© 2010 Lisa M Dickson   Never in my life did I ever think that I would have the amazing opportunity to visit the beautiful country of Italy.  My French high school teacher and some students were planning an EF tours trip to Europe, so I thought I would take the chance to tag along. 

Our first destination in Italy was the city of Florence, a place I had only heard of from the movie While You Were Sleeping.  Upon arriving I started taking in the culture immediately.  I noticed the old fortress-like buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, the blazing hot sun, some tiny nuns, town squares lined with medieval towers, three wheeled cars and ancient statues everywhere you look.  You cannot help but smile at the beauty of such a culture.  It was a surprisingly simple city layout, not hard to find your way anywhere.  It was in Florence that I had my first Italian meal; it was so long ago I don’t remember where I ate, but I do know it was the best pasta of my life!  Soft curly noodles smothered with a white creamy cheese sauce.  It was like heaven in my mouth, or so I thought until I got a hold of my first cup of real Italian gelato.  Words can hardly describe the smooth creamy texture of semi-frozen ice cream slithering down ones throat.  It was amazing, highly recommended to anyone in need of a cool tasty snack on a hot summer’s day.  I was able to enjoy my first cup of heaven while standing on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge at sunset.  It is the oldest and most famous bridge across the Arno River and the only Arno Bridge to survive destruction during World War II.  It was a gorgeous setting.  I do recall being disgusted by the dirty brown water flowing beneath me, perhaps coming from Switzerland where I saw some of the bluest water of my life threw me off a little, but it was all part of the enjoyable intake of Florence for me, not all cities are perfect.

One of the neat things I got to see was the Palazzo Vecchio or the Town Hall of Florence, located in the Piazza della Signoria.  This building was being worked on while I visited, but it was still pretty amazing to see.  In front of it stands an outdoor sculpture gallery holding many original statutes as well as some replicas; one of which is statue of David in the same spot where the original once stood.  Located next to the town hall is the Uffizi Gallery which houses some of the oldest and most famous art from the Western world.  I was also able to see and tour the Santa Croce Church also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories, for it is the burial place of some of the most well-known Italians such as Michelangelo, Galileo and Rossini.  Of course I was able to awe over the amazing Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore also known as the Duomo of Florence.  What an astonishing cathedral it is!  It is one of Italy’s largest churches and the dome was the largest in the world until it was passed in width by the Pantheon in Rome, however it still remains the largest brick dome ever to be constructed.  Next to the cathedral stands the Campanile di Giotto, this was designed with a red, white and green marble façade by the great artist Giotto.  In front of both of these incredible buildings stands the Florence baptistery, which contains replicas of the famous Doors of Paradise created by Ghiberti.

I was amazed at the amount of leather within the city of Florence.  I had no idea it was such a big producer of leather!  They had leather everything; books, jackets, journals, boxes, you name it.  I was able to take a tour that showed how leather was made and how to tell what true leather looks like.  I also traveled over to Mercato San Lorenzo which is an open air flea market.  They had everything you could ever think of: food, games, purses, leather and various souvenirs.  I was sure to pick up a water globe of Florence in honor of the movie While You Were Sleeping.  All in all Florence is a city one should surely dream about, it is filled with stunning culture and architecture.  Something I hope to experience again someday.

Assisi was an awesome Italian town I was able to visit for a couple hours on my way to Rome.  It sits on a gorgeous hill top surrounded by fields of sunflowers.  As you work your way up through the small narrow streets you’ll find yourself gazing upon the Assisi Cathedral also known as the Basilica of Saint Francis.  What an awesome cathedral it was!  Inside the paintings had been all worn down as if a flood had once come and swept them away.  In my short visit to Assisi I was able to crawl out of the blistering sunshine and grab some real Italian pizza and of course some more gelato.  The pizza was far different then I was use to, at least at the place that I grabbed my piece!  There were few toppings, lots of sauce and they were cut into squares, but pizza is pizza, I still ate it and it was delicious.  I hope to return to Assisi one day, for it was a cute town that deserves more then just a couple hours.

