Waking up early this morning wasn’t so bad when I awoke to the news of the game last night. LET’S GO MAVS! Champions.
Today we traveled to Siena and Piensa. Last semester I took an “Introduction to Art History” course, which covered major artworks of the last few centuries. I’ve been looking forward to seeing some of the major artworks here in Italy, and that journey started today! Mitch, I hope you recognize some of the art.
Siena is known for it’s Duomo (which is a cathedral, just like in Orvieto), the Duomo museum, and Il Campo piazza (the public square). Gabrielle, first Campo sighting! In the Siena’s Duomo, I saw Pisano’s pulpit. Every church has some sort of pulpit, but this one is extra special because the artist Pisano is famous. I studied about this one in class so I was super excited to see it.
Here’s me in front of the pulpit.
I was looking at pictures of this in my textbook just a few months ago. Pretty neat, huh?
The museum was rather small (I think. I don’t normally do museums. Too much reading and thinking.), but it had very special art. No pictures allowed in the museum, so I’ll just brag in words about famous pieces I saw. Duccio’s Maesta altarpiece. Altarpieces are decorations put in the front of the church. The tradition started back when priests faced the front of the church, keeping their backs to the congregation. I also saw Pietro Lorenzetti’s Birth of the Virgin and Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Effects of Good Government on the City and Countryside. The Effects of Good Government was my favorite art today. This artwork is a huge mural covering all four walls in a room in Siena’s civic building. The entire painting tells the story of good and bad government. As the class was gathered in the room, listening to our professor talk about the artwork, I realized we gained a classmate. It was an old man (clearly just visiting the museum with his wife) in the middle of the sea of students, nodding his head to everything Professor Knox said. Being the good student he is, the old man continued with our class through the rest of the tour. Looks like I’m not the only one getting some kulture in Italy.
On Siena’s famous Il Campo.
Many say it’s the most beautiful in Italy.
We hopped on the bus after lunch in Siena and traveled to Piensa. Piensa is a very small city, known for it’s cathedral built by one of the popes. We stayed there for a short time, and all I remember in the strong smell of cheese in the streets and the beautiful views.
By the city walls in Piensa over looking the gorgeous Tuscany countryside.
For dinner tonight, Caroline, Max, and I went to a restaurant in the Rick Steves book—Trattoria del Moro Aronne. Actually, Caroline and I both went to the same place last night. It was so good, we convinced Max to come and went again tonight. At the restaurant, I spotted THREE DIFFERENT PEOPLE with their Rick Steves guidebooks. I held mine up proudly so show that I was one of them.
Thanks again for the book, Mom.
