Modigliana, Brisighella

On Thursday the 27th we took a two day trip to the small towns of Modigliana and Brisighella, of which both are famous for their olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  We stayed in a quaint agriturismo that looked out onto the town of Modigliana and also served us all our meals.  When we first arrived we ate a late lunch consisting of two courses. The first was various meats served with cheese and the second was pasta with a tomato sauce, but the most memorable taste was the balsamic serve with the bread.  It was the most delicious balsamic i've ever tasted; it was sweet but sharp and went perfectly with the olive oil. 

 

                
After lunch we headed out into the town to film our second documentary.  We started off by filming shots of the city and then ended up filming a shopkeeper playing his saxophone and clarinet for us.  That night we had another excellent meal at the argriturismo then had a short session of night class and watched the Iranian film "The Circle" while feasting on after dinner appetizers.  It was so nice being in the mountains where the air is clean and the noises and smells of the city are far off in the distance.  

That morning we headed to Brisghella around ten where we toured a clock tower and a small castle that sat high above the town.  Around lunch time we visited a little shop that specializes in olive oil and had a tasting session.  We learned just how much goes into making olive oil and the varieties sold throughout the store. Needless to say it was the best olive oil I've ever tasted.  I bought plenty of goods from the store consisting of olive oil, balsamic, olive and wine soap, and caramelized figs; all of which my family is sure to enjoy.

Overall I loved visiting Modigliana, Brisghella, and even Ravenna.  I love seeing parts of Italy that aren't thriving with tourists and have a special spirit all to their own.

Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius

Needless to say I was able to pack as much sightseeing into my three day weekend as possible.  On Sunday I woke up around 6am to take a tour of Pompeii and climb the only active volcano in Europe, Mt. Vesuvius.  The bus left around 7:30, and on the way our tour guides kept us entertained with facts about Italy and the towns we were passing through.  We arrived first in Pompeii and took a tour of the 2000 year old city.  It was remarkable to see mosaic floors, piping systems, crosswalks, and buildings still in tact.  When Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. it affected many towns in the area, but in the case of Pompeii it preserved the city.  At one point during the tour we were able to see two bodies preserved by volcanic ash, with expressions of fear still seen on their faces.

a panorama view of the gladiator school and the music theater

view from the square of vesuvius

outside the city

one of the bodies covered in volcanic ash

After we ate lunch at the Tiberius restruant we took the bus part of the way to the top of Mt. Vesuvius.  The rest of the way we were told to walk, which wasn't bad at all because it was only about a mile (but a mile of complete incline, haha).  The more we walked the better the view.  You could see the entire bay of Naples and the crater of Vesuvius.  Orginally Vesuvius was much taller, but the eruption in 79 A.D. was so drastic it literally blew the top off.

panorama of the bay from the top of the mountain

panorama of the crater

Roma

This past weekend was a three day weekend for all of us, and so we decided to visit the eternal city--Roma.  On Friday morning, June 21st, I took the 10:35 train from Bologna to Rome.  I arrived a little before one and took a taxi to the cheap bed and breakfast/hostel I booked just hours before.  At first I couldn't even find the place and was asking EVERYONE.  Finally after a couple phone calls I discovered it was on the third floor of building 17 and you needed two different keys just to get in (so I immediately felt safer).  After I got settled in I began reviewing a map of Rome and set off in the direction of Via Cavour, the street where my dear friend Brittany Roe's hotel was located.  About halfway I stumbled upon the Santa Maria Maggiore church.  I noticed all the tourists outside the building so I decided to venture in, and luckily I already had a cardigan with me to cover my shoulders so I didn't have to wear an embarrassing used shawl.  

As soon as I stepped in I was in awe.  It seems every church I've been to in Italy is more beautiful than the last.  Of course there were mosaics and gold encrusted ceilings, but my favorite part was the Borgias family crest set in the middle of the ceiling.  The Borgias had two members of their family serve as Pope, and the second generation Papal family is notorious for being the original crime family.  Their climb to power was a bloody one; the daughter Lucrezia is known for poisoning her families enemies, her brother Cesare is known for killing his own brother and leading the Papal army, and their father is known for being the puppet master of the family.

Later that night after I met up with Brittany I went out to eat with her and some new friends from Jonesboro.  For an appetizer I tried mozzarella served with cherry tomatoes, and it was delicious! I've never liked tomatoes, but with a little balsamic vinegar and mozzarella balls they are delicious.  For dinner I had gnocchi, potato filled pasta, once again because it is easily my favorite dish thus far.

Afterwards we walked down to the Colosseum to see it all lit up at night, which was absolutely breathtaking.  Then we all went to have some delicious gelato and I chose to have a mix of cantaloupe and peach, by far my best combination yet.

The next morning, after grabbing breakfast at a local bar, my film group and I headed to the Colosseum to take a tour. We then took the subway to Vatican City, grabbed lunch at a pizzeria, and then waited in line for about two hours to get inside the church.  Once inside I felt like an ant in the Grand Canyon; it was much more grand than I expected.  There were various rooms, nooks, chapels, and glorious religious statues around every corner.  We walked around for at least an hour and still didn't see everything.

