Week One Done

Ciao Amici!!

Our first week of classes is officially complete. We've learned so much!

We went to the Naval Museum this week and learned all about Venice as a maritime empire. In their prime, they could produce ships the way Henry Ford produced cars. Their oppoents were unable to keep up with them because they would get lost in the labyrinth of canals and their boats were not shallow enough and were too wide.

Gondolas cost over $500,000. Their oarlock, which many buy as artwork, costs over $1,200. It was madated that all gondolas be painted black in order to eliminate rivalry between the aristocracy. A gondola is built to naturally slant to the right. The gondolier always stands on the left side to compensate. This makes the boat more manuverable.

We also went to Burano and Torcello. Burano is a cute island about an hour away by boat. All of the houses are painted vibrant colors. Burano is also known for its lace production. A French woman moved to Burano 800 years ago and taught the locals how to make lace. They have stuck with the tradition ever since.

Torcello is similiar to what Venice was like 1500 years ago. It is very marshy. In its prime, 20,000 people lived there. Now there are only 18. It's church was built in 628 and exemplifies Byzantine influence in Venice. While in the church, our crazy professoresa made us sketch. It didn't go well. After sketching, Blakeley really had to pee. The class moved on to the church next door. Blakeley didn't notice. While in the other church, Emily's phone went off. It was very loud and she could not figure out how to turn it off. Our phones are so 1990. It was Blakeley calling, she was lost.

That's what you get for waking up in Venice.