I'll be brief today. I got a chance to get online and took it.
Producing a documentary in 5 weeks would be a challenge anywhere but doing it in Italy makes it even more "interesting." We were scheduled to have an interview with a Syracuse prof on Monday, but he was sick and ppostponed until Wed. The good news is that we got lots of good stuff from him on Wednesday, and even some useful B roll. The students went to shoot another interview and due to missed comunication, they were inside the hotel while the prof waited outside. They were within a few feet of each other and didn't know it. Another rescheduled interview.
I talked with both the Florence Chamber of Commerce and the Tourist Bureau to try to line up interviews. Anyone unfamiliar with Italian bureaucracy should read Beppe Severgnini's stuff. Anyway, you have to make an appointment to talk to someone about an appointment. We have one lined up for next week and hope to schedule the other. Only 2 weeks left to get this in the can!
Many of the students are going to Cinque Terre this weekend. We are opting for the Adriatic side, Cesenatico, where my aunt and uncle have a condo.
It's still very hot but it's supposed to get better. Let's hope.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
I have to keep reminding myself that this is the opportunity of a lifetime. The record high temperatures here, and no AC in our hotel, make it hard to feel enthused. Today's high should be 92. I know, though, how lucky I really am.
I managed to get a few pictures uploaded.
Here are Kim and her friend Lorilynn. We met her while we were both living in Ames, and she and Kim became great friends. Lorilynn met us at JFK during our layover and brought lunch, including cannoli!
The Irish eat a hearty breakfast. Egg, three kinds of sausage (including blood), homemade soda bread.
Kim, Nicole and our Irish host Marion having tea and scones at Powerscourt in County Wicklow.
Me with the most photographed woman in Ireland, Molly Malloy.
THIS is what every university should post. I shot this on the door of Trinity College Dublin's library.
No picture can do justice to the crushing crowds in the Rome subway during rush hour.
This is the subject of the documentary: the dome of the Florence cathedral. This is actually the view from one of the student rooms in the hotel (not ours) -- zoomed a little, but not tremendously.
The cathedral museum contains the unfinished Michelangelo's Pieta - not the better-known one in Rome, but one he wasn't very pleased with.
One day during our class in front of the cathedral, a march by a political party took place.
A suitable ending shot - sunset in Florence.
I managed to get a few pictures uploaded.
Here are Kim and her friend Lorilynn. We met her while we were both living in Ames, and she and Kim became great friends. Lorilynn met us at JFK during our layover and brought lunch, including cannoli!
The Irish eat a hearty breakfast. Egg, three kinds of sausage (including blood), homemade soda bread.
Kim, Nicole and our Irish host Marion having tea and scones at Powerscourt in County Wicklow.
Me with the most photographed woman in Ireland, Molly Malloy.
THIS is what every university should post. I shot this on the door of Trinity College Dublin's library.
No picture can do justice to the crushing crowds in the Rome subway during rush hour.
This is the subject of the documentary: the dome of the Florence cathedral. This is actually the view from one of the student rooms in the hotel (not ours) -- zoomed a little, but not tremendously.
The cathedral museum contains the unfinished Michelangelo's Pieta - not the better-known one in Rome, but one he wasn't very pleased with.
One day during our class in front of the cathedral, a march by a political party took place.
A suitable ending shot - sunset in Florence.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
The first week of class in Florence is complete. That means we are now 40 percent of the way through the "semester." Unfortunately we are nowhere near 40 percent of the way through the production. Those of you who know production, though, will recognize that this is not unusual. It takes a while to get geared up and going. Things are coming together and I am hopeful that all will end well.
We conducted an interview with Monsignor Timothy Verdon. He is a scholar on the cathdral and a member of its governing board. We had a bit of a scare when we arrived at his residence and he told us he didn't know we were going to tape. He was expecting that it would be only a pre-interview. After about 10 minutes of casual conversation he invited us to set up and do it. I think he was concerned, either that we would ask questions about stuff that was not his purview, or that we were unprepared, neither of which was the case. We got about 40 minutes - most of which was quite usable. He knows his stuff.
We've spent the week having class on the steps of the cathedral for inspiration, but that will end with class tomorrow. It is terribly distracting to be in the piazza with thousands of tourists. The worst part is the women who come up begging. They see you're talking to a group and yet they come right up with their cup and interrupt. Tough to keep your train of thought while teaching. Tough for students, too. Tomorrow we will move to a quiet park on the other side of the Arno, far from tourists.
The heat here continues. Most days it's over 90. We have no air conditioning in our hotel. We bought a fan, which helps greatly. At night, with the window open wide and the fan on, we're able to sleep.
Made it to the Uffizi gallery on Friday. Reservations are not available for the whole time we're in Florence. Tour groups have booked way ahead. We rose early and got in line before 7:30 for the non-reserved entry. Our strategy paid off. The museum opens at 8:30 and we got in before 9. A relatively short wait.
On a personal note, we had dinner last night with John and Marilyn Dolan and two of their kids. John is the brother of Kim's brother-in-law, Steve. Once again, we crossed the Arno to get away from tourists and found a restaurant where the locals eat. Goood food, reasonably priced. We had to tolerate the TV on during dinner, but that's what happens when you seek out a local place. Great to see them, and to compare notes on what we've seen and done.
We conducted an interview with Monsignor Timothy Verdon. He is a scholar on the cathdral and a member of its governing board. We had a bit of a scare when we arrived at his residence and he told us he didn't know we were going to tape. He was expecting that it would be only a pre-interview. After about 10 minutes of casual conversation he invited us to set up and do it. I think he was concerned, either that we would ask questions about stuff that was not his purview, or that we were unprepared, neither of which was the case. We got about 40 minutes - most of which was quite usable. He knows his stuff.
We've spent the week having class on the steps of the cathedral for inspiration, but that will end with class tomorrow. It is terribly distracting to be in the piazza with thousands of tourists. The worst part is the women who come up begging. They see you're talking to a group and yet they come right up with their cup and interrupt. Tough to keep your train of thought while teaching. Tough for students, too. Tomorrow we will move to a quiet park on the other side of the Arno, far from tourists.
The heat here continues. Most days it's over 90. We have no air conditioning in our hotel. We bought a fan, which helps greatly. At night, with the window open wide and the fan on, we're able to sleep.
Made it to the Uffizi gallery on Friday. Reservations are not available for the whole time we're in Florence. Tour groups have booked way ahead. We rose early and got in line before 7:30 for the non-reserved entry. Our strategy paid off. The museum opens at 8:30 and we got in before 9. A relatively short wait.
On a personal note, we had dinner last night with John and Marilyn Dolan and two of their kids. John is the brother of Kim's brother-in-law, Steve. Once again, we crossed the Arno to get away from tourists and found a restaurant where the locals eat. Goood food, reasonably priced. We had to tolerate the TV on during dinner, but that's what happens when you seek out a local place. Great to see them, and to compare notes on what we've seen and done.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
We have moved onto Florence. If you've never driven the road between Rome and Florence, it's rather pretty (like I imagine parts of California to look like). Of course it was a little disturbing when our bus lost power going up one of the hills and stalled. The driver pulled over and, fortunately, was able to re-start the bus in about a minute. It may have been short, but he had to try several times and it seemed a lot longer. When we restarted, there were 38 relieved people (driver included). The students applauded and the driver responded, "grazie."
We're in week 2 of the semester and we've encountered a couple of minor technical glitches. The first is we are getting no audio from the camera-mounted mic. Not a big problem. We're using the hand-held to get nat sound. Yesterday we couldn't find the firewire (Sony calls it iLink). That's the cable connecting the camera to the laptop to dump all the video for editing. Thanks to the help of some students I was able to find a shop that sold me another (20 Euros, about $24). I'm convinced we have the cable (we used it in Rome) and it's jut buried under somebody's clothes somewhere.
We also encountered one minor non-technical glitch. When the students were shooting in the Pantheon last week, a guard came over to tell them that they needed a permit to shoot professional video. They quickly pulled out their student ID cards and said they were students, not professionals. Still, the guard said, they needed permission. He said they could have 5 minutes. After some conversations with Romans, we have come to find out that pulling out a tripod draws the guards. They assume anyone that serious must be a pro. We modified our shooting plans. Now, any interiors we shoot we will shoot first off the shoulder. Once we have those, then we can take out a tripod. That's just interiors. Yesterday we shot 4 hours of person-on-the-street interviews in front of the Florence cathedral with no trouble. Tonight we have an interview scheduled with a church official. Perhaps he can help us use a tripod inside. Of course that was Rome and this is Florence, so who knows whether we'll encounter any more trouble.
It's hot here (our hotel has no air conditioning) but most of the students have bought fans and are not complaining. Just a reason to eat more gelato!
Ball State has published a news story about the class.
We're in week 2 of the semester and we've encountered a couple of minor technical glitches. The first is we are getting no audio from the camera-mounted mic. Not a big problem. We're using the hand-held to get nat sound. Yesterday we couldn't find the firewire (Sony calls it iLink). That's the cable connecting the camera to the laptop to dump all the video for editing. Thanks to the help of some students I was able to find a shop that sold me another (20 Euros, about $24). I'm convinced we have the cable (we used it in Rome) and it's jut buried under somebody's clothes somewhere.
We also encountered one minor non-technical glitch. When the students were shooting in the Pantheon last week, a guard came over to tell them that they needed a permit to shoot professional video. They quickly pulled out their student ID cards and said they were students, not professionals. Still, the guard said, they needed permission. He said they could have 5 minutes. After some conversations with Romans, we have come to find out that pulling out a tripod draws the guards. They assume anyone that serious must be a pro. We modified our shooting plans. Now, any interiors we shoot we will shoot first off the shoulder. Once we have those, then we can take out a tripod. That's just interiors. Yesterday we shot 4 hours of person-on-the-street interviews in front of the Florence cathedral with no trouble. Tonight we have an interview scheduled with a church official. Perhaps he can help us use a tripod inside. Of course that was Rome and this is Florence, so who knows whether we'll encounter any more trouble.
It's hot here (our hotel has no air conditioning) but most of the students have bought fans and are not complaining. Just a reason to eat more gelato!
Ball State has published a news story about the class.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
The first week of class is already over! It's hard to imagine we only have 4 weeks left to go to get this documentary put together.
Rome has been warm (in the 80s) but tolerable. At night it cools off fine. Good thing, too, since we have no air conditioning. The worst part of that, though, is the mosquitos. I have a couple of bites, Nicole seems clean, but Kim... they must realy love her. She said they're after all the drugs she's taking.
