Marcia Hewitt

Italy Response Paper

     “It was good.  Rome was a little overwhelming but Florence was beautiful.  The weather?  It was pretty cold in the shade, but it only rained one day.” 

In the weeks after my trip to Italy, I heard the question, “How was your trip?” so many times my response became automatic.  I didn’t even think.  I just spoke the polite answer to the polite question.  But when I stop and really consider it, what did I take from my trip to Italy?  Is “good” really the best way to describe all that I experienced?  “Good” doesn’t even start to describe the lasting impressions of Italy’s history.  “Good” is far from the overwhelming awe I felt standing in front of some of the greatest art in history.  “Good” doesn’t come near to expressing the lessons I learned about culture clashes.  “Good” is really meaningless when it comes to trying to describe the impact visiting Italy has had on me. 

            The first thing to hit me in Rome was the history of it.  Growing up in a country that just celebrated its bicentennial, it is almost incomprehensible to go to a country that had a complex, civilized government 2000 years ago.  This was most resonant at the coliseum.  Walking under those huge stone arches and contemplating the feat of construction in a time before machines left me awestruck.  The raw work necessary for such a task was only part of the realization.  It also occurred to me what great authority was needed for such an undertaking.  Someone needed to plan it, manage the resources and organize the labor force among other things.  If someone told George W. Bush that he needed to build a stadium to hold 50,000 spectators with no computers, no phones, no automobiles and no mechanical tools, I honestly don’t think he could do it.  He just doesn’t have that kind of extensive authority.

            It is interesting that the coliseum can at once be a symbol of greatness and a symbol of violence and pain.  Horrible acts of violence took place there, and yet they don’t seem to be at the forefront of visitors’ minds.  Is it because the violence is so far removed it no longer seems real?  Or do visitors subconsciously measure the hurt of the lives lost against the amazing feat of the architecture, which somehow wins?  This clash of beauty and violence that I felt at the coliseum reminded me of Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever.  The ladies in the story were experiencing a conflict to, between the beauty of human relationships, friendship and love, and the violence of jealously and competition.  Seeing the coliseum in person, helped me to understand what a dual symbol it really was.    

            Being an art history minor, one of the most powerful parts of the trip for me was all the fabulous art we were exposed to.  It was fun to see all of the famous Renaissance work.  It is very fulfilling to see in real life the things you have been heard about so many times.  And now, when I read about them, or see them or learn about them in class, whatever I am learning will mean even more to me because I have seen the work in person.   However, it wasn’t the Renaissance art work that had the greatest impression on me.  The Renaissance was a rebirth of rationality and reason, idealism and perfection.  While I can see the appeal of perfection, how interesting is it really?  How interesting is something that is totally calm and contemplative, void of all action?  How interesting is something that has no flaws? No deviations?  Something with no emotional struggles or conflicts?  I hate to admit it, but I can see where the crazy guy who hammered the David’s toe was coming from.  Perfection of that sort is frustrating, not to mention boring and hard on the self esteem.  Now the Baroque period on the other hand is an artistic period I can get behind.

            I like to call my free day in Rome “The Best of Baroque.”  In the morning I saw some of the top Baroque painting and in the afternoon some of the best examples of Baroque sculpture.  The paintings were five Caravaggio’s spread throughout three Cathedrals in the eastern part of the city.  What a masterful manipulator.  A 1500’s version of modern advertisement.  I too, would go to church if I got to stare at those beautiful, moving pictures each time.  Seeing a Caravaggio in person erases any confusion or doubt in the effectiveness of the counter-reformation.  The way he uses deep chiaroscuro to dramatize his pictures is genus.  It pulls the viewer right to the part of the picture that is most important, for instance Christ’s face and hand pointing to the disciple Matthew in the painting depicting his calling.  Unfortunately, I may never be able to look at a reproduction of a Caravaggio again, it would be too much of a let down after experiencing the real thing.

