Day 6: Venice!

Leaving Florence is always bitter sweet. Once you leave, all other place just don’t feel like home. But we had places to be and sights to see. And our next place was a town known for its canals. That’s right. We were going to Venice.

Upon arriving in the train station in Venice, we were overwhelmed by large crowds of people swarming in and out. Before us was the sight of the Grand Canal, a sure sign that water was their road and boats were the only way to get around quickly. Our hotel wasn’t too far, but we found something else that was very surprising.

A familiar face in the crowd? Asking for directions I couldn’t help but wonder. She caught sight of me, to which I included, “Don’t I know you?”

Look who we found! (Photo by Arlene Arboleda)

With joyous exclamation we embraced one another. It was my dear Aunt Arlene, who traveled with my cousin, the other Emily, and her boyfriend. They were quick trying to catch the train to Verona, the city where the great tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was set. They gifted us water bus tickets and were off in a hurry with promises to see us at the wedding. (Wedding, you ask? Yes wedding, but that will be for another day.)

The Grand Canal before our tour

After settling into our hotel, we made a quick dash to Piazza San Marco to meet with our tour group. We awaited along the pier, taking in the sights of boats passing by on various errands. Looking into the water, it certainly wasn’t as clear as the water we had seen before. Not with all the activity transpiring on the surface. Soon we boarded a large boat and were ferried to our first island, Morano.

I had seen glass sculpting before. As a matter of fact, when I was searching for art schools, Tyler School of Art won me over due to their glass work courses and studios. But in the end it wasn’t in the budget. Anyhow the glass works in Morano were a sight and art to behold. The careful maneuvering as well as attention to detail brought the glass sculpture to fruition before us in the hands of the glass sculptor. Before us we saw an old and traditional art come to life.

Morano glassworker giving sculpture form

After our time in Morano, we sailed across to Burano, a town of lace. It was the perfect opportunity to to have lunch by the waterfront. And it was the perfect opportunity to partake of the wonderful local cuisine, particularly in the seafood department.

Our last stop on our tour was the town of Torcello. It is the oldest part of Venice, being the foundations for the famous city. It was founded around the 4th century AD, and the style of the buildings showed. There was a small chapel open to adoration and prayer. Seeing as no tickets or lines were involved, we went into our Father’s house and sat down for a while. It was a much needed break and breath of fresh air from the cacophony we were exposed to throughout this trip so far. It was great to have some time to sit down and reconvene.

After Torcello, we returned to Venice. The rest of the night was ours to do as we wished. We had wanted to venture back to Piazza San Marco, but it got dark and things were closing down before we could. So instead we sat down for dinner and had one of the best marisco dishes I’ve had in a long time.

Day 5: Al Mar

As I am writing this, it’s a bit late coming out. Mostly because I was exhausted after this trip and didn’t feel like staying up for two more hours to write. So with no further ado, here is my experience of yesterday.

We traversed Tuscany to Cinque Terre, the five cliff towns. I had been here before and couldn’t wait to see the clear blue waters and the immense cliff faces again. On our way to the destination, I couldn’t help but notice giant slabs of white stone below shining mountains. As it turns out, those mountains were the source of most marble. I’m not sure where I thought marble came from. I had never thought of it before. Now I was seeing it for the first time. It got me thinking, we don’t use marble that much in art any more. These days sculpture utilizes more renewable and reused materials. The materials in a contemporary sculpture often relate to the message it wants to portray. It’s almost as though marble sculpting is a dead art.

At long last we arrived to the first town, Manarolla. It was a small quiet town as I remembered. From what I remembered, many tourists went cliff diving here and went for a refreshing swim. This time there was no cliff diving, but still swimming, and I understood why. We had gone down to where the boats get launched and were planning to dip our toes in the water until we saw a young couple proceed down, and what happened next was terrifying.

The young man slipped on the mossy bank and hit his head on the stone floor. He wasn’t moving. His partner screamed for help, and the people around pulled him out of the water. Someone witnessing above must have called an ambulance, because they informed us one was on its way. By the time we left the town the ambulance had arrived. I could only pray that it wasn’t too late for him, because his head was bleeding terribly.

After that scare and the cautionary incident, we took the train from Manarola to Vernazza. The last time I had gone, my roommates had gone for a swim along the cliffs while I stayed behind on the rocks since I didn’t have a swimsuit on. We had gone swimming that time there because the place we had wanted to go wasn’t available. It was a place known as the hidden beach, and it had been closed off due to a landslide. Four years later it was finally open again. All sorts of people came to swim, both local and tourist. And a few more came to paint. (Maybe for next time I should bring painting supplies.)

