Florence, Italy
Architectural Sites and Monuments Visited:
- Duomo di Firenze
- Ponte Vecchio
- San Miniato al Monte
- Santa Maria Novella
- Galleria Uffizi
- Palazzo Pitti
- Giardino di Boboli
- Teatro della Pergola
- Certosa di Firenze
- Villa Machiavelli
- Palazzo Vecchio
- Palazzo Davanzati
- Basilica di San Lorenzo
- Basilica di Santa Croce
- Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
- Museo Enzo Ferrari ( Modena)
- Museo Ferrari (Maranello)
- Orsanmichele
- Palazzo Medici Riccardi
- Santo Spirito
- Santa Trinita
Daily Journal
May 3-4, 2023
LAX → AMS → FCO
On day 2 we completed our travel to Rome and explored the immediate area around our hotel including St. Peter’s Square.
may 5, 2023
Day 3 was our first full activity day. We began with orientation and then headed out to St. Peter’s to do a quick 30 minute sketch. We then walked to Ponte Sant’ Angelo and sketched Castel Sant’ Angelo. We took some photos of the river and then walked down the steps and walked along the beautiful path next to the river. We then stopped again at Ponte Umberto I and did a detailed sketch facing back towards the city with the river and trees as the foreground and the city as the background. We walked to Piazza del popolo for more sketching and lunch/gelato. We walked down Via del Corso to the Trevi Fountain and sketched then broke away and checked some other places out on our own before making our way to Piazza Navona for dinner and more gelato.
may 6, 2023
Today we sketched and toured the Ara Pacis museum and then has the rest of the day to do some shopping and walk around on our own. For dinner, we attended a cooking class and made our own pasta and tiramisu.
may 8, 2023
Today was a recovery day for most of us. We started the day by fighting for space on the metro and getting split up on the way to the colosseum. We then walked from the metro to Trajan’s Market and sketched some details around the ruins. We then moved along to the Campidoglio for a long sketch and went on a lunch break. We got some lunch and took a nap at the hotel. Then we walked back across the river to Palazzo Spada and took some pictures during our tour and Ryan’s presentation on forced perspective. We then went back to the hotel and relaxed and developed our previous sketches before ending the night.
may 9, 2023
We began today by taking the metro over to the two churches first listed on the site list. We each had to compare the two similar basilicas and sketch one part of each to show the comparison. I added the sketch at the end of the photos here. We then broke for lunch and met back up at the arch of Constantine. From here we took a lengthy tour of the forum and all of the sites of ruins in the area and proceeded to the colosseum. We toured the colosseum and sang Amanda happy birthday outside before taking our group photo and finishing for the day.
may 10, 2023
Today had many ups and downs. We started the day off with a tour of the Vatican museum. It took an hour standing outside to even get inside, but once we did, it was a wonderful experience. There are so many things to look at it that it is almost overwhelming. We probably saw about 50% of the museum on the 1 hour guided tour and we were released to walk on our own and sketch. We sketched a spiral stair then proceeded back to the Sistine Chapel to meet the group before moving to St Peter’s Basilica on a tight schedule. As we entered back into the museum, the three of us quickly realized the guards had blocked the short itinerary paths that we took before and we were forced to see 100% of the museum AGAIN and could not go back or move faster. This was a stressful experience as it had us weaving through guests trying ti get out. We were 30 mins late to the next stop and then we waited in line for Saint Peter’s. The church was magnificent and easily the best church we will see in Rome and possibly for the entire trip. We then got some art supplies and saw some beautiful views on our way back.
may 11, 2023
For day 9, we packed our activities into the morning in order to have a restful afternoon. We started by walking to the Pantheon and sketched the famous dome from inside. We then walked to Piazza Sant’ Ignazio and sketched the piazza and basilica. I chose to do a section across the piazza to show the relationship of the spaces both interior and exterior. We then proceeded to St Ivo della Sapienza where we stopped to sketch in the courtyard and took a group photo. Finally, we walked across the street to piazza Navona for a presentation and were released for the day. Our smaller group shopped and got gelato before walking back to the hotel and taking a long afternoon nap. After waking up, we went out again for dinner and tiramisu and finished the day with doing our laundry in the laundromat for the first time.
may 12, 2023
Today we visited some catacombs outside the city and had a special tour guide lead us through the underground labyrinth. No photos were allowed. We then drove through the EUR and stopped at St Paul’s basilica, the second largest in Rome and the 5th largest in the world. The details were incredible at the basilica and we spent the most time there. We then stopped for lunch and gelato. This time I had chicken fettuccine Alfredo for the first time this trip and the gelato flavors I tried were KitKat, cherry, and Raspberry and white chocolate. We then continued on the basilica di San Clemente and walked through the excavated site beneath the church (seen in these pictures).
may 13, 2023
Day 11 was a fun day for us! We began the day by taking a bus to Auditorium Parco della Musica where we got to see some wonderful work from architect Renzo Piano. We received a private tour of the three auditoriums before the site opened to the public. Each auditorium was unique from the others and formed a semicircle around the center of the site. You can see the beautiful material choices for the acoustics and even the small touches of the neon inspirational signs throughout the project. The simple design caught us by surprise with these magic touches. Secondly, we saw our first Zaha Hadid building: the MAXXI museum. The MAXXI is a beautiful contemporary piece of architecture and stunts some incredible organic shapes and pathways throughout. This evening we had the pleasure of participating in La Notte di Musei (night of the museums.) Tonight only, all museum were left open from 8pm-2am and only costed €1 to enter. It was a fun event and the city was very alive for being so late at night.
may 15, 2023
For day 13 we took a bus to go visit some Richard Meier churches and then we made a visit to the EUR after lunch. The EUR was a research topic for one of my classes so I was able to walk around and inform my peers of some things we were seeing and then I presented my site of La Nuvola.
may 16, 2023
Today was a short half day. We started by walking to the tempietto for some pictures and sketching and then continued up the hill to a fountain with a beautiful lookout of the city to sketch the skyline. We grabbed some lunch and did some laundry as we start packing for the move to Florence coming soon.
