Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

18
Apr

Urban Planners Compile Neighborhood Studies

By Elliot Sperling 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Many of the Cornell in Rome blog posts have dealt with our travels, our breaks, and our wonderful food nights. However, we are still students studying here in Rome. With this post, I hope to show at least what the planners have been doing in the workshop course that we have. (For planning students the workshop course is our required intensive 6-credit course that we take while we are studying in Rome).

The past several weeks urban planning students have been working on neighborhood studies of four different neighborhoods in Rome: Eur, Val Melaina, Villa Gordiani, and Quarticciolo. We spent weeks interviewing residents finding out about neighborhood issues, neighborhood facilities, the history of each of the neighborhoods, and community associations and involvement. We looked into the current and future needs of the neighborhood through our resident interviews and also through our own group assessments of the neighborhood. We conducted surveys that included quantitative and qualitative measures to describe building typology, land-use, street typology, and several other assessments. Overall the work was very rewarding, and definitely gave me an experience that I could not get anywhere else.

Of course we all did have our difficulties. One challenge that we all realized rather quickly was the issue of communication. Many of us clearly could not speak Italian at a proficient level, and so a majority of us relied on our professors and teaching assistants for translations during several instances of speaking with residents and stakeholders in the neighborhood. Another challenge was making sure that we properly understood issues in terms of Italy as compared to many of our own backgrounds coming from the United States. Many of our neighborhoods were in borgate (peripheral neighborhoods of Rome) that did lack a lot of key services and wealth. However, unlike the United States, these neighborhoods still had plenty of access to fresh foods, (the food markets were tremendously cheaper than grocery stores), and despite their peripheral nature, they still were well-served by trams and buses. In the United States many poorer neighborhoods lack quality access to fresh foods and vegetables, markets are often expensive and unaffordable for many people, and public transportation is not very good especially in the periphery of cities.

The week before we submitted our compiled 60-100 page reports (that includes the appendix) we went on neighborhood visits of all the different neighborhoods. My neighborhood was Eur, which unlike the other neighborhoods was built to be a model city planned under Mussolini. The other neighborhoods on the other hand grew as a result of Mussolini pushing poorer residents outside the center of Rome into peripheral areas. Their histories clearly shaped the neighborhoods as they are seen today. Many of the residents in several of these neighborhoods really connect to their neighborhood histories in terms of how they see the future of their neighborhoods. Our reports delved into this area and a number of other areas in analyzing our neighborhoods. We plan to highlight the totality of our research and our final reports in our final exhibition in mid May.

Urban planners gathered together for a group photo from a previous study trip

Now that the urban planners have finished final reports of the specific neighborhoods we are on to our next assignment. All of us have split off into project groups to focus on certain topics and themes in Rome that we wish to explore in greater detail. My next project group is focusing on bicycles and the bicycle share system in Rome. Other project groups are focusing on issues such as placemaking by immigrant communities in Rome, Tiburtina station and its regional connections, water resources in Rome, and another group is looking into the Romani in Rome. These topics are definitely very focused, but the context that we are looking into deals with a large part of Rome, or all of Rome for that matter. What I really like about this project and the previous projects is how we are combining our research with practical experience. To compile our neighborhood reports we explored our individual neighborhoods and conducted neighborhood analyses with residents and stakeholders. With our next report we are also interviewing certain key contacts that deal with the issues we are exploring and for many of us we are going out into the field to conduct field assessments.

27
Mar

spring break: traveling the right way

By Elliot Sperling 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

A lot of us are returning from Spring break from all different places, and, of course, with such different experiences from the places we visited. I personally made a trip to Berlin, Prague, and Budapest. Coordinating it was essential to making sure that everything would work out, and if it did not, I had back-up plans. I arranged all my dates of travel beforehand and bought all my tickets for trains and planes. I also booked all of the hostels I stayed at with two of my other friends in our program. However, some things are better planned out when you get to a place. I found these past 8 days of travel and my research beforehand provided me some great knowledge on how to do things right when it comes to  traveling in Europe.

