wants.

Several people on my program and I also bought tickets to the theater. The two that I am planning on going to is a concert and an opera. ACM is already planning on taking us to one opera, but I’m excited to go to another. We got a piece of paper from ACM called a Maggio Card that gets us discounted tickets. So for the opera, the ticket was ten euros. Not too bad, I think. When I go to these things like the theater or the cinema, I really feel like I’m living like a local than a tourist and I love that.

Concerning shopping, one of my favorite things (besides buying things 70% off) is that the Italians include tax in the prices they show for things. So when clothes seem a tad more expensive than the US, it's nice to remember that there won't be tax charged at the register. And it's none of those lame $29.99 prices plus tax. The shoes here are also really nice (Italian leather all the way!) and right now is the time to buy them. Apparently these sales go on till March, so I'm in luck!

This coming weekend we’re taking a day trip to Fiesole. Hopefully the weather will be better then. It’s been rainy and cold all week, so I don’t have high hopes, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!