In the weeks leading up to the start of my classes at the Università di Firenze, I’ve had a little bit of extra time to go on a few excursions to some beautifully surreal locations nearby Florence. I think that one of the strange things about traveling is that it’s often difficult for the mind to reconcile the image of a place with the place itself. I’ve logged a fair chunk of time imagining myself traveling through Italy to the extent that now, when I’m actually here, it feels dreamlike. I can’t count the number of times that myself and the other students here with me have asked each other versions of “Is this real?” and “Are we actually here?”
I recently visited Siena, Pisa, and two of the small beach towns that make up Cinque Terre. I thoroughly enjoyed each trip, but there was something about the medieval city of Siena that particularly spoke to me. Its history was so palpable; the air was heavy with it as I walked up the narrow, cobblestoned alleyways and crossed over the threshold into the main cathedral. To say it was like stepping back in time would oversimplify the experience, it was more like having a nagging intuition that the past and present were somehow happening in tandem.
One of the events that Siena is famous for is Il Palio, a horse race that takes place twice a year in the Piazza del Campo. Although I did not have the opportunity to time my visit with the spectacle, I did get to spend some time admiring the Piazza del Campo.
I first caught a glimpse of it at the end of a small side street which then magically opened to reveal a massive space lined with cafes and restaurants. And sitting at the edge of this sloped piazza, with a prosciutto filled panino in hand, I couldn’t help but feel validated in my romantic predilections about Italy and excited for the months to come.
-Kate