First of all,  I found it essential to compare prices of different travel options. Flying is often the cheapest way to travel, but it is not always. This is often a mistake people make when booking cheap flights like Easyjet and Ryanair. There are instances where rail is cheaper and often more convenient. I found this especially to be the case in what is considered “Eastern Europe” by the former Soviet occupation boundaries. It is also important to take into account transportation costs, because with rail it is from central city to central city thereby avoiding unnecessary and some times expensive options of getting from the airport to the central city. However, with long distances and expensive high speed trains as the only viable alternative, rail becomes far less appealing. It really matters what the destinations are in determining which is cheapest. I did a little bit of both. I flew to Berlin and back from Budapest to Rome. I took a train from Berlin to Prague and from Prague to Budapest. The above travel plans I determined from what were the cheapest options and the most comfortable. Trains are often the most comfortable option because they allow you to see landscapes along the way, they run on a very tight schedule (trains face many less delays than planes in Europe), and they let you avoid the hassle of getting to/from airports. Buses are also an option, and they are often cheaper, but as many in our program can tell you, they can become an absolute misery to ride in. Trains are often quicker, make less stops, and do not hit traffic. European countries also put tremendous investments into their rail. So if you do travel by trains you get to see a bit of that investment.

A view from my train car window from Prague to Budapest

Berlin Hbf: a stunningly beautiful train station

In terms of hostels, always book beforehand and look for those with good ratings and close proximity to the different parts of the city. There are a lot of great hostels out there, and it only takes a little research to find them. Often times by choosing a more central hostel location there is no longer a need to buy public transit tickets, or there is less of a need for bigger cities. Part of the reason I chose cities like Berlin, Prague, and Budapest for spring break is because they are very cheap to stay in, eat in, and they are stunningly beautiful and vibrant cities. I found hostels in these cities from as low as 6 Euros to around 18 Euros a night. They were all great hostels because I checked the reviews beforehand and for one of them I waited for the price to go down to reach a last-minute special price.

When it comes time to seeing the cities I think it is important to have a good mix of tourist stuff and local stuff. You can usually distinguish between the two by seeing what kind of people are in both places. There are definitely things as a tourist that have to be done, especially if they are free. However, some things I find very unnecessary and a waste of money. Paying 10 Euros to take an elevator ride up a building when you could just pay nothing to climb up a hill right nearby and see a similar view really makes it not worth it to me. I found great views just by climbing up to the castle in Prague and up to the art museum in Budapest. The absolute worst waste of money in my opinion is tourist buses. You could just ride a city bus and use a public transit card. It would save you 10-20 Euros, and would give you a far better feeling of a place by seeing locals in front of you on the bus while seeing the scenery outside rather than seeing the locals through a stained glass bus window. Of course sometimes it is worth paying to obtain views from above (never ever from tourist buses though), when the building itself is worth seeing. In cases like the Duomo in Milan or Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, go to the top and see the view. These buildings are spectacular and worth seeing at all vantage points [Barcelona is a trip I did separately from the program].

One of the many free views offered from the hills of Prague

A view from a climb up to the castle in Budapest

The last lesson I have is to use local knowledge to your benefit. I heard in Prague that last-minute tickets can be incredibly cheap to see a philharmonic concert. So, my second day in Prague I headed to the box office and heard there was a concert that night. I checked with the person at the ticket office and discovered that I could sit in the second row and pay only 130 Czech Koruna for a last-minute ticket (in United States dollars that is about $6.50). $6.50 for a second-row seat in the Rudolfinum, one of the oldest concert halls in Europe with some of the best acoustics, to watch a Czech Philharmonic classical music performance! This concert was a highlight of my trip and it cost me only $6.50. So, seeing amazing things really does not have to be a huge expense if you hear  word-of-mouth of such a great deal as the one in Prague. There are also great student discounts in many of the European museums. I paid half-price off  what already was a cheap ticket to see wonderful art museums, Jewish museums, and Greek and Roman museums that showcase antiquity (I know it is a bit humorous to visit such museums when I live in Rome, but these museums in Berlin displaying antiquity were fantastic).

Inside the Rudolfinum

As for doing what the locals do, that is something I always try to emulate. They go to certain restaurants, shop at the local markets, and take a stroll in certain squares because they find them to be the best assets of their city. Instances like eating at a restaurant are times where you do not want to be a tourist surrounded by other tourists. You get a much better deal and much higher quality by going where locals go. Also, get ready to do some math when you travel outside where the Euro and Swiss Franc are used. Once you enter countries like Czech Republic and Hungary the conversion rates are no longer so simple. For the Czech Koruna it is about 19.6 CZK per $1 and for the Hungarian Forint it is about 235 HUF per $1. In Budapest I had to get used to paying 1400-2500 Forint for a good meal and 150-220 Czech Koruna in Prague (which after the conversion rates are so much cheaper than meals in Rome). Had my travel plans included expensive cities in Western Europe I would have done a lot more grocery shopping. The big changes in prices between cheap and expensive cities are in terms of such things as restaurants, hostels and hotels, tourist attractions (but not always), and regional and local transportation (in most cases forget about taking a long-distance train for 20 or 30 Euros, as is the case in more Eastern European cities).

