WOW!...DAVID

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ok soooo yesterday was our first onsite class! I was so excited the night before I could hardly speak. It is so much different knowing the history (say of the Medici family) and then seeing where they lived, where they worshipped, what they commisioned to be painted, sculpted, and built. We started in the Medici Chapel crypt. It was breathtaking- all of it was. This family was a rock solid piece of pure intellect, creativity, and oh they all had eyes and passion for the arts and books. I cannot express to you how interesting their history is. It is so amazing to see and find out that every little decoration, every single piece of art has symbolism. These people didn't just paint; they told stories with their creations. Brunelleschi was PURE GENIOUS. not just an architect... but one of the smartest engineers on Earth. Did you know that? I sure didnt,... not a clue. Did you know that Michelangelo hated painting? he was a sculpture.. and thought painting was cheating..and one of his best known projects is the frescoe in the Cistine chapel...I feel like I can not begin to tell you close to anything of what I have learned...maybe i will publish my moleskin..ha. next we went to the San Lorenzo Church. BREATHTAKING. HEAVENLY. ahhhhh Lapis Lazulie...onix..mother of pearl ...not just on some decorations on the wall. BUT ALL OVER. it is called the Florentine mosaic. This huge church is purely mosiac with precious stones. It amazes me the talents that God has blessed man with..... After this we went to San Marco. It used to be a monastary. home of Fra Angelico and Savanorolla ( the dominican monk that went crazy on the florentines when the Medici was temporarily absent from the city- they were thrown out..) His story is unbelievable..look it up. After this we ate sack lunches in a Piazza next to San Marco. Then we went to the Academia!!! This is where a massive collection of Michelangelo's sculptures are INCLUDING the giant David (how ironic ha) He is beautiful. Did you know that Michelangelo is the only sculptor known to be able to skip the steps of measuring the stone and making sure the proportions are correct for the sculpture? he dove right in and created masterpieces ...ha wow. Im still a bit overwhelmed.


I love this Country

I love this history


This morning we got up to go to the Saturday market in Scandici. We were given a piece of paper with something we had to buy in italian. We had to ask and emerce ourselves into the marketplace to find our object. Number one... I love the market..number two... i love this language. I am not nervous at all talking to the italians. They are so helpful, and I just love hearing the beautiful words coming from their mouths and trying to come out of mine hah. After the market we went into Florence to start our scavenger hunt for our humanities class. We are in groups of nine and we have a list of things to find, learn about, visit, and take pictures of. They gave us an allowance and made reservations for us to eat at various ristorantes :) It was awesome. My favorite place so far is the Piazza della Signora...right beside the Ponte Vecchio. We went on top of a huge building to the roof and all got cappucinos. this was one of our assignments ...haha The view was gorgeous...and the Duomo....right beside us!! We also got gelatto haha and then came back to the villa for another amazing three course meal. I loveeeee our italian cooks :)


Gotta go study

Arrivederci :)
A Presto


PS...the lily ( one of my favorite flowers) is the symbol of florence..and of purity. Look for it in various frescoes of the Annunciation