We leave Monday for Florence. I thought it was going to be Sunday. I must've missed the memo. Oh well, it really doesn't make much difference.
About the class: I have 9 students in the advanced class and 7 in the begining. That only totals 15 because one is actually in both (there are a total of 32 students here). The advanced class is all Ball Staters but one - she's from Murray State. The beginners - 2 of 7 from BSU. One other anomaly about the student population: there are 26 gals and 6 guys! I'm proud to say BSU has the largest contingent (10), followed closely by U of Kentucky. All but one of the Ball Staters are taking one of my classes. One is a chem major and claims she isn't nterested in TCOM. Imagine that!
We've shot the "gotta have" shots here, like the Pantheon (Brunelleschi studied to do his) and St. Peter's (Michelangelo studied Brunelleschi to do it). Class Tuesday wasn't that cool, but Thursday we met in front of the Colosseum, Friday at St. Peter's and today in Piazza del Popolo (has one of the churches from Angels and Demons which, by the way, is a popular our here). What an amazing backdrop for classes!
Here are a couple of photos of a few of them hard at work at the Colosseum.
We came with a script written (one of the grad sudents worked on it) but as with all good documenaries, we've all but torn that up and are working on a new draft. We've concluded that purely historical informaion would not only be less interesting but harder to come by (hard to get shots of the dome being built, since it happened 600 years ago). We've had a few "creative differences" among the students, but thankfully no one has taken it personally.
The place we're staying has almost turned into a dorm. It's small and we occupy all bust a few rooms. Students keep their doors open when they're in, inviting conversation. Not bad, except after midnight. They have a midnight curfew - not from us, but the hotel. The front dor is locked midnight to 7 a.m.
My two clleagues here are Bill Morningstar, a photog prof from Berea College (program director) and Gil Smith, a former Ball State architecture prof now at Eastern KY U. Last night Kim and I went with Gil for Egyptian food (after a week of nothing but Italian).
Rome has been warm (in the 80s) but tolerable. At night it cools off fine. Good thing, too, since we have no air conditioning. The worst part of that, though, is the mosquitos. I have a couple of bites, Nicole seems clean, but Kim... they must realy love her. She said they're after all the drugs she's taking.
We leave Monday for Florence. I thought it was going to be Sunday. I must've missed the memo. Oh well, it really doesn't make much difference.
About the class: I have 9 students in the advanced class and 7 in the begining. That only totals 15 because one is actually in both (there are a total of 32 students here). The advanced class is all Ball Staters but one - she's from Murray State. The beginners - 2 of 7 from BSU. One other anomaly about the student population: there are 26 gals and 6 guys! I'm proud to say BSU has the largest contingent (10), followed closely by U of Kentucky. All but one of the Ball Staters are taking one of my classes. One is a chem major and claims she isn't nterested in TCOM. Imagine that!
We've shot the "gotta have" shots here, like the Pantheon (Brunelleschi studied to do his) and St. Peter's (Michelangelo studied Brunelleschi to do it). Class Tuesday wasn't that cool, but Thursday we met in front of the Colosseum, Friday at St. Peter's and today in Piazza del Popolo (has one of the churches from Angels and Demons which, by the way, is a popular our here). What an amazing backdrop for classes!
Here are a couple of photos of a few of them hard at work at the Colosseum.
We came with a script written (one of the grad sudents worked on it) but as with all good documenaries, we've all but torn that up and are working on a new draft. We've concluded that purely historical informaion would not only be less interesting but harder to come by (hard to get shots of the dome being built, since it happened 600 years ago). We've had a few "creative differences" among the students, but thankfully no one has taken it personally.
The place we're staying has almost turned into a dorm. It's small and we occupy all bust a few rooms. Students keep their doors open when they're in, inviting conversation. Not bad, except after midnight. They have a midnight curfew - not from us, but the hotel. The front dor is locked midnight to 7 a.m.
My two clleagues here are Bill Morningstar, a photog prof from Berea College (program director) and Gil Smith, a former Ball State architecture prof now at Eastern KY U. Last night Kim and I went with Gil for Egyptian food (after a week of nothing but Italian).
Monday, June 13, 2005
We arrived in Rome on Saturday, a little later than expected. Al Italia was about 1:40 delayed. It was no problem, though. Spent Saturday and Sunday night at a convent (threatened to leave Nicole) in the same room, but it was large, so no trouble. This morning we moved to the hotel with the students. Nic's excited because she has her own room. Kim's not too keen on the idea, although I thought she might like having a private room with me. What is she trying to tell me?
We did a lot of walking. Saw Pope Benedict deliver the Angelus (blessing) from his window to the crowd. What a huge crowd. We were able to attend mass at St. Peter's.
The students arrived today, a little late: exhausted and most without luggage (yeah Air France). Gave them a trip on the subway, basic orientation, etc. Class starts in earnest tomorrow.
God has been good to us. Weather has been great. A little warm, but no rain, and nothing like we hear it is in Muncie.
We did a lot of walking. Saw Pope Benedict deliver the Angelus (blessing) from his window to the crowd. What a huge crowd. We were able to attend mass at St. Peter's.
The students arrived today, a little late: exhausted and most without luggage (yeah Air France). Gave them a trip on the subway, basic orientation, etc. Class starts in earnest tomorrow.
God has been good to us. Weather has been great. A little warm, but no rain, and nothing like we hear it is in Muncie.
Friday, June 10, 2005
We have just finished three wonderful days in Ireland! We arrived Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. local time. Marian, who had stayed with us back in 2000, met us at the airport and brought us to her home in Laoughlins Town in the southernmost part of County Dublin. She made us an Irish breakfast, then the three of us headed into Dublin on the train for the day. It was great because the train goes right along the coast (saw a house Bono bought). We went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, from 1200 years ago! The old library is fantastic. Walked around a lot. Marian took me out for a pint. On Thursday we spent much of our time at the Dublin Zoo. Today Marian took off work and we went seeing nature (instead of the city). Went to Knocksink Wood (where she used to work), an incredible place called Powerscourt, an old estate with incredible gardens (where Kim wants her sisters to know we sat on the patio and had tea and scones), then off to Glendalough, where we visited a beautiful valley lake. We had dinner at Johnnie Fox's, which claims to be the highest pub in Ireland. Whether it is or not doesn't matter - they have great seafood. Tomorrow we're off to Rome. Don't know when I'll update next.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
It's time to renew this travel blog. Kim, Nicole and I leave in three weeks. I'll be teaching in Italy for five weeks. We will be doing a little bit of traveling before and after.
I am teaching two classes in Italy: basic video production and documentary. My students will come not only from Ball State, but also from other member schools of the Kentucky Institute for International Studies, the consortium through which the courses are offered.
This program will be dramatically different from my 2002 teaching in Macerata through the AHA consortium. First and foremost, we will be spending one week in Rome, then four weeks in Florence, the three of us sharing a hotel room the whole time. I will not have regular Internet access as I did three years ago, when a connection was provided for us in our apartment. For that reason, I can't be sure how much updating I will be doing of this blog from Europe. If you're reading this in July and it's the most recent post, I obviously didn't update it.
A round trip flight to Rome during the summer (with gas prices and exchange rates) would run about $1,300 each. With advice from Kim's sister to check Aer Lingus, we were able to cobble together a rather convoluted itinerary which saved us about $250 per person. Our itinerary:
June 7: Indy to Washington Dulles/Independence Air
Dulles to New York/Independence Air
NY to Dublin/Aer Lingus
June 11: Dublin to Rome/Al Italia
June 19 - Bus to Florence
July 15: Class ends. Drive rental car to Siciliy
July 20 or 21: Drive to Slovenia, stopping a night in Macerata
July 28: Drive to Milan to return rental car
July 29: Milan to London/Ryan Air
Aug. 2: London to Dublin/Aer Lingus
Aug. 3: Dublin to NY
NY to DC
DC to Indy
I am teaching two classes in Italy: basic video production and documentary. My students will come not only from Ball State, but also from other member schools of the Kentucky Institute for International Studies, the consortium through which the courses are offered.
This program will be dramatically different from my 2002 teaching in Macerata through the AHA consortium. First and foremost, we will be spending one week in Rome, then four weeks in Florence, the three of us sharing a hotel room the whole time. I will not have regular Internet access as I did three years ago, when a connection was provided for us in our apartment. For that reason, I can't be sure how much updating I will be doing of this blog from Europe. If you're reading this in July and it's the most recent post, I obviously didn't update it.
A round trip flight to Rome during the summer (with gas prices and exchange rates) would run about $1,300 each. With advice from Kim's sister to check Aer Lingus, we were able to cobble together a rather convoluted itinerary which saved us about $250 per person. Our itinerary:
June 7: Indy to Washington Dulles/Independence Air
Dulles to New York/Independence Air
NY to Dublin/Aer Lingus
June 11: Dublin to Rome/Al Italia
June 19 - Bus to Florence
July 15: Class ends. Drive rental car to Siciliy
July 20 or 21: Drive to Slovenia, stopping a night in Macerata
July 28: Drive to Milan to return rental car
July 29: Milan to London/Ryan Air
Aug. 2: London to Dublin/Aer Lingus
Aug. 3: Dublin to NY
NY to DC
DC to Indy
Sunday, December 22, 2002
OK, I said I wasn't going to post anymore and here's one last entry.We're back in the US and I just had to report on our trip home.
We had a rental car reserved to drive from Macerata to Rome. We didn't think it would be a good idea trying to take the train (which requires 2 changes to get to the Rome airport from Macerata) while carrying 6 suitcases and 3 carry-ons. Monday evening I got a call from the rental car company that the car reserved for us would not be available. They had another smaller, but she knew we had requested a larger car, so she called to alert me. We were to get the car Wed. morning. I lost a lot of sleep Monday night. Tuesday morning I called the Macerata Avis office. No problem - they had a station wagon we could take and drop off at the airport. All that worry for nothing.
Wed. we left Macerata and drove to our hotel near the airport. Thursday a.m. we dropped off the car and went to our flight. They were just about to begin boarding when they decided to delay the flight. Three hours later they canceled it. To U.S. Airways' credit, at least they didn't have us sitting on the plane the whole time. They made us retrieve our luggage (ouch!) and bussed us to a nearby hotel for the night. They fed us and treated us well, except for the dribbling of information. When will people learn that the best PR results when a company shares what it knows with customers?