Lastly, don’t forget to have at least one splurge. The last day I was in Budapest I went to the Szechenyi Baths where for 4100 Forint (still only about $17) I was given access to 7 different baths (indoors and outdoors) ranging from temperatures of 20 degrees celsius (way too cold for me) to 60 degrees celsius (2 minutes and I am out of that bath, or I would start cooking). They were mineral baths, and many of them had jets. It was extremely relaxing and felt like a real vacation. The powerful winds and the slightly above freezing temperatures also added to the experience. It was also a place I could spend hours in, which I chose not to so I could visit some other places in Budapest that day.

One of the seven baths at Szechenyi

Also, it adds to the experience to visit places with vastly different languages. I spent 4 days hearing German everywhere I went, 2 days hearing Czech, and 2 days hearing Hungarian. Hungarian and Czech are some of the most difficult languages to learn, especially Hungarian. Hungarian is not even an Indo-European language. It is more closely related to languages in Western Siberia. So, even with my ability to pick up a few words in different languages, I could not even begin to learn Czech and Hungarian. However, I did pick up a few words in German despite almost all the young people we met who knew English.

There are wonderful things that can be done over Spring break and in the end you can do quite a lot for not very much. I had an absolute blast in some of the most beautiful cities that I have ever visited, and even with a limited budget it was a fantastic trip. Of course it is hard to extend advice to all places, but I believe the lessons I learned are applicable to a lot of cities in Europe.

15
Mar

Waiting for the Pope

By mjf24 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Pat Megley, Cornell in Rome

visiting student from Williams College

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013, around 5:10 pm.

I’m standing beneath a column in the southernmost of the two colonnades embracing St. Peter’s Square. From here, looking out diagonally across the piazza, between the corner of the facade of the Basilica and the Papal Apartments, I can see the roof of the Sistine Chapel.

I’ve been here about half an hour. The sky, though overcast and brushed with rain clouds, is bright. St. Peter’s “Square” (actually a flattened circle) is a dark sea of umbrellas. A few flags wave, including an American flag, which strikes me; it calls to mind a 4th of July parade, an odd reference point for the scene before me. The rain, off and on all day, has softened to a drizzle.

Back in the colonnade, the spaces between the inner pairs of columns are filling with onlookers. There is a light but steady stream of people meandering along the corridor. It’s not as packed as I thought it might be. The atmosphere is expectant, but far from electric. The field of umbrellas out in the piazza, all rooted in place for an as-yet-undetermined duration, lend a sense of calm that balances whatever movement there is back here in the colonnade.

A few minutes ago, a reporter for Spiegel Online named Julie approached me, apparently struck by the sight of a foreigner bent over an intermediate Italian textbook. She asked me a few questions, including why I was here, and I thought for a moment. Why am I here?

Above all, for the same reason as everyone else: to see a bit of history take place.

Nearby, a couple pecks softly at each other’s lips like a refined version of a mother bird feeding her young. It’s a few minutes past 5:30.

*

5:40. The spotlights atop the colonnades have just come on, adding a touch of prime-time aura. The corridor of the colonnade is filling; people stop to watch and wait.

A seagull has perched itself on the small chimney that protrudes from the Sistine Chapel and from which the result of the next vote–black smoke means no winner, white smoke means a new pope–will be announced.

The murmur of banter, barely background noise before, has picked up. Beneath the snatches of nearby conversation there is a sound like the rumbling of a distant ocean.

I wonder if that seagull on the roof of the Chapel knows how many people are looking at it.

*

5:50. A slowly-whirring cyclone of birds above the Basilica.

A few minutes past 6. The man on standing next to me is on the phone.

“Pronto. Pronto.”

*

Next to me stands a bespectacled young man wearing a clerical collar under his windbreaker. I turn to him.

“Mi scusi, padre, ma che pensa?”

He shrugs slightly and smiles. “Non lo so.” Who does one think at a moment like this?

