Italia Summer Encounter as Text
“Underneath the City”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU) May 14,2023
We arrived here in Rome. I have been here for around a week already, and still, it feels unreal. From the city to the food to the ruins, every time I pass one or the other, a little feeling in my stomach sets and tells me we are here. Miami is not only thousands of miles away, but they are in a completely different time zone. And it is not even the restrictions that the time zone creates when calling my family. It is the anticipation, the amazement that one feels every time one discovers a new piece of Rome. We may not be the first that have walked this road, but it sure does feel like it.
When the airplane landed, sure, I was excited, but that realization still hadn’t set in. When I rode the metro for the first time, I knew I was in Rome, yet it felt like I never left. The first day at the Colosseum felt a little overwhelming; however, that was when the feeling finally set. And my brain and body united with the knowledge that I, Lisbeth Tejera, was in Rome, in ITALY! Wow, that has just become the first I have genuinely meant that phrase. Either way, every day, with each new location, this feeling was carved into stone.
The ruins were my turning point, from the forum to the Largo di Torre, Argentina. There was no question that the Roman Forum was beautiful with its garden, filled with flowers and plants, with its fallen structure, from large and opposing to the small marble flooring littered around. Even with its beauty, it still didn’t give that wow factor. For me, this feeling resides with this one little tram stop called Argentina. While I never really took the tram to get there, my method involved the metro and much more walking. I could still arrive and view its location—a large plaza filled with brick buildings, heights ranging from three to four floors. The ground floor is littered with different shops like cafes, small boutiques, restaurants, and bars. The streets were bustling with people, long rows of cars, people going in and out of different shops, and, right in the center, there it was – Argentina, most famously known as the location in which the whole senate of Rome murdered Gaius Julius Ceasar. As I viewed this area, I was shocked that the ruins weren’t leveled with the rest of the street. It was a couple of meters below our feet. It created the realization that beneath every building, road, and person, there is a whole ancient city waiting to be uncovered. There are more artifacts, more hidden secrets that just lay underneath, waiting to be revealed. The grounds where people lived and walked aren’t seen today but have been covered with hundreds of years worth of dirt.
It’s not all the shops and all the restaurants around Largo di Torre Argentina, that make it unique; it is its history and its secrecy that make it the spot.
Rome as Text
“A Separate Nation”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU) May 21,2023
Within Italy, right in the center, there will be certain areas that do not belong to Italy’s government. But, do not think this independent country is all clumped together to form one unified nation. It holds its main headquarters within Rome on the Northwest area of the city. And then throughout Italy, there are four major papal basilicas that are apart of this smallest country. The four churches includes: Papal Basilica of St Mary Major (also known as the basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore), St Peter Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro), St Paul Outside the Walls (San Pedro Fuori le Mure), and lastly there is Archbasilica of St John. Lateran ( otherwise known as Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano). Were you able to guess the country of which I speak of. If Vatican City a crossed your mind at any point, then you are correct. Each church outside of the St Peter Basilica, holds a small plot of land surrounding the perimeter. Meaning the outside areas of the Vatican City consists of only the church and no more additional land. Before the Vatican City separated from the Italy’s government in 1929, the Popes within their secular roles ruled different portions of the Italy peninsula for more than a thousand years. However, during the mid 19th century, with the new unified kingdom of Italy, most of the Papal States were seized. In order to reach a compromised, the Lateran Treaty was created in order to give the Pope certain areas in which they would hold complete domination and full sovereign authority and jurisdiction.
This treaty allowed the Vatican their freedom and independence to continue as they normally have and without any interference from the Italy government. Don’t think that the Vatican consists of only church’s. They have their own proper satellite station, train station, mailing service, it holds an “army” which are known as the Swiss guards, etc. The Vatican may be small, only holding so few acres, but it is a country, nevertheless. Like most, people tend to make assumptions from what we know. Before, this trip, or more specifically the pilgrim’s walk, I truly believed that the Vatican was a small circular area somewhere in Rome. Instead of it being churches separated throughout Rome. For me each church was grand and different. One thing that can be noted for each one of the churches, is that the ceiling art work was phenomenal. Most filled with details of gold or outstanding pieces of different religious figures. Not only were there some astonishing painting, the most sculptures could be described as unreal.