The next morning they had a wake-up call at 3:30 a.m. Breakfast (continental) was available and busses would begin boarding at 4:30, registration at the airport would be at 5 and the plane would leave at 7...which got changed to 8. About the time we were ready to leave, we were told our flight was delayed until 10 and busses would leave at 7. We got to the airport about 7:20 and stood in a very long line. Not knowing how to work the system, we were in the line for 3 hours. Others behind us in line got taken care of before us, by going to other desks, using the phone, etc., but 3 hours later, there we were with an Italian priest behind us in line. Our original 7 then 8 then 10 flight was now going to go about 3, which would've made us too late to catch our connection in Philadelphia. The nice, overwhelmed US Airways agent got us on the flight at 11:15 (the one we would've gone out on the day before) which was only delayed about an hour. But, the Philly-Indy leg was full, so she couldn't book us onto that, and told us to talk with US Air in Philly when we arrived.
About 4 p.m. Philly time we arrived and went through a very painless passport and customs check. The toughest part was collecting our luggage again (ouch). Then, we talked with another nice US AIrways agent who kindly forced us onto to the full flight. I don't know how she did it, but we got seat assignments and by the time we got to the gate they were offering people incentives to stay overnight and take the first flight the next morning. Our flight was delayed leaving Philly so we arrived in Indy about 26 hours behind schedule (the full day plus a 2 hour delay). It was a good thing the last flight was delayed, because we never would have made the original flight time. After collecting our bags and getting through customs, we left the secured area to get ticketed for our next flight, then had to go back through a very long line for security again (about 45 minutes). Why, if we were already in a secured aea did we have to leave it? It seems like a design error that causes increased labor costs. It wasn't just us because of our re-ticketing situation. Everyone on our flight who had to catch a connecting flight had to do the same. That's an airport problem, not US Air. Now that federal agents are handling security, doesn't that mean wasted tax dollars screening people who have already been screened?
All in all we made it through unscathed. We didn't miss a family gathering or a day's pay because of it, and we were treated as nicely as can be expected under the circumstances. God bless Nicole! Our 13-year-old held up great. She had really hoped to be home to see friends and her cat, and she kept up her spirits and stamina. She didn't sleep on the 9+ hour flight, either, opting to watch movies the whole way home (not having seen English-language TV or movies for 4 months). We couldn't have asked for a better traveler.
We're thrilled to be home. It was a great trip, a wonderful experience, but it's always nice to be home. Happy Holidays to all, and in the immortal words of Tiny Tim, "Tiptoe through the Tulips"........ oops, wrong Tiny Tim. I meant, "God bless us, every one."
We had a rental car reserved to drive from Macerata to Rome. We didn't think it would be a good idea trying to take the train (which requires 2 changes to get to the Rome airport from Macerata) while carrying 6 suitcases and 3 carry-ons. Monday evening I got a call from the rental car company that the car reserved for us would not be available. They had another smaller, but she knew we had requested a larger car, so she called to alert me. We were to get the car Wed. morning. I lost a lot of sleep Monday night. Tuesday morning I called the Macerata Avis office. No problem - they had a station wagon we could take and drop off at the airport. All that worry for nothing.
Wed. we left Macerata and drove to our hotel near the airport. Thursday a.m. we dropped off the car and went to our flight. They were just about to begin boarding when they decided to delay the flight. Three hours later they canceled it. To U.S. Airways' credit, at least they didn't have us sitting on the plane the whole time. They made us retrieve our luggage (ouch!) and bussed us to a nearby hotel for the night. They fed us and treated us well, except for the dribbling of information. When will people learn that the best PR results when a company shares what it knows with customers?
The next morning they had a wake-up call at 3:30 a.m. Breakfast (continental) was available and busses would begin boarding at 4:30, registration at the airport would be at 5 and the plane would leave at 7...which got changed to 8. About the time we were ready to leave, we were told our flight was delayed until 10 and busses would leave at 7. We got to the airport about 7:20 and stood in a very long line. Not knowing how to work the system, we were in the line for 3 hours. Others behind us in line got taken care of before us, by going to other desks, using the phone, etc., but 3 hours later, there we were with an Italian priest behind us in line. Our original 7 then 8 then 10 flight was now going to go about 3, which would've made us too late to catch our connection in Philadelphia. The nice, overwhelmed US Airways agent got us on the flight at 11:15 (the one we would've gone out on the day before) which was only delayed about an hour. But, the Philly-Indy leg was full, so she couldn't book us onto that, and told us to talk with US Air in Philly when we arrived.
About 4 p.m. Philly time we arrived and went through a very painless passport and customs check. The toughest part was collecting our luggage again (ouch). Then, we talked with another nice US AIrways agent who kindly forced us onto to the full flight. I don't know how she did it, but we got seat assignments and by the time we got to the gate they were offering people incentives to stay overnight and take the first flight the next morning. Our flight was delayed leaving Philly so we arrived in Indy about 26 hours behind schedule (the full day plus a 2 hour delay). It was a good thing the last flight was delayed, because we never would have made the original flight time. After collecting our bags and getting through customs, we left the secured area to get ticketed for our next flight, then had to go back through a very long line for security again (about 45 minutes). Why, if we were already in a secured aea did we have to leave it? It seems like a design error that causes increased labor costs. It wasn't just us because of our re-ticketing situation. Everyone on our flight who had to catch a connecting flight had to do the same. That's an airport problem, not US Air. Now that federal agents are handling security, doesn't that mean wasted tax dollars screening people who have already been screened?
All in all we made it through unscathed. We didn't miss a family gathering or a day's pay because of it, and we were treated as nicely as can be expected under the circumstances. God bless Nicole! Our 13-year-old held up great. She had really hoped to be home to see friends and her cat, and she kept up her spirits and stamina. She didn't sleep on the 9+ hour flight, either, opting to watch movies the whole way home (not having seen English-language TV or movies for 4 months). We couldn't have asked for a better traveler.
We're thrilled to be home. It was a great trip, a wonderful experience, but it's always nice to be home. Happy Holidays to all, and in the immortal words of Tiny Tim, "Tiptoe through the Tulips"........ oops, wrong Tiny Tim. I meant, "God bless us, every one."
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
The city center (inside the walls) of Macerata has been buzzing with Christmas activity. Merchants inside the walls are trying to attract shoppers away from the mega-stores and malls, just as they do in the States. Until Christmas they’ve been providing free cab rides in the evening hours, and there are wandering Father Christmases handing out candy.
This will be the last installment of this blog. We leave Macerata tomorrow, then fly out of Rome on Thursday. It’s been an incredible experience.
Here’s a picture of all of us in San Marino back when Megan and Anthony were here visiting on Nov. 29.
The following day we were in Venice, and Megan shot this family picture. If we were doing Christmas cards this year, we would undoubtedly use this photo (much better than the one of the three of us in medieval costume back in October). While the digital camera doesn’t provide the quality a professional portrait would, the setting is pretty amazing.
A photo of the Pantheon doesn’t do it justice. As I said with St. Peter’s, it’s the sheer size that is the most amazing. But, this was constructed hundreds of years before St. Peter’s.
Piazza Navona in Rome has a Christmas market. It’s a real carnival atmosphere – complete with cotton candy. I sat in this piazza for a while just to watch people. I could be mistaken, but my sense was that there were a lot more locals here than at the Trevi fountain or St. Peter’s.
We didn’t tour Castel Sant Angelo but we walked past it several times.
In my last blog update I told you we saw the Pope while in Rome. Here are two pictures. The first as you might expect, is the Pope at his window welcoming the crowd. The second is to provide you with a little perspective on how far away he actually was. The camera has a nice zoom.
Back in Macerata, I wanted to show how prominent the advertising posters are. Walls have areas designated by cement frames where ads can be posted. All sorts of things are promoted this way – festivals, store sales, even church events.
This photo was shot just last week. The front of the building is nice, but I also wanted to point out that there are still flowers growing here.
I thought this would be a nice closing shot. Macerata is a wonderful town. Just the right size. I’ve enjoyed my visits to Florence, Rome, etc., but they’re big cities with the accompanying traffic, pollution, etc. They are nice places to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Macerata, on the other hand, is a place not too many people visit, but is quite livable.
This will be the last installment of this blog. We leave Macerata tomorrow, then fly out of Rome on Thursday. It’s been an incredible experience.
Here’s a picture of all of us in San Marino back when Megan and Anthony were here visiting on Nov. 29.
The following day we were in Venice, and Megan shot this family picture. If we were doing Christmas cards this year, we would undoubtedly use this photo (much better than the one of the three of us in medieval costume back in October). While the digital camera doesn’t provide the quality a professional portrait would, the setting is pretty amazing.
A photo of the Pantheon doesn’t do it justice. As I said with St. Peter’s, it’s the sheer size that is the most amazing. But, this was constructed hundreds of years before St. Peter’s.
Piazza Navona in Rome has a Christmas market. It’s a real carnival atmosphere – complete with cotton candy. I sat in this piazza for a while just to watch people. I could be mistaken, but my sense was that there were a lot more locals here than at the Trevi fountain or St. Peter’s.
We didn’t tour Castel Sant Angelo but we walked past it several times.
In my last blog update I told you we saw the Pope while in Rome. Here are two pictures. The first as you might expect, is the Pope at his window welcoming the crowd. The second is to provide you with a little perspective on how far away he actually was. The camera has a nice zoom.
Back in Macerata, I wanted to show how prominent the advertising posters are. Walls have areas designated by cement frames where ads can be posted. All sorts of things are promoted this way – festivals, store sales, even church events.
This photo was shot just last week. The front of the building is nice, but I also wanted to point out that there are still flowers growing here.
I thought this would be a nice closing shot. Macerata is a wonderful town. Just the right size. I’ve enjoyed my visits to Florence, Rome, etc., but they’re big cities with the accompanying traffic, pollution, etc. They are nice places to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Macerata, on the other hand, is a place not too many people visit, but is quite livable.
Saturday, December 14, 2002
Our trip is winding down. I gave my final exam on Wednesday. I’ve been making dubs of the projects and delivering them to clients for a day or two. Last night we had a farewell dinner for the students. Today, one of the clients wants to have a final toast to the students who worked on their video.
We leave Macerata Wednesday for Rome, and fly home on Thursday. I hope to have a chance to post one more blog entry Tuesday before we leave. We’ll see.
As promised earlier, I have a few pictures from our trip to Florence back on Nov. 21-23. This is the skyline with the cathedral and Brunelleschi’s dome the most prominent feature.
