Our third and final day in Tuscany was spent in the city of Firenze, or Florence. Although a number of my classmates liked Siena the best, this was my favorite out of the three towns we visited.

We started at the Basilica di Santa Croce, which houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo among others. The statues and artwork around the church and tombs were gorgeous! Then we continued on to the cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, which had the green and white striped stone like in Siena. Part of the cathedral is the duomo, or dome, which is bigger than the dome of the Pantheon! Inside the cathedral was beautiful, and we got to see the artwork on the inside of the dome, although from a distance because of restoration construction, we couldn’t go right under dome unfortunately. We continued on to the church of Santa Maria Novella, where we were going to observe the three solar instruments there, but it was unfortunately under construction!

We then had free time for lunch and exploring. My dad and I found a great little restaurant where I got delicious risotto with a cream of asparagus sauce; it was different, which I liked. We also got the best tiramisu I’ve had so far in Italy! It was a delicious and surprisingly reasonable meal.

We then walked around Florence and did a little shopping. We saw some nice statues in the Piazza della Signorina and some interesting art in the Piazza della Repubblica (see my Tuscany pictures). Florence definitely had more of a busy city feel than the first two little towns, but still not as crazy as the streets of Rome! My favorite spot was on the bridges overlooking the water. There were some great views from there!

Our day in Florence ended with a trip to the science museum, where we learned about the scientific revolution and development of different fields of science over the centuries. As we waited for the bus, I said goodbye to my dad. The weekend went by so fast, but I was glad he got to see Tuscany with me! I won’t see him until December, so it was sad to say goodbye again! By the time we got on the bus, I was exhausted and my feet wanted to fall off! I napped a bit on the 2.5 hour drive back to Rome. We arrived at Termini and then took a cab back to our homestay for a meal with our host family and an early trip to bed!

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Touring a wine cellar, learning about wine, and tasting different varieties in the courtyard of a beautiful castle… what better way to spend an evening in Tuscany?

We started with a tour of the wine cellar, where we saw the different types of barrels in which the wine is stored and aged. We learned about Chianti, which is a Tuscan red wine, and how there are eight Chianti regions in Tuscany. The vineyard of the Castello del Trebbio spans into part of two different regions. We learned a little about the differences in grapes, the blends used, and qualifications that must be met to qualify a wine as a Chianti (which includes being grown in a Chianti region; in other words, we can’t make true Chianti in the US).

We then moved through the cellar to a little room with a table where we gathered around and learned more about the history of Chianti and the government regulations regarding wine. True, government-certified Chianti will have a pink label around the neck of the bottle of wine. Alberto, our guide, also showed us the super-Tuscan wine their winery produces, called “Pazzesco,” and shared with us how it’s made.

Next, we proceeded into the dimly lit, cool, old dungeon of the castle, which is now used as an olive oil room. We learned about how olive oil used to be stored in huge terra cotta pots, but now due to health regulations, must be stored in stainless steel bins. Alberto told us about the winery’s production of olive oil. They have about 10,000 trees, and only get one bottle of extra virgin olive oil from each tree. He told us the expensive process that goes into making quality olive oil, the difference between the different grades of olive oil (never settle for anything less than extra virgin!), and how they make their olive oil out of tradition, but don’t make money off of the production (they pretty much just break even because it is so expensive of a process, using an entire tree per bottle and a lot of workers to ensure the extra virgin quality of the oil—the olives have to be pressed the same day they are picked, which require that tons of olives must be picked in one day). It was really interesting and educational. I had always wondered about the olive oil process and what makes some better than others.

We continued through the cellar, passing more rooms where there were bottles and barrels of wine (check out my pictures!), and then emerged from the cellar into the castle courtyard where my favorite part of the evening commenced: the tasting! There was a table set up with a delicious spread of snacks and empty glasses as well as bottles of the wines we would be tasting. Alberto poured us the first wine, Bianco di Castignano, a 2005 white wine. As we held our glasses, he explained how you should move from white to red, and newer to older wine whenever you drank different wines. He then proceeded to teach us how to smell and taste the wine (check out my latest episode to watch me do it!). After the white wine, we tried a young Chianti (2005), and then an aged Chianti Rufina (Riserva 2001). The second was heavier and drier than the first Chianti, which was pleasantly light and sweet. While we drank, and between different types of wines, we snacked from the platters of cheese, meat, various bruschetta, and toasted bread with their olive oil. The snacks were delicious! We finished with a Tuscan dessert wine, VinSanto (1999) with the traditional accompaniment of biscotti, which you dip in the wine. The VinSanto was a lot stronger and sweeter, and was definitely my favorite!

After the tasting and some pictures in the beautiful setting, we proceeded to the gift shop where we could purchase wine and olive oil. We all emerged with boxes of the bottles we’d purchased, many as gifts for family when we return home to the U.S. I appreciated having my dad there, because he was able to take the wine and olive oil back with him when he returned home the next day, so I didn’t have to worry about trying to fit it into my luggage without breaking! Now I just have to wait until December to enjoy it!

This evening was my favorite part of the trip! The beautiful food, wine, and scenery made for a wonderful and delicious time. It was great to share it with my classmates, friends, and especially my dad! It’s a memory from this semester that I definitely won’t forget!

