more Venice, plus Bassano and Vicenza

I’m sorry I make so many promises regarding blog updates that I never actually follow through with.

But here’s one for real. With photos! Starting where I left off, in lovely Venice.

First, let me say that I and my classmates just got back from a three-day trip to Torino to see our work in an exhibition. It was amazing to see our stuff displayed for people to see and appreciate. Now we’re back in home sweet Rome, working on our new project.

And here are the photos, the continuation of the North Trip.

2 September, 2008

This was a free day for us in beautiful Venice, and although the day started off rainy, it cleared up quickly. Several of my friends and I chose to spend the first part of the day visiting the nearby island of Murano, a place that is famous worldwide for its hand-blown glass. We took a waterbus to get there, of course. Adventure on the high seas.


We got to go to a little sneak peek of the glass-blowing process. These guys are pretty hardcore. It was fascinating to watch them work.


A close-up of the one glassmaker rolling the molten glass to get an even shape.


After watching the glassmakers and a bit of shopping through Murano’s hundreds of glass shops, we decided to wander around the island, and meandered through some back alleyways. This happy dog was in one of them.


Here’s the crowd ambling without clear purpose. Left to right: Lyndon, Caitlin, Vivian, Kristin.

After a morning in Murano, nearly all of us 22 ragazzi decided to go to the beach again, so we did. I didn’t swim this time, but nearly everyone else did, and it was lovely just to read on the sand in good company. Sadly, I don’t have pictures, because I didn’t want to bring my camera and have it be swiped.


That night we all got dressed up and went to dinner near the famous Rialto bridge. Here’s Vivian, Jen, and Sarah B on the waterbus to the bridge, with other familiar faces in the background.


A very blurry picture of the group on the bridge – some ladies from Georgia took this photo for us. Kristin, Jen, Jackie, Kendall, Kevin, LJ, Lyndon, Heath, Brandon, Liz, Sarah R, Vivian, Rachel G, Caitlin, Sarah B, Adam, Jeff, Me (being a geekwad).


Obligatory crooked photo with creepy lurker next to me, who no one knew, haha.

So we had pizza and pasta (yay Italy!) at a restaurant and it was delicious. That’s all I got for this day, haha.

3 September, 2008

The next day we woke up bright and early and boarded a large charter bus, headed to no-one-knew-where, because Cinzia, our program coordinator, often forgets to tell us where we’re going when we get on a bus. It’s okay, though, because we always end up somewhere awesome.

For example, on this day we drove to Bassano, Italy, to the Brion Cemetary, designed for the Brion family by Carlo Scarpa, a truly great architect. Here’s a picture of Cinzia, standing in the marital rings in the wall of the cemetery. The rings are a recurring theme not only in the cemetery, but in all of Scarpa’s work.


A view over the cemetery walls at a pretty little church.


Nash, my professor’s little boy, walking between the tombs of the matriarch and patriarch Brion, who commissioned the cemetery. The two tombs lean towards each other.


The cemetery has its own sanctuary/chapel, with these beautiful windows that have thin marble sheets instead of glass in them – they let in the light quite prettily.


Looking out of the hallway to the meditation area, at the bridge that arcs over the two main tombs. The four-step staircase you can see is interesting – each step makes a different hollow clunking sound.


Faye, my professor’s daughter, climbing in the chapel’s circular doorway.


One of Carlo Scarpa’s stipulations in building the cemetery was that he be buried there. His grave is supposed to be in a grove of seven cypress trees, but they were being replanted while we were there. Boo.


The marital rings from the inside of the hallway, looking out.


At the cemetery we had obligatory architectural sketching time – here are Adam and Jen doing just that.


The Brion family’s cemetery is adjacent to the town cemetery, which you can see here.


I was attempting to take covert pictures of Faye picking flowers, but she spotted me, and I ended up with a dandelion in my hair.


Caitlin sketching by the bridge.


Vivian took the opportunity to look super-keen while sketching.



After the cemetery, we walked back to the bus, past a vineyard.


We then drove to the corporate headquarters of the Nardini Grappa factory, which are located inside two glass bubbles, called the Bolle, that are perched on top of one another. They were designed by the contemporary Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas. Normally, there is a pool of water below the Bolle, but they were working on it while we were there, so it’s dry, as you can see.


Inside the Bolle, the light is totally blue like this. Regretfully, my camera died halfway through this visit. The Bolle are very cool though.


The Bolle are not stacked one on top of the other, but at angles, so there is a diagonal elevator shaft that connects the two. This is a poor picture, but it was a very cool, all-glass elevator.


Brandon.


Everyone rabbling around.


Once my camera died, I wasn’t able to recharge it until after we had had a grappa tasting (not really my cup of tea) and walked around the beautiful town of Bassano, sketched a bridge designed by Andrea Palladio, then drove to the town of Vicenza and checked into our hotel (which was run by a slew of happy nuns).


Here are Kristin and Rachel G at dinner in Vicenza.


Me and Vivian.




After dinner, Cinzia bought us all tiramisu in honor of the 21st birthday of Kevin, pictured here.

That’s all for today! I’m off to do Italian homework!

Love,
Rachel