Reflections: A Year I'll Never Forget

I woke up this morning just like any morning. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and headed outside into the city on my daily walk to the architecture studio. I've done this well over a hundred times, strolling past the tobacco shop on the corner, the Perfect Bun bakery, Insalata Ricca, and the church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle. It is a walk of no consequence on any other day, but I realized this morning that it would be the last time I'd being traversing this path. The reality of the matter is, I'm leaving Rome tomorrow and my incredible year in Europe has come to an end.

I'm going to miss it. No doubt in my mind.

Looking back at all the places I've been, all the incredible architecture, and all the delicious food I've eaten, I cannot help but be amazed at how much I actually got to see and that I didn't entirely bankrupt myself doing it. I came close, but luckily I'll be able to limp back to the United States with a few dollars in my pocket. It was money well spent, though. I traveled places I had never even though about visiting at the beginning of the year and had a blast doing it. Who would have thought I'd find my way to Flåm, Norway? Definitely not me, that's for sure.

The memories of visiting Budapest, walking around Prague, exploring the fjords in Scandinavia, and island hopping in Greece remind me of what an incredible world we live in and how beauty can some times be found in the most unassuming places. I enjoyed visiting the major monuments and famous tourist attractions in cities across Europe, but I got just as much if not more enjoyment out of simply wandering the city streets seeing what hidden gems I would stumble upon. Nothing beats wandering down a side street in some beautiful European city. Around every corner there is something waiting to be discovered that the normal crowds never take the time to find. I can't even begin to tell you how many beautiful churches and buildings I've stumbled upon just walking around on some random afternoon. That is the truly amazing thing about places like Rome and other cities in Europe. You can wander off and find beautiful architecture and incredible street life just about everywhere you go. It's something I'll definitely miss when I head home.

Although I'll miss Europe in general, I will certain miss Rome more than anything. The city grows on you. I don't think I'll miss the whine of ambulance sirens at all hours of the day, tourist trap restaurants, or the inadequate kitchen we had to cook in all year, but I'll miss sitting by the Pantheon when I eat my lunch everyday and I'll miss traversing the streets amidst thousands of years of history and beautiful architecture. Living in Rome has been one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. I've gotten to live within a very different culture for nearly eight months. It's a very rare and humbling experience to do something like that. I'll treasure what I have learned from my time in this city for the rest of my life and look forward to the day I get to come back. Hopefully, that day will come sooner rather than later.

In my first post way back in July I said this year journey wasn't going to be about finding the best roads to take but rather finding the significance along whatever roads I take, no matter where they lead. After these eight months I can say it was the right way to approach this year. I could have done the standard tourist thing, taking tours and visiting museums, but I decided to wander off the beaten path, explore things beyond the ordinary, and see the living and enchanting non-tourist culture of Europe that a lot of people visiting miss entirely. The architecture, the food, and the culture all left an impression on me that I'll carry for the rest of my life.

I just can't believe its finally over. After being here for so long it's finally time to pack up my bags and head back home. I may be leaving Rome, but it will never leave me.

One Last Trip: Exploring the Veneto

Looking back on how long I've spent abroad and how many places I've been, it surprises me that there are still so many places that I have yet to experience. At this moment I have a little over three weeks left in Europe before coming back home to the United States. Sadly, these last couple weeks are by no means a cakewalk and I will need to budget my time in order to finish my final design project, write a paper, and then study for finals. Before I got too caught up in everything, I decided it was time to take a trip I'd been hoping I'd make from day one: a journey into the Veneto region in northern Italy.

I decided to take a weekend to further explore one of my favorite parts of Europe and see some of the things that we unfortunately didn't get to see while there during our Fall Field Trip back in October. My goal was to see the Palazzo del Te in the city of Mantova and find my way up to Riese Pio X, the birthplace of St. Pius X, the patron of my home parish back in the States. So, I planned it out, bought some train tickets, got a hotel room, and set off on what would become an extremely memorable weekend.

I arrived in Mantova after spending the morning on a pair of trains, welcomed by bright blue skies, warm temperatures, and some beautiful architecture. After a short walk from the train station to the city center I found myself surrounded by medieval towers, incredible churches, and never ending lines of spolgiated columns (taken from old temples, etc.) arranged in loggias along either side of the street.