Artists painting away in the Hidden Beach

After our quick look at the hidden beach, we went to the sandy bank in front of the village and finally got to dip our feet in the cold Mediterranean water. It was clear as I remembered, and refreshing. I felt at peace. After some time, we had to rejoin our group to go to the next town.

Our next stop was Monterosso. A perfect place to go swimming, sunbathe, and… get drunk. I remembered when we came to this town, we parked our stuff on a rented bench and went swimming. Then my professor suggested that we get something a lot of people were walking around with… a Drunk-ass bucket. They had strawberry daiquiri and piña colada. So haven had piña coladas with alcohol at the beach in Ecuador before, I thought I could just relax with my piña colada by the beach, soaking in the sun… I was just wrong. The only good thing that came from it was a (drunk) philosophical conversation with said professor. Then I had the dumb idea to go swimming after. The ride back to the bus that day was not smooth.

So! Haven learned my lesson from last time, I did not order a Drunk-ass bucket. We ate lunch, walked along the boardwalk, and waited for our boat to the next town. Something I did not realize from before was the tunnel leading to another part of the town through the mountain. We took in the sights of people causally resting their blankets and towels on the pebbles, sand and rocks, letting their children play in the calm sea and what appeared to be the mouth of a river.

We boarded a ferry that took us around the cliff sides to our last town, Porto Venere. The sight of the enclaves in the natural rock walls was breathtaking. Here and there I could spot shrines and grottoes dedicated to the Virgin Mary or Jesus on lonely rock islands. I could only wonder how they got there. It was when we reached a castle looking over the cliff when we knew we arrived to our last destination. At this town, we concluded that a nice drink would suffice to closing out our day.

From there, we took another boat back to our bus, and from there, the bus back to Florence. I wish we could have done more with our last night in Florence, but we were far too exhausted. We checked into our new hotel for the night, bought a second suitcase for all our souvenirs and crashed.

Day 4: What. A. Day

Our morning was very refreshing. After a relaxing breakfast, we went for a stroll before our first activity. We had plenty of time, after all. So we went to see all the best points Florence had to offer, including the Ponte Vecchio as seen above.

I remembered exactly where Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria was. It brought back fond memories of those hot summer days where I stood before those statues, sketching the dramatic poses depicted by Giambologna. I was also brought back to my first day ever in Florence where we briefly toured the layout of the town, and not only wandered through here but alongside the Uffici Gallery.

We still had time to kill, so I decided to visit the best Gelateria in Florence (in my opinion anyway). Right next to Piazza San Lorenzo is a little gelato store called Leonardo’s, and it was the first gelateria I ever ate at in Italy. We were the first customers of the morning, and like always, the people were very kind. After grabbing out gelato, we proceeded to the steps in front of San Lorenzo and enjoyed it while watching the world go by.

Up next was the complete tour of the Duomo, including the Baptistery. We waited for a little, and as we did I took the time to sketch some of the smaller features of the cathedral. I began with the smaller dome and started to work my way up. As I worked I thought I had seen some figures moving by the shadowed archways depicted below. But looking closely, it wouldn’t have been possible for people to occupy that space, since there’s no way up there. My mind must have fooled me since people are allowed to venture up to the top of the dome itself, and there were people there.

Our tour began in the Baptistery, one of the older buildings of the complex. Much the the cathedral in Pisa, the inside of the Baptistery harbored the same amount of power and glory through medieval mosaics. The inside seemed darker this time around as they were restoring the inside. But all the same, God’s might was reflected through rings upon rings of story telling, angelic hierarchy, and the depiction of the last judgment.

Jesus in the Last Judgement

Something that did jump out to me upon observing this for the second time was the depiction of the last judgement. My memory had warped the size of the Devil as compared to Jesus. From what I remembered, the Devil was almost the same size. Seeing him stuck out and posed as a foreboding figure from what I had seen in the past. Probably because my professor at the time pulled so much attention to Jesus casting the sinners to be damned by that thing for all eternity. But seeing it a second time, I realized how my mind twisted the memory of the mosaic.

Capturing the size comparison of Jesus and Satan

It is hard to see because the tarp is partly covering the Devil. But notice how much smaller Satan is compared to Jesus. So much attention was brought to this terrifying figure the last time I had seen it that the idea of damnation seemed larger than Jesus. And while it may have been put there to scare pagans into getting baptized, it was never really the point of God’s story with us. In way, it is a visual message for Christ’s followers, by coincidence, that God is bigger than sin, or the guilt or shame brought on by it. God is bigger than our fears or the troubles we are facing. Through Christ, we will overcome.