I can’t think of a better way to start off a visit to Rome than by gazing upon the miraculous Sistine Chapel.  What an incredible piece of work created by Michelangelo.  The carvings on the walls and ceiling prior to the chapel were full of color and amazement, but there are indescribable words for the work done in the Sistine Chapel.  From the Sistine Chapel I journeyed into St. Peters Cathedral, which has the largest interior space of any Christian church in the world.  What an outstanding building it is!  One of the first things I saw when I entered was Michelangelo’s Pieta, which is one of the most highly finished works he did and the only piece that he ever signed.  As I moved on I took in the art covered walls.  At first look I thought were all paintings but then stared a little harder to find that they were covered in mosaics!  I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped a little farther after that realization, I was simply awestruck.  After thinking that nothing could become more awesome then viewing the ancient sculptures and towering walls full of tiny pieces of color, I then came upon the giant central dome which was both designed and worked on my Michelangelo himself; again, simply amazing.  It was also really neat to stand outside the cathedral and see all the pillars, obelisks and Swiss guards.

After walking through the biggest church in the world, I didn’t think things could get much better, but I was wrong.  We shortly after entered into what soon became my most favorite place in all of Rome, the place that is responsible for my love of ruins to this day, the Roman Forum.  The oldest and most important structures of ancient Rome are located in the Roman Forum, for it was the central area around which the Roman civilization developed.  At the end of our walk through the forum was the long awaited Coliseum, something I never thought I would be able to see in my lifetime, let alone walk through it!  I felt like a gladiator climbing the giant steps within.  It was a miraculous feeling to be standing in an amazing structure I had learned about all my life.

Our next destination was to be under the city, in the catacombs!  It was so long ago that I don’t know which ones I was able to go see, but I do remember that it was one of the coolest and freakiest things I had ever done at that point in my life.  I remember being grateful to be underground because of the blazing hot June sun, the air down there was cold & thick, it felt good.  I wish I could have taken pictures while I was down there, so hopefully I can be descriptive.  I remember it being very rocky with narrow walls.  It reminded me a lot of what it feels like to be in a cave.  Along the narrow walls were holes cut into them, the spots where they put the bodies.  Some holes were sealed with bricks, some were part broken and others were completely stripped of their seal.  The completely sealed ones still contained bones of old bodies, which honestly freaked me out a bit as I walked past them.  I remember them turning out all the lights on us, no visible light anywhere; I could see how it would be easy to get lost down there without a guide.

After strolling through the catacombs I was able to see the amazing Fontana di Trevi, which is the large baroque fountain in Rome that holds the tradition that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain they are ensured to return to Rome.  So of course I tossed a coin in.  During my walk around Rome I took a little pit stop.  Now, I had noticed when I arrived in Italy that the bathrooms were quite different then anywhere else I had been, for the tank to the toilet was up near the ceiling! During my little pit stop I can honestly say it was the first time I have ever had toilet water rain on me after a flushing!  So note to self: bring umbrellas to the bathroom while in Italy, haha.  My next stop was the amazing Pantheon, which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome.  It is the best persevered of all Roman buildings and perhaps even the best preserved building of its age in the entire world.  As I walked in there were monks or something singing within.  It was beautiful to hear the music as it rose up and swirled around in the massive dome and then fluttered its way out through the giant hole in the top.  That was a cool building!  After the Pantheon I went and enjoyed another cup of ambrosial gelato on the Steps of Spain as I watched people pass by with their everyday lives.  To end my journey in Rome I finished off in the Navona Square, which was full of artists, music, food and plenty of souvenir stands.

Italy has carved a permanent etch into my heart.  The beauty of the land, people and architecture are all things that are hard to forget.  I only hope my coin, dropped into the Trevi fountain, finds a way to bring me back to Rome, for the trip would be well worth it to do it again.