Italy Series: Hilltowns// Abbazia di San Galgano

If I were to say that the Hill towns trip was the most challenging trip for me at the time, I would have to also say it had the best, most breathtaking unexpected sites to see. This one was my favorite of all, somehow the time we arrived, the weather, the location and the ruin all made the experience of this rather isolated site quite uplifting. Unlike a lot of the churches and museums we had visited, this was the the carcass of a beautiful building, completely open and un-policed. We could walk through it, around and comfortably study the architecture without feeling like if you leaned too close to the wall or touched it even..you'd be immediately tossed out.   

It was early morning when we arrived, I didn't know what expect and I was in charge of the 24 or so students along with a bus driver who spoke no English ( I spoke no Italian) . Looking back on it now, I was way too young to handle the pressure but I'd never trade the experience. We got off the bus, groggy and a bit chilly, the sun was coming up over the valley and we wondered over, there really was no agenda here but to wonder around and sketch. It was a bit of a relief from the tension that had been going on amongst the group. I took advantage of it..I may have even smiled..

 

 This place was breathtaking, it was completely serene, quiet, and inspiring. If I had my way, I'd have had my wedding here. It seems like such a perfect location to unite and begin a new journey.

Italy Series: Rome: Saint Peter's Square

Set up for Papal Audience - Vatican Rome

With Pope Benedict XVI about to celebrate his last mass as Pope, I recall my visit to the Vatican. It is vast, massive, beautifully detailed, extremely captivating and very intimidating. As you approach it depending on your location, your perception of the piazza is different. If you approach from Via della Conciliazione which is a street roughly 500 metres (1,600 ft) in length,which connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo and is the primary access to the square, you will immediately see the immense collanade that flank the Basilica but will not feel the full size of the piazza until you reach the end of the road and actually enter the Piazza. I visited St. Peters Square about four times while we were in Italy and each time I felt more captivated by the magnitude of the Architecture, the crowds ( not your average tourists, the intensity of the space. It was probably the most profound and contested public space in the world. Although I never actually participated in a Papal Audience, I did get to witness the preparations for it one morning. 

I visited the Vatican three times in the four months we lived in Rome and each time it still remained dynamic both experientially and phenomenally.

Italy Series: Rome: Pantheon

 

The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD

I still remember the moment I first saw this building..it was amazing. All we could say to each other was.."wow". Everything about it, its scale, materials, detailing and phenomenal effects is just fantastic. Once we settled into a routine in Roma, we actually walked through Piazza della Rotonda and by the Pantheon several times a week going to and from our Italian class (yes, ..we took Italian with the students!) Imagine that commute everyday, meandering through the tight cobblestone streets, watching the ever-so stylish Italian women walk gracefully while I try not to lose me heels, seeing amazing structures along the way.. I'll trade NYC any day for that walk to work.

From Trastevere, we approached the Pantheon from the back and it appears to be completely unassuming, I think we initially started taking pictures of this statue in a smaller Piazza just before you reach it and the husband then noticed the back of the building and says "I think that might be the Pantheon.."..imagine that! We walked up and sure enough, there it was..we gazed at it in amazement then realized we were about to be late for Italian class so we rushed off. For the next four months, we would visit the Pantheon on our own, with family when they visited and of course walked by it almost everyday. Good morning Pantheon..hah.

The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda." (..via)

On the inside, the Oculus provides an intense amount of natural light and the scale of the coffered dome becomes apparent. The ornate detail is beautiful and even though the space is filled with people at any given time, the acoustics of the Dome made it feel almost like we were alone. 

details on the columns

Underside of the exterior Portico

base of column