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Sunday we spent in Arezzo, another little town in Tuscany. There was an antique fair going on that weekend, so the streets were packed with tables upon tables of vendors selling all sorts of antique and craft items. I got some shopping in, buying gifts for my brothers as well as some jewelry for myself (these were just some of the craft stuff, not antiques).

We learned more about the Renaissance as we took a walking tour, ending in a pretty, open park next to the cathedral. Then some of us headed to mass at the cathedral. There was a parade of musicians walking by at this time, and they stopped on the steps of the cathedral for a performance. My dad and I went to watch this group of drum and trumpet players, dressed in old-fashioned uniforms, which was really fun to watch and listen to. Not sure what the occasion was; I guess it just had to do with the whole weekend’s festivities.

After mass at the cathedral, we went to a church to view an exhibition of some frescoes, which my professor explained to us. They told the legendary story of the origins of the wood of the cross on which Jesus was crucified and what happened to the cross after Jesus’s death. The other parts of the church had bits and pieces of frescoes showing, but a lot of them had been painted over years ago when the Church was moving away from the decadent art and decorations covering the churches, and so started covering these “distractions” on the walls. Some restoration work was being done to recover them, though. A fresco, by the way, is where an artist works on a wet plaster surface and has to paint the design on it before it dries, which gives it its texture.

After the frescoes, we had free time, and so my dad and I did some shopping on the street and then found a little trattoria where we ate lunch. We were pressed for time since we had to meet back up with the group to leave, so I got my delicious chocolate cake to go, which meant I had to share it with my food hound of a friend, Sarah (well, we both are, I guess, so it works out), when I met up with the group at the bus.

I rode with my dad in his rental car, and we followed the bus up winding mountain roads with beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside to the Castello del Trebbio, for an evening of wine tasting!!

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We departed the busy streets of Rome bright and early Saturday morning, meeting before 8:00 a.m. at Termini station. Instead of being in my bed, enjoying the weekend sleep, I was across town loading a bus. But considering where we were headed, it was well worth it. After a couple of hours on the road and a break at the “Autogrill” highway pit stop, we were in Toscana!

We drove straight to the medieval town of Siena, where we spent the day. Our tour began as we entered the town, passing a basilica, and entering a piazza where our professor shared with us the history of the bank there (founded in 1472) and about money in medieval times. In this piazza was also a statue of the she-wolf, which is the legendary surrogate mother of Ramulus and Remus, who were believed to have founded Rome. According to the legend, Remus’ descendents are who founded and populated Siena, and are thus a rivalry to Ramulus’ Rome.
We then continued on into the main piazza of Siena, which was really big and open, with the oval shaped ground sloping down toward the side of the piazza with the chapel. It made for a good sitting/laying/sunbathing area, which many people there had discovered. Our professor discussed the architecture (gothic, 13th-15th C.) and history of the buildings and the chapel in the piazza. The chapel was apparently erected in thanksgiving by the people of Siena after the plague/ black death had finally ended. We continued into an old government building, which is now the Museo Civico. There was art throughout the museum, of which our professor explained the historical context, and some of the other museum visitors found interesting, as they tagged along and listened to our tour.

Since our arrival in Siena, I’d been on my cell with my dad, trying to help him find the way to where we were in the town because he’d come to visit me in Tuscany for the weekend! While we were in the museum, he’d finally found the main piazza, so I went down to meet him and lead him back to the group. It was so great to see someone from home! I was so glad to be able to share the experience with him and be connected with my family for the weekend! So, after giving my dad a big hug and then seeing some man with an owl in the piazza, we headed back into the museum to rejoin the group.

My dad loves learning, and so he especially enjoined the vast amount of knowledge and insight my professor shared as we toured the museum, as well as during all the tours throughout the weekend. After the Museo Civico, we were on our own for lunch and a bit of free time.

My dad and I wandered the quiet streets of Siena, looking for a place to eat. We found a trattoria with some interesting gourmet-sounding dishes, and decided to eat there. After a delicious lunch (topped off with warm homemade slice of cake!), we headed back to the main square to meet with the group again.
As we walked through the streets of Siena, we passed colored flags with animals on them, which we were told represent the contrade of Siena (there are 17 contrade or sections of Siena, and each contrada has a different mascot). We then arrived at the Cathedral of Siena, which was very striking in its appearance, covered in green and white striped stone. Inside, the columns and other parts had the green and white stripes as well, which was largely different from what I’m used to seeing in churches, but was interesting all the same. There was artwork on the floor, statues, relief work, paintings, just everywhere. It was quite beautiful and a lot to take in at once. Our professor pointed out four marble statues near one of the side altars that were actually an early work of Michelangelo, which he completed before being called to work on the Sistine Chapel. I got some good pictures of these as well as other parts of the Cathedral; check them out in my photo album of Tuscany!

After the Cathedral, our last stop was at the house of St. Catherine of Siena. We learned about the life of this young woman and learned that she was canonized by Pope Pius II. We went inside her house, which had a nice courtyard with a beautiful view. There were two chapels off the courtyard that we also entered and viewed in the dim light.

Outside Catherine’s house, we had a quick gelato break, and then proceeded back to the bus, where we drove to our hotel outside of Florence, in the town of Pontasieve.

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