We fall into conversation. His name is Moritz (like Maurizio, he adds helpfully) and he’s from Vienna. He’s in his final year of studying theology at a university here in Rome–a university that, like my own high school, is associated with the Jesuits. I ask if he is associated with a particular order, and he says no; he explains that he can choose between entering an order and serving in a diocese, and that he hopes to do the latter upon returning to Vienna.

While the colonnade continues to fill, it is still far from thronged. I comment on this, and Moritz ventures that the drizzle has kept away the crowds. We wonder when the next fumo will announce the result of the latest vote. I point out that the cardinals have to have their dinner; this is Italy, after all. Moritz chuckles and agrees that the food here is very good. I ask how the food in Austria is and he remarks that Austria is not as known for its cuisine.

I ask when he decided to become a priest. He says that for him it wasn’t a difficult decision.

We continue to watch and wait as the sky grows dark.

*

A few minutes past 7. I reach into my coat pocket for a piece of pizza bianca and offer some to Moritz. He shakes his head, murmuring his thanks. I slip the piece into my mouth.

Out in the piazza, a cheer erupts: the roar of a huge crowd. The giant projection screens show smoke billowing from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. I raise my eyes to the roof. In the darkness, it is hard to make out the color of the smoke. But after a few moments, it is unmistakable: white.

Cheers echo across the piazza; all around us people clap. Moritz and I join in.

“C’e un Papa,” he breathes. There is something new in his voice.

*

Now the colonnade grows thick; people pace the rapidly filling corridor and walk faster, swiveling their heads intently, seeking out a line of vision to the central balcony of the Basilica. Behind the colonnade, crowds race from the surrounding streets towards the piazza.

The video screens, which for hours have remained fixed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, now switch back and forth between close-ups of individual onlookers, smiling and waving flags (there are many more flags now) seeing themselves up on the screen and waving back, and wide shots of the piazza. For the first time, I realize how huge the crowd is: it fills the piazza and stretches off into the distance down Via della Conciliazione.

Moritz steps away and takes out a cell phone. He spends a few minutes in silence, apparently waiting on a call that won’t go through. When he returns, I ask who he was trying to call. His sister, he responds. I have a sister too, I tell him, and also two brothers.

I turn to the man on my other side, a Roman, and ask him if he’s seen anything like this before. He has, twice before. He explains that when Cardinal Wojtyła was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978, the first non-Italian pope in centuries, it was a shock. “Nobody knew the name,” the man says. On the other hand, when Cardinal Ratzinger emerged as Benedict XVI in 2005, it was the expected outcome.

A procession of Swiss Guards onto the steps of the Basilica stretches on and on; and yet, when the cardinals appear at the side balconies of the Basilica, I am surprised to find that over an hour has passed since the smoke. It is not the same place as this afternoon; the colonnade’s latest arrivals, jostling for space, angling for a view of the Basilica and talking animatedly to each other, are but a small reflection of the new energy throughout the piazza, which emits a volley of cheers whenever anyone of note appears.

And then the tall red curtains behind the central balcony part, a cardinal emerges, pronounces some words which are lost in the noise of the crowd, and announces the name of the new pope–Francesco–before retreating behind the curtain.

Who is this pope? No one seems to have caught the cardinal’s name. Next to Moritz, an impromptu conclave of priests and scruffy-haired youths speculate. Names are thrown out. O’Malley from Boston. A woman wielding a smart phone announces that a Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina has been elected. “An Argentine,” one of the youths nods approvingly.

Above the piazza, the curtains part again, and the pope emerges–a tall, thin figure in white. He stands, looking out at the crowd, and remains in that position, still, for a long while. The cheers roll in waves.

And then he begins to speak. He offers a series of thanks, including one to his predecessor, Benedict XVI. My Italian is such that I struggle to absorb the pope’s words, but I try to catch as much as I can. He has a nice voice.

Then he leads the crowd in prayer–the Our Father, the Hail Mary. I try to keep with the Italian and mostly listen to the words spoken in unison by the pope and the countless gathered before him, to the many timbres combining as one resonating voice. I have never heard so many people gathered in prayer. In the intimacy of a shared moment, I am once more struck by a sense of sheer scale.

The pope concludes and steps back, smiling down at the crowd. A chant starts and gains strength as it echoes around the piazza: “FRAN – CES – CO! FRAN – CES – CO!” The Roman man turns to me, grinning, and recalls that when Benedict was elected, the chant went “Rat – zin – ger!”

The pope turns, as if to leave, and then turns back to offer a few more words. “Pregate per me,” he says. Pray for me.

