Ragazze Americane, Look Up!

The scene: shades of light yellow, beige, and terracotta everywhere. The smell: chimney smoke during the day, cigarette smoke late at night. The taste: delicious Italian meals. The sound: car horns, church bells, and boots clicking on the cobblestone. The feel: cold and misty for the first few days, warm sunshine for the past couple of days. Alas, we have arrived in the small, beautiful town of Sansepolcro, Italy! Despite leaving a day later than we had planned due to wintry weather, we all had a successful albeit long journey from North Carolina to Rome. Words cannot begin to explain the excitement I was feeling upon first step onto Italian soil. Being that we were at an airport where vehicles of all sorts and traffic are in abundance, one of the first things I noticed was the lack of attention to what we consider in the states to be normal traffic rules. Traffic rules for Italians, I have come to notice, seem to be more of traffic suggestions. In order to be a pedestrian in Italy, you must boldly and bravely set foot into the street and hope for the best. After making it through customs, gathering our luggage, and stopping in the restroom (first experience with the Italian flushing system-took me a couple of minutes to figure out where exactly the flush button was), the group of us eventually crossed the busy lanes of traffic following fearless and experienced Bekah’s (Meredith College graduate and current residence director here in the palazzo) lead to the bus that was to take us to Sansepolcro. I was ecstatic. “We are finally in ITALY!” was all I could keep thinking and trying to wrap my head around. Cameras were clicking constantly for at least the first fifteen minutes of the bus ride as everything we saw out of the window was new, beautiful, exciting, and worthy of a photograph-regardless of glare from the window and blurry focus from our accelerating speed. Our past 24 hours were catching up with us, though, so the remainder of the bus ride was full of sleeping and a little motion sickness (remember-crazy Italian driving). Three hours later, we were finally greeted by Dr. Webb, John Rose, and Sara Andreini (the program directors)-faces that were a sight for sore eyes, to say the least.



Since we arrived in Sansepolcro a day later than was planned, we were immediately thrown into activity in order to keep the schedule on track and to quickly orient us to Italian time. We were forced to stay awake and moving until 9:30 PM, so we immediately sat down to our first authentic Italian meal prepared in the palazzo, which was quickly followed with choosing bedrooms, a tour of the town, unpacking and pizza for dinner (a consolation prize for keeping us awake). I’m not sure there is any group of study abroad students anywhere, past or present, who are as lucky as we in their living accommodations. Meredith College has chosen a prime location for its program in Italy and the students who participate get to live in what has to be one of the most beautifully restored 16th century palazzos in all of Sansepolcro (or all of Italy, for that matter). It’s hard to believe the stories we have heard about what a ruin the Palazzo Alberti was when Meredith College first found it because of how gorgeous and livable it is now on the inside. Even with its cool temperatures (one must always have on many layers and carry a blanket in order to keep warm in this place), the wooden beam ceilings, brick patterned floors, paper drum light shades, slate staircase complete with a wrought iron railing, tiled bathrooms, stucco walls, beautiful furniture, and Italian artwork in every room makes this a unique living space in that it feels authentically Italian, but maintains a functional and modern atmosphere to both work and live in. The third floor is made up of student apartments, two lounges, the dining rooms and kitchen; the second floor hosts Dr. Webb’s and John Rose’s apartment as well as their offices, a study lounge, and our two classrooms. The first floor is shared by a pizzeria (delicious) and the cutest little button shop.



Ragazze Americane, Look up! This has been the mantra of Dr. Webb, John Rose, and ourselves as there is so much to be seen everywhere you go, most of it above eye level. We nine students here are the “ragazze americane,” as we are so affectionately called by Dr. Webb, which translates to “the American girls.” Look up! If you don’t, you’ll miss out on all of the unique details, building shapes, and architecture that make up the town of Sansepolcro. There is something to see everywhere; I have yet to walk down via Settembre or any other street within the walls (or outside) of Sansepolcro and not see something new. There is a wall that surrounds the central part of Sansepolcro-our Palazzo Alberti resides within the walls. Outside the walls is where most of the population lives, and it is equally as bustling as within. We have spent most of our time here so far within the walls, and there is still something new around every corner-an arch overhead, a light fixture you have yet to lay eyes on, a coat of arms adorning yet another building, a sculpture of Saint Mary set into the side of a building, the largest pigeons you will ever see perched along ledges, beautiful clover-shaped stone windows, and wrought iron window coverings patterned in fancy ways. I ventured out on my own for the first time today for a short walk simply to take in more of what I hadn’t yet seen. Sansepolcro is quite literally the epitome of a tiny Tuscan town with its meandering cobblestone streets, multi-story narrow buildings with vines growing up the sides, laundry hanging on clothes lines outside windows, and even small elderly-ish aged women walking the streets carrying large bags, their hair covered with colorful scarves.