 

Afterwards we took the subway to the Trevi Fountain.  Once we arrived a local led us to the tourist surrounded fountain.  Once again I was surprised; it was much more grand than I expected.  After pushing through rows of tourists I was able to take picture and toss a coin into the shallow blue water.  Afterwards we all sat down to dinner nearby at the Hostaria Trevi, and once again I had gnocchi.

A Visit to the Restoration Lab

On Wednesday, June 19th, we all visited the film restoration lab in Bologna.  We took a tour and learned the basic processes of restoring film.  We were first taken to the room where they physically repair the film with chemicals, and repair seams between each piece.  As soon as we walked in we were struck with all sorts of smelly chemicals, but for those repairing the film the smell is completely non-existant.  We got our first glimpses of original films from both the Lumiere brothers and Charlie Chaplin.

hard at work restoring film

Lumiere footage

                                                        

Charlie Chaplin's film Gold Rush

We also visited the sound booth and various computer labs where students and interns were hard at work restoring classic films such as Rome Open City.  The restoration lab is a private facility funded by various foundations and clients.  For example, the Martin Scorsese World Cinema Foundation.  Overall visiting the lab was a surreal and wonderful experience.

 Torre degli Asinelli: Asinelli Tower

Towering above the Piazza Ravegnana are the famous two towers of Bologna.  There are many towers in Bologna but the Asinelli Tower and the Garisenda Tower (which is leaning) are the most famous, and sit diagonally from the Piazza Maggiore where the fountain of Neptune can be seen.  On Sunday a few of us decided to pay a couple euro's and climb the tallest tower, the Asinelli.  So we climbed the narrow staircases of each level, stopping every once and a while to peek through the square openings and out into the city.

climbing the stairs to the top

a view through one of the square opening

a downward view of the city with a shadow of the Asinelli tower

Once we reached the top we were greeted with a great gust of wind and a 360 degree view of Bologna.  From one point you could see the more modern area of the city, and from another you could see the older section with a backdrop of rolling hills and cropland.  You could even see the outline of the Sanctuary of San Luca, another famous viewing area of the city atop a high hill. 

a view with San Luca seen far off in the distance,
somewhat center to the picute

Prima Settimana: Week One

So far my study abroad trip in Bologna, Italy has been tremendous and is everything I hoped it would be.  I began my travels from Little Rock to Denver to Frankfurt, then to Bologna.  Once I reached my destination, after a couple mishaps and flight delays, my body didn't recognize jet lag any longer and I was numb with excitement.  When I arrived at the Italian student dorms I dropped my things and headed out to a local bar with the other five students, was able to buy a drink and recieve a free meal, sort of an antipasti  (appetizer).  This is one of the great benefits of bars in Italy, the delicious food.  In the mornings they cook mountains of pastries; everything from nuttella filled brioche to canolis that are deliciously displayed in windows.  If you buy any kind of drink throughout the day, even non-alcholic, they serve you a little something to munch on.  Around five pm they bring out the antipasti displays.  All you have to do is spend five to seven euro and you gain access to a buffet of Italian appetizers, which is very economical for any college student.

On Monday we got a run down of what our classes were to be like, took a tour of Bologna, and went to the Bologna Cineteca library that specializes in restoring film.  When we walked in you could see tables filled with production and post production materials from past films.  On one table there were original drawings, notes, etc. from some of Charlie Chaplin's films, it was such a surreal experience.  That night we went to the house of an Italian chef and mingled with other Italians while eating a tradition Italian dinner.  In Italy they serve several courses; the first is just an appetizer, then comes the first course (usually pasta), the second (usually a meat dish), and then dolce! (dessert)  Definitely a great start to the week.

On Tuesday we began our classes, in the mornings we have Italian survival classes and in the afternoons we have film class.  This week we've learned the basic concepts of Neorealism and Documentary film (because they are closely related).  So far we've watched Uomini Sul Fondo (S.O.S Submarine) by De Robertis, Roma Citta Aperta by Rosellini.  We also had a short workshop on how to use production equipment for our documentary assignments.

On Friday we visited the town of Ravenna and started our first documentary.  In the morning we had a tour of the city, then we ate some lunch at a a local winery famous for their ravioli and caramelized figs, and in the afternoon we shot all of our footage.  Ravenna is famous for being known as a sinking city, and creating beautiful mosaics.  The city was originally built on the beach, but the sea level has decreased since then and the beach is about ten minutes away.  Underneath the city there is sand and water, which obviously is unstable, and thus the city is gradually sinking.  Every couple of centuries new floors are built, new doors are created, and you can see the outline of past doors on various churches.  Every once in a while the city has to be drained of water.  Throughout various churches, mosaics can be seen on the ceilings, the walls, and the floors looking as they did centuries ago because they are the eternal paintings.  At one point during our tour we visited a studio where mosaics were being made, and saw various completed modern pieces.  We also had chance to visit Dante's tomb.

the original floor in one of the churches, and the delicious food at the winery!