For example, there is the Tomb of Pope Alexander VII, which could be found in the St Peter Basilica. This is a massive marble sculpture that can leave people breathless. This sculpture consists of six figures, one of them is former pope Alexander, in which he is found in middle in payer formation. Then, there is four female statues surrounding him, they are known as Truth, Charity, Prudence, and Justice. Like, Alexander statues, the four females were craved using white marble. The last statue could be found wrapped in the marble further down and underneath, which is a statue if death due to it depiction being that of a skeleton. It was also created using a different material compared to the rest of the sculpture, the statue of death was done using a bronze metal. And within the hands of death an hourglass could be seen, showcasing that that your time pass pass and death is here to collect. And this structure was just one of the few pieces that could be founded throughout the Vatican’s churches. For example, within the St Peter Basilica, there was also one of the most famous statues done by Michelangelo called the Pieta. In this structure, people can see Mother Mary holding her son, Jesus, on her lap after his crucifixion. And then, there is all the different sculptures and paintings found throughout the Vatican. When you enter the Vatican, it is almost impossible to leave.
Pompeii as Text
“Before & After”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU)
May 21,2023
The day started as any typical day. People woke up and started their day, whether it started with breakfast, getting dressed, or going to work; overall, it was their basic morning routine. And then, at midday, the race for survival began. The disastrous events of the fall of Pompeii started with the fall of ash, volcanic debris, and pumice from Mount Vesuvius. After a couple of hours, this debris from the volcano was able to cover the city with more than 9 feet, and due to the sheer amount of ash, it caused many of the roofs of homes to fall and cave in. Throughout the day, many people were either buried or crashed by the fallen debris. Those not killed by the falling debris were not truly saved or out of the woods. Within the next day, during the early hours of the morning, different surges of heated gas and pyroclastic material raced toward the city walls asphyxiating anyone that survived the events of the day before. Besides all of this, there were flows of pyroclastic, which is a mixture of rock, gas, and ash. There were showers of ash which added an extra 9 feet of debris on top of the city, which means that after the volcanic eruption, the town of Pompeii was covered with ash and stone by 19 to 23 feet. However, due to all of debris that covered the city, it was able to become one of the most persevere cities of ancient Rome. Due to no type of looting, vandalism, or exposure of weather and climate being inflected on the city.
Pompeii was different to most of the other ruins seen throughout Rome. The walls and the roads were more true to their original state. As people walk through the streets, the imagination is able to run wild. Normally, when traveling, it is always best to go when it is warm and sunning. However, for the trip to Pompeii, I would not wish to change the weather conditions in which we arrived in. From the moment, in which we stepped off the train, winds would breeze pass us in record speeds, the sun was hidden by massive, dark grey clouds. Five minutes before, we were allowed entrance to the ancient city, droplets of rain began to descend on us. Setting the mood of what we, as students, were about to walk into to. Throughout the walk, the most that we saw were certain rooms that were showcased as stores, the town’s forum, we were able to walk into authentic housing and even a brothels that held the stone beds that were used during that time. And the more walking and viewing on the city that was done by the class the more forceful the rain will become. Almost as if the weather was trying to give us a small clip of what the town of Pompeii felt during the eruption of their mountain.
Then, there was the small bakery. The one that still was mostly intact with its oven, with its flour maker, etc. This became the first moment, in which the realization that these people were actually people. They held lives, loves ones, pasts, and futures that were snatched from them before their times. And let’s not forget the plasters, these plasters were not that of vases, shoes, or any material item. They were of people, people that died hundreds of years before, people that ran yet were not able to find safety, those that were crashed underneath the debris. It made the whole scene that much more devastating and real. Like this wasn’t some made up story, it is events that occurred in another’s life time. Pompeii was a city of 11,000 people and overnight it became a city of ash.
Toscana as Text
“The Moment”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU)
May 29, 2023
Water, bridge, sky. Orange, pink, blue. Sundown, moon up. These were the thoughts that were racing through my mind as I was sitting by the street side, surrounded by a handful of tourists from all around the world and looking up and moving side to side. In front of a man by the name of Claudio, singing his music, songs that have been written recently to songs that were sung 20 years ago. Some in English, some in Italian. While the songs that I was able to understand were undoubtedly amazing. They weren’t the same. They felt almost out of place. Probably because they were meant for others and not indeed he, but the Italian songs and the passion that went through him as he sang was something that I never truly experienced but could witness underneath that perfect night. The perfect night, the ideal moment, happened within 30 minutes from the sunset to the moon rise on a tiny little bridge called Ponte Vecchio.
