A carnevale ogni scherzo vale!

March 4-6: Verona and Venice

On the way to Venice, our bus made a two hour stop in Verona, the beautiful city that was the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

"Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean."

Although our time there was brief, we got to see Juliet's balcony, write our names on the wall, then wander the main streets of the city, all the while getting our first tastes of the Carnival atmosphere. We bought masks to take into Venice for that night, and even saw a huge parade going through the streets of Verona to celebrate the holiday.  

After the break in the 6 hour bus ride, we finally made it to Venezia. It would take hours to describe in detail everything I saw, heard and experienced during our weekend there, so I will just say that it was a great time and something I will never forget. Between the masks, costumes, and masses of people, there was never a dull moment or lack of something interesting to do. My friends and I walked all over the city, and even though we got lost a few times in the maze of streets and canals, we always found the buses and made it back to the old campsite. Yes, we camped. It was freezing at night, but being there with a big group made it a lot of fun. One thing is for sure, we definitely have better stories than the people who stayed in hotels, and that's what it's all about. By Sunday, after camping out for two nights and long days wandering around Venice, I was exhausted and so ready to get back to Viterbo to my own bed and a hot shower. 

Overall it was an awesome weekend, and as the Italians say, “A Carnivale ogni scherzo vale,” which roughly translates to “At Carnivale anything goes.” At the biggest party in Italy, that was definitely true, and I will always remember it! 

A daytrip to Tuscany.

Acquapendente & Piensa

February 25^th – This day trip with most of our USAC group took us first to a nearby small town called Acquapendente where we saw a very unique church and had a great meal for lunch at a restaurant that served all locally grown specialties. The church was very interesting and well known for its architecture and columns in the crypt under the altar and entire back end of the building. I took a lot of pictures of the tops of the columns, which are called capitals, and am hoping to sketch some of them soon because each one was intricate and completely unique.

Next we made the farther drive to Piensa, an ideal town in Tuscany. The rolling hills surrounding the town, dotted with farm houses and sitting under a sunny blue sky were exactly what you would picture when you think of the Italian countryside. Piensa is truly what they call an “ideal” town because it was one of the first cities in Italy to be planned, meaning having one town square where all the main buildings are located, with straight roads running directly through town. Compared to the mess of side streets and jumbled roads that is Viterbo, I could tell a huge difference. Viterbo was medieval whereas Piensa was built during the early Renaissance. It was a great little town, and as we looked out from the garden over the countryside, it was a great chance to relax and realize once again that yes, this is real life and we're living it every day here in Italy for the semester.   

Basilica San Paolo

Some might call it a failed attempt to visit Ostia Antica (the ancient Roman port city), but I like to think of it as a little adventure to see one of Rome's lesser known treasures. St. Paul's Basilica, unlike the famous St. Peter's in the heart of Vatican City, is situated in a remote area of Rome, outside the old city walls where few tourists stumble upon it unless they go there purposefully. It just so happened that my friend Brian and I had heard about St. Paul's Basilica only a few days before that, and there was a stop on the train to Ostia called Basilica San Paolo, so we jumped off and went for it. When in Rome, right?

The area looked a little sketchy at first and we wondered if it had been a good decision to get off the train, but then we rounded the corner and saw the massive church and bell tower, and we knew this was our place. I am astounded that something so massive and beautiful is talked about so little. The inside of the basilica was so beautiful and grand that it's difficult to describe or show the scale in pictures, but the sheer size of the marble columns is enough to make a person feel extremely small. Standing in the middle of the open hall surrounded by portraits of all the popes, with St. Paul himself entombed right under our feet, and only about 10 other people in whole church, I was able to just stand in peace and quite, turn in a circle and just marvel at my surroundings. I think all the time, “I can't believe I am living in Italy,” and that was definitely another one of those moments for me similar to when I was in St. Peter's last month that made me think how awesome it was that I could just come see something so amazing two hours away from Viterbo. Needless to say, we spent so much time at St. Paul's that the gates for Ostia were closing by the time we finally got there, but even missing that I had a fantastic day and got to see something that maybe no one else in our USAC group will go to see. 

"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."