Under the Tuscan Sun

Approximately 17 hours ago I returned to my little home in Oxford from a glorious week in Italy. While I was there I traveled to Rome, Florence, Tavernelli, and La Spetzia. The two places out of the four with the most art were ROme and Florence. In every cathedral we stepped foot in, walls and ceilings were covered with paintings and detailed architectural structures.

The most impressive place I saw was the Vatican. I had been there before, but I did not remember the countless rooms full of paintings. I felt as though there was not a blank space in the whole city. I, of course, saw the Sistene Chapel in all its glory. It was beautiful. When I looked up at the ceiling I could not imagine being the one to complete the task for the Pope. I would have felt so overwhelmed to have completed one tiny section while lying on my back and realizing I had barely completed a fraction of the masterpiece. It is crazy to me that all of it was perfect to the tiniest detail. It seems that one would get tired and start to slack off at points. Though I had seen this before, I could not help but stand in silence, soaking in the entire experience.

Another place we went that I thought was just gorgeous was the St. Peter's Basillica. The cathedral was phenominal. I had been there too before and there were a few things I remembered, but it was just so neat to me to go back and visit a place where I had been before, but this time with new perspective. It was also (and I can't believe I'm saying this) neat to know a lot about the painters and the time periods from doing the art portfolio. All around Italy it was fun to look at the characteristics of buidlings and try to date them. Oh, and the most beautiful place in Venice was the Dome Cathedral (I can't remember the name right now). It was, hands down, the most beautiful and unique cathedral on the outside. I felt the outside was more interesting than the inside.

The art that I saw this past week in Italy was so beautiful and was the reason the trip was so enjoyable. It was awesome to be surrounded by the history there and the art was something to remind us of the history.