An Italian Summer

“�Italy,�and�the�spring,�and�first�love�all together�should�suffice�to�make�the�gloomiest�person�happy.”

Bertrand Russell

8 Florence

9Florence

During my study abroad program in Italy, Florence became my home away from home. However, I wouldn’t have predicted this on the day we arrived. After an eight hour flight and a two hour bus ride, I was exhausted, irritable, and already a little homesick. To make matters worse, our hotel was without air conditioning during the hottest time of the year. My initial thought was, “This is going to be a long five weeks.” But the culture shock wore off after a day or so and I, along with my companions, set out to explore our new home. Travelling the city on foot, we were able to experience Florence more intimately. We hit up the best cafés and restaurants, top notch retail stores, and the most popular museums and tourist attractions. One of our most memorable excursions was attending a professional soccer game between Italy and Belgium. We went to the game wearing the colors of the Italian team and immersed ourselves in the pandemonium that is European football. Further exploring the culture of Italy, we took a short bus ride to Fiesole, a town on the hilltops overlooking Florence. At Fiesole we had the chance to see ruins of the Etruscans, the people of ancient Italy. In our quest to fully appreciate Italian culture, we sampled traditional food and wine at a local vineyard. All in all, my time in Florence was amazing. I fell in love with the city, and I can honestly say it is my favorite of all the places I visited in Italy.

Florence

10 Florence

Vendor at a local wine shop Santa Maria Novella train station

The street on which we stayed at the Hotel Patrizia

11Florence

12 Florence

Walking toward the Piazza della Repubblica

Narrow courtyard between the two wings of the Uffizi

13Florence

View of Via Montebello from our room at the hotel

14 Florence

15Florence

Paolo showing his team spiritFans at the Italy-Belgium soccer game

16 Florence

The Duomo

17Florence

The Campanile seen from the top of the Duomo

On a group trip to the Duomo

18 Florence

Portion of a wall that encompassed Florence during the Renaissance

Stairs leading to San Miniato

19Florence

San Miniato

20 Florence

Views of the city from San Miniato

21Florence

22 Florence

The Castello Il Palagio vineyard

23Florence

Sonya posing in front of wine barrels

24 Florence

Etruscan ruins in Fiesole

25Florence

Arsani enjoying a glass bottled Coke

26 Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre

One of the most memorable days of my trip to Italy is when we visited Cinque Terre, a cluster of five villages located on Italy’s Mediterranean coast. Part of Cinque Terre’s appeal is that it’s a quiet, rural, coastal community. Although it’s still a clear tourist attraction, Cinque Terre was somehow free of the commotion found in Italy’s busier urban areas. A distinct feature of the site is its remote location. The only forms of transportation between the towns are walking paths, trains, and boats, as cars are unable to reach them from the outside.

Captivated by Cinque Terre, we spent the day walking between the five villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. Most of the trails wind through olive orchards and vineyards, while offering views of the bay and glimpses of the approaching towns. The layout of the villages was unique in the way the terraces and buildings have been arranged along the cliff sides. The streets are narrow and crooked, lined with colorful old houses stacked haphazardly on top of one another. Throughout Manarola,

covered boats of all kinds lined the main street. Hiking between the villages was enjoyable, although we finished the main trail into Corniglia with a climb of 368 stairs. One exception to the general layout is Monterosso, which feels more like a beach resort with modern apartment blocks and hotels. The trip to Cinque Terre was a refreshing alternative to lively Florence and offered some insight to the atmosphere of the Italian coast.