*

I shake hands with Moritz, and we wish each other good luck with the remainder of our respective stays in Rome. Around us, people are flowing out into the larger streams exiting the piazza.

As I walk up the road behind the colonnade, I look back. For the first time, I see for myself the crowd, a single mass moving on foot, and it seems vast beyond counting.

All of them gathered to greet one man, whoever he may be.

11
Mar

We stuffed ourselves more than we stuffed the ravioli

By Elliot Sperling 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Once again we had a wonderful Italian dinner coordinated by the wonderful Anna Rita Flati. This time it was ravioli and fettucini, and similar to gnocchi night we came out completely stuffed. I learned from the afternoon that making ravioli is quite a process. First you have to make the dough, then you have to keep adding flour to it so it looses its stickiness, then you put it through a machine to flatten the dough into flat long and wide slices that you use to put the filling in. After you put the filling in you cut it with a special tool to make the ravioli shape. We kept repeating the process until we had an entire table full of ravioli. With fettucini it was a bit easier. We made the dough, then we got it to the right consistency, and then we put it through to cut the dough into long strands of fettucini noodles. Some of us also made a batch of gluten free fettucini and ravioli noodles from scratch.

Making the ravioli dough

Making the ravioli

Making the gluten free pasta

Our collection of ravioli and fettucini made from scratch

That was only the preparation, then it was on to what we all came for: the huge meal. To start off we ate appetizers of egg omelettes, cured salmon, and a delicious nut bread. We then had about 7 different types of sauces with our 7 family-sized batches of ravioli and fettucini. Some sauces had meats, others were only vegetables, and some were creamy sauces. My favorite was definitely the salmon one. As I mentioned before we finished up completely stuffed. Then dessert comes out, and somehow we always find a little bit more room in our stomachs.

Students eagerly waiting to start on the antipasti

11
Mar

A Planner Excursion to Lake Como and the Periphery of Milan

By Elliot Sperling 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

On the last two days of our Northern Italy trip the planners departed on a trip to Como and an excursion to the periphery of Milan. Como is geographically located in the very north of Italy close to the Swiss border. Parts of it resemble Switzerland through the natural scenery and similar building types. It was quite an interesting place, one that has developed through a very important industry: the silk industry.

Walking through the town of Como

A view overlooking Lake Como

The first stop we made after our one-hour train ride from Milan to Como was to the silk factory museum. The museum displayed the actual machines used to make silk during the industrial revolution up until the early 1900s. The town itself developed largely due to the silk industry, and today this industry continues to thrive. In fact, the silk from Como is considered some of the most valuable silk in the world because the way it is produced. Much of the luxury silks that are used in some of the most fashionable clothing come from Como because the quality is considered much better than the other leading international producers of silk: China and India. We were delivered a thorough presentation by one of the tour guides at the museum about the history and production of silk in Como. We learned about the process of silk making beginning from the stage of the silk worm all the way to the finished product.

After our silk factory tour we had a broader discussion on how such cities such as Como truly embody localization economies. In Como, one industry is extremely dominant, highly successful, and globally competitive. Much of the skilled workforce in the silk industry is benefited by knowledge spillover, especially through the family. There is an incredible amount of local knowledge, which makes Como one of the best places for high quality silk production. When thinking about the broader regional context it becomes apparent that Milan, the fashion capital of the world, greatly benefits from the proximity of production of high quality silk used in much of the fashion clothing sold in Milan.

As with any field trip we always need at least a little bit of sightseeing when visiting these new places, so we embarked on two wonderful afternoon adventures. We spent the first part of the afternoon riding up the Funicular (train up the mountain). When we went to the top we saw a pleasant surprise: snow. We never were in any snow the rest of the Northern Italy trip as temperatures hovered around 50 to 55 degrees fahrenheit. On the top of the mountain we saw some of the most idyllic views. We were in the small city of Brunate (officially right outside of Como). After we went down back into the city of Como we went for another little ride. We took a ferry boat around Lake Como to another beautiful small city called Torno, where we took a nice walk around for about 40 minutes before returning to Como. Once we returned to Como we took off for our train ride back to the city of Milan.

