Land of my Ancestors

~Grosseto~

When I made the decision to study abroad, it wasn't hard for me to pick a place to study.  While I have always loved pasta, gelato, and pizza, I have always been fascinated with the magnificence of Rome, the romance of Venice, the landscapes of Tuscany, and the culture of the Italian people.  On top of that, my mom's side of the family traces back to the city of Grosseto which ironically, is only 76 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Siena, where I have been studying.

In 1914, my great grandfather, John Joseph Robustellini left the city of Grosseto to go to America.  Upon arriving in America, he shortened his last name to Robustelli, my mom's maiden name.  When I arrived in Italy, I tried to figure out if any Robustellini's still lived in Grosseto today.  I did find one person, Giuseppe Lucio Robustellini as well as his phone number.  With the help of my site director, Silvia Minucci and after many phone calls, we determined that it may be the same family, but both he and I don't know enough details to really know, especially because Robustellini was a very popular name.  It was still important to me to see the town that my family once lived in. I was pleased to see lots of agricultural land surrounding the city, which was much larger than I expected.

Inside the city, there were many churches and I loved the tranquil atmosphere.  Everyone we came in contact with was very friendly and people seemed generally happy in this city.  There was an art sale put on by a woman's group in Grosseto with the proceeds benefiting a young boy who needs to be sent to America for surgery and another area of town lined with tents showcasing paintings from local artists as well. 

Church of San Francesco

Inside of San Francesco

Bell tower of Church of San Pietro

Cathedral of Grosseto

Inside of Cathedral

From the moment I stepped off the bus in Grosseto, there was a floral aroma in the air.  My allergies definitely noticed, then I realized it was a type of tree that was found all throughout the city. 

After spending the day walking in the steps of my Italian ancestors, I thought again about how blessed I am to be on this adventure.  As I prepare for my last few days in Italy, I am a mixture of emotions.  I know I have changed in ways that aren't apparent to me even, but I know that I have gained so much and have experienced much personal growth through my study abroad experience.  Getting to see my Italian heritage and live its culture was icing on top of the cake.

Grosseto Coat of Arms

Smooth Sailin'

~Venezia~

For our last big trip in Italy, Katie and I went to Venice for a weekend!  Venice is listed as one of the most romantic cities in the world and after being there, I can see why.  While it would be difficult to find specific things within the city because of the winded, slightly complicated streets, finding the main attractions such as St. Mark's and the Rialto Bridge was simple because of many helpful signs posted throughout the city.  

Rialto Bridge

Venice is comprised of a total of 118 small islands separated by canals and connected by bridges.  Because of this, all of the transportation within Venice is done either by boat or on foot.  However, there are only a few bridges that connect different islands, so there is lots of walking done.  There is also a Vaporetto, or water bus that transports people to the different islands.  For tourists, there are also many gondolas, but for 80 euros a ride, I decided that the gondolas weren't for me!  

Gondola

Vaporetto

There are many churches in Venice, but the most prominent by far is St. Mark's Basilica.  The inside and ceiling look as if they are made of gold!  It also contains the four bronze horses of St. Mark, that we have heard about in art class.  Also in St. Mark's Square, Katie and I went to the top of St. Mark's Campanile, a 323 foot tall tower that provides beautiful panoramic views of the city of Venice.  

St. Mark's Basilica

Interior of St. Mark's

Horses of St. Mark

St. Mark's Square

View from St. Mark's Campanile

St. Mark's Campanile

 Venice is also known for its long history of participation in Carnivale.  Carnivale in Venice began as a celebration of a victory of the "Serenissima Republic" over the Patriarch of Aquileia in 1162.  In this celebration, people wear elaborate masks and dance in St. Mark's square as a way to preserve the image of Venice in the world.  Because of this, mask shops line the streets of Venice.  One specific type of mask, called the "Medico della peste" was even wore by doctors during the plague to prevent them from breathing in the disease themselves because of its long beak.  

 

Katie and I went to some farther away islands, including Murano and Burano.  Murano is known for its glass blowing and Burano, characterized by its bright colored buildings is known for its lace making.  To get to these islands, we got to ride on a water bus.  It was surprisingly smoother than I expected!  

Glass work on Murano

Another glass sculpture

View in Murano

Lace work in Burano

View of houses in Burano

"Road sign"

 

While exploring the small streets of Venice, Katie and I also stumbled on two really unique shops.  The first was a graphic design store with many cool screen prints of things.  The other was owned by an elderly gentleman who loved to share his passion for his unique works.  He made wooden "puzzles" that used light and shadow to make things 3-D when some of the pieces were moved.  For example, he had one piece of the St. Mark Basilica and when you push some pieces out and leave some in their original place, it created the illusion of the real building, with columns and arches.  