For me, this was it; from when I was a baby until now, I was raised by the water, from oceans to lakes to even pools. I was always within ten feet of the nearest body of water. It would get to the point in which I was nicknamed “pez pequeño” by most family members due to this adoration for the water that I hold. I truly believed that these moments were reserved for Cinque Terre exclusively. I was more than happy to find out that these moments weren’t essentially reserved. They come and go when you are most content and in unique ways making any moment have the possibility of being the moment.
Then, there was the field of miracles. From left to right, there was the Baptistry, the Duomo, the monumental cemetery, and then the leaning tower. Each was holding something that set them apart but united them all together. The building arising from the ground with a wall of marble resembling the entrance of heaven, if there was such a thing. Peaceful, calmly yet loud and chaotic. However, there wouldn’t be one thing that I would change. There was the Duomo that was stuck during a time in which Pisa held incredible acoustics and wealth. At the same time, all the buildings are stuck in a specific time period, with all of their outstanding Romanesque marble and curved arches filled with a simplicity of colors and loudness of design. Then, there is the indoors for each of the buildings, with the cemetery holding different gothic paintings throughout all the walls showing the stories of Catholicism yet having an influence of Dante’s inferno within the images.
Yet, while it wasn’t the marvelous architecture or paintings, it was the grass moment. You know the moment as you lay on the grass, free of thoughts, free of responsibility. All that matters is where you are, who you are with. All alone yet all together. A group of 20, making discoveries with ourselves and with the world. With all the chaos, the moment happened with us laying on the ground listening to “First Day of My Life.” Showcasing a rebirth for all of us, moving from the past and arriving towards the future.
Cinque Terre as Text
“Three Weeks, Four Days”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU)
June 2, 2023
Nineteen years in Miami, two weeks in Rome, and one week in Florence. From the moment that we as humans are born, we are exposed to different cultures, learn other techniques, and begin the process of digesting and acknowledging different pieces of information. Almost similar to what has been happening to us for the past three weeks. It started with the first exposure of the trip, which dealt with the passeggiata. This was a walk around Rome. While the experience was highly informative, it was done to give us a taste of what makes Italy, well, Italy. Then, all the different educational yet spiritual learnings happened throughout the two weeks. From the walks through the churches to the climbing of St. Peter Church. From the easy touch of the stone Jesus once stood to the harsh reality of climbing 551 steps. The aspects of Rome were just the things that could be done or touched. It was the paintings and the sculptures that were all able to survive, from classical Rome to Christian Rome to Modern Rome.
Then came the week in Florence. Florence was meant to be a deep dive into the Renaissance period, in how this city gave birth to many early artists and writers like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and many more. The week in Florence was done to move the students’ minds from ancient or Christian Rome to the Renaissance period, which could be seen through the different art pieces scattered around the city to the spectacular architecture of the Duomo of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. It was a city that held religious and governmental revolutions, with the powerful Medici family by its side. Both cities, Rome and Florence, with their stunning art and world-renowned museums, with their powerful and wealthy history, are both cities that can be chaotic. Maybe not chaotic, but overwhelming. With too much information and ideals in short periods. Most information either gets lost or mixed in with other pieces of information. For this exact reason, to obtain peace of mine, in order to reflect, and in order to gather thoughts, students need a time of relaxation.
Two hours away from Florence on the coast of the Italian Riviera, there is this area called Cinque Terre. This area consists of 5 small, centuries old towns which hold a large variety of steep terraces lined with grapes, lemons, and basils, there are harbors filled fishing boats, and most importantly there is cliffside hiking that connects all five villages. Unlike the bustling cities of Rome and Florence, Cinque Terre was a place to sit back and relax, and more importantly reflect. But, before it is essential that students complete the full hike of Cinque Terre. Ok, maybe not essential. However, it does allow to put some thoughts into perspective. This hike no matter how long or painful it was, it gave the chance of placing the our minds to rest and allowing our bodies to take the work load. It allowed for piece of mind, for a moment all that matter was finishing the hike. Crossing the finish line, no matter how far in the distance it may seem. Cinque Terre showed that at times, it is not just looking at the artworks or the agriculture that allow for the past to form a connection. It is a pain and exhaustion that people felt back in the day and even today as they complete a walk that has been done since these small towns were founded, which is pre-roman times.