The funicular

The town of Torno

For our last day in Milan we explored the suburbs. We spent the first two days in Milan mainly walking around the city center where we explored certain neighborhoods and developments. In the suburbs we went to a place right outside the municipal area of Milan: the city of Rho. In Rho is one of the biggest exhibition spaces in the world (it is the biggest in Europe), and perhaps one of the longest exhibition spaces. Even with ground-level escalators the walk took about 15 to 20 minutes to get from one side to the other. When we were visiting it was when there was an international optometry conference and the space was filled with thousands upon thousands of people in some way involved or interested in the trade. The metro trains were filled on a Sunday morning entirely because of this conference. It really helped us to understand how Milan was such a globally competitive city. Such a huge exhibition space allowed for Milan to be a notable city on the world stage. We could see how the region was internationally competitive because of the high-level of skills and craftsmanship that we could see from such places as Como and all over the north of Italy.

Learning about the exhibition center outside Milan

Our last event for the entire Northern Italy trip was a walk to a public housing development by the metro station San Leonardo. We heard a story from a local about the development and we witnessed first-hand the really high-quality aesthetic  look of the building. We were in Gallaratese designed by the famous Aldo Rossi. At least for me, it made me question why in the United States we chose in the past to house our poorest citizens in such low-quality (almost made to fail) public housing.

The ground floor of Gallaratese

25
Feb

Eat, Pray, Love, and Gluten-Free Pizza

By Heidi Schmitt 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Before coming to Rome I wasn’t sure what to expect of the food.  Being gluten free, I was unsure of how I would fair on my foreign travels.  But something came over me since I’ve been here and I’ve caught a cooking fever.  Any free moment that used to be spent online shopping, on Facebook, (the usual culprits) have now been dedicated to finding recipes.  With all of the great markets around selling fresh food, I figured why not?  Also, the tantalizing menus of pizza and pasta have forced me to; I refuse to be in Italy without eating Italian.

I have discovered one website that has helped solve many Italian cravings, and even the occasional yearning for comfort foods that I am otherwise unable to find in Italy.  I’ve become dependent on a blog called Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.  It has been great!  There are so many great recipes and I have been documenting each one as I make them.  If I go out to eat with my friends and I see something that looks Italian and delicious, I run home to find the gluten free version online.

One of the issues that I usually run into with gluten free concoctions is the strange ingredients.  I have trouble finding some of them in the states, much less a foreign country.  Xanthan gum and assorted nut flours are the usual suspects.  Compared to Concord, NH and Ithaca, the “green eating” capitals of the world, health food stores in Italy are few and far between.  Despite my doubts, I set out to find the ingredients; I was determined to make a pizza crust.  The grocery stores here have been pretty great as far as providing daily foods such as corn pastas and rice cakes but when I start getting my Betty Crocker on, I have to hunt.

Fortunately I stumbled across a health food store not far from studio.  The first time I walked in, I just went in to scope it out as any health foodie might.  It was empty except for two friendly Italian women.  As I toured the store, I think they were excited to see that I was excited; I tried to explain with my minimal knowledge of Italian that I am gluten free and that I would be back again tomorrow.

With the hopes of finally eating pizza within my grasp, I wrote down the ingredients I needed before heading to the store after classes on the following day.  Unfortunately, I did not think to translate some of the things I needed into Italian.  I assembled what I could understand with the help of a very friendly worker, and returned the following day with the Google translation of all my ingredients.  The woman who works at the store went around with me to gather the rest of the ingredients.  I now go there each time I have found a new recipe; I think they recognize me by the open sketch book clutched in my hand.

So far I’ve made a pizza crust from scratch that I can proudly say I have made to Italian cracker-crust perfection (topped with mozzarella and prosciutto of course), a potato, lentil, and tomato casserole, salmon with cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and rice, not to leave out some delicious gnocci and ravoli that Anna Rita helped make.  As far as comfort foods go, I’m pretty sure my Italian version of baked macaroni and cheese takes the cake (I substitute the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream for provolone piccante, ricotta, and plain yogurt).  As far as I’m concerned, the blue boxes back home might have to make way for some red, white, and green infusions.

25
Feb

Canals, Bridges, and Boats: A Weekend in Venice

By Lillian 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Last weekend I and some of my apartment-mates went to Venice.

On this occasion flying was less expensive than the train. After a quick hour flight we took a waterbus from the airport on the mainland across the water to Venice. We arrived to a clouded sky and fog. Despite everyone telling us we would get lost in Venice (which we later did many times) we successfully navigated to the apartment we were staying in.

Every direction I looked I was met with picturesque views and was struck by the beautiful blue-green shade of  of the water. As we walked around the boats, canals and bridges constantly reminded me of the uniqueness of Venice.

