Day ​3 blogs - July 19, 2016

Florence

Today the group took the train to Florence. We were allowed to explore the city on our own, so we went to the Duomo first. We took a short tour of the cathedral and learned about the histories of each piece of artwork within the building. It’s absolutely fascinating to me how certain artworks have survived for centuries. Our group progressed to a cute little kitchen located just a block from Neptune’s Fountain, where we proceeded to dine on exquisite Italian cuisine (which is artwork in itself).

After we stuffed ourselves to the brim with pasta and some kind of baked chicken, we proceeded to the Uffizi, where we were shown some of the most beautiful and inspiring pieces of art that I have ever seen. My favorite piece by far was “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli. We were also shown works by Michelangelo and Leonardo di Vinci. For someone like me, this was the equivalency to meeting Brad Pitt or Ryan Reynolds. We discussed how the pieces were created, how they came to reside in Florence and how they were required to remain in Florence. We learned about the politics of the time and how politics led to the creation of many defining pieces of artwork.

Finally, we quickly browsed through the leather market and carefully selected some souvenirs. We then had to sprint to the train station in order to catch our ride back to Castiglion Fiorentino. I will be adding that I’m able to successfully navigate the Italian public transportation system to my résumé after this trip.

Texas A&M Law CLIP students on the streets of Florence, Italy. Back row, L-R: Preston Morgan, Sarah Pierce, Michele Moss, Neal Galloway. Front row, L-R: Lacy McKinney, Daniela Clark, Jordan Hartsell

Today was the second time I was able to see one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life. I have never been out of the country, and Italy is everything that I imaged it would be. The Tuscan town we are staying in has the traditional red roofing with historic architecture and a very friendly population.

Today our group was able to go to Florence. If you ever visit the city, I would suggest booking tours for the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and the dome of the Duomo, Florence’s Cathedral. We did not book our tickets in advance, but we were able to tour the cathedral for free.

By far my favorite experience of the day was visiting the Uffizi Gallery. We were fortunate enough to have a guided tour by a woman who studied art history. The amount of important art in the museum was overwhelming. A woman, who was the sister of the king, wrote into law that artwork could not be taken out of Florence. This has allowed for many of the popular artists’ works to stay in the city. Additionally, the museum does not borrow other popular works from others, but instead, allows for small pieces to be displayed.

Furthermore, there is also a statue of a pig on the streets of Florence that you rub its nose, stick a penny in its mouth, and if the penny drops in the grate, then you will be coming back to Florence. (It was right! We will be there next Thursday for class.)