Our first week of classes officially ended today. After Italian with Gloria, we had our first field trip with Rocky (for our Italian Art class). We met Rocky in the Piazza della Repubblica at noon and received little headsets to hear him while he lectured on the architecture all around us.
He described how Florence was the first Roman Forum (political, religious and commercial center) and pointed out that the Piazza is located at the crossroads of Cardo, the first "highway" in Italy and the only direct route to present-day Roma from Firenze, and Decamanus, the east to west highway.
We learned why Firenze is laid out the way it is and that our current home city was the capital of Italy from 1865 to 1870.
After Piazza della Repubblica, we walked to Piazza della Signoria, home of Palazzo della Signoria, the original town hall of Firenze and the first town hall in all of Italia. We learned the stories behind some of the major statues in the Piazza (a lion symbolizing the strength of Firenze, a copy of the David, Hercules killing the thief Cacus, Judith slaying an invading general to save her city, and a nationally hated depiction of the god Neptune - seriously hated; Rocky said when the statue was first built, Florentines peed in the pool at the statue's base to show their disdain for what they considered a hideous blemish on the city).
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| I don't think it's all that bad. |
My favorite part of this whole trip though, was in Piazza della Repubblica where Rocky explained to us the inscription on the "Triumph Arch" overlooking the Piazza:
L'ANTICO CENTRO DELLA CITTA
DA SECOLARE SQUALLORE
A VITA NUOVA RESTITUITO
And that, ladies and gents, somes up the entire history of Florence: The original epicenter of the Roman Empire, crippled by the fall of Rome and four centuries of Dark Ages, rebuilt into a thriving, modern city.
Pretty cool, right? Just wait, it gets better.
La Vita Nuova is the title of one of Dante Alighieri's first (and shortest novels), written nearly 600 years before this arch was constructed. In normal Italian speech, this phrase would be written la nuova vita, but the reverse ordering of the words is a subtle tip of the hat to Firenze's most beloved writer. How many people do you think pass that arch every single day and never realize the key, the definition of this bella citta is literally hanging right above their heads?
Unbelievable.
After my mind was blown by Mr. "I'm-A-Walking-Encyclopedia-of-Italy" Rocky, I had Comparative Media again (we talked about our favorite music and how Francesca thinks she's old because she loves the Beatles... honey, don't), then went home.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening organizing my notes and reading. Erikaaaa (that's the Italian pronunciation) was in bed with a stomachache, so when Bethany got home from class, she and I got ready to go to McDonald's (I'm so ashamed to type this, but it happened; in an attempt to redeem myself, I did order a McRoyal, a burger we definitely don't have at Mickey D's in the States) with the guys.
But, as I was in the bathroom (horrible timing...) I heard a strangely familiar male voice in our living room. I finished drying my hands just in time to race out of the bathroom and wave good-bye to Niccolo, who apparently stopped by to let us know our door wasn't completely shut and also that we should never hesitate to knock on his door if we ever need anything.
This encounter certainly brightened the mood in la Casa de Aprile for the evening. We've spent a decent portion of our time since Mickey D's planning what to make Niccolo (he told us to call him Nik) for dinner in order to win his friendship (and hopefully his love...haha; we're crazy about him).
At least we learned that he doesn't hate us - in fact, he has our best interests at heart and is trying to be a very good neighbor.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go help Bethany and Erikaaa brainstorm more plausible excuses to invite Niccolo over...
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