My first stop in Mantua was Alberti's famous and unique Church of Sant'Andrea. We had learned about this church in Architectural History class, and I was rather excited to see it in person. I rounded the corner and entered the piazza in front of the church to see its beautiful facade before me. There was a problem though...

Scaffolding...

It has been a common occurrence throughout the year to find whatever important structure I want to see under scaffolding. It's like they know when I'm coming, plan ahead, and put up scaffolding right before i get there to make sure I can't see the pure form of the building. That's just my luck, I guess. Almost every city I've visited has had at least one major structure partially or wholly covered by scaffolding. The story was no different in Mantova and would be repeated at least one more time later on in the weekend.

I spent the next couple of hours wondering around the rest of the city, exploring the cathedral, part of the palace next door, and a couple of parks, along with the local McDonalds. I was pleasantly surprised by the organization of the city. All the major buildings and landmarks were built along one of the main streets of the city, Via Broletto, and seemed to flawlessly move you through the space. The street narrowed, opened up onto a piazza, closed again under a tall brick clock tower, turned a corner, and led you from place to place as you went. It was one of the more interesting streets I've traversed over these many months.

Some of the architecture along Via Broletto

After thoroughly exploring the center of Mantova, I walked south towards the one building I've been dying to see for a long, long time: the Palazzo del Te. There are plenty of wonderful buildings out there that hold a special place in my heart, but there are none that can really match up to the Palazzo del Te. There has been a running inside joke/odd obsession within our architecture class defined by the saying, "It's all 'bout that Palazzo del Te!" In many ways it is all about the Palazzo del Te. It is considered one of the most creative classical buildings in the world, and its many Mannerist features (slipped triglyphs, keystones crashing into pediments, etc.) put it in a league of its own. So, after a couple of years a talking about this building I was excited to finally check it out for myself.

The couple of hours I spent at Palazzo del Te were incredibly nostalgic but also very informative. I couldn't help but thinking back to the days as a freshman back on campus when we first learned about the mysterious Palazzo del Te, and how for some odd reason we talked about it almost every single day, even when our conversations weren't about architecture. We truly believed that "it's all 'bout that Palazzo del Te!" I still do. I couldn't help but smile as I meandered through the famous courtyard, marveled at the incredibly painted Room of the Giants, and explored the hidden grotto at the back of the property. It was all incredibly surreal being in a place I had dreamed of visiting since freshman year. My only regret? Not getting a Palazzo del Te-shirt (get it?). But, seriously, the gift shop didn't have any shirts to speak of. A major disappointment to say the least.

Standing in the courtyard of Palazzo del Te

I could have wondered around the Palazzo del Te all afternoon but I had a train to catch. I walked back to the train station and set off in the direction of Castelfranco Veneto. It took me 3 regional trains and three hours to reach the town but I eventually made it there. Most people have never even heard of it, and you're probably wondering why Castelfranco Veneto. To make a long story short, I went becuase it is the closest train stop to Riese Pio X, the birthplace of St. Pius X, a town that I very much wanted to see. The plan was to spend the night in Castelfranco Veneto, and then walk the 7 kilometers to Riese where I would spend the day retracing the early footsteps of my home parish's patron saint.

Castelfranco was a wonderful and charming town, and will go down as one of the most pleasant and relaxing places I visited while in Europe. The town center is located within the walls of an old medieval fort and is surrounded by a moat/canal and a wide ring boulevard lined with plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants. The beautiful weather from earlier in the day gave way to an equally wonderful evening. A great number of the town's residents were out strolling the streets, sipping drinks at a cafe, or just enjoying the cool evening air. After getting dinner and sampling a glass of wine a wine bar packed with locals, I headed back to the hotel to enjoy the comforts of a queen size bed, free internet, and a hearty hotel breakfast once morning came around.

A view of the walls in Castelfranco Veneto

I slept in a little later than I wanted, but after eating a quick breakfast and packing all my things I was ready to start my journey towards Riese Pio X. The road to Riese was, obviously, called Via Pio X, and I followed it until the urban din of Castelfranco died out and gave way to the sound of farm tractors in the distance chirping birds. The walk through the countryside was quite peaceful even as the sun beat down on what was one of the warmest days of the year so far. Along the way, I passed freshly plowed fields, ancient olive orchards, and old farm buildings. It was interesting to think that years and years ago the young Guiseppe Sarto, who later became Pope Pius X, walked this route everyday on his way to and from school in Castelfranco. It was enlightening knowing I was traversing the same path that was once trodden by a saint.

