VENEZIA, GIORNA 1

The first day in Venice started out a bit chilly and a bit hazy (literally, so don't get any ideas), but there was hope fun sunshine later on so I think we were all in high spirits. That and we could smell the ocean. 

We started off the day with a walking tour through most of Venice, but not hitting any of the touristy spots, which I was alright with since I'm trying to study architecture and not tourism. Of course we hit some regular tourist spots, it's a bit inevitable in Italy, but we didn't stay too long in those places.

This was the first view we had on the Ponte dell'Accadamia, spanning one of the main canals in Venice. Even with the haze it gave me excited jitters.

We had to move through the city pretty fast to follow our guide, but not fast enough that I couldn't creep on my friends. 

Back to serious architecture things, ergg! Our first real stop was the Querini Stampalia Foundation by Carlo Scapa (you guys will definitely get a comprehensive education on Scarpa from this trip). It was basically a palazzo that Scarpa edited so that when the waters raise too much, there is still a raised pathway to walk on. It also the creates an entirely different space within the building, since you're essentially forced onto this pre-determined island.

This is a view of a set of actually functional (at one time) doors, so a boat can pull up right to the palazzo and you can enter or exit. 

Next we stopped in Piazza San Marco on our way to the Olivetti Showroom.

Despite the signs to not feed the pigeons, people were taking picture with pigeons on their hands. I cannot even begin to tell you how gross that is. Yucky. (can you sense my distaste for pigeons?)

The Olivetti Showroom is yet another masterpiece of Scarpa's, done for the Olivetti typewriter company. We studied this building heavily in History of Architecture, so getting to see it was awesome and yet slightly disappointing. It's definitely a much smaller space than it seems in photographs and we technically weren't allowed to take photos but I was a bit past following the rules. Plus I had already gotten off about 15 shots before they even said anything, so their loss.

Scandalous photo.

After the showroom and more walking through the crowed Venice streets we hit a dead end where a gondola company is situation so that we could cross the canal to the fish market. I was pretty excited because I didn't want to pay a lot of money for a private gondola, but at the same time it's Venice and you basically have to ride one while you're there.

Needless to say, the view was gorgeous. But I wish the guy sang or something (too touristy? a girl can dream)

Once we reached the other side it was free time for lunch. We found a really inexpensive place right by and chanced it on the food, which turned out to be amazing!

Then Rachel and I each bought an apple from the market and spent the rest of our time in the sun and by the water.

Next we left the main part of Venice and road one of their waterbuses over to Giudecca, where it's significantly less touristy and more working class. There we saw the Redentore Church by Andrea Palladio, a huge name in architecture. 

It was cool, but I feel like the name impressed me more than the actual church. But then my feelings could have been influenced about the structure for other reasons, such as having to pay to enter...

After that we went to our final destination, also in Giudecca, that turned out to be one of the most architecturally and overall depressing places, strictly in my own opinion! To me it just seemed like an architectural graveyard. And the lack of people outside definitely contributed to this effect. But I enjoyed some of the more modern structures; it was just so barren and sad looking.

Maybe our professor and chaperone felt it to, because they bought us all caffe afterwards!

This clearly made Megan happy. Well, that and she shouldn't be given caffeine.

It was a bit of a long day for us, so we decided to treat ourselves with gelato. It didn't turn out to be that great, which just gave us the excuse to get more later on in the weekend. When in Venice, right?

VERONA

Our final Reading Cities trip took us to two cities this time, making sure we got our fill of Italy's finest architecture. Our fist day was spent in the lovely city of Verona, where we were able to soak up the great weather and great architecture simultaneously.

We started our day at Castelvecchio, which is known essentially for the incredibly and very different renovations that Carlos Scarpa made in order to turn the castello into a museum.

I feel like some buildings get a lot of hype because of who the architect is, but I think this one actually lives up to all of that. It could just be that I enjoy his almost minimalist style (and I say almost because he puts way too many details in to make it look so simple), but I think that this transformation really creates an experience and not just another building. As you walk through the building you are taken outside at several points, and these outdoor areas are absolutely gorgeous. It almost feels like an interactive museum than just a stoic and stationary, standard museum.

But then again Carlos Scarpa was insane and did 636 sketches just to figure out where to place this statue.

I don't usually get creeped out very easily, but this painting definitely did it for me.

After the Castelvecchio it was a relaxing lunch by the river, where Rachel and I sprawled out on a bench and attempted to soak up some sun (me laying there praying I wouldn't burn). Then after lunch we headed off to another very important Verona landmark, the Arena di Verona.

No, it is not the Colosseum, but it was built by the same people. In fact, it was built before the Colosseum; about 50 years before to be more precise. And unlike the Colosseum, this amphitheater is still in use today.

It's third ring of walls fell down in an earthquake and this is the only one left standing. They call it the "wing". Cute.

When we actually entered, we could see how it is still a completely functional space still. There were metal seats installed in the lower sections, and there was a crew working to set up a temporary stage for whatever concert was going to take place there later in the week.

