Anybody and Everybody,

I'm in Florence! It took quite the ordeal to get here and get settled, but I have had all of my classes for the first week, moved in to my apartment, got internet, and a (much cheaper) international cell phone. If anybody wants to call me on that number, from the United States, you have to dial 001 39 335 714 6356. My classes seem like they will be a good deal of work, though having each one only once a week gives me plenty of time to complete any and all homework. I just hope I won't be distracted by the city! I had my first chance to walk around today, and it is simply stunning here. The architecture spans centuries, and it seems there is a bit of history at every turn. A good deal of the roads here are even named after famous artists! Being an art history minor, that definitely makes it a good deal easier to get around...just think, all i have to do to get home is take Via Cimabue to Via Fra Giovanni Angelico! The only thing I could possibly complain about is the weather, as it is very damp and cold here. Nonetheless, I am making a concerted effort to enjoy every minute that I am in this beautiful city. With the incredible Florentine food and culture, it's very hard not too. Italian food in America is, without being offensive, a joke compared to food here. Not only does the food here contain no perservatives, but the cooks also prepare most (if not all) dishes with very high quality olive oil instead of butter, which makes everything a good deal healthier. The nutjob coordinator of the program, Dr. Francesco Convertini, was born and raised a Florentine and while having 800 things to say about everything else, he contends that eating and living here will make me lose weight! Not that I am overweight, but it seems highly unlikely that eating a good deal more food(each full meal here should consist of AT LEAST three large courses) at every meal, however healthy, will encourage weight loss. Perservatives or not, I just don't see that happening. Regardless, everything is so tasty and I guess healthier, so I'm just going to keep walking and eating and see what happens.

My stay in Rome, although brief, was incredible. The three-day trip was beset by horrible weather, and it rained almost every day. Nonetheless, I bundled up and managed to make my way through some of the more impressive museums I have ever been in. The Villa Borghese itself is soemthing to behold in the day, though the collection of art is just to-die-for. They limit tours to two hours, which seems a bit short considering the enormous size of the collection, though I definitely extended my stay for at least a half hour past the limit. There are several Bernini sculptures, including the masterful Rape of Proserpine, where the fingers of Pluto are clearly indenting the skin of the young Goddess and basis for springtime. This, along with his almost miniature version of David, are incredibly striking and most definitely require 360 degree viewing to fully appreciate Scipione Borghese's favorite artist's skill. In addition to these wonderful sculptures, the collection also contains no less than five paintings by my personal favorite artist, Caravaggio, all housed in one beautifully decorated room. The sick Bacchus, an almost disturbing representation of the Roman god of wine, along with the slightly homo-erotic Boy with a Basket of Fruit are striking in their attention to detail and provide terrific examples of Caravaggio's masterful depiction of fruit and leaves. Everything is shown, down to the veins on the leaves and the purplish tinge of Bacchus' lips. Also in the room were David with the head of Goliath (believed to be a self-portrait), an image of an old, frail Saint Jerome as well as the Madonna dei Palafrenieri, which was reportedly refused by the patrons due to the almost crude realism used by the artist in his portrayal of very holy characters. I must have spent close to thirty minutes in this room, and had to remind myself of the other treasures waiting for me in order to simply leave. More to come about Rome in the next entry, along with the few pictures I did manage to take.