We woke up extra early this morning in order to catch a bus to the high speed train station. The bullet train made quick work of the long voyage through the countryside to Florence. As we arrived, the first thing we same was the Duomo, or the Florence Cathedral. This is probably the tallest dome … Continue reading Day Eight: The journey to Florence by Alexander Baldwin
On Day 8 we traded the metropolis of more for the somewhat smaller but historical city of Florence. Florence is a more modern city compared to Rome but it was extremely important during the Renaissance and was very wealthy during that time period. Florence at the time was a republic but it was struggling to … Continue reading Day Eight: Florence and the statue of David by Cole Walters
After a busy night in the Vatican Museums, we all were tired and needed a little break. While we may have needed a break, we still were anxious to go and see more of Rome. We all met in the lobby at 8:45 for a tour of Castel Sant’Angelo, the castle that we were supposed … Continue reading A piece of Roman history by William Moorhead
Today we had an official tour of St. Peter’s Basilica. It was awesome to hear all of the intricate details to each meticulously crafted aspect of the building. One of the things that I found interesting was how even though the building was commenced under one specific Pope, there was so much in the Basilica … Continue reading St. Peter’s Basilica and Castel Sant’Angelo. by Sydney Merritt
This fine Saturday morning, we returned to St. Peter’s Basillica (and we didn’t climb 28 stories of stairs). This was the morning that we finally saw one of the most recognizable pieces of sculpture, one that happened to be Michelangelo’s big break. Christ is laying in the shape of an S on Mary’s lap, something the … Continue reading Michelangelo and Brunelleschi! by Sara-Kay West
Yesterday was our last day of class! (in Italy, anyways.) Going in to these two courses, I barely had much of an understanding on either of the subjects at all. However, nearing the end of them I feel that I have learned so much about each of them. I had absolutely no idea what to … Continue reading Day 6! International Relations in Markets and the Vatican Museum by Sydney Merritt
The past two days have been a whirlwind of emotion for me (in a good way), but I would like to discuss them tomorrow so that I may spend an appropriate amount of time making sure I have properly portrayed my experiences. Instead, in this post at least, I shall discuss some cultural aspects of … Continue reading Things I learned while Studying Abroad in Italy (Part 1) by Sara-Kay West
Well as every day starts, I woke up. Today was no exception to my 5 o’clock inner alarm but this time I decided to actually get up. You know. Move the muscles and old bones. So I was the only person down for breakfast and I enjoyed my croissant and yogurt. Then I came back … Continue reading The Vatican from the inside by Daniella Sanchez
It’s been such a magnificent day! Woke up this morning to take an official tour of St. Peter’s Basilica with Jill as our guide. How could it get any better? Well, for starters, we got to see Michelangelo’s Pieta. Let me stop here and just admit that I cried. We were there, standing in front … Continue reading Dodge Challenger’s Big Italy Adventure: Wide and Teary Eyed by Eritha Cainion
On this day in Rome, as I walked through the city, I saw all kinds of races of people from all over the world trying to trade with pedestrians passing by. Some of the people chase you down for a half a city block just to tell you about their great prices on “real” goods. … Continue reading Exploring Rome and touring the atican Museum and the Sistine Chapel by Alexander Baldwin