As a pedestrian city without any type of motor traffic, it was a change from the whizzing traffic of Rome. Though, the streets were still very busy and crowded with tourists. As tourism is the city’s major industry, I found Venice to often feel like a city of tourists.

As we wandered around the narrow streets, we saw many major landmarks including St. Marks Square and Basilica, Dodge’s Palace, the Realto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs, and the Grand Canale.


Saturday morning we woke up to the rain and thus decided we should go to a museum. I had previously seen posters for Ca’ Rezzonico, the museum of 18th century Venice. We marked where we thought it was on the map and began our excursion there. We soon found ourselves lost and started asking people for directions. It was initially a bit disconcerting when the first few people didn’t know where or what it was. As it continued to pour we went on a very wet, very long walking tour of Venice on a mission to find the museum. It was a good opportunity to practice our Italian through the countless people we got directions from. Eventually making it to the museum, we discovered it was in a completely different location then where we had first marked it on our maps. It offered a much needed respite from the rain.

Ca’ Rezzonico is a palazzo on the Grand Canal which had previously belonged to wealthy 17th century families. Today, among the first two floors of the museum is a display of furniture and objects, depicting the lavish interior style of the period. The top floor is dedicated to the painting collection. I found it especially nice viewing paintings of Venice in Venice, amidst the subject being shown.

Originally we went to Venice for Carnevale which lasts from January 26 to  February 12. However, the pouring rain hindered some of the outdoor activities and performances. Additionally, I gathered  many things happen the first and last weekend while we were there in the middle. Still, it was cool seeing masked and costumed people in the streets.

Despite the rain and being soaked for most of the trip my first adventure in Venice was a great experience in a delightful city.

25
Feb

Far more than a wine tasting

By Elliot Sperling 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized

Many of us attended a wine tasting event this weekend. Right near our palazzo where we take classes is an amazing restaurant with an enormous selection of wines. At Da Renato e Luisa we sat down in a very cozy dining environment expecting to learn a bit about a few wines accompanied by some food to wash down the palate. Instead it turned into a lengthy dining experience, complete with three antipasti and a dessert. Over those 2.5 hours we learned quite a bit about wines, including how to pair them with foods, the best way to open a spumante (sparkling wine), and the process of wine production. It was like taking an introduction to wines class, except in historic Rome with an almost complete dinner and plenty of socializing.

The antipasti that were served varied from soft cheeses rolled over nuts, crepes stuffed with cheese and spinach, and cured meats. Here are some pictures of the dishes we had during this wonderful evening:

First plate

Second plate

Partially eaten third plate (I could not resist the temptation)

All of these plates were paired with a different wine. To start off we had a spumante, then a red wine, and then we finished with a fruity white wine, which we had with dessert.

The delicious dessert afterwards

All of us were blown away by this fantastic event. It pretty much surpassed all of our expectations. The food was delicious, the restaurant environment was great, and we came out with a good amount of knowledge on wines thanks to Renato, the owner of the restaurant.

25
Feb

Photo(log): Winter Photo Update

By Jake Rudin 0 Comments
Categories: Architecture, Classes, Daily Life, Events, Field Trips, Photo of the week and Uncategorized

There has been quite the variety of activities going on here in Rome during the past few weeks: history class visits to numerous historical monuments, trips to southern Italy, museum visits to the MAXXI, a wonderful lecture from artist/photographer/filmmaker Giorgio de Finis of Metropoliz, and lots of time to get lost in the city.  Here’s a short photo-style update on what some of these wonderful things have been like.

Sometimes a photo just says it all.  Maybe it’s a simple shot of a landscape.  Maybe it’s a “selfie” of you and a friend at the beach (remember to bend your elbow). And sometimes, the expression says it all.

It’s been a cold couple of weeks around here. Although Rome is relatively mild in the winter, the wind can be killer, especially along the Tiber. But that doesn’t stop us from bundling up and exploring the city. This photo was taken at the top of Castle St. Angelo.  We were all freezing in the wind, but in a history class like Jeffrey Blanchard’s, you can’t stop taking notes (even if your hands are freezing).

In the end, the frozen note-taking is worth it because the professors know some of the best views in the whole city.

This Neapolitan’s take on staying warm — trash bags of piping-hot bread — is a tactic I had never seen before; but I imagine it will soon be popping up in spring fashion catalogs across Europe. Particularly France.

