On a musical Journey, I along with the Westminster May term
group traveled through seven uniquely intriguing Italian cities. Beginning in
Venice with opera Don Giovanni and finishing in Milan with the ever so well
fitting epic conclusion to Wagner’s Ring Cycle. We experienced food, wine,
sights, language barriers and musical performances with the help of planes,
trains, boats, bikes, buses, and foot.
We began in the city of canals, where boats and feet are the
only mode of transportation. We spent the first couple of days here where we
did the touristy things like trying gelato for the first time, riding the
gondola, and going out to eat as a massive collection of college students. Going
for morning runs, learning the language, drinking wine, and getting lost were
the routine for the two days spent in this water wonderland. Last but not least
we finished off with a steamy and powerful opera known as Don Giovanni which
was composed by the infamous Mozart.
We then travelled by bus through the epic and very scenic
mountains of Northern Italy and arrived at our destination, Castellina in
Chianti, right before dinner. With amazement we took to our new home, a
wonderful Tuscan Villa that is perched on the top of a hillside and surrounded
by beautiful vineyards. Then it was time for dinner, where I experienced firsthand
what it is like to eat and live like an Italian. Where the food is the catalyst
for the entertainment and conversation of the night. Our four course meal
consisted of wonderful fresh and local vegetables, hand rolled pasta, and
homemade apple tart for dessert. It was paired with Reds and Whites Chianti
that were grown right on our homeland, Vegi Vineyard. The group was very
content calling this 17th century, but newly remodeled, Villa our home base for
the next week.
The next few days consisted of day trips to the Renaissance
capital of the world, and capital of Tuscany, Florence. I remember taking this
down in my notebook while gazing out at the panoramic view of the city from the
Pitti Gardens; “The city burst at the seams with endless winding streets
colored with hues of orange, yellow, and pale off white. Flower beds and
awnings add nice little accents to the rustic slated tile roof tops that cover
the renaissance style homes. The city is nestled right up against the foot of a
terrific mellow mountain range that grows from the ground and offers a
spectacular spectrum of green from the dark wooded areas all the way to light
green open faces. Houses of yellow, white, and red are dropped without pattern
into these magnificent hills and seem to rest so peacefully” As if that wasn’t
enough, this city was the creative hotspot of the Renaissance period and has a
legendary artistic history. I was fortunate enough to glance at both of Botticelli’s
masterpieces, the Birth of Venus and the Primavera. Also, seeing the Statue of
David was one of the greatest artistic and touristic moments of my life. It
opened up a whole new world of appreciation for me as I was taken back by the
sheer size and attention to detail that Michelangelo carved into this Marble. Plus
this city offers an amazing open air market and beautiful sights around every
corner.
Besides one sunny day that we spent hanging out at the infinity
pool, drinking wine and eating cheese, every other day consisted of small day
trips to cities like Ferrara, Siena, Piza and Luca. These cities all stood out
as in their unique way things about them. For example, Siena housed many
incredible churches and gave off a small and local Italian feel. Piza was a
small city but houses the seemingly magical leaning tower that was lots of fun
to take pictures and people watch around. We also made a small detour here and
went out to Mediterranean coast to eat fresh seafood. Luca was one of my
favorite cities because it offered a break from the regular walking routine. It
was here that we all rented bicycles and got to explore this little gem of a
city on two wheels instead of two feet. This is a city I am always going to
want to return to with a motorcycle, as the winding streets and countless Ducati’s
unleashed a fire in my soul to rip some Italian metal around those bends.
The last major city that we went to was the fashion capital
of the world, Milan. It has been a while, actually the entire trip, since I
have seen anything like this metropolitan gem of high fashion, status and
culture. A trendy mix of old and new style architecture outlined the city that
holds multiple Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Ferrari, Ducati stores in which you can
easily blow your entire bank account in less than 5 minutes. I must add that it
was fun to go window shopping through a mall that was 11 stories tall and
filled with Designer stores! Then there was the Opera. Housed at Teatro Alla
Scalla, the most prestigious opera house in the entire world. The Westminster
students had the pleasure of witnessing the fourth and final act of the Ring
Cycle, Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera which is the life
masterpiece of Wagner, and a 6 hour long opera. The orchestra was grand and the
singers had powerful ways of wooing the audience. It was a great show! It was a
wonderful way to conclude this life changing experience and trip.
I feel like this final blog post would not be complete
without some discussion of the Food and Wine of this culinary motherland.
Although overall the trip consisted heavily of Panini and Pizza consumption,
there were a few dishes and drinks that absolutely fulfilled my expectations of
hearty, local, and flavorful Italian delicacies. For food, I must say that
experiencing authentic hand rolled Italian pasta was my favorite experience.
The best pasta dish that I had was in Florence at this small little restaurant,
which was tucked away behind the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge. Kelli’s Al Forno
pasta dish took home the golden star for best taste of the trip. Hand rolled
pappardelle noodles coat your tongue with a delicious creamy béchamel sauce
that is full of buttery notes and slight spices which pairs nicely with the
tender and consistently warm meat mixed in the dish. And the wine, ahh the
wine. So I had many nice experiences with wine on this trip. The majority of
them took place in Venice with my professor Michael and dear friend Patrick. It
was in this city where I experienced my first Wine bar as well as my first real
introduction to wine tasting. I also have to give credit to the producers of
Vegi wine which is the local wine that is made where we stayed in Tuscany. But
do to the nature of this blog post, I will keep it short and sweet and just
describe the star of the trip – an Amarone from 2009. This beautifully complex
red is full of deep raspberry and oak aromas. My lips pursed as it entered with
a tart sensation, my tongue then rejoiced as the wine balanced itself out and I
started to pick up on the fruity berry notes this wine had to offer, and then
just as I felt content, I swallowed and found that the wine performs just as
well in the finish as anything else as it trails with a nice sensation of
bitterness followed by a long lasting berry. The complexity is visible in the
color as the center of the wine has a deep burgundy color which lightly simmers
to a beautiful red that reminds me of a rose from the first love. As Chipman
described perfectly; Color synapses of red, blue, and purple fire in the brain as
the final trio of Richard Strauss, Rosen Kavalier plays as an anthem. This
experience exposed me first hand to the joy of drinking wine as I found myself
easily passing time over a nice red and some cheese. It was first hand exposure
to the Italian mindset; il dolce far
niente (the sweetness of doing nothing).
What an incredible trip this has been. Traveling through the
northern part of Italy on a musical journey was the best possible way I could
have spent this month. I am incredibly grateful for this experience because it
helped me grow as a person, friend and student. A bittersweet sensation has
overcome me as I realize that it is now over, but I also realize that it was an
amazing trip and will lead to great stories and memories that will serve me
over a lifetime.
