Arezzo, Italy: This laid-back Tuscan hill town with an Etruscan history is where I solidified my love for Italian language and culture. After studying language two years ago and subsequently couchsurfing in Northern Italy for two weeks, I felt moved to declare Italian as an additional major. I've been able to teach and study in Arezzo three times so far thanks to that decision.
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| View from Prato Park in Arezzo (Image taken July 2012). |
While the historic center's aesthetic is more than I could ask for, I find myself noting examples in which the Fascist regime tried to reinvent the Medieval wheel. In Arezzo's case, it's more appropriate to say lance. There's no doubt that the pageantry and spectacle of the biannual joust has become routed in the population's psyche. However, with flagthrowers and jousters adorned in seemingly medieval garbs, the current tradition, which started in 1931, slightly twists the true.
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| Flag-throwing in Arezzo's Piazza Grande (Image taken June 2012). |
It's no secret that I'm a bit of italophile, and I'm sure that plays into my attraction to Arezzo. Yet, I doubt I'd feel differently about the city even if I were to have never dove into Italian. I've spent a total of six months of my life there, and it's safe to say it's become a second home. I consider it my 'European 'Norman, OK.
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| Sunrise viewed from Prato Park in Arezzo (Image taken June 2014). |
It was so much fun to read this post, Jake - and the picture of the sunset from Prato Park is just great. I've been there too! In grad school I studied with a professor at University of Siena, so I got to go to Arezzo and to visit all kinds of other wonderful places in Tuscany. Are you interested in doing an Italian project for this class? It would be fantastic if you wanted to do that - and of course there are so many options! I had to be careful that Italy did not just take over the European reading units section of the class textbook. Anyway, Dante, Boccaccio, and Italian fairy tales managed to find their place there... but I wish I could have found room for the Giambattista Basile's Pentamerone or Straparola's Piacevoli notti, or Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno, and on and on. So many delights, and if this class can be a chance for you to explore some new dimensions of Italy in the form of stories and storytelling, I would be so glad!
ReplyDeleteI loved all your beautiful pictures of Italy, Jake! You have a inquisitive way of writing that I find fascinating to read! After traveling to a couple countries in Europe, Italy is definitely next on my list of places to travel! I grew up catholic so I had always aspired to visit all the cathedrals in Italy. I am extremely jealous that you have been there a total of three times! I think the language is simply beautiful, I wish I had enough time to learn it! The way you used the word 'italophile' made me laugh! You will have to let me know which places are a 'must see' for when I decide to visit!!
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