Last image of Florence

The Ponte Vecchio by Abby

Last class this morning!

We had our last official class period on this grey Friday morning! We learned about the history of theater, and we toured the Teatro della Pergola, which was built by the Medici in the 17th century as their personal theater, and then opened to the paying public around 1720 (correct any errors, please, Sherry!)
We will meet tomorrow night for our farewell dinner at the Osteria dei Benci. Pictures coming soon!
I sense we are all feeling a mix of emotions; sadness about the end of interim and leaving Florence and happiness about returning to home, friends and family.

Today in Fiesole

Today we went up to Fiesole, a little town in the hills above Florence. We visited the Cathedral, San Francesco and the archaeological excavations of the Etruscan and Roman cities. We had a fabulous lunch in a little osteria, and took a hike up Monte Ceceri.

Here is a view of the Roman theater in Fiesole


And here is the group!

The last couple of days...

A view of the Synagogue

We are wrapping up things here in Florence. The cold front from Russia blew in the other day, and life is nearly Minnesota cold. We have been exploring nineteenth and twentieth-century Florence. On Tuesday we looked at the paintings of the Macchiaioli (19th-century painters concerned with Italian unification and the study of light) at the Gallery of Modern Art in the Palazzo Pitti, visited the 19th-century synagogue and learned about the history of the Jewish community in Florence. Yesterday morning we talked about Fascism and learned about the architecture of the Florence train station, built by Giovanni Michelucci from 1932-35.

Yesterday afternoon we were treated to a lecture by Niall Atkinson. Niall told us about his current research project on the function of architecture, images and bells (yes, bells!) in the Ciompi (woolworkers) revolt in Florence in 1378. We looked at Orsanmichele, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the Badia in the context of his talk. It was so interesting that I hardly noticed the numbness in my toes!


Here is Linnea's image of Nanni di Banco's Four Crowned Martyrs from the exterior of Orsanmichele. (This is a copy of the sculpture, the original is in a museum.)


The belltowers of the Bargello and the Badia by Rachael.

Various pictures

In Piazza San Marco


In the Jungle Room


Up near San Miniato

What's up with the sunglasses?

Free weekend highlights

Parma baptistery, by Linnea


Siena, Piazzo del Campo, by Abby


Ravenna, Sant'Apollinare in Classe, by Chris

English Cemetery - Free weekend

Today is the first day of the students' free weekend. Some have gone to Siena, some to Rome, others to Ravenna and one as far as Germany.

Yesterday we ended class at the Protestant Cemetery in Florence, the burial place of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Jean-Pierre Vieusseux, an 18-19th-century Swiss intellectual who lived and studied in Florence.

I have added pictures and additional posts to the blog, so be sure to scroll all the way down.


An image of the cemetery by Chris

Chris turns 22!

Here are some pictures from Chris' birthday party at the "beach house"!


Almost everyone was there


The Beach Boys sporting fashionable ties

San Marco and the Uffizi

Rachael's image of the Uffizi, designed by Vasari for his patron Cosimo I

Today was quite busy! We took in the dominican monastery of San Marco in the morning, where we studied Savonarola and Fra Angelico. In the afternoon we went to the Uffizi, where we studied the history of Florentine painting. Most of the students are planning a second trip to the Uffizi; we were all overcome by Stendahl syndrome!

Domestic life in Florence

Apartment living is suiting us well on the whole. Everyone seems to have adjusted well to living and cooking on their own. Unfortunately there have been a few serious arguments. Apparently red sauce brings out the worst in St. Olaf students.

Tornati a Firenze

We are back in Florence now! And soon after our return we made a pilgrimage to see Michelangelo's David. Linnea made a drawing of the sculpture from the most interesting angle :-)

The obligatory pigeon pictures

Here they are!

Florentine Oles in Venice

The group at the foot of the Rialto bridge in Venice


We are currently in Venice. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and settled into our hotel (see the link at right). On Friday we toured the city with Howard Fitzpatrick, who I think we will all agree was quite a character! We visited the major churches in the city and got a good sense of the topography and architectural character of Venice. We finished up at the basilica of San Marco. This morning, we visited the Accademia with Venetian painting specialist Elizabeth Consavari and took in a good dose of Vivarini, Carpaccio, Bellini, Titian and Tiepolo (the painter, not the famous Evans-Taliaferro dog). Currently, we are exploring Venice on our own. I imagine students will soon be posting pictures of themselves covered with pigeons! We return to Florence tomorrow morning.


Students enjoy hot chocolate at the famous cafe Florian following their visit to San Marco.

Mendicants in Florence

Amy in Santa Croce


Today we visited the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella and the Franciscan church of Santa Croce. A good time was had by all! At Santa Maria Novella, we saw Masaccio's Trinity, the frescoes by Ghirlandaio commissioned by the Tournabuoni family, Brunelleschi's Crucifix, Orcagna's Strozzi altarpiece...and so much more! At Santa Croce we discussed Giotto's cycle of the life of Francis in the Bardi chapel, the Peruzzi chapel and the Franciscan qualities of the architecture. Unfortunately much of Santa Croce is under scaffolding. As the students will surely confirm, the coolest thing at Santa Croce was the elaborate model of the Nativity set up underneath the church!



Here is one of Alex's pictures of the Nativity scene, or Presepio, that was set up in the crypt of Santa Croce in celebration of the Feast of Epiphany.

Belltower scaled successfully

Today the students discussed Florentine campanilismo and climbed Giotto and Talenti's belltower. The view was breathtaking.

Visit to San Vivaldo and San Gimignano

The sculpture of the Veronica from the Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo


On Sunday, we went with Prof. Medina Lasansky to the Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo, which is about an hour away from Florence. The site was built by Franciscans in the 1500s as a replica of the Holy Land, and wealthy Florentine families paid for the little chapels and the relief sculptures inside them. Instead of undertaking a dangerous and expensive pilgrimage to the Holy Land, pilgrims could come to San Vivaldo and meditate on the realistically painted terracotta images of the Passion. Here is a link for more information: http://www.visitmontaione.com/en/sightseeing/sanvivaldo.htm. And hopefully some of our St. Olaf pilgrims will post images and comments! I am sure everyone has something to say about the art and the delicious lunch.


The group at lunch

After lunch, we made a brief visit to San Gimignano, where Prof. Lasansky talked about the Fascist reconstruction of the medieval city and the promotion of Italian tourism in the 1920s and 30s. Here is one of Alex's images of the reconstructed medieval towers.

Today we visited the Baptistery

Students study the baptistery mosaics

Today we visited the baptistery, arguably one of the most important structures in the city. St. John the Baptist is the city's patron saint, after all!

Up to San Miniato

On the feast of the Epiphany, we made a pilgrimage up to the church of San Miniato, located on a hill just south of the late thirteenth-century city gates. Here are some of us on our walk up the hill.


Almost there...the facade beckons!


We visited the crypt of the church, where the relics of San Miniato, one of Florence's only early Christian martyrs, were placed when the church was built in the 11th century. The relics are in the little casket inside of the altar.

We are here, all is well

A view of the city from the top of the cathedral dome.

We arrived in Florence yesterday around 12:30, and we settled into our apartments. Everything has gone very smoothly! The planes were all on time, and with the exception of some problems with heat, which have been resolved, the apartments are all good. We visited the cathedral and climbed Brunelleschi's dome this morning. The students are all in Italian class right now. After class, we will go have ice cream at Perche` No, my favorite gelateria in Florence. Hopefully students will write about their experiences and post some pictures in the next few days. Ciao! Nancy