            The sculpture I saw was the quintessential Bernini.  Bernini is the face of Baroque sculpture, especially thanks to the recent publicity of the Dan Brown book, Angels and Demons.  At the Borghese Gallery I saw, Bernini’s version of David and also his Apollo and Daphne.  Both of these sculptures were dynamic.  They had motion and emotion.  Their bodies were just as realistic as Michelangelo’s David and in addition, the Bernini’s had tension and excitement.  You could stare at them for hours, walking around them, viewing each angle and you would continually discover new details.

            As impressive as the sculptures at the Borghese Gallery were, they even compare to what was probably my favorite work of art viewed on the trip, Bernini’s The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, in the cathedral of San Maria del Vittoria.  The sculptural centerpiece of the work was every bit as emotive and moving as the other sculptures.  But unlike the others, The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, calls down to its viewers form a theatrical set of Christian propaganda.  She is surrounded by heavenly rays, brass highlighted by actual light from a hidden window.  She is framed by architectural elements and watched by a sculpted balcony full of pious and influential viewers.  The whole effect is very theatrical.  Scott Pask, last years Tony award winner for best scenic design for a play wouldn’t have had a chance if Bernini were around today.  He knew how to use every trick in the book to get people’s attentions and emotions, and his work is still effective today.  Catholic or not, Christian or not, the piece is executed so completely viewers can not help but feel moved by the higher power that is moving this woman.  It is impossible to look at her face and not understand at least a part of what she is feeling.  I found myself unable to turn away; It was intoxicating.     

Not everything I gained from my Italy experience is as abstract as history and art.  I also learned a lot about human relationships, especially in regards to cultural differences.  I would agree with what seems to be the recent strain of thought, that visiting another culture is extremely important for personal understanding and development.  I am lucky now to have visited Scotland and Italy.  While neither place was anywhere I would be interested in living, the experience of visiting did two important things for me.  First, it taught me to be more tolerant of people from other cultures here in the United States.  Until you are the outsider, you never know what it feels like.  In Italy, we were constantly stared at and talked about.  If we happened upon a local café, as we did in Venice, we could feel that we were the center of attention of everyone there.  While people were not hostile or even impolite to us, it was very uncomfortable to be “other.”  Hopefully, by taking a turn at being different, all of us will be more careful about how we treat people who are different on our home turf.       

            Along the same line, you never really understand cultural differences until you experience them yourself.  Mostly it was little things, like how I was scolded by the server if I didn’t clean my plate in a restaurant.  Or how cross walks in Italy don’t actually ensure that cars will stop for you.  Although these differences are mostly small and insignificant, they give international travelers a sense of how sensitive cultural clashes can be.  The little differences that we experienced in Italy serve as a sample.  They give us a better frame for understanding the bigger differences, for example iconoclasm or veiling of certain Muslim communities.  I hope my exposure to Italian culture will help me to remember how American my viewpoints are and give me a better patience and understanding when thinking of other cultures. 

            Also, it was interesting for me to see the relationships that developed on this trip.  It is always interesting to see how people who don’t know each other bond when thrown into a group together.  That is the appeal of Reality TV isn’t it?  Unfortunately, I think when relationships are formed out of necessity like this, they are rarely lasting.  It is sad really, to think of all the fun things we did together in those ten days and how few people I have seen since getting back.  It is sad how once back in our normal schedules with our “real” friends we just kind of forget the relationships we put so much time into in those ten days.  Roman Holiday seems much less heartbreaking and much more realistic when thought of in this context.     

            “Good?”  Yeah I guess you could say it was good.  But you could also say it was an experience in a history that reaches so far back it is almost unintelligible.  You could say it was an appreciation of the most inspiring, moving art I have ever seen.  You could say it was a life lesson in cross cultural appreciation and understanding.  You could even say it was a consideration of the fleeting nature of human relationships.  But yeah, you could say it was “good.”   

            I think that I deserve an “A” grade for this class.  I did not miss any class time before the trip.  I was an active participant in the D2L discussion, participating at least three times a week by posting my opinions and reading everyone else’s.  I feel that my D2L responses were thoughtful and articulate.  I took time to fully analyze my opinions and state them in an intelligent and clear manner.  I have done my best to write a polished and thoughtful reaction to the parts of the Italy Tour that were most meaningful to me.  Because of these things, I think I deserve an “A” in the class.