27Cinque Terre

28 Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore

29Cinque Terre

The train tunnel leading into Riomaggiore

30 Cinque Terre

Sites in Cinque Terre

31Cinque Terre

32 Cinque Terre

33Cinque Terre

Cliffs overlooking the Italian Riviera

Enjoying the day in Vernazza

34 Cinque Terre

35Cinque Terre

Colorful buildings in Vernazza

36 Venice

37Venice

Venice

It’s safe to say Venice is completely different from any other place I’ve seen. Touring the city was really an adventure in itself. In order to get to the main island, we had to take a water taxi from a station on one of the nearby islands. Upon entering Venice through the Grand Canal, rows of warm-hued buildings lined the waterway on either side. I was fascinated by the way the water came right up to the doorsteps. It was also strange to be in a city completely void of cars. Numerous bridges link the islands to one another, yet a main form of

transportation is motor boats. Even the police department and the postal service travel by boat around the city. Something I was surprised to see were large trees and vegetation on a few of the terraces. It was really a strange sight to see trees surrounded by water rather than dirt or grass. One of the places I enjoyed seeing the most is the famed Piazza San Marco, said to be one of the few great urban spaces in Europe where human voices prevail over the sounds of motorized traffic. During most of the day in Venice, we were free

to walk through the city and explore. The alleyways created a sort of maze, causing us to get turned around several times… but we didn’t mind as it gave us an excuse to see more of the city. Along the high tourist areas, we encountered a number of artists painting and selling their artwork. I bought a couple paintings for keepsakes. We were only able to spend a day in Venice, but it’s one of the places I enjoyed the most.

38 Venice

Views from the Grand Canal

39Venice

The Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal

40 Venice

Traffic along the Grand Canal

41Venice

Gondola on a canalPolice boat

42 Venice

The Basilica and the Doge’s Palace at Piazza San Marco

43Venice

Tourists in Venice

44 Venice

Shawn sporting a Venetian-style mask

45Venice

Gondolas

46 Rome

Rome

We didn’t have the chance to visit Rome until the last few days of our trip. Looking back, this was better as Rome was slightly overwhelming. Our hostel was located in Ostia, a large neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Much of our time was divided between enjoying the beach on the Tyrrhenian Sea and exploring the city. During the first day in Rome, we spent our time visiting some of the main tourist sites. On the way to the Colosseum we passed the Circus Maximus, which was used for entertainment and chariot races. The Colosseum and Arch of Constantine were the perfect introduction to the vast history of Rome. From there, we walked to the Pantheon. We passed a number of

archaeological sites, such as the ruins of the Roman Forum. It was astonishing to me how people could just go about their daily routines, appearing impassive to the historical remnants of Rome. In my opinion, the Pantheon was one of the most interesting places we visited because of its use as both a temple to the Roman gods and a Roman Catholic church. We also made a stop at the famed Trevi Fountain, the largest Baroque fountain in Rome. Legend holds that if a visitor tosses a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Towards the end of our stay in Rome we visited the Vatican. The architecture of St. Peter’s Square was breathtaking in its size and ornament.

The interior of St. Peter’s Basilica is large enough to hold 60,000 people. It is lavishly decorated with marble, stucco, gilt, sculptures, and mosaics. Also inside the basilica can be found Michelangelo’s Pietà and Bernini’s baldacchino. In the Vatican Museums we were able to see a number of great artworks, including the Laocoön�sculpture, the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael’s The�School�of�Athens. I loved seeing Rome and having the chance to experience the sites and history I’ve learned about over the years.

47Rome

48 Rome

The Circus Maximus, which was used for entertainment and chariot races

The Roman Forum

49Rome

Porta San Paolo, a gate in the 3rd-century Aurelian Wall

50 Rome

The Colosseum

51Rome

The Arch of Constantine

52 Rome

The Trevi Fountain

53Rome

Statue of Julius Caesar

The Pantheon

54 Rome

55Rome

St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican

This book chronicles my trip to Italy while participating in the KIIS program during the Summer of 2008.

The layout was assembled with Adobe InDesign, and published through Blurb. All photographs were taken by myself, Stephanie Netherton, and then enhanced with Adobe Photoshop.

The text is set in Adobe Jenson Pro, designed by Robert Slimbach in 1996. Adobe Jenson Pro is an old style serif typeface. Its Roman styles are based on a Venetian oldstyle text face cut by Nicolas Jenson in 1470, and its italics are based on those by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi. Adobe Jenson Pro was chosen for this book due to its Italian influences and organic characteristics.

The body text is set at 11 on 14, while the captions are set at 10. The page size is 12.5" by 10.625".