After that we were free for a little while until we had to meet back up and catch our train to our next destination, Venice! So to pass the time we went with out professor to "Juliette's house". I use that name very cautiously because this area is literally just a ploy for tourists to get them to come and possibly spend some money. This obviously wasn't Juliette's old house. In fact, it used to be an old factory. Sorry to squelch the romance for any romantics out there, but you ought to know.

They did put in a little effort and add a balcony that you can pay and go up to so that you can get a picture like Juliette. (I'm sure this became way more popular after that movie Letters to Juliette.)

Regardless of how I feel, the place was swarming with people and couple putting their love locks on the gate or going up and touching the breast of the Juliette statue (which is supposed to bring luck. How? I'm not sure. Has anyone pay attention to the morbidity of that story? Who was lucky?)

After that we took a slightly more scenic route back to the bus stop, and from there headed to the train station, and even further to Venice.

MILANO, GIORNA 3

First off, let me sincerely apologize for having disappeared for the last week or so. Mid-crit production was tough as usual, and I wasn't able to get this last day of Milan up before the madness hit. And then right after our mid-crit's I was whisked off for school again. I have yet another busy week before me with some mid terms and then spring break, but I'm hoping to be diligent and get all caught up on updating you guys here. 

Alright, now to the last day of Milan. We had even less planned for the day, with our schedule consisting of just one building for the day, leaving the rest of the day for our own explorations.

Also, thumbs up to Milan for having a vending machine for books and slightly restoring my faith in this generation.

So after another short metro ride, we walked through the larger of the two public parks in the city, and ended up at la Triennale di Milano. It is yet another piece of fascist architecture in Milan, but despite its form it houses contemporary and modern art/exhibitions. It's layout is pretty simple, taking the form of a stadium, and allows plenty of room for temporary exhibits to be shown. We went into one such exhibit that was about food, which I thought was pretty appropriate considering our studio projects are gastronomy centers. And then I was scolded for pictures in this exhibit, but to my defense they used bubble wrap as ceiling decoration. They were just asking for it.

Although I wasn't too fond of the exhibitions in the building, I did like the upstairs and this simple little bridge (that we weren't allowed on. Frowns.)

Then it was time to do whatever we wanted (to some extent) until it was time to get the train back to Florence. Rachel and I hung out and waled around the large park for a bit with our friends Megan, Pam, Theresa, and Forrest.

It was the only sunny day we had in Milan and this park was a great place to soak it up.

Even the turtles were sun bathing. I can't really blame them, and if I wasn't a ginger I'd be tempted to have the same pose.

After breaking off from the group, Rachel and I decided to just get lost in the neighborhood and see the architecture. We both thoroughly enjoyed the architecture and layout of the city and we just wanted to see more of it on our last day. Needless to say, we definitely accomplished this goal.

This road was gorgeous; from the facades, to the bends in the road, to the regularity of the trees, it was lovely.

All it would take would be a glance down a side street and you'd get to see a funky or interesting building that sparked an interest in you. I'm not even a fan of colored buildings, but this one had awesome forms, and the green roof was a soft spot for me (no pun intended).

I'll just spam you all with pictures of the buildings that I saw and loved. Maybe I'll add some text in here and there, but don't get too excited. Just scroll through and appreciate how awesome Milan was.

Honestly, I know this building doesn't look like much, but it really was stunning in person. And the wooden sliding shutters...oh I died and went to heaven.

Whoever lives here definitely wins the award for having the best shutters. Just an observation. 

And that was essentially how Milan ended, in this beautiful iron cage of a train station.

MILANO, GIORNA 2

Our second day in Milan had a much less packed schedule, but it was raining all that much more.

We ventured out in the morning to Cenacolo Vinciano where we got to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, we saw the real painting (well it was restored technically, but still) on the real wall of the church. It wasn't much of an architectural venture, but it was still really beautiful and amazing to see. Plus, Rachel and I had fun using our new skills from our Italian Art class to figure out who was who in the painting.

After our reserved time at the Cenacolo Vinciano, we headed over to the Castello Sforzesco, which was a medeival castle that was restored by BBPR into an Ancient Art museum. (Note: the Sforzesco family are the ones who comissioned da Vinci to paint The Last Supper.) It was very interesting because though parts of the Castle were restored, and it's not even as large as it was in it's prime, the building its self becomes a piece in the exhibit, while also housing historical pieces. The way that BBPR chose to display the pieces was also very interesting to see. I very much enjoyed the blending of the ancient art within it's original context while being displayed in very modern fashions.

This tapestry display is a great example. It would have been hung up against a wall originally, but BBPR created this stand to hang it in the middle of the room, out of it's context but still within it's context. It certain grabs your eye and allows you to really get to see all of it. 

I also really enjoyed their intertwining of modern pathways through the structure.

Those two places were our only scheduled visits, but we also decided to collectively got to Santa Maria presso S. Satiro, a church well known to us architecture majors. What makes this church so special is the fact that Bramante was able to take such a small space and make it seem so much larger with his illusion that makes the t-shaped church appear to be a latin-cross church.

As you enter, you can see the fake archway, and it admittedly looks very convincing, even when you know that it's not real.

But if you go off of the central axis that illusion is shattered.

