Date: July 18, 2024
Location: Castiglion Fiorentino
Blogger: Vishnu Angiras ‘28
Hometown: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Ciaowdy!
We started the day with a short train ride to the neighboring city of Arezzo. It was smooth and convenient, surprising some who hadn’t been on a train before. America should take notes.
The people in our car were serenaded by wonderful renditions of “You Are My Sunshine.” We are blessed to have such talented students here with us. This may not have been possible had it not been for the work of Guido D’Arezzo, an Arezzo native who standardized music notation. A statue of him was right outside the train station.
Such statues and other prominent monuments are labeled as “fake” by our passionate tour guide Giovanni because of how relatively new they are (though these fakes often predate the founding of the United States). On the other hand, he held high praise for the frescos at the Bacci Chapel which he considered the most beautiful in the region. Having seen dozens over this past week, we would agree.
Giovanni will speak intensely about any subject you throw at him, so today we went with politics. He described the general sentiment that Italian politics were heavily influenced by Cold War powers in the post-WWII era. He was very helpful in my group’s PechaKucha presentation on the Moro Affair (highly recommended Wikipedia rabbit hole) which we gave to the others in the afternoon. Other topics included the history of Italian fashion, the worst Roman emperors, and how Minecraft relates to logic, rhetoric, and grammar. Safe to say everyone left the session learning something new.
Afterwards, my friends and I went to a local park to play soccer where we met some Italian children. They didn’t care about our language barrier as they drew detailed pictures of their toys in our notebooks. We bonded over American music, with the “skibidi” songs especially catching their attention. Culture really knows no bounds.
On the way back we heard blaring horns and a thumping drum beat. Was this a royal procession just for us? Sadly not. This was a rehearsal for the historical performing group “gruppo storico”. We were invited to sit and watch the flag throws along with the music. What a treat it was.
Later that night, the city experienced a blackout for 30 minutes. An authentic Italian experience. Phone flashlights shining, around a dozen of us still awake sat outside on the terrace. The moon was the only light for miles. We enjoyed the silent darkness, basking in the moment as Coldplay faintly played in the background.
Today was a unique and memorable day, with a common thread of music through all the major events. We head to Florence tomorrow. A city that hopefully knows how to keep the lights on.
Vishnu Angiras