Next was the inside of the Duomo itself. The inside of this particular cathedral is nothing extraordinary to look at in terms of decoration, but what got me was the space itself. Everything was tall. The arches, the ceilings. But the characteristic that I could not take my eyes from was the dome itself.

The fresco in the Dome drew me in with its symbolism and depictions. I found much more that I had passed off before. Father Time with a broken hour glass. Death breaking his scythe. Various beasts from the Divine Comedy and other Christian texts brought to life. Righteous souls called to the heavens on empty fields while the wicked are chased into the inferno which is peeled open. But there was a detail I found disconcerting in the dome. Two actually. There were two large cracks running from the base up to the center. I asked our tour guide the story behind them, thinking it might have been brought on by an earthquake, or the time the golden ball on top of the dome was knocked down by lightning. It turns out that those crack have always been there since the beginning, and because the construction of the dome was so meticulous, it has to be monitored 24/7.

Aside from the dome, there was one more thing I wanted to capture inside the Duomo. Particularly in the stained glass window above the front door. As I promised, here it is:

After our time in the Duomo, it was time for us to see the one thing every tourist must see in Florence…

Michelangelo’s David.

I had visually studied the David before, as seen in a previous post. That time I had only captured the face, spending well over 30 minutes toiling over what is considered one of the greatest sculptures of all time. Almost everyone captures the face, I thought for many years after. This time, I wanted the part that no one seems to focus on. The hands.

The most jarring aspect I found of the David when I first saw him wasn’t only the side, but the inclusion of the sling. No one ever thinks or notes the sling he is holding. He just comes across as a nude figure made of marble. But he does have a sling, which has a stone. Which in turn, we are drawn to the hyper real ness of his hands, then arms, then slowly the rest of him, almost as though the figure is made up of flesh.

After our long day of touring, we were exhausted. We passed out for a few hours before getting ready to embark again, only we were going for a leisurely stroll this time. We walked those streets that were still familiar to me, taking in the evening ambiance before settling once again.

Touch the Boar’s nose to return to Florence

Day 3: Homecoming

Leaving Rome this morning was bitter sweet. I had gained a better appreciation for the city than I did four years ago. To be honest, we considered staying in Rome to see the Pope speak in St Peter’s Square, but we had places to be. That place being Florence.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I spent a month studying in Florence. By the time it was time for us to leave, Florence felt like a second home. My only issue when returning was how much of it I would remember?

I immediately grasped my bearings of the train station, meeting our driver at the Pharmacy, the perfect meeting point for every traveler in Florence. On the drive over, I almost recognized where my old apartment was, but we were driven to an unfamiliar part of town. Where were we? Upon arriving to our B&B, which is on the Fifth floor, we could get a better view of Florence, and I knew where we were. Behind me, in the photo above, you can spot the tallest tower of Palazzo Vecchio and the shorter tower is the Bargello. What the photograph does not show is the spire of Santa Croce. I recognized the landmarks, and while we waited for our room to be available for us, we embarked to said landmarks.

Santa Croce was just as I remembered it from the outside, and I could only imagine the inside was about the same. Of course, we didn’t have the time to tour the great cathedral, as we had other appointments to attend to. But I had time to show my mother, who loves purses, something that would blow her mind.

The School of Leather was something I certainly remembered from my time here. I just knew it was a special place that needed to be scene by someone who appreciates a top quality purse. The process of the leather making was something I took with great intrigue. I wasn’t one for purses of leather accessories, but I have a hard time turning down a leather bound journal, or a well crafted leather jacket (until the price is noted, which most thing were beyond my price range).

After the School of Leather, there was one more thing in the proximity of Santa Croce that I needed to see if it was still there. Something to satisfy my nostalgia. After cutting through a street or two we found it. The Lion’s Fountain. A place where my roommates and I would wind down with special drinks, and make merry conversations with classmates we happened to run into. Yes. It was still there. And maybe, before we leave Florence, we may grab a drink there.

Upon returning to our B&B, we were welcomed to our room, which not only has the appeal of a modern look, but a perfect balcony view of the city and Tuscan hills beyond. As I wound down, I took the time to study those hills beyond, and pondered what could be there.

Next, we were back at the train station. But why? Didn’t we just arrive to Florence? Yes. But we had something important that every tourist must do…

Go to Pisa and take pictures tilting or propping the tower!

Every time I see the leaning tower in person, it is a surreal experience. Not because it’s a big tower that is tilted due to the soil, but all photos including the one above don’t do these monuments justice. The Leaning Tower is actually a bell tower for the cathedral that is right next to it. As seen in the gesture sketches below, there is also a large baptistery included in the square, which is the largest in Europe.