Here’s a picture of the dome from much closer. Brunelleschi was an architectural master. When he did this in the 1400s, no one had been able to accomplish anything like it since Roman times. All that knowledge had been lost. He studied Roman architecture to build it. When he quarreled with a rival about the design, he walked away from the project, knowing his rival would never be able to complete it, and was invited to return and do it the way Brunelleschi wanted. Thanks to Michelangelo, the red brick remains according to the original design. They started marbling up the ribs of the dome, when he told them to stop (he said they were making it look like a cage for crickets).
While quite beautiful, the dome’s interior is a violation of the original design. Renaissance style would have been to leave it white, emphasizing the vertical nature of the dome – looking to heaven. Instead by adding the horizontal bands of art, Vasari and Zucchari de-emphasize that. Fortunately Brunelleschi was dead by the time they did this in the 1500s.
Santa Croce (Holy Cross) has little of the original artwork, but houses the tombs of significant Italians, including Michelangelo and Galileo. The marble façade was added in the 19th Century, when Florence became the capital of Italy. The original design was stone.
Pizza made in brick ovens tastes different – there’s no doubt about it. I told this guy he’d be world-renown because I would put his picture on the Internet. Still charged me full price for my meal.
On Thanksgiving Day we got to meet with the president of the University of Macerata. I was thrilled to hear he is a real faculty member, not some political appointee, who in fact still teaches a class. Here we are Filiberto on the left and the University of Macerata President on the right.
That evening we had Thanksgiving Dinner at a nice restaurant. It was a cross between Italian and American. The main course was turkey, and Kim made some apple pie so that everyone could have a little, but the antipasto, pasta and salad were definitely Italian. Our table consisted of Kim, Nicole, Anthony and his girlfriend Megan (who by this time had been in Italy a whole day), and two Italian professors who teach in the AHA program, Tonino and Elena.
While most Americans were Christmas shopping, the day after Thanksgiving we visited the independent Republic of San Marino. Anth and Meg posed at the fortress at the top. Perched on top of a mountain, we are miles from the Adriatic, but it’s visible in the background behind them.
Kim decided the most important sight to see was Venice, so we went there the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Nicole and Megan did the obligatory pigeon feeding in St. Mark’s square.
Here’s a picture of my cousin Cetta in Bologna. After dropping Anth and Megan off at the airport in Milan, we drove down to Bologna to see some relatives. It was a Sunday and most everybody was unavailable (at least, that’s what they told me). At least we were able to spend a few hours with Cetta, but even her husband had gone on a 3-day trip skiing with friends. The next day we headed back to Milan to return the rental car.
We leave Macerata Wednesday for Rome, and fly home on Thursday. I hope to have a chance to post one more blog entry Tuesday before we leave. We’ll see.
As promised earlier, I have a few pictures from our trip to Florence back on Nov. 21-23. This is the skyline with the cathedral and Brunelleschi’s dome the most prominent feature.
Here’s a picture of the dome from much closer. Brunelleschi was an architectural master. When he did this in the 1400s, no one had been able to accomplish anything like it since Roman times. All that knowledge had been lost. He studied Roman architecture to build it. When he quarreled with a rival about the design, he walked away from the project, knowing his rival would never be able to complete it, and was invited to return and do it the way Brunelleschi wanted. Thanks to Michelangelo, the red brick remains according to the original design. They started marbling up the ribs of the dome, when he told them to stop (he said they were making it look like a cage for crickets).
While quite beautiful, the dome’s interior is a violation of the original design. Renaissance style would have been to leave it white, emphasizing the vertical nature of the dome – looking to heaven. Instead by adding the horizontal bands of art, Vasari and Zucchari de-emphasize that. Fortunately Brunelleschi was dead by the time they did this in the 1500s.
Santa Croce (Holy Cross) has little of the original artwork, but houses the tombs of significant Italians, including Michelangelo and Galileo. The marble façade was added in the 19th Century, when Florence became the capital of Italy. The original design was stone.
Pizza made in brick ovens tastes different – there’s no doubt about it. I told this guy he’d be world-renown because I would put his picture on the Internet. Still charged me full price for my meal.
On Thanksgiving Day we got to meet with the president of the University of Macerata. I was thrilled to hear he is a real faculty member, not some political appointee, who in fact still teaches a class. Here we are Filiberto on the left and the University of Macerata President on the right.
That evening we had Thanksgiving Dinner at a nice restaurant. It was a cross between Italian and American. The main course was turkey, and Kim made some apple pie so that everyone could have a little, but the antipasto, pasta and salad were definitely Italian. Our table consisted of Kim, Nicole, Anthony and his girlfriend Megan (who by this time had been in Italy a whole day), and two Italian professors who teach in the AHA program, Tonino and Elena.
While most Americans were Christmas shopping, the day after Thanksgiving we visited the independent Republic of San Marino. Anth and Meg posed at the fortress at the top. Perched on top of a mountain, we are miles from the Adriatic, but it’s visible in the background behind them.
Kim decided the most important sight to see was Venice, so we went there the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Nicole and Megan did the obligatory pigeon feeding in St. Mark’s square.
Here’s a picture of my cousin Cetta in Bologna. After dropping Anth and Megan off at the airport in Milan, we drove down to Bologna to see some relatives. It was a Sunday and most everybody was unavailable (at least, that’s what they told me). At least we were able to spend a few hours with Cetta, but even her husband had gone on a 3-day trip skiing with friends. The next day we headed back to Milan to return the rental car.
Monday, December 09, 2002
Since our last Blog update, our friends the Youngs returned to the U.S. and so have our final set of guests, our son Anthony and his girlfriend Megan. Theirs was a whirlwind trip. They arrived Milan the day before Thanksgiving and took the train to Ancona. Kim picked them up there. By the time they reached Macerata it was dinner time. They spent Thanksgiving in Macerata, the day after in Urbino and the Republic of San Marino, Saturday in Venice and flew out early Sunday morning. Maybe I’ll get some pictures from that visit up next time. I’m giving my Final on Wednesday, so once I get my grades done, I’ll be able to put up some more.
Last week we had a “performance night” for those who wanted to sing or play an instrument. Nicole and Jen Spurr of Indiana State performed a duet from Newsies. I was very impressed that a 13-year-old was willing to get up in front of college students and perform. “Willing” is the wrong word: she was dying to get up and perform.
We just returned from Rome. Far too many pictures to post. Yes, we got to see the Pope address the crowd from his window. We also attended mass at St. Peter’s. Here’s only a small sample of photos. Those wanting to see more will just have to visit us when we get home ;)
Just as we were arriving, the firefighters were holding a protest march. This float depicts Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as an octopus. The clear meaning is that he has his hands in everything. The implicit meaning is a tie to organized crime, as decades ago the octopus was used to imply the mafia’s involvement in Italian affairs. Berlusconi wants to run for Italian president, but he also wants to rewrite the constitution to give the president more powers. In case you don’t know, he’s a multi-millionaire who owns the three independent TV networks (among other things). He’s accused of wrongdoing in some business affairs some years ago. He managed to get the parliament to pass a law allowing him to move his trial on the assumption that the judge in his case is prejudiced against him.
The Coliseum is certainly one of Rome’s most recognized landmarks.
From Inside the Coliseum you get a great view of the Arch of Constantine. Note the relative size of the people walking near it. Perhaps the most amazing part of ancient Rome is the size of the monuments. It’s difficult to imagine how they were able to engineer such things.
OK, so we’re tourists – what’s so wrong about that? We just had to have Nicole photographed with some gladiators.
This unassuming balcony is the one used by Mussolini for his addresses to the crowd. He turned Palazzo Venezia into his offices and used this balcony for public addresses.
Of course if you ever want to return to Rome, you must visit the Trevi Fountain and toss in a coin. I remembered visiting this place 30 years ago. I must not have used a large enough denomination last time since it took me so long to get back.
The Vatican Museums are a vast storehouse of art, both religious and secular. Best known for the Sistine Chapel, there is a lot more to see than just Michelangelo’s ceiling. Much of the museum was fine, but the closer you got to the Chapel, the more crowded it became. I just wanted to show one of the rooms painted by Rafael and the crush of people. Had I not been with the group, I probably would have left at this point rather than even make it to the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed in there - you’ll just have to see it yourself.
Here are Kim and Nicole in St. Peter’s square.
I was astonished that we were allowed to take pictures inside St. Peter’s. Most of what is impressive about the basilica is the size and design, something that can’t be captured on video. The best known artwork inside the church, though, has to be Michelangelo’s Pieta. On our trip to Florence where we saw his David, Filiberto told us that Michelangelo’s parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted to follow his dream to be a sculptor. I will refer to that every time a student talks to me about pursuing a subject for economic security rather than passion. Imagine what the world would have lost if Mike had decided to become a lawyer because you can’t make a living as an artist.
Last week we had a “performance night” for those who wanted to sing or play an instrument. Nicole and Jen Spurr of Indiana State performed a duet from Newsies. I was very impressed that a 13-year-old was willing to get up in front of college students and perform. “Willing” is the wrong word: she was dying to get up and perform.
We just returned from Rome. Far too many pictures to post. Yes, we got to see the Pope address the crowd from his window. We also attended mass at St. Peter’s. Here’s only a small sample of photos. Those wanting to see more will just have to visit us when we get home ;)
Just as we were arriving, the firefighters were holding a protest march. This float depicts Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as an octopus. The clear meaning is that he has his hands in everything. The implicit meaning is a tie to organized crime, as decades ago the octopus was used to imply the mafia’s involvement in Italian affairs. Berlusconi wants to run for Italian president, but he also wants to rewrite the constitution to give the president more powers. In case you don’t know, he’s a multi-millionaire who owns the three independent TV networks (among other things). He’s accused of wrongdoing in some business affairs some years ago. He managed to get the parliament to pass a law allowing him to move his trial on the assumption that the judge in his case is prejudiced against him.
The Coliseum is certainly one of Rome’s most recognized landmarks.
From Inside the Coliseum you get a great view of the Arch of Constantine. Note the relative size of the people walking near it. Perhaps the most amazing part of ancient Rome is the size of the monuments. It’s difficult to imagine how they were able to engineer such things.
OK, so we’re tourists – what’s so wrong about that? We just had to have Nicole photographed with some gladiators.
This unassuming balcony is the one used by Mussolini for his addresses to the crowd. He turned Palazzo Venezia into his offices and used this balcony for public addresses.
Of course if you ever want to return to Rome, you must visit the Trevi Fountain and toss in a coin. I remembered visiting this place 30 years ago. I must not have used a large enough denomination last time since it took me so long to get back.