Once we were finished at the church we were on our own to explore Milan however we wanted for that day. I chose to go with a few people to the Andy Warhol exhibit. It's a showing of a private collection, and since my friend from home is absolutely in love with Andy Warhol, I decided it justified going. I think some of his work is hilarious anyways, even if it isn't meant to be funny (that's my prerogative anyways).

After standing in the freezing cold and pouring rain for at least a half an hour and having to pay €9.90 to get in, I would almost say that this awesome umbrella stand makes up for it. Plus is was free. Along with the headseats we got to use (seen below) to take us through the whole exhibit.

I only got away with taking two shots in the exhibit before I got yelled at. One was the one you see here of Rachel and I, and the other one I'm keeping to myself (who knows if it'll come up on Google and I'll get sued. Eh, I'm not risking it) (I also got scolded quite a few times on this trip for taking pictures in places I'm not supposed to, but they don't put up clear enough signs, so I'm not apologizing for it. It's all because of who owns the rights to the works anyways.)

We spent a significant amount of time going through this super large collection of Andy Warhol works, and in the last room was his silk-screens and personal renditions of The Last Supper. I thought that was a fitting way to wrap up the day.

So we trudged back to our hotel to dry off and warm up.

Here's just a little fun picture to allow you to see how much it rained there that day. The tram lines even flooded.

MILANO, GIORNA 1

Ahh finally, the Milan update. Hopefully no one in the other group reads this because I don't want to spoil the fun for them. 

Milan started out as another early morning and high speed train ride. Instead of having a bus take us to our hotel, we got to use Milan's fantastic metro system. It looks relatively similar to New York's subways, but it was definitely cleaner looking and smelled a lot less like urine. Over the next few days, I would become very familiar with this metro, because Milan has a totally different urban fabric than the other cities we've been to before.

So after arriving and dumping our stuff at the hotel we headed off for the city center, which was only about 20 minutes away from our hotel.

The first thing that I had noticed when we were walking to the center was that there is a lot of foliage happening on the buildings in Milan. And it's purposeful, as can be seen in the picture above (no, not Eugenio's beard, behind that) and it's wonderful.

Then as we continued to walk down a street filled with shops (much to expensive for me to ever dream about entering) I could suddenly see the outlines of an airy, enormous structure. And then it clicked, that was the Cathedral of Milan.

Even the back (apse) was gorgeous, with its flowery stained-glass windows. 

Since it wasn't raining we were able to do our scheduled visit to the terraces. After about 200 loving steps. 

Fortunately the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking and more than rewarding. So now I will just spam you all with snip-its of the beauty atop this Gothic masterpiece. 

After we spent a very sufficient amount of time on top of the Cathedral we actually went inside. Unfortunately they don't allow pictures unless you pay and get a wristband, so since I'm a struggling college student I think you can all forgive me for not having any pictures of the interior. You all know how to use Google anyways. 

Following the Cathedral, our next stop was the building just next to it called the Museum of the 20th Century. It was once a Fascist building that was transformed into a museum. It houses contemporary art, and well as being renovated in a contemporary style. I very much enjoyed the renovations done, but the art...well that's a completely different story.

I even enjoyed the exterior look of it, even through my dislikes of Fascist architecture.

This main interior ramp that takes you to the gallery was also quite beautiful, and maybe a little Guggenheim-esque.

Although some of the art was useful for selfies. *walks away in shame for this picture*

We took a lunch break after the museum, and then reconvened for our tour of the city center. It started by visiting the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Even if you don't recognize the name, you'd recognize it through images. It's filled with shops even more expensive than I saw before the Cathedral, but surprisingly it also houses a lot of charitable organizations, though those are on the top floors.

The architecture of this space is stunning, and if it wasn't so cold, I'm sure my senses would have been tricked into thinking that I was actually inside a building, instead of an outdoor space.

From here, our guide took us to many different locations, some simply on busy street corners. These chaotic locations and the added fact that it was raining pretty heavily didn't allow me to take copious notes or photographically note all of the places that we visited. But it was still an incredibly informative tour. When we initially stepped out of the Galleria we immediately entered another piazza that was explained to have just recent been pedestrianized, that is to say that no cars can drive on the road-like areas. Our guide then posed us the question: how much of a city can be pedestrianized before you kill it? Just something to think upon.

Another interesting point that he brought up had to do with the bombing of Milan during WWII. Although it is a somber thought, the fact that parts were bombed brought about great opportunities for architects. This really made more and more sense as I spent time in Milan, since it is a much more modern city than any in Italy that I had been to yet. And I couldn't help but also be glad for the modern buildings and what they have done for the feel of the city.

UPDATE : super quick edition

Hey family and friends, I've been in Milan all weekend with no internet access (they wanted €3 for 2 hours! preposterous!) so I haven't been able to get any sort of posts for that started. I'm also at a tricky part with my studio design and am a little stuck on that, plus our mid-reviews are coming up next week. So if I don't make a break-through in my thoughts for my design the Milan posts may not be up for a while. But have no fear, I am alive and well and loving everything here. And of course for my family I am always reachable by phone (since I actually have wifi here). Thanks again for all of your patience!!