 

Sometimes we get lucky.  One of my favorite feelings is coming out of a ruin to find that the sun has decided to grace us with its warming glow. Our visit to Herculaneum was a particularly nice day.

Calm and stoic Paestum.

Followed by a colorful reenactment of the first Greek Olympiad. Courtesy of Maria Paula and Manuela.

It’s times like these where everyone is happily lounging in the Mediterranean sun, that I wonder what ever possessed me to move to Ithaca.

The contrast of locations in Italy is incredible. Travelling with the program has so far yielded an incredible overview of the different types of geography around the country.

And plenty of walking to boot.

While in Rome we may not have architecture hewn from the living rock, there is always something new to be discovered. And when you discover something new, make sure you take a real hard look, because you may find there is more than meets the eye.

Other times… well there’s not a whole lot to do other than be amazed.

14
Feb

When winter comes with us to Southern Italy

By Elliot Sperling 0 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Last weekend we (the architects, artists, and planners) went on a thrilling, jam-packed 4-day trip to Southern Italy. We made stops in Matera, Paestum, Castellamare di Stabia, Herculaneum, and Napoli. Many of us packed for the possibility of slightly warmer weather, and unfortunately we met quite the opposite reality. Temperatures during the weekend hovered between 30 and 48 degrees fahrenheit (-1 to 8 degrees celsius). We came to Southern Italy and we saw snow. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how we all felt about snow we were only able to see the snow as we were driven through the snowcapped hills of Southern mainland Italy. However, despite the cold many of us saw sights that we would never forget.

Matera is perhaps one of the most magical cities. It is a city that is populated largely by people living in residential cave dwellings. Many of us were lucky enough to stay in a cave room with a bed for our first night in Matera. This small town of only about 30,000 people (in the “Sassi” or historic center) has an energy much greater than that of its size. It is a beautiful city built on a hill that was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I went with the planners on a tour of the city center. We walked along the cliffs, visited one of the cisterns where water has been stored in the past to make it through the dry summer months and where ice was stored from the winter months, and we walked through the caved dwelling of the urban planner PhD student leading the tour. It was an extremely short visit, but it was a delightful one. Many of us spent our only night there after the tour looking at the stars and the spectacular view of Matera from our hotel.

Matera in the day

Matera at night

One of the caved dwellings in the historic center of Matera

From Matera we went on to Padula where we visited Certosa di San Lorenzo and its contemporary art installations and viewed the gardens of the Certosa. In the afternoon we went to Paestum where we visited the Archeological Zone. We were lucky to have beautifully sunny skies as we looked upon the prominent Greek architecture within the archeological zone.

The archaeological zone in Paestum

Afterwards we spent time in the museum visiting many of the exhibits displaying much of the historic artifacts. Many of us had a craving for gelato and went for a convenient break in a nearby gelateria. Afterwards we checked into Hotel Calypso where we enjoyed a wonderful free dinner and a view of the beach. While the water was freezing this time of the year it did not stop a few people from making a polar bear plunge into the water for a few quick seconds.

For the third day we departed to Castellamare di Stabiae, an industrial town along the coastline of Italy not too far from Naples. The planners and architects and artists separated at this point, so I can only comment on what the planners did during this time. We were led on a tour by many of the local shipmen about the redesign of the waterfront and the promotion of tourism. One thing that struck us was how beautiful this town was and the great potential it had to adopt tourism. However, we did see the perspective of those who currently were employed in the industrial sector and the threat a tourist economy would impose on the industry there. For planners it was an extremely educational visit and one that taught us about conflicts and tradeoffs.

Afterwards we departed for Herculaneum, a place that was destroyed like Pompei from the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Jan Gadeyne toured us around teaching us about the history and noting the very small details that help us uncover the past. He also led the following tour of the Archeological Museum in Napoli where we looked at many of the exhibits showing a collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. Afterwards many of us went out into the city of Naples to get the best pizza of our lives.

Tour of Herculaneum led by Jan Gadeyne

For our final day we spent our time in Naples exploring the city. The planners, architects, and artists went on walking tours of the historic center. The architects and artists went afterwards to Napoli Sotterranea (a system of Greco-roman tunnels under Napoli), while the planners met with Italian planning students from the University of Naples. I continued with the planners to our final stop, the science center, where we looked into how this industrial building was remodeled into becoming a community asset. The artists and architects spent their afternoon visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art and finished with a walking tour from the museum ending at the harbor front. After our great adventures in Southern Italy, we departed for our 3-hour bus ride back to Rome.

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