The Vatican Museums are a vast storehouse of art, both religious and secular. Best known for the Sistine Chapel, there is a lot more to see than just Michelangelo’s ceiling. Much of the museum was fine, but the closer you got to the Chapel, the more crowded it became. I just wanted to show one of the rooms painted by Rafael and the crush of people. Had I not been with the group, I probably would have left at this point rather than even make it to the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed in there - you’ll just have to see it yourself.
Here are Kim and Nicole in St. Peter’s square.
I was astonished that we were allowed to take pictures inside St. Peter’s. Most of what is impressive about the basilica is the size and design, something that can’t be captured on video. The best known artwork inside the church, though, has to be Michelangelo’s Pieta. On our trip to Florence where we saw his David, Filiberto told us that Michelangelo’s parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted to follow his dream to be a sculptor. I will refer to that every time a student talks to me about pursuing a subject for economic security rather than passion. Imagine what the world would have lost if Mike had decided to become a lawyer because you can’t make a living as an artist.
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Sorry - no pictures today. Just time enough to proviide this update. I hope to get some pix up next week.
Our son Anthony and his girlfriend Megan arrived in Italy last Wed. (Nov. 27). They flew into Milan and trained to Ancona, where Kim picked them up. We spent Thursday locally, Friday we saw Urbino and the Republic of San Marino (on the weekly student excursion), and Saturday we spent in Venice. They flew back out of Milan early Sunday morniing. Their visit was too brief, but Kim managed to squeeze in as much activity for them as she could. They were troopers, too: in spite of jet lag, they kept up with us great. The onlly trouble is that seeing Anthony again has made Kim homesick. She was fine until he came, now she misses her firstborn, which also reminds her of the others she misses back in the States.
Monday we returned the rental car. Kim was sad. She'd put nearly 6,000 miles on it in 3 months.
Tuesday we attended the taping of an Italian game show, Passaparola. I met with the producer and one of the writers. I also had a brief visit with the show's host, a very big TV celebrity. He also hosts the Italian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionnnaire" and stars in a sitcom, "Finally, Alone." I don't know if it will make the finall edit, but during the show he mentioned the fact that there was an American professor in the audience visiting from the University of Ball. That may get edited, but there's no way they can edit out Nicole. For one of the games, she was seated in the background of the camera shot of one of the guests. Unfortunately, the show won't air until Dec. 20, and we fly home on the 19th. I'm going to have to try to get someone to tape it for me here in Italy and mail it to the U.S.
I'd better get going. Kim's preparing dinner for students tonight and she could use some help. We're off to Rome this weekend for our final excursion with the students.
Our son Anthony and his girlfriend Megan arrived in Italy last Wed. (Nov. 27). They flew into Milan and trained to Ancona, where Kim picked them up. We spent Thursday locally, Friday we saw Urbino and the Republic of San Marino (on the weekly student excursion), and Saturday we spent in Venice. They flew back out of Milan early Sunday morniing. Their visit was too brief, but Kim managed to squeeze in as much activity for them as she could. They were troopers, too: in spite of jet lag, they kept up with us great. The onlly trouble is that seeing Anthony again has made Kim homesick. She was fine until he came, now she misses her firstborn, which also reminds her of the others she misses back in the States.
Monday we returned the rental car. Kim was sad. She'd put nearly 6,000 miles on it in 3 months.
Tuesday we attended the taping of an Italian game show, Passaparola. I met with the producer and one of the writers. I also had a brief visit with the show's host, a very big TV celebrity. He also hosts the Italian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionnnaire" and stars in a sitcom, "Finally, Alone." I don't know if it will make the finall edit, but during the show he mentioned the fact that there was an American professor in the audience visiting from the University of Ball. That may get edited, but there's no way they can edit out Nicole. For one of the games, she was seated in the background of the camera shot of one of the guests. Unfortunately, the show won't air until Dec. 20, and we fly home on the 19th. I'm going to have to try to get someone to tape it for me here in Italy and mail it to the U.S.
I'd better get going. Kim's preparing dinner for students tonight and she could use some help. We're off to Rome this weekend for our final excursion with the students.
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
November is without a doubt the busiest month since we arrived! Our fourth set of guests is here: Mike and Eileen Young and their daughter Danielle from Minnesota. As I write this, Nicole has gone to school and I am here at the computer, while Kim drives the Youngs off to Assisi. We have to return the car to the rental agency Monday and I think Kim’s trying to put on as many kilometers as possible.
We took the students to Florence Nov. 21-23. I’m not posting pictures from that trip yet: they’re still in the camera. Of course I was only able to take exteriors for the most part. The majority of the significant churches and museums all prohibit photographs. I did see several people “sneaking” pictures of Michelangelo’s David, but that’s not my style. Another interesting tidbit: recently they’ve begun charging admission to Santa Croce, San Lorenzo and other churches. Filiberto explained that Napoleon confiscated church property in the late 18th/early 19th century. The government retained control when Italy became a nation in 1860. The clergy is allowed to use the churches for services, but the state maintains possession.
Brunelleschi’s dome on the Florence cathedral is undoubtedly the architectural masterpiece. Nicole and I walked up the steps as high as the drum, but didn’t make it all the way up and outside to the lantern.
Florence is a “great place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.” Lots of noise, pollution, traffic, tourists, etc., make it a real zoo. The director’s wife almost had her wallet stolen just as we were leaving town. Then, the experience of seeing Florence with 30 college students, two boyfriends and a mom (not to mention my family, the program assistant and her boyfriend, and the director’s wife) make schlepping anywhere a real challenge. We spent 2 1/2 hours in the Uffizi Gallery. By the end, we only had a handful of the students left with us.
I probably won’t have another update until Dec. 5th or so. One of the things I’ll be doing is meeting with the producers of Passaparola, an Italian game show that airs 6 nights/week. Kim, Nic and I will also attend a taping. I have hopes of getting an article published about the unique aspects of this show. Ask me about it sometime: I love talking about it.
Some old pictures:
The fortress at Urbs Salvia. Here’s a picture from inside.
I have to tell you about our favorite restaurant in Macerata, Trattoria da Ezio. It’s just down the street from our house, and run by a husband and wife who are open for lunch and dinner, 6 days a week. The routine: each morning she goes to market about 7 a.m. When she returns, she begins hand-making the pastas for the day. They open for lunch from about noon until 3 or so, then for dinner from 7 until whenever people are finished eating. The “menu” consists of whatever she found that looked good in the market. Nothing is ever frozen. The couple is delightful. We end up there for hours, because after we eat we often sit and talk. The atmosphere is nothing special – except for the Ball State logo, which they now proudly display on a shelf. The food, however, is first-rate. We have taken all our guests there.
Despite the fact that it’s a rental car, Kim insisted on a car wash.
We still have lots to learn. We thought these were Christmas lights when they went up around Nov. 15 or so, but they’ve since been taken down. They may instead have been for a 50th anniversary celebration of Macerata’s declaration as a “City of Mary.” There was a big celebration the weekend of Nov. 16/17, including a gathering in a piazza with local churches processing
into the square.
Here’s a view of the Adriatic coast from another medieval town, Potenza Picena about 20 miles from us.
Here’s Kim on market day, which is every Wednesday morning.
We have nicknamed the cat who lives in our complex ugly cat, and I think you can see why.
This picture is from the first week of Sept., back when we visited Cinque Terre. Nicole thought she was a mermaid.
We took the students to Florence Nov. 21-23. I’m not posting pictures from that trip yet: they’re still in the camera. Of course I was only able to take exteriors for the most part. The majority of the significant churches and museums all prohibit photographs. I did see several people “sneaking” pictures of Michelangelo’s David, but that’s not my style. Another interesting tidbit: recently they’ve begun charging admission to Santa Croce, San Lorenzo and other churches. Filiberto explained that Napoleon confiscated church property in the late 18th/early 19th century. The government retained control when Italy became a nation in 1860. The clergy is allowed to use the churches for services, but the state maintains possession.
Brunelleschi’s dome on the Florence cathedral is undoubtedly the architectural masterpiece. Nicole and I walked up the steps as high as the drum, but didn’t make it all the way up and outside to the lantern.
Florence is a “great place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.” Lots of noise, pollution, traffic, tourists, etc., make it a real zoo. The director’s wife almost had her wallet stolen just as we were leaving town. Then, the experience of seeing Florence with 30 college students, two boyfriends and a mom (not to mention my family, the program assistant and her boyfriend, and the director’s wife) make schlepping anywhere a real challenge. We spent 2 1/2 hours in the Uffizi Gallery. By the end, we only had a handful of the students left with us.
I probably won’t have another update until Dec. 5th or so. One of the things I’ll be doing is meeting with the producers of Passaparola, an Italian game show that airs 6 nights/week. Kim, Nic and I will also attend a taping. I have hopes of getting an article published about the unique aspects of this show. Ask me about it sometime: I love talking about it.
Some old pictures:
The fortress at Urbs Salvia. Here’s a picture from inside.
I have to tell you about our favorite restaurant in Macerata, Trattoria da Ezio. It’s just down the street from our house, and run by a husband and wife who are open for lunch and dinner, 6 days a week. The routine: each morning she goes to market about 7 a.m. When she returns, she begins hand-making the pastas for the day. They open for lunch from about noon until 3 or so, then for dinner from 7 until whenever people are finished eating. The “menu” consists of whatever she found that looked good in the market. Nothing is ever frozen. The couple is delightful. We end up there for hours, because after we eat we often sit and talk. The atmosphere is nothing special – except for the Ball State logo, which they now proudly display on a shelf. The food, however, is first-rate. We have taken all our guests there.
Despite the fact that it’s a rental car, Kim insisted on a car wash.
We still have lots to learn. We thought these were Christmas lights when they went up around Nov. 15 or so, but they’ve since been taken down. They may instead have been for a 50th anniversary celebration of Macerata’s declaration as a “City of Mary.” There was a big celebration the weekend of Nov. 16/17, including a gathering in a piazza with local churches processing
into the square.
Here’s a view of the Adriatic coast from another medieval town, Potenza Picena about 20 miles from us.
Here’s Kim on market day, which is every Wednesday morning.
We have nicknamed the cat who lives in our complex ugly cat, and I think you can see why.
This picture is from the first week of Sept., back when we visited Cinque Terre. Nicole thought she was a mermaid.
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
We are currently enjoying the company of our third set of guests. Wayne and Ferne Davis of Ames, Iowa, were the only Americans to visit us 7 years ago when we spent a semester in Slovenia. They are here in Macerata now.
Tomorrow morning we leave for a 3-day trip to Florence. The students are looking forward to it: everything except having to be on the bus by 5:30 a.m.
