It has been a very long time since I have updated my blog and I apologize! I have just finished a long span of planning trips and taking trips and I am happy to report that they all turned out very well. I might be splitting up the past month or so into a couple of blogs so that I can get more to you sooner.
If anyone has studied abroad before, you know that you are pretty isolated and rely a lot on your program and other students from your school to keep you company. That is how you make friends with people who you might not have ever interacted with before because now you have a shared experience. Throughout the whole five months that I have already been in Italy, I have appreciated more and more the study abroad programs in which I did participate in college. When I studied in Parma, I had many things planned out for me. In Paris, I was less in a program but still a part of an International University. Either way, I had resources and more than a handful of other Boston College and international students with whom I spent my time. This program in the region of Lombardy on the other hand is certainly less hand-holding to the point where there is not much of a structure. Probably because of this, it is really a treat to get together with other assistants who share this unique experience. Although each of us has a different situation at our respective schools, we can at least relate in our overall recognition of what one another faces.
 |
| The view of the Duomo from Town Hall, Cremona, Italy |
 |
| The bed where Napolean slept, the room above the Teachers' Lounge |
On the third weekend of January, I met the other assistants in Cremona for another "assistants' meeting." We went to Istituto Stanga, a vocational high school specializing in agriculture that is actually housed in an old palace, Palazzo Stanga. In fact, upstairs from the teachers' lounge and our meeting place, we saw the bedroom and bed where Napoleon slept when he passed through Italy. At the town hall, we heard a special performance by the "maestro" of the Stradivari violins made in Cremona [the master, expert, teacher to say that he is one of few who plays the violins on a daily basis to make sure they are kept in shape]. Finally, we returned to the Palazzo Stanga for a tasting of the typical food found in the region including polenta, cheeses and honey. The next day, we were invited to a concert rehearsal at La Scala in Milan and sat in boxes in the side balconies. We went to the Sicilian Focacceria di San Francesco where we met the President of the Anti-Mafia association in Italy. The entrepreneur refused the "pizzo" or the protection fee from the mafia in Sicily and as an example to other entrepreneurs went on to testify against the mafia boss. He lives in Milan now, but he still needs bodyguards with him always.
We finished our day in Milan and weekend with assistants at the Castello Sforzesco where we saw the Rondanini Piet
à by Michelangelo. Michelangelo was 19 years old when he did his first Piet
à and 91 when he worked on the unfinished Piet
à that rests in Milan. Michelangelo worked from one large stone and cut away from it. You can see the process of his work, where he began Jesus' face and then must have changed his mind and cut away new faces on the other side of the stone. The darker picture shows the old face with is actually on the back of Mary's head in the lighter picture I have posted. You can also see a larger arm that still needs to be cut away in the lighter picture. After Michelangelo stopped working on this particular Piet
à whether he felt it was finished or needed a break, he died two weeks later.
 |
| Castello Sforzesco / Castelvecchio |
 |
| Milan's Miraculous Duomo at Night |
Not only did the weekend give me a chance to interact with and share stories with other assistants in Lombardy, but it made me think about how amazing it is to be in a country with such rich history. Can you imagine correcting papers in a teachers' lounge below the room Napoleon slept in? Yeah, that's normal. My high school [ you saw pictures of the glass pyramid in a previous blog] is fairly new with modern architecture, but most high schools I've heard are found in old buildings or palaces. It really is impressive to find yourself in this environment on a daily basis. After going to see a movie one night in Milan, Abby and I walked out to catch a tram and walked by the Duomo lit up. Again, totally normal.
