It was our only full day in Tuscany, and our last full day in Italy.  Tomorrow, we’ll take the train straight to Innsbruck, Austria.  I already begin to wonder if I have seen enough of Italy.  However, John, the guy, one of the organizers of this B&B informed us that our train route tomorrow will go through the Dolomites north of Verona, so I guess I will see more of Italy.

Before this trip I knew I wanted to make Italy a part of this trip.  My family heritage is 50% Italian, and I had always considered that a part of who I am.  Mostly, to explain my lack of patience sometimes I would say: “I have about the level of patience you’d expect from an Italian-American New Yorker”.  However, I’d never known about the culture, beyond the basics.  Now, I kind of understand, or feel like I understand it more.  From now on, those maps of Italy put onto pizza boxes in America will mean more to me.

Today we went to the town of Siena, after an amazing breakfast cooked by the staff here at Poggerino.  Siena, like Florence, “grew up”, in the Middle Ages.  For a few centuries (1000 to 1400-ish), these cities were constantly in conflict with each other over supremacy and influence in the region.  Florence, more or less, eventually won this battle, and Siena was “vanquished” to smaller status (still true today).  This was around the time the Middle Ages gave way to the Renaissance.   It is probably no coincidence that Florence became the city in Italy most associated with the Renaissance, attracting thinkers/inventors from all over Europe.

In a way every place we visited has an associated time period.  Rome- the Roman Empire, Siena- The Middle Ages, Florence- The Renaissance, The Tuscan Vineyards- now, as it is currently one of the wealthiest and best known parts of Italy.  So, given the small allocation of time, I think I did well and learned a lot about Italian culture and history, about my history in a way.

Finally, I was wayyy excited to have purchased salami, cheese, bread, soda, and an orange from a local shop in Radda, and eaten at home.  It was only 8,64 Euro, so we saved between 25 and 50 (Euro), and we ate at 6 PM (after all, we are American), and did not have to drive unlit roads in rough terrain at night like last night.

Staying at home allowed us to witness a casual fire around 8 PM.  This week’s weather has been warm and dry.  I’ve already gone though all of the short-sleeved shirts I brought.  Today though was windier, making it seem like textbook wildfire weather.  This fire was actually on Poggerino property.  It appeared as though the wind ignited a fire among a pile of dry leaves and wood pieces.  We were worried, and even tried to contact the proprietors of this establishment.  But, noting came of it, and the fire died around 10 PM, when the wind calmed down.  Maybe I am a stupid city slicker.  Or, maybe we got lucky and I need to learn to be more self-sufficient.

How important is it to preserve our history?  It is obvious that different cultures at different time periods have answered this question differently.  Today was our main day of touring around Rome.  We saw all of the sights of ancient Rome, including the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and Circus Maximus.  Throughout the viewing of these buildings a common theme showed up.  Apparently, between the mid 4^th Century (when Rome converted to Catholicism), and around 1800, these historic buildings were not only left to rust, but often their metal was raided for the purpose of making weaponry, or to build the Saint Peter’s Basilica.

A Spanish-speaking tour guide engaged her students in a discussion before viewing the Roman Forum.  I listened in on it, as we were waiting for our English language tour to begin.  She discussed with her students about how Rome has two histories; a pagan one and a catholic one, each with their own point of view.  The Catholics viewed much of the pagan history with shame, as evidenced by the abandonment of the Colosseum and it’s inhumane fight to the death Gladiator games.  This is probably why they so readily let these buildings get destroyed.

The one ancient building preserved through the ages is a building called the Pantheon, which was built in the year 120 AD.  This building was preserved because it was converted into a church to serve a Catholic purpose during the 8^th Century.  It is Rome’s oldest still in use building.  After viewing the Ancient Roman buildings, we went to this building.  After that, we decided to just “Roam around Rome”.  We went over the Tiber River on the cheesiest bridge we had ever seen, the San Angelo Bridge.  Then, we literally stumbled on the Vatican.  Previously, we had absolutely no plans to visit this place, but since we were like right there, we went to look at it.  While there, I actually wondered whether nearby Catholics went to the Vatican on a weekly basis for mass, the same way any other Catholic would go to their nearby church, but the nearest one just happens to be the one the Pope speaks at.  That would be crazy.  Finally, we ate at Campo di Fiori, a really nice area, with somewhat of a nightlife feel.  But, today overall was a tiring day.

Today was another first for me.  I rode Rome’s subway system.  It was the first time I had ever ridden a train outside the United States.  The train cars themselves looked quite a bit like the ones in New York, but the system overall reminded me much more of DC’s (multiple levels of Subway, and the design of the train stations and entrances).  Oh, and Piazza de Navona was also kind of cheesy.

Today was the day I embarked on my first European vacation.  In fact, this is the first foreign country I have ever visited besides Canada.  And most people don’t think that Canada really counts as a foreign country.  In fact, Homer Simpson called Canada “America Junior”.

Our trip began with a flight from Chicago to Rome.  We actually flew into Zurich, Switzerland first, and then into Rome, as the best deal we could find was on Swiss Air.  When we arrived in Rome, I was kind of overwhelmed a bit.  I definitely deserve credit for going outside my comfort zone.  Firstly, the baggage claim at the airport was really slow.  A frequent European traveler at the baggage claim verified that this is one of the slowest baggage claims in the world, at least the world he knows.

We had arranged a shuttle bus ride from the airport to the hotel, as we knew we would be tired after the long flight(s), and would not want to wander all over the place with our luggage.  The bus driver was really friendly, but did not speak any English.  In addition to that, all of the roads were so much different than the roads I am used to.

To tell you the truth, I immediately felt kind of bad about having not learned the language before coming here.  I mean, it is their country.  Adding to my confusion, Italian sounds kind of like Spanish, a language I know fairly well (used to know better).  So, I spent the whole day kind of paralyzed in a way.  I did not say anything, because I was afraid I would accidentally spew out Spanish words and sound like an even bigger idiot than I already sort of seemed like.

Rome is the most confusing city I’ve ever navigated.  So many short, narrow roads.  The address system is weird to me.  We went and saw the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and a few monuments.  In a directional triumph, I did not get us lost once!  Our hotel is right in the middle of the touristy area so it is safe here, but crowded.  I probably could not live here because it is so crowded.  Traffic did not seem as crazy as the city’s reputation, but it is Sunday, so we’ll see tomorrow.  Also, there is almost no green space here (parks, etc.).  I am also surprised to see the occasional palm tree.

We had Italian Gelato, which was amazing!  There are like 9 gelato places within a 5-minute walk of our hotel.  Also had pasta here- it was good- got linguine with fruitti de mare.

The whole time today I kept thinking about two things….

1.  How Rome was once the center of the world.  How Mussolini tried to bring those glory days back, you know with those models of the ancient city in his basement and such.  And how much older this place is.  There is more history here than in any other place I have ever been before.  The closest I have been are places like Annapolis (Maryland), and Plymouth Rock (Massachusetts), which date back to like the 1600s, not even close.

2.  Having much of my heritage from Italy, but being four generations removed, how much can I really identify with this place?  I remember traditions as a kid that were distinctly Italian, but the culture here still seems so foreign, so different than what I know.  Still it’s a part of my family history