This monument in Macerata is a war memorial. Every town has at least one. The students refer to this one as “the Jackson 5.”
This is a picture from the piazza in Loreto. Their website has a lot more pictures, but this is one I took.
One more winery picture. At Belisario (linked in my last report), this man served as our guide. He even taught us the proper procedure for ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant, how it should be opened, etc. Belisario is a cooperative, and he’s one of the partners. He also happens to be the mayor of Matelka. I think he bears a striking resemblance to Mike Ditka.
Last weekend was one of the many festivals for the feast of St. Martin (officially Nov. 11, celebrated most of the first half of the month). The feast coincides with the opening of the new wine, and with chestnut season, both of which are plentiful. It also coincides with the Italian version of “Indian Summer” (is that term no longer politically correct?). Here in Italy, the occasion of warm fall weather is called “St. Martin’s Summer.”
It was like being at a Renaissance Festival on a smaller scale. There were musicians and performers strolling along the streets. Chestnuts are, in fact, roasted on an open fire.
Kim and Nicole took Ken, Tiffany and Amanda to Venice. That’s their second trip – I haven’t been. Somebody has to stay around and work once in a while.
Here are Kim and her eldest nephew Ken on the boat (vaporetto) on one of the Venetian canals.
Of course they had to go to St. Mark’s square to feed pigeons. Here’s Kim’s niece Tiffany.
Nicole was thrilled that one of the vile creatures allowed itself to be picked up.
Here’s Nic and Ken’s daughter Amanda doing more of the same.
Believe it or not, some people actually come to this square to see St. Mark’s, not the pigeons.
Two days after they visited Venice, Italy experienced a fall weather phenomenon known as the Scirocco: strong southerly winds. They caused some damage in many parts of Italy. In Venice, they cause the tide to rise, flooding parts of the town, including St. Mark’s square. Just 48 hours after they were there, water in the piazza was knee-high. They must be living right to have timed their visit so well.
Tomorrow morning we leave for a 3-day trip to Florence. The students are looking forward to it: everything except having to be on the bus by 5:30 a.m.
This monument in Macerata is a war memorial. Every town has at least one. The students refer to this one as “the Jackson 5.”
This is a picture from the piazza in Loreto. Their website has a lot more pictures, but this is one I took.
One more winery picture. At Belisario (linked in my last report), this man served as our guide. He even taught us the proper procedure for ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant, how it should be opened, etc. Belisario is a cooperative, and he’s one of the partners. He also happens to be the mayor of Matelka. I think he bears a striking resemblance to Mike Ditka.
Last weekend was one of the many festivals for the feast of St. Martin (officially Nov. 11, celebrated most of the first half of the month). The feast coincides with the opening of the new wine, and with chestnut season, both of which are plentiful. It also coincides with the Italian version of “Indian Summer” (is that term no longer politically correct?). Here in Italy, the occasion of warm fall weather is called “St. Martin’s Summer.”
It was like being at a Renaissance Festival on a smaller scale. There were musicians and performers strolling along the streets. Chestnuts are, in fact, roasted on an open fire.
Kim and Nicole took Ken, Tiffany and Amanda to Venice. That’s their second trip – I haven’t been. Somebody has to stay around and work once in a while.
Here are Kim and her eldest nephew Ken on the boat (vaporetto) on one of the Venetian canals.
Of course they had to go to St. Mark’s square to feed pigeons. Here’s Kim’s niece Tiffany.
Nicole was thrilled that one of the vile creatures allowed itself to be picked up.
Here’s Nic and Ken’s daughter Amanda doing more of the same.
Believe it or not, some people actually come to this square to see St. Mark’s, not the pigeons.
Two days after they visited Venice, Italy experienced a fall weather phenomenon known as the Scirocco: strong southerly winds. They caused some damage in many parts of Italy. In Venice, they cause the tide to rise, flooding parts of the town, including St. Mark’s square. Just 48 hours after they were there, water in the piazza was knee-high. They must be living right to have timed their visit so well.
Friday, November 15, 2002
We just said good-bye to our second set of guests. Kim’s nephew Ken (Guy), niece Tiffany and Ken’s daughter Amanda were just here. After spending a couple of days in Macerata, Kim and Nicole drove them up to Venice. Of course, I stayed behind in Macerata and worked. They only spent one night, returning late last night.
Here’s a few more pictures of family. My aunt and uncle in Bologna. Zia Maria is my mom’s youngest sister.
Their son, Nico, the plastic surgeon.
His wife, Massimiliana.
Since we’ve spent so much time in our car I thought I should show it. Kim’s put well over 3,000 miles on it.
This is the view our car sees from the parking lot. We have to park outside the walls since we’re not residents.
The beach at Civitanova, about 20 miles away. Nicole’s been in the Adriatic here.
Here’s the classroom. I couldn’t get a shot with both the students and the fresco on the ceiling.
Here’s a pretty decent view of the Sibilini Mountains. I have yet to find a day with absolutely no haze. I am told that happens in summer. Nonetheless, we can see them better that the video camera shows. Those are the mountains to our west – the pre-Apenines – that keep us from being able to make “simple” drives to our west.
This crest is the old seal of Macerata. The central symbol is a mill wheel, denoting Macerata’s agricultural importance. Later, the crest was expanded to include a cross to show the town’s relation to the church state.
This painting is located in a university classroom used mostly for ceremonies today. One-time classes and seminars might meet here, but no regular sessions. Too bad.
OK, now let me tell you about our class excursions. I’ll just provide links to existing websites, which have better pictures than I do. In the case of most basilicas, photography is prohibited inside, so this is the only way to show you some of what we’ve seen.
Oct. 4 we went to Urbs Salvia and the Abbazia (Abbey) of Chairavalle di Fiastra.
Oct. 8 we did a walking tour of Macerata.
Oct. 11 we went to San Nicola of Tolentino and Ascoli Piceno.
Oct. 18 was our trip to Assisi. I’ll provide a couple of other links, like this Virtual tour – in Italian and this Photo gallery, which loads quickly.
On Nov. 8 we went three places: Loreto, Sirolo, and the Frasassi Caves. I had some trouble getting the official caves website to load, so just in case, here’s another. On the way home, we also stopped at this winery, whose wines are available at some US locations.
Here’s a few more pictures of family. My aunt and uncle in Bologna. Zia Maria is my mom’s youngest sister.
Their son, Nico, the plastic surgeon.
His wife, Massimiliana.
Since we’ve spent so much time in our car I thought I should show it. Kim’s put well over 3,000 miles on it.
This is the view our car sees from the parking lot. We have to park outside the walls since we’re not residents.
The beach at Civitanova, about 20 miles away. Nicole’s been in the Adriatic here.
Here’s the classroom. I couldn’t get a shot with both the students and the fresco on the ceiling.
Here’s a pretty decent view of the Sibilini Mountains. I have yet to find a day with absolutely no haze. I am told that happens in summer. Nonetheless, we can see them better that the video camera shows. Those are the mountains to our west – the pre-Apenines – that keep us from being able to make “simple” drives to our west.
This crest is the old seal of Macerata. The central symbol is a mill wheel, denoting Macerata’s agricultural importance. Later, the crest was expanded to include a cross to show the town’s relation to the church state.
This painting is located in a university classroom used mostly for ceremonies today. One-time classes and seminars might meet here, but no regular sessions. Too bad.
OK, now let me tell you about our class excursions. I’ll just provide links to existing websites, which have better pictures than I do. In the case of most basilicas, photography is prohibited inside, so this is the only way to show you some of what we’ve seen.
Oct. 4 we went to Urbs Salvia and the Abbazia (Abbey) of Chairavalle di Fiastra.
Oct. 8 we did a walking tour of Macerata.
Oct. 11 we went to San Nicola of Tolentino and Ascoli Piceno.
Oct. 18 was our trip to Assisi. I’ll provide a couple of other links, like this Virtual tour – in Italian and this Photo gallery, which loads quickly.
On Nov. 8 we went three places: Loreto, Sirolo, and the Frasassi Caves. I had some trouble getting the official caves website to load, so just in case, here’s another. On the way home, we also stopped at this winery, whose wines are available at some US locations.
Sunday, November 10, 2002
We are delighted to have our first guests! Ilija and Dragana (their wedding party pictures can be seen in an earlier blog) are here visiting from Slovenia.
Two of our class excursions have ended with tours of wineries. Friday we visited Belisario in Matelica. They produce an award-winning Verdicchio, in addition to other very fine wines. These pictures are actually from our earlier winery tour: a place that sells directly to the public. People bring their empties and fill them from the storage tanks a la self-service gas stations.
The first step in wine making is grape collection. The grapes (in this case merlot) are dropped into a tank where they are squeezed. In the case of some wines (like the white Verdicchio mentioned above) the grinding of grapes must be much more delicate not to allow the skins to break and “contaminate” the wine. White wine can be made from either red or white grapes: it’s the skins that determine the color. The unwanted material is then dumped out. In spite of that, even good wines contain a small percentage of skins, seeds and stems. Wine is then stored in fermentation tanks. It’s obvious these are for white wine because of the bands around them, which are used to keep the wine cool. Some reds do spend some time in oak barrels but stainless steel is much more prevalent. The host on one of our tours was critical of California wines, saying they have more wood flavor than grape flavor. He explained the reason for that as the American desire for a product to always taste the same. A McDonald’s burger always tastes the same, and Americans want the same brand of wine and type to taste the same, but nature has other plans. The weather, side of the hill the grapes grow on, etc., all impact the wine flavor. In Italy and France, people understand one year’s wine – same brand and type – may have a different flavor than another year’s.
A few more pictures of Macerata life:
This is the exterior of one of our city walls. You can tell it’s only a few centuries old because of the angle of the lower wall. When canons came along, they started reinforcing the lower parts of city walls.
This is the interior of our city’s theatre. Kim and I saw a Pirandello play, “Ma non e una cosa seria” (But it’s not a serious thing). Not only could I follow most of the play, but Kim could, too. Her Italian comprehension has come a long way (still speaking only a little though).
This is the interior of our cathedral. Macerata has 9 churches inside the city walls. Each is filled with art and history.
We had “Music Night” at Quatro Porte (4 Doors), a local student bar. Professor Zampa, who teaches the Italian history and culture class, helped us learn to sing some Italian songs. He’s a great guy.
Unfortunately I can’t take pictures in most of the churches we visit. One exception is in the Basilica of San Nicola of Tolentino. These frescoes were very impressive.
Finally, this statue is for my Ball State friends. It’s nothing tremendous, but I thought I’d have to show the San Nicola version of beneficence.