A couple of weekends later, Brescia celebrated it's patron saint's day San Faustino on February 15th. The new assistant teaching at a scientific high school in Brescia, Patrick, Abby and I took advantage of the "ponte" or bridge of the weekend and went to Barcelona. There we found what I am coming to describe as a more recently discovered and modern city. The main attractions show the modernism of the architect Antonio Gaudí. If you've never been to Barcelona, hopefully my pictures will give you enough of a glimpse of the avant-garde style of Gaudí and the entire city to understand what I mean. We went on two separate walking tours, so I feel like I grasped a good amount of the perspective around both the architect and the Catalan city.
 |
| Casa Morera on the Block of Discord |
 |
| Casa Amatller and Casa Batllo' on the Block of Discord |
 |
| Casa Batllo' on the Block of Discord |
 |
| Casa Mila' on the Block of Discord |
 |
| Gaudi's house in Parc Guell |
 |
| Parc Guell |
I will detail some thoughts on both the Block of Discord and the Parc Güell. The Block of Discord is a block of houses one outdoing the other in architecture design. The block is in the "Eixample" meaning the "Expansion" which is a neighborhood a bit outside of the old city of Barcelona. The new money from the 20th century employed architects like Gaudí to purposely build houses even more innovative than those already existing. Then, he started Parc Güell as a gated community even further away from the old city in the set up of an English Garden. There was only interest from two of his friends to add to his own house in this neighborhood. Overall, the sites are interesting - they have a real playful, yet deep, nature to them and are not something we see everyday or anymore. One of the nights, Patrick, Abby and I sat on a bench in front of the Casa Batlló all lit-up and people-watched. We just watched as tourists and Catalans passed by the house and either noticed or didn't notice what they were walking by.
 |
| Casa Batllo' lit up at night |
The next weekend I met the group of Latin students from Niskayuna high school in Rome. The first time I came to Italy or abroad in general was six years ago with my high school for a week trip over spring break. We saw Florence, Pisa, Rome, Pompeii [and Herculaneum] and a bit of Sorrento before flying out of Naples. This year, I joined their group and my former Latin teachers during their visit of ancient Rome. You can imagine that returning to the ancient history of Rome from the modern history of Barcelona was quite a contrast. We visited the Capitoline Museums, Catacombs, Baths of Caracalla, Colosseum, Roman forum and Palatine Hill.These sites were amazing as ever and reminded me why I love the foundation of Italian history being ancient Rome so much. When you think about tourist attractions and monuments in different cities, you have to consider the time period. You must approach a modern city in a different way than an ancient city. One night, before meeting the group from Niskayuna for dinner, I went and sat in front of the Pantheon. Again, I did some great people watching, remembering doing the same thing a week before in Barcelona. Here there were definitely more tourists, so more people noticed the Pantheon than people noticed the Casa Batllo' in Barcelona, regardless it makes me wonder ... what is more impressive?
 |
| Colosseum |
 |
| View of Roman Forum from Capitoline Museums |
Ancient monuments have lasted so much time that you have to respect the foundation and the history associated with them. The churches usually have massive amounts of gold and artwork inside. The modern monuments I found in Barcelona instead were made particular or important with different architecture. In a modern period, above and beyond is harder to define. Again, I ask myself what is more impressive? My personal bias leans towards ancient Rome but both are worth experiencing.
Either way, both old and new will always catch my eye as I walk by.
 |
| Abby and I looking out over Modern Barcelona |
 |
Mrs. Miller, Mr. Caffrey and I in front of Emperor Augustus'
playground on Palatine Hill in the Roman Forum |
We finished our day in Milan and weekend with assistants at the Castello Sforzesco where we saw the Rondanini Pietà by Michelangelo. Michelangelo was 19 years old when he did his first Pietà and 91 when he worked on the unfinished Pietà that rests in Milan. Michelangelo worked from one large stone and cut away from it. You can see the process of his work, where he began Jesus' face and then must have changed his mind and cut away new faces on the other side of the stone. The darker picture shows the old face with is actually on the back of Mary's head in the lighter picture I have posted. You can also see a larger arm that still needs to be cut away in the lighter picture. After Michelangelo stopped working on this particular Pietà whether he felt it was finished or needed a break, he died two weeks later. 