Gesture of the top of the baptistery in Pisa

However, I didn’t just come to Pisa to take some silly photos of myself holding a tower. No. I came for this:

…

Alright, alright. All puns aside, I came to learn something new. And I had the opportunity to do something I hadn’t done before. We entered the Cathedral.

There is something truly fascinating about the work and effort put into this place of worship, both on the inside and outside. Just from the first look at the image of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist, I could feel the power and sovereignty of humanity’s savior, staring down at me. Yet I couldn’t help but feel peace and righteous emanating from Christ himself. I hadn’t the time to sketch much inside, but I did manage to capture for from the outside.

Sketches of Animals within the architecture

The ride back from Pisa was relaxing, but our biggest issue was getting a taxi from the train station. Apparently, we arrived during a fashion week here in Florence, and taxis were very limited. But then we saw the line for claiming a taxi and opted to walk. It was here that I realized this was my chance to revisit old places from four years ago.

I could only assume by the open windows that a student similar to myself occupied the space now on the second level (1st floor). The walk back to that place brought back memories of that commute to and from class on the open field. Not much had changed. All my favorite restaurants were there. My host school was there. The best gelateria in Florence was there. And of course, the Duomo was there.

The first time I had ever seen the Duomo was not only breathtaking, but out of a dream. The power of the church and God’s might reflected throughout hundreds of years of preserved architecture. The glory of religion and art combined bared down in a glorious triumph for the eyes and heart. This is the heart of Florence. At least to me it is. And now it was complete to my senses this time with one addition.

Duomo and tarp-covered Baptistery – 2015

Just like the Trevi Fountain, I got to see the outside of the Baptistery as it was meant to be seen. And tomorrow, we will have the privilege of stepping foot into these great works of art and religious history.

Day 2: Roman Around

Castel Sant’Angelo

This was the day where we would dedicate our time to Rome, and every landmark that establishes its identity. Of course we couldn’t start that until after a fresh cup of coffee.

My Cappuccino and a Nutella Croissant (yum)

A satisfying breakfast indeed. As well as a perfect opportunity to practice some Italian (broken as it was). The people were very friendly, and encouraged our efforts. Afterwards, it was time to hop on the bus that would take us to our next location, the Vatican.

The Entrance to the Vatican

I visited the Vatican as a student, only it was at night and less crowded. But all the same, I was excited to see this place again.

Before we entered the vast halls and galleries, we were briefed on what we would see within the Sistine Chapel at the very end of the tour, as talking was highly discouraged in such a sacred place. Much of the history I was familiar with. But as our guide discussed these details, I noticed a familiar image.

In the above image is a quick gesture of the Papal crest, however it appears to have what looks like the Medici crest embedded in it surrounded by two angels. I soon came to find out, courtesy of our tour guide, that various Popes request what their crest should appear with.

Moving on to the rest of the galleries, we spotted many statues and tapestries, as well as many crowds. I nearly got separated from the group once or twice, but managed to keep up.

Image of Dante Alighieri in the Vatican from 2015

Gesture Sketches of both from today (6.11.2019)

Of course, we stopped in one of the most famous parts of the gallery to take a look at Raphael’s School of Athens. Something new I learned today was that the room this was in used to be a Library for the Pope, hence the high amount of scholars in each fresco. When I came a few years back, I had a bit of an obsession with Dante Alighieri, the author of the Divine Comedy, and was very inspired by his work. This time around, I took time to capture his image in a quick gesture.

In the Sistine chapel, there must be silence and no photography. This was something I took for granted the last time I came here. As I stared up at the years worth of frescos the great Michelangelo toiled at, I couldn’t help but gain a new appreciation for his work. I took my sketchbook out and studied the first panel, where God spoke the World into being from nothing.

After the Sistine Chapel, there was nowhere to go, but Saint Peter’s Basilica. Seeing more of Michelangelo’s work gave me a better appreciation for the artist. He truly was a master sculptor based on what I noted of his art style and technique when handling form and the human figure.

More Gestures inside St. Peter’s Basilica

The most intriguing part about St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican isn’t just the fact that it is the heart of Roman Catholicism today. Sometime, long ago, a Jewish man, who was close to Jesus himself, came to the heart of the Roman Empire and made more disciples in a place far from home. This place was probably once someone’s home where they would gather to worship even though later they would be persecuted. It was once a small gathering of friends, family and neighbors that grew into this large colossus that would be Christianity. Much of the church’s history started here, what is now one of the greatest centers of worship.