Two of our class excursions have ended with tours of wineries. Friday we visited Belisario in Matelica. They produce an award-winning Verdicchio, in addition to other very fine wines. These pictures are actually from our earlier winery tour: a place that sells directly to the public. People bring their empties and fill them from the storage tanks a la self-service gas stations.
The first step in wine making is grape collection. The grapes (in this case merlot) are dropped into a tank where they are squeezed. In the case of some wines (like the white Verdicchio mentioned above) the grinding of grapes must be much more delicate not to allow the skins to break and “contaminate” the wine. White wine can be made from either red or white grapes: it’s the skins that determine the color. The unwanted material is then dumped out. In spite of that, even good wines contain a small percentage of skins, seeds and stems. Wine is then stored in fermentation tanks. It’s obvious these are for white wine because of the bands around them, which are used to keep the wine cool. Some reds do spend some time in oak barrels but stainless steel is much more prevalent. The host on one of our tours was critical of California wines, saying they have more wood flavor than grape flavor. He explained the reason for that as the American desire for a product to always taste the same. A McDonald’s burger always tastes the same, and Americans want the same brand of wine and type to taste the same, but nature has other plans. The weather, side of the hill the grapes grow on, etc., all impact the wine flavor. In Italy and France, people understand one year’s wine – same brand and type – may have a different flavor than another year’s.
A few more pictures of Macerata life:
This is the exterior of one of our city walls. You can tell it’s only a few centuries old because of the angle of the lower wall. When canons came along, they started reinforcing the lower parts of city walls.
This is the interior of our city’s theatre. Kim and I saw a Pirandello play, “Ma non e una cosa seria” (But it’s not a serious thing). Not only could I follow most of the play, but Kim could, too. Her Italian comprehension has come a long way (still speaking only a little though).
This is the interior of our cathedral. Macerata has 9 churches inside the city walls. Each is filled with art and history.
We had “Music Night” at Quatro Porte (4 Doors), a local student bar. Professor Zampa, who teaches the Italian history and culture class, helped us learn to sing some Italian songs. He’s a great guy.
Unfortunately I can’t take pictures in most of the churches we visit. One exception is in the Basilica of San Nicola of Tolentino. These frescoes were very impressive.
Finally, this statue is for my Ball State friends. It’s nothing tremendous, but I thought I’d have to show the San Nicola version of beneficence.
Sunday, November 03, 2002
We’ve just returned from our 10 day break. I could put dozens of photos online, but it would take way too much time to upload. I’ll just try to provide the highlights.
We left Macerata and drove toward Vesuvius and Pompeii, both of which are located just south of Naples. It was a pretty drive, cutting across from East to West of the peninsula, crossing some very pretty mountains. Kim wants a T-Shirt that says “I survived Driving in Naples.” There is definitely a notable difference between northern and southern Italy. After spending a night on the outskirts of Naples, we went first to Vesuvius. We reached the info booth to the national park which we thought was near the top, but we still had 9 kilometers to drive. Great – more mountain driving. Kim was loving it – I was not. We got as far as you can drive. You have to walk the last kilometer, and a pretty steep incline. We probably would have done it despite the cold and $6/person, but the top of the mountain was in the clouds and we never would have been able to see the crater. We settled for this view of old lava flows (the last eruption was in 1948): if you look closely (through the haze) what looks like a gray river was lava.
From there we drove to Pompeii. Boy, is this place set up for tourists. Plenty of souvenir stands right outside the gate. Once you pay your admission, guides come to you right away offering you to join their group (for a price, of course). We had read that guides were really the best way to go because of the detail they can provide. In two hours we saw “the highlights,” including the main square. It’s amazing to think this was constructed 500 years B.C. Our guide also showed us phallic symbols (which “pointed” toward brothels), a brothel, and a wine shop with private rooms used by some of the clients to cavort with women. Nicole said she never learned about those things when they studied Pompeii in school. We spent another couple of hours walking on our own after the tour.
We spent the night at a hotel in Salerno, just a little further south. It was right on the Mediterranean. We paid half of what the hotel costs in the summer. Our ferry boat left from there the next day. Here was the sunset that evening.
It was about an 8-hour boat ride to Messina, the Sicilian city closest to the mainland, and home to my family. My mom actually grew up in Ganzirri, a small community outside the main city. Most of the activity is around the lake. The church in the center of the picture is where my parents were married 54 years ago. We went to mass there on Sunday.
In Messina we stayed with my cousin Cettina and her husband Matteo. Their daughter Pinella is on the left. From their patio, you can actually see the Straits of Messina and the southernmost part of the Italian mainland.
Here are Cettina’s grandkids: Piero and Matteo are Pinella’s kids. Agnese, the 2-year-old, belongs to their son Angelo. You can just barely see his wife Pinucia’s profile on the right.
Tanina is a cousin on my father’s side. She and her husband Nicola are here in their very impressive garden with Kim and Nicole. (Sicilians have great fruit and flowers.) We also met one of their sons, Dominic (who goes by Mimmo), their daughter-in law Teresa (married to their other son Valentino), and her son Nicola.
The quality of this picture stinks, but it’s impressive. This is actually a night picture of the fire erupting from Mt. Etna as seen from the hilltop tourist town of Taormina, about 33 miles away. The smoke was easier to see by day, but the flames were clearer at night. Nicole had hoped to stand on two volcanoes: Vesuvius and Etna. No one was allowed to get near Etna, so she had to settle for being able to say she stood on one and saw another erupting. We happened to bump into 5 of the American students who were also visiting Sicily over break.
Nicole also got the honor of splitting chestnuts for roasting (sounds like a Christmas song). Kim had never had chestnuts before and we discovered she’s allergic. She ate one and her mouth went numb. She didn’t eat any more.
On our way back north from Sicily, we spent a day in Sienna. The most recognized part is the main square, but we were more impressed by the cathedral. Sienna is definitely a tourist town – almost everyone there spoke some English. We ended up staying in a nice hotel – run by Germans. Really enjoyed the day we spent there and all three of us said we could easily have spent more time.
But, we had to get to Bologna to see other relatives. My Aunt Linda lives there (she was married to my mom’s brother, who passed away 2 years ago). Seven years ago she taught Nicole to sing the Italian version of “Frere Jacque” (sure that spelling is wrong), which Nicole still remembers.
Aunt Linda has two daughters. The older one is Rita, who now lives near Venice and came to town to see us. Her husband is Federico and her 9-month-old is Gabrielle.
My other cousin is Alessandra, with her husband Francesco and their children Giovanni (5) and Sofia (almost 3).
We left Macerata and drove toward Vesuvius and Pompeii, both of which are located just south of Naples. It was a pretty drive, cutting across from East to West of the peninsula, crossing some very pretty mountains. Kim wants a T-Shirt that says “I survived Driving in Naples.” There is definitely a notable difference between northern and southern Italy. After spending a night on the outskirts of Naples, we went first to Vesuvius. We reached the info booth to the national park which we thought was near the top, but we still had 9 kilometers to drive. Great – more mountain driving. Kim was loving it – I was not. We got as far as you can drive. You have to walk the last kilometer, and a pretty steep incline. We probably would have done it despite the cold and $6/person, but the top of the mountain was in the clouds and we never would have been able to see the crater. We settled for this view of old lava flows (the last eruption was in 1948): if you look closely (through the haze) what looks like a gray river was lava.
From there we drove to Pompeii. Boy, is this place set up for tourists. Plenty of souvenir stands right outside the gate. Once you pay your admission, guides come to you right away offering you to join their group (for a price, of course). We had read that guides were really the best way to go because of the detail they can provide. In two hours we saw “the highlights,” including the main square. It’s amazing to think this was constructed 500 years B.C. Our guide also showed us phallic symbols (which “pointed” toward brothels), a brothel, and a wine shop with private rooms used by some of the clients to cavort with women. Nicole said she never learned about those things when they studied Pompeii in school. We spent another couple of hours walking on our own after the tour.
We spent the night at a hotel in Salerno, just a little further south. It was right on the Mediterranean. We paid half of what the hotel costs in the summer. Our ferry boat left from there the next day. Here was the sunset that evening.
It was about an 8-hour boat ride to Messina, the Sicilian city closest to the mainland, and home to my family. My mom actually grew up in Ganzirri, a small community outside the main city. Most of the activity is around the lake. The church in the center of the picture is where my parents were married 54 years ago. We went to mass there on Sunday.
In Messina we stayed with my cousin Cettina and her husband Matteo. Their daughter Pinella is on the left. From their patio, you can actually see the Straits of Messina and the southernmost part of the Italian mainland.
Here are Cettina’s grandkids: Piero and Matteo are Pinella’s kids. Agnese, the 2-year-old, belongs to their son Angelo. You can just barely see his wife Pinucia’s profile on the right.
Tanina is a cousin on my father’s side. She and her husband Nicola are here in their very impressive garden with Kim and Nicole. (Sicilians have great fruit and flowers.) We also met one of their sons, Dominic (who goes by Mimmo), their daughter-in law Teresa (married to their other son Valentino), and her son Nicola.
The quality of this picture stinks, but it’s impressive. This is actually a night picture of the fire erupting from Mt. Etna as seen from the hilltop tourist town of Taormina, about 33 miles away. The smoke was easier to see by day, but the flames were clearer at night. Nicole had hoped to stand on two volcanoes: Vesuvius and Etna. No one was allowed to get near Etna, so she had to settle for being able to say she stood on one and saw another erupting. We happened to bump into 5 of the American students who were also visiting Sicily over break.
Nicole also got the honor of splitting chestnuts for roasting (sounds like a Christmas song). Kim had never had chestnuts before and we discovered she’s allergic. She ate one and her mouth went numb. She didn’t eat any more.
On our way back north from Sicily, we spent a day in Sienna. The most recognized part is the main square, but we were more impressed by the cathedral. Sienna is definitely a tourist town – almost everyone there spoke some English. We ended up staying in a nice hotel – run by Germans. Really enjoyed the day we spent there and all three of us said we could easily have spent more time.
But, we had to get to Bologna to see other relatives. My Aunt Linda lives there (she was married to my mom’s brother, who passed away 2 years ago). Seven years ago she taught Nicole to sing the Italian version of “Frere Jacque” (sure that spelling is wrong), which Nicole still remembers.
Aunt Linda has two daughters. The older one is Rita, who now lives near Venice and came to town to see us. Her husband is Federico and her 9-month-old is Gabrielle.
My other cousin is Alessandra, with her husband Francesco and their children Giovanni (5) and Sofia (almost 3).