"Puzzle" store

The weather in Venice was slightly unpredictable.  Two of the nights we stayed there, we experienced raging thunderstorms, but the days were absolutely gorgeous.  On the hot days, I really appreciated how many fresh fruit markets lined the streets.  Being on the coast and right on the Adriatic Sea, typical Venetian dishes include fresh seafood in their pasta.  The tastes and views of Venice were both great and I loved the atmosphere here.  Venice is truly a city like none other and has landed among my favorite cities in Italy.

Fruit stand

Tiny streets in Venice!

By plane... by train... by boat

It is pretty obvious from all of my previous blog posts that I have done a fair share of traveling during my time studying abroad in Italy.  Because of this, I have had the opportunity to become familiarized with many different modes of transportation.  The first experience I had was, of course, an airplane to get to Italy.   I can only sleep on planes if I have the window seat and minus about thirty minutes of listening to a screaming baby, I was able to catch some rest on my flight to Europe from New York. 

 After getting off the final plane into Florence, I had to take a shuttle to the bus station and hop on the Siena Rapida bus.  Since I've been in Siena, I have learned to depend on the public transportation system within the city.  I take the bus almost every Tuesday and Thursday to go to service learning at San Benedetto kindergarten, which is outside the city walls.  I have to validate a ticket for each ride once getting on the bus.  Police will do random checks of buses to make sure people are buying and validating their tickets.  Many of the citizens of Siena use the bus system here, rather than using cars.  Having to rely on something else to get me places was very outside of my comfort zone because I've been driving everywhere since the day I got my license at age 16.  The bus definitely isn't the smoothest ride possible and tests your balance at times, but gets you where you need to be!

Ticket validation machine

While studying here in Italy, I got to take my first train ride!  The train system here is very efficient.  It's not extremely expensive and goes virtually anywhere you need.  The trains also have a ticket validation machine and if you try to ride the train without validating your ticket and someone catches you, you will be thrown off at the next stop! I have taken a train to Pisa, Lucca, Cinque Terre, and took the "fast train" to Venice.  The normal trains are much smoother than the buses that go further distances and they are typically faster, depending on how many times you have to change trains.  That was the only point of confusion for me at first; knowing where to change trains.  However, once I became more familiar with the train system, it became much easier.  The fast train that we took from Florence to Venice only took only a little over two hours to travel about 160 miles.  The train only stopped three times total and traveled up to 155 mph.  Despite its high speed, the train was extremely comfortable and actually reminded me of a plane that didn't leave the ground!

Normal train

Train ticket validation machine

Fast train!

Train coming into Venice

In some of the bigger cities of Italy, such as Rome, there are underground metros as well as above ground trams.  I'm pretty handy with a map, but Katie was my saving grace when it came to understanding the metro system in both Rome and when we went to Barcelona for the weekend.  I'm not a huge fan of these systems, but I see why so many people use them; they are fairly cheap and they are effective.

Tram in Rome

Metro Map of Rome

Sign indicating a metro station

Metro

In Venice, there is a completely different way of traveling.  Even the people that live there have to get around by boat, vaporetto (water bus), or by walking.  Cars are not allowed here.  Even products for stores must be transported place to place by some sort of water transportation.  For the tourists, they also have gondolas, but a ride in one of those is 80 euros, so it's definitely not the most economical or even practical choice of travel.

Gondola in Venice

Water bus stop

"Road sign" for boat traffic

Water bus and water bus stop in Venice

While there are many ways to get around in Italy without having a car, there are still many around.  It took some getting used to in Siena to remember that the tiny things that I would consider alleyways, are actually roads.  European cars are small, especially when comparing them to the large pickups that I'm used to at home.  Most cars here are manual transmission and actually seem to be mostly environmentally friendly ("smart" cars).  Taxis are also used in many cities because of the large number of tourists that visit Italy.  Using a Vespa is another mode of transportation that is very popular here.  Although I didn't get to ride one with a tall, dark, rich, Italian man, I'd imagine they aren't great when the unpredictable thunderstorms roll in!

Normal sized car

Taxi located conveniently in a main piazza

Vespas!

I have had the opportunity to become a much better traveler by using all of these different modes of transportation.  All of them have their pros and cons, but I am definitely looking forward to driving my own car again!  Probably the most important thing I have learned about traveling is that regardless how far you go or where to, don't be surprised when expect things to go wrong and know that when they do, in the end, it will all be okay and you will know more because of it.