After generously being allowed to sleep-in this past Saturday so that we would hopefully finally be over our jet lag, we were to be up early on Sunday for a big surprise that awaited us. We had all been informed via email pre-departure that there was going to be a big surprise on Sunday and had anticipated it all week. No matter how much we tempted, pulled and pried, we could not get the answer out of Dr. Webb as to where we were going. What we did know about the trip was: we were to wear boots-preferably rain boots so that our feet would stay dry; we were all to wish for good weather; the bus ride was going to be lengthy; we were leaving at 5:15 AM; it was going to be “one of the best things we will have ever done in our lives;” it was an expensive, but rare opportunity; Sara Andreini, an Italian native, had never done it before, and was jealous we were getting to go. Can’t you just picture the puzzled looks we must have had? At long last Sunday arrived and the sleepy but excited lot of us trooped to just outside the city wall and boarded the bus that was already holding one Italian family of three and the driver. As we filled up the remaining bus seats, the Italian family was asked by John Rose to not tell us where we were going, as it was still a mystery. After about two hours of driving, we stopped for breakfast at what would be the equivalent of a fancy gas station and mini-mart in America. Various flavored croissants and espresso were amongst our food options-so Italian. By this point in the trip some of the girls had seen signs along the road and had an idea of where we were going. Because of this, Dr. Webb decided it was time she finally let in and announced we were headed for…the Carnevale in Venice! Hooray!




The Friday before our surprise trip during our Italy Today class, we learned about Carnevale-the equivalent of our Mardi gras. Italians, though, spend two weeks on Carnevale, the two weeks prior to Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Carnevale originates from the Latin term “carne levare,” literally meaning to stop eating meat (a practice that occurs during Lent, especially popular amongst Catholics, which almost everyone in Italy is). Carnevale festivals occur all over the country during the two weeks, the biggest and most historical festival being in Venice. There is a saying during Carnevale that “anything goes”-and after attending the Carnevale in Venice, I can certainly say that is the truth. Children run around in masks, sweets are consumed in large proportions, costumes are worn as if it’s Halloween-basically its one big party and we got to be a part of it this year! True to word, it was a once in a lifetime experience…

After about two more hours of driving after breakfast, we finally arrived in Venezia. The bus was parked in a massive lot with many other tourist buses and we made our way to the waterfront where row after row of boat taxis awaited to take passengers down the Grand Canal to Venice central. The boat ride provided us with our first taste of Venice, as all you could see out of the windows were the beautiful old buildings that lined the main waterfront. Some towers were obviously leaning, there were noticeable water stains on other buildings, but the architecture was still undeniably beautiful. After about a twenty minute boat ride, we finally arrived at the main island. I am sitting here trying to find the right words to describe what exactly was going on and what we saw when we arrived, but I’m having extreme difficulty. Picture if you can the most elaborate full bodied costumes with full face masks to match, the largest crowd of people you have ever had to push your way through, and a renaissance drum line all surrounding you at once. Oh, and of course the gorgeous scenery that composes Venice. Sensory overload-but so worth it.




So that we wouldn’t be completely out of place, Dr. Webb did very kindly outfit us each with a fun, colorful mask that we could wear around and truly feel as though we were a part of the festivities. Not that when we got there we couldn’t have purchased a unique Venetian-made face mask at one the many, many vendors. They were everywhere! Being Carnevale time, all of the usual stores set back along the streets of Venice, and special vendors set-up along the waterfront, all had masks in large proportions of varying styles, colors, and prices. By the end of the day I decided that in order to remember such a grand event, I did need to buy a hand-painted authentic Venetian mask that I could hang on my wall at home. I love the one I bought, with shades of peach and gold, glitter, and leaves circling the face. While we started making our way into the crowds as a large group, it was inevitable that we were to be split up and I eventually ended up roaming around Carnevale with Lilly, Kayley, and Kelsey. We had a great time observing the parade through St. Mark’s square, grabbing lunch at a small out-of-a-window deli and eating it along the water, going into just about every store selling masks we came across in search of the perfect one, admiring the beautiful gondolas, enjoying a fun, hidden bookstore we stumbled across, and just generally getting lost within the streets of Venice. Around every corner we saw yet another elaborate costume we hadn’t run into yet and as the day went on the streets became less and less visible due to the increasing amount of confetti covering the cobblestone. After attending this most wonderful and historical festival in all of Italy, I can truly attest that “Venice and Carnevale were made for each other.”




I must go consume more Nutella, study my Italian vocabulary, and plan for our trip to neighboring Arezzo and Anghiari this weekend…more to come next week!

Ciao for now,
Hilary