Monday, October 21, 2002
There will NOT be a blog update next week. We have our term break the week of Oct. 27. We will travel that week. I don’t know whether I’ll have e-mail access or not, so I may not respond to messages until Nov. 4.
A little bit about our excursions. There are five, one-day bus tours, a walking tour of Macerata, and two, 3-day trips: one to Florence, the other to Rome. The bus tours we’ve taken so far have been to Roman ruins at Urbs Salvia and the Abbey at Fiastra, Tolentino and Ascoli Piceno, and just last Friday our trip to Assisi. The tours are wonderful, and extremely educational.
Here is the main reason they’re so educational. Filiberto Bracalente, the program director in Macerata, serves as our guide. His degree is in architecture, but he’s a true Renaissance man. His knowledge of art, culture, history, music, food and everything else is phenomenal. This program is as good as it is because of Filiberto.
Filiberto had emergency surgery just before the semester began, so his wife Angelica served as the interim director. In a typical semester her duties would “only” involve coordinating the Italian classes the students must take, and arranging their housing. Our 31 students have various housing arrangements: some just with other American students, some are with a mix of Americans and Italians, and others are in Italian homes. With Filiberto’s illness, Angelica did most of the other tasks as well, while Filiberto had his cell phone at his side in the hospital. He continued to make arrangements from a distance.
Here’s what we look like as we walk through medieval streets on our tours. I often wonder what locals think as they see us. At the front of the pack is Jackie Gouyette (spelling is wrong, I’m sure – it’s French, not Italian), a DePauw graduate who was in the program 3 years ago and serves this semester as a program assistant.
Our first tour to Urbs Salvia. This is the wall of an ancient amphitheatre just like the Coliseum in Rome, only smaller.
These are the ruins of a Roman temple. There is an archeological dig at this location.
These are frescoes from the temple walls. We’ve seen much more impressive ones, including those by Giotto in Assisi, but photography is prohibited in most of the larger churches.
Nicole is standing on a rock that was the position of the principal actor in the theatre. Romans built amphitheatres, where gladiators did battle, into the ground, but theatres for performances of plays were built above ground like this one.
The Abbey at Fiastra. Built in the 12th Century, this Abbey managed to survive plunder by Napoleon because in the early 19th Century when his troops moved through, it happened to be under private control, not church, so he didn’t strip it of its relics as he did many other churches.
The entrance to the Abbey has 7 rings to denote entering the seven rings of heaven.
On our visit to the castle at La Rancia, we had to stop and try on the medieval costumes. If Anthony had been with us, this would have been this year’s Christmas card picture.
A little bit about our excursions. There are five, one-day bus tours, a walking tour of Macerata, and two, 3-day trips: one to Florence, the other to Rome. The bus tours we’ve taken so far have been to Roman ruins at Urbs Salvia and the Abbey at Fiastra, Tolentino and Ascoli Piceno, and just last Friday our trip to Assisi. The tours are wonderful, and extremely educational.
Here is the main reason they’re so educational. Filiberto Bracalente, the program director in Macerata, serves as our guide. His degree is in architecture, but he’s a true Renaissance man. His knowledge of art, culture, history, music, food and everything else is phenomenal. This program is as good as it is because of Filiberto.
Filiberto had emergency surgery just before the semester began, so his wife Angelica served as the interim director. In a typical semester her duties would “only” involve coordinating the Italian classes the students must take, and arranging their housing. Our 31 students have various housing arrangements: some just with other American students, some are with a mix of Americans and Italians, and others are in Italian homes. With Filiberto’s illness, Angelica did most of the other tasks as well, while Filiberto had his cell phone at his side in the hospital. He continued to make arrangements from a distance.
Here’s what we look like as we walk through medieval streets on our tours. I often wonder what locals think as they see us. At the front of the pack is Jackie Gouyette (spelling is wrong, I’m sure – it’s French, not Italian), a DePauw graduate who was in the program 3 years ago and serves this semester as a program assistant.
Our first tour to Urbs Salvia. This is the wall of an ancient amphitheatre just like the Coliseum in Rome, only smaller.
These are the ruins of a Roman temple. There is an archeological dig at this location.
These are frescoes from the temple walls. We’ve seen much more impressive ones, including those by Giotto in Assisi, but photography is prohibited in most of the larger churches.
Nicole is standing on a rock that was the position of the principal actor in the theatre. Romans built amphitheatres, where gladiators did battle, into the ground, but theatres for performances of plays were built above ground like this one.
The Abbey at Fiastra. Built in the 12th Century, this Abbey managed to survive plunder by Napoleon because in the early 19th Century when his troops moved through, it happened to be under private control, not church, so he didn’t strip it of its relics as he did many other churches.
The entrance to the Abbey has 7 rings to denote entering the seven rings of heaven.
On our visit to the castle at La Rancia, we had to stop and try on the medieval costumes. If Anthony had been with us, this would have been this year’s Christmas card picture.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
It’s about time I started providing some images of Macerata. We’re excited that we will host four different sets of guests in November. We want to make sure they can see the pix before they come.
This first picture shows the clock tower from one of the piazzas in town. It’s probably the most noticeable building of the Macerata “skyline” although not necessarily the most distinctive. The clock tower is the taller of the two, in the background. The shorter, foreground tower is new - from the 1920s, erected by the Facists. The latern at the top was one of their symbols.
Every Wednesday is market day in Macerata. Vendors set up in the piazzas but also in much narrower spaces. We always buy fruit and vegetables in the market, but we’ve also gotten shoes, a coat and nail polish (none of which were for me).
I had to take a picture of this store front. The surest sign that someone is not an American is clothing that is written in English. Plenty of people here with Yankees caps, Georgetown sweatshirts, etc. Should have brought a lot more Ball State T-shirts with me.
This is the Sferisterio, an outdoor theater. They have built up a reputable opera season. Unfortunately the only performances are in the summer. This is a well-recognized Macerata landmark.
San Giovanni (St. John’s) is literally a stone’s throw from our apt. If you go down the street at the right of the church, our place is just about even with the back of the church. Not sure whether the scaffolds are for routine restoration or for earthquake repair. The same quake that caused so much damage in Assisi in 1997 also shook Macerata.
I have wanted to take photos of people but have been afraid. The buildings are interesting but they don’t tell much about life. I saw this lady going up the stairs, so I walked past, got my camera out and set it as best I could, then walked back and just shot quickly. The picture helps to show the up-and-down nature of our walking here in town. Medieval towns were built at the tops of hills for security. Anytime we walk anywhere, we go up and down. I hope the picture illustrates something about the people, though, as well as the town.
Kim’s been making dinner once a week for a different group of students. This is the first group
to come (and Nicole, of course). With each dinner the other students hear more and more and anxiously await their invitation. It’s been a nice way to get to know them a little better.
Nicole’s middle school participated in a citywide peace march that concluded in the Diaz Gardens. I took this wide shot both to show the kids and some of the setting. You may be able to see some of the rolling valleys in the distance. Later we were told that the theme of the march was peace, but the subliminal theme was anti-Bush and his Iraq policy. Throughout the speeches, neither Bush nor Iraq was ever named.
Another facet of a medieval city is the narrow roads. Unfortunately the picture makes it look more spacious than it is. When we first got here, each time a car came, we did a Spiderman impression, clinging to the walls. Now we barely move, letting the cars pass within inches as do the natives. This same road actually also carries city buses.
The views from town can’t be depicted well because of the haze, but here’s an attempt to show the mountains. Macerata lies east of the Sibilini Mountains. In clear weather (which I would have thought would be most likely in the fall, but am told is more common in summer) you can see the Adriatic to the east and the Sibilinis to the west.
There’s a hiking group here that has some great mountain pictures. They’re not exactly what we see from town, but if you want to see pretty pictures you can visit their website.
This first picture shows the clock tower from one of the piazzas in town. It’s probably the most noticeable building of the Macerata “skyline” although not necessarily the most distinctive. The clock tower is the taller of the two, in the background. The shorter, foreground tower is new - from the 1920s, erected by the Facists. The latern at the top was one of their symbols.
Every Wednesday is market day in Macerata. Vendors set up in the piazzas but also in much narrower spaces. We always buy fruit and vegetables in the market, but we’ve also gotten shoes, a coat and nail polish (none of which were for me).
I had to take a picture of this store front. The surest sign that someone is not an American is clothing that is written in English. Plenty of people here with Yankees caps, Georgetown sweatshirts, etc. Should have brought a lot more Ball State T-shirts with me.
This is the Sferisterio, an outdoor theater. They have built up a reputable opera season. Unfortunately the only performances are in the summer. This is a well-recognized Macerata landmark.
San Giovanni (St. John’s) is literally a stone’s throw from our apt. If you go down the street at the right of the church, our place is just about even with the back of the church. Not sure whether the scaffolds are for routine restoration or for earthquake repair. The same quake that caused so much damage in Assisi in 1997 also shook Macerata.
I have wanted to take photos of people but have been afraid. The buildings are interesting but they don’t tell much about life. I saw this lady going up the stairs, so I walked past, got my camera out and set it as best I could, then walked back and just shot quickly. The picture helps to show the up-and-down nature of our walking here in town. Medieval towns were built at the tops of hills for security. Anytime we walk anywhere, we go up and down. I hope the picture illustrates something about the people, though, as well as the town.
Kim’s been making dinner once a week for a different group of students. This is the first group
to come (and Nicole, of course). With each dinner the other students hear more and more and anxiously await their invitation. It’s been a nice way to get to know them a little better.
Nicole’s middle school participated in a citywide peace march that concluded in the Diaz Gardens. I took this wide shot both to show the kids and some of the setting. You may be able to see some of the rolling valleys in the distance. Later we were told that the theme of the march was peace, but the subliminal theme was anti-Bush and his Iraq policy. Throughout the speeches, neither Bush nor Iraq was ever named.
Another facet of a medieval city is the narrow roads. Unfortunately the picture makes it look more spacious than it is. When we first got here, each time a car came, we did a Spiderman impression, clinging to the walls. Now we barely move, letting the cars pass within inches as do the natives. This same road actually also carries city buses.
The views from town can’t be depicted well because of the haze, but here’s an attempt to show the mountains. Macerata lies east of the Sibilini Mountains. In clear weather (which I would have thought would be most likely in the fall, but am told is more common in summer) you can see the Adriatic to the east and the Sibilinis to the west.
There’s a hiking group here that has some great mountain pictures. They’re not exactly what we see from town, but if you want to see pretty pictures you can visit their website.
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