It took almost an hour to walk the distance between Castelfranco and Riese, and upon arrival I immediately searched out the first of two major landmarks in town, the Church of San Matteo. The church was extremely easy to find mainly because its brick bell tower dominated the skyline that consisted of mostly two and three story buildings. St. Pius was baptized in the church as an infant and it was where he developed his priestly vocation through Latin lessons with the local priest and the Mass. It was very similar to many of the other churches in the Veneto, but was special in the fact that it nurtured the vocation of a saint. This fact was celebrated in the interior, which was full of paintings and sculpture dedicated to Riese's most famous son. I was also surprised to find the old, empty papal tomb of St. Pius X located behind the main altar. It had been moved to Riese after Pius X was canonized in the 1950's and his body was moved from the Vatican crypts to a side chapel in St. Peter's Basilica. The only downside to the church was the scaffolding. Just like at Sant'Andrea in Mantova, the interior was covered from floor to ceiling with scaffolding. That was just my luck on this weekend.

The Church of San Matteo

My next stop was the other landmark site of Riese, the childhood home of St. Pius X. The home had been sold to the government of Riese under the condition that it be preserved in the way it was left, so the interior was exactly the same as it had been in the 1800s and early 1900s. The lady who opened the house for visitors spoke very little English but showed me around and tried relaying what she could to me in Italian. I assume not too many people outside the region ever venture up Riese, and I was probably the first American to visit in quite some time. We walked around the house where she showed me the kitchen, outfitted with all the original cooking wear, and then went upstairs where she showed me the bedrooms, one of which being were Pius X was born. It was incredible thinking how a future pope could come from such humble roots.

The humble kitchen in St. Pius X's childhood home

After spending the better part of the afternoon in Riese exploring the areas of interest and getting a nice lunch, I departed to once again walk the route between Riese and Castelfranco. As the sun dipped close to the horizon, I arrived in Castelfranco to stop by the beautiful Duomo to have a look around and then go to Mass. Besides seeing the beautiful architecture, I really wanted to see the Duomo because it was another site of importance in the story of St. Pius. He was ordained a priest in this church back in the late 1850s. I spent some time looking around and sketched some of the interior before Mass started. The interior was Palladian inspired like many of the churches in the region. It was a wonderful place to attend Mass and finish up what had been a great weekend. After Mass, I headed down to the train station and caught a train to Padova where I would catch a night train in order to make it back to Rome in time for class in the morning.

The Duomo of Castelfranco

My trip to the Veneto was a great way to to finish up my travels throughout Europe. I tried to do something a little off the beaten path and had a great time doing it. Sure, I would have had fun going to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, or any other major European city I had yet to see, but going somewhere few people go to see has its advantages.

I felt I got the best experience of seeing how people live outside the centers of tourism. Rome is a beautiful city full of history, great food, and beautiful architecture but it is a place where you have to deal with street vendors haggling you to buy random items of every kind, restaurants that overcharge for mediocre food, and the continual noise of traffic and hoards of tourists all over the place. The Veneto had equally incredible architecture and history but felt a more genuine. The streets were full of life and activity day and night because the locals actually lived and worked there. Rome is the opposite in many respects as the lively city you see during the day shuts down at night when everybody returns to their homes in the suburbs. I don't think I saw a single souvenir shop anywhere I went either. It was refreshing view of Italy that tends to be smeared by the touristy aspects of every day life back in Rome.

I was also glad to see all the things related to the life of St. Pius X. It convenient or times to travel with all the work I have to finish by the end of the semester, but I'm glad I decided to take the time to visit the birthplace of my home parish's patron saint. On the train back to Rome I realized that over the course of the year I've seen the birthplace of St. Pius, the church he got baptized in, the church he was ordained in, the church he was bishop in (cathedral in Mantova), the church where he was a cardinal (San Marco in Venice), and finally the church where he was Pope and is currently entombed (St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican). I'm sure not too many people have done anything like that, and I'll forever remember the weekend I spend following in his sacred footsteps.

I was sad to leave the Veneto, but my architecture projects won't finish themselves. So, for the time being I'll keep working on my designs, but I'll keep looking back on the great weekend I had in the Veneto and hope that I'll make it back at some point in the future.