After our time in the Vatican came to an end, it was time for us to travel back in time, when the Roman Empire was the greatest power in the world, reaching throughout Europe and a little into Persia and maybe India.

Our journey back in time took us to the Forum, where we navigated through ruins of a once powerful empire. Seeing ruins at first was nothing extraordinary, until the large ones occupied the space. There was something surreal about seeing colossal empty walls, arches and half domes standing empty as it was once a great fortress of meeting point of powerful minds and rulers. Fascinating enough was seeing how the church in the past repurposed these ancient monuments, adding layers to its history until present day.

To end our tour, we wandered the grounds of the Colosseum, a place once of gleeful entertainment and bloodshed. Once again, walking through these ruins was surreal, though I had been there before. We walked beneath what used to be marble seating. We looked into an empty space where a sand covered floor used to be. And we looked through empty arches where statues of important beings used to guard. At the end, our guide answered another explorer’s question by explaining what contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. One reason was that they became too big. Another was that the men and women the slaughtered soon became part of their Empire. Another was the adoption of Christianity as their main religion (and as they were an empire of war, it didn’t suit up to what Christianity’s core beliefs were).

After our long day of touring, we freshened up in our hotel room, enjoying some coffee and resting. There was one last thing I absolutely wanted to see in Rome that I didn’t get to see the last time.

Nothing to kill your trip than visiting a landmark under construction, right? I remember we threw coins over the fence hoping our wishes would come true (being the naive students we were. We probably gave them more clean up). So as you can image, we were disappointed, and every photo I had seen of friends and classmates touring Rome posing with a flowing Trevi Fountain behind them, I was jealous of. How I wish I had seen it in its full glory.

But tonight, I had the chance…

… it was worth it.

Day 0 – Overture

So, folks, today is the day we hop on a plane and sail across the skies to Italy, where our first stop will be Rome. Ah, yes. The shining capital that once used to be the seat of history’s greatest empire… But today is a mere day of anticipation. The long journey between gates, checking bags in, and awaiting to board a ship that will sail into the night, leading us to our destination the next morning.

In the mean time, I would like to share something special for you the audience. Something that will set the course for this journey.

As I stated in my previous post, I studied for a month in Florence. What was I studying, you ask? One course was photography. The second? Drawing. Throughout the drawing course we carried around a sketchbook and drawing tools. Our task was to fill the sketchbook by the end of the course. It was this course that helped me mature in technique as an artist/drawer. The first example, you will note in the image above, is one of my earlier sketches of Michelangelo’s David, Florence’s most iconic statue. In earlier drawings in this book, I stuck to my graphite pencils and basic shedding, as it was the most familiar to me. As a novice, I steered clear of inks, pastels, chalks, and absolutely hated charcoal (and to this day still do). Thus most of my graphite drawings tended to smear and lack contrast. Looking at my sketch of the David, I can see the naivety I possessed at this stage. Moving forward, my professor suggested that I give ink a try.

Observation sketch of Dante Alighieri’s Statue in front of Santa Croce

I struggle a bit with pen at first, because once a line is down, it can’t be reversed, but it made things much cleaner, and when I got to experimenting with shading, I could get a variety of tones that I struggled with in graphite.

Wax replica of muscular anatomy in La Specola

After plenty of practice, ink became one of my favorite mediums for observation sketching and drawing. In a way, I have to thank that professor and my classmates for encouraging me to take a step away from something I was familiar with, as it helped bring a new energy to the latter parts of my sketch journal.

Rape of the Sabine Women in Piazza Vecchio

So, now that I’ve shown the work I had done four years ago, will I be filling another sketchbook upon my return? You bet!

However, I mostly want to focus on a particular theme.

Motifs.

Specifically, religious motifs.

Italy is as much a grounds for the early foundations of the Church as it was a grounds for Art. Thus, there is plenty of religious icons and symbolism scattered throughout the country. In the picture below was the beginning of a sketch that I started while waiting to climb up a tower in Sienna. It is of course from the earlier part of my sketchbook when I still embrace graphite as my “go to”.

Sketch of The Virgin Mary Crowned by Jesus

I hope to find and record more motifs like this one. Perhaps I can even make a complete version of this one as well. So with that being said, I’m going to leave this post off on this last image/note. I typically do something that I like to call “church doodles”, where when I have spare time while serving, I make a small drawing of whatever comes to mind. So this weekend, I made one that reflects a common image of Christ Jesus that we commonly see here in the good old USA. A simple image of Jesus looking upward and peaceful. At what in particular? Most likely the Father. Who knows. But it is a simple image no less.