Overall, it could be stated that even with the painful hike, Cinque Terre was the ultimate stop within the whole trip. From the freezing cold, crystal blue waters to the large, green mountains, Cinque Terre was a place of tranquility.
Venezia as Text
“A Home for Many”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU)
June 11, 2023
From Rome to Frenzia to Cinque Terre, littering small day trips here and there, we, as a class, as a group of students, and as friends, have made it to our last destination, Venezia. The city was held up by wooden pillars, a place created of necessity, a place of refuge for many Italians. Venezia is like a dream floating above the water yet sinking every night. A place needed by many yet holding a bit of uncertainty. Suppose a mother was to hear of this haven, a place where no more barbarians can reach them. They would have no further questions; they would leave their home to this place of uncertainty.
This is almost like the wave of immigrants that most students, especially those on this trip, felt. And if they didn’t feel it directly, they thought it indirectly through their parents. Our family’s left their everything, family, friends, and home, for a better life. They fled to a land filled with uncertainties and unknowns, hoping for something better. And this hope that serves the mind of every immigrant or first-generation American is the exact same hope that every man and woman held back then when the first pillar of wood was planted among the lagoon, which is now known as Venezia.
However, as mystical as Venezia is. It is not just composed of the people that made it to the city it is. It is the city that makes itself known. With its architecture with mixed styles, Venezia can stand on its own. Underneath Venezia, millions of wooden pillars of pine trees could be found across the city. The layers of Istrian stone can be found lining the city due to its natural ability to be salt-water resistant. And then, across the city, hints of items of the Gothic era mixed in with some influences from Istanbul. For this small insist, Venezia reminded me of home, of Miami, a small area surrounded by water filled with much diversity. Because, at one point, that was Venezia, a place littered with people from every corner of the world. A powerhouse filled with all the trading ports that all countries needed to go through. Venezia, whether most liked it or not, became a home for many.
I felt that Venezia fit perfectly into the timeline that was this trip. We went through a period of early Rome to its latter days. For a group of immigrants, Venezia felt almost like home, if home held any true indications. While it wasn’t the stone that laid on the floor, it was the meaning that underlined Venezia. America did not call to us because of its tall building or its mountains, deserts, or even lakes or seas. It called to us, to our parents, for the hope, that hope that was felt a long time ago in the minds of many Venetians to the minds of current day immigrants, was the actual reason many people left their homes to places of unknown. Starting with Venezia and ending with everywhere.
Grand Tour as Text
“The Beginning of The Finish Line”
by Lisbeth Tejera at Florida International University (FIU)
June 14, 2023
This is it. The trip has run its course. Two weeks in Rome, one in Florence, four days in Cinque Terre, and four days in Venezia. A month of adventures, a group of 17, a strong-headed assistant, an excellent professor, and a trip filled with everlasting memories. Thus, Italy was created within my mind. Italy no longer belongs to the blogs or the Instagram posts that have been viewed by many and experienced by others. Italy became a part of me.
The girl that left Miami did not return; a different, hopefully, better version returned. While throughout the trip, my association/ reactions to most paintings were minimal. It was the scriptures and the architecture that produced some emotion; not even; these pieces of artwork were able to connect with me. For example, the Colosseum, yes, very touristy, and yes, the first destination that we attended. This building with the barrel and groin vaults took my breath away. This complex and detailed work was being constructed out of stone and concrete within a time period in which most tools were a thing of the future. Nowadays, if anyone were to tell any construction worker to rebuild the Colosseum with the materials available during 72 A.D., they would say to you that it is outrightly impossible, or at the very least try to sway you in using some power tool. It was not the paintings, from the Birth of Venus to Judith Beheading Holofernes, that made me feel. It was the work that was behind every building, the thousands of people that were slaved away to place every brick, create every column, and discover new ways to keep the building up straight. It may be because I come from a family of builders, and I see how a long day of construction work can leave its filth and wounds on a person. Being exposed to these lifestyles at such a young age allowed me to be more empathetic and to have a more composed understanding of the building and all the small people that created it into what it is.
However, it was more than just the Colosseum image; if all emotions were tied to just one building, it would be very touristy for me. And that can not do. We, as a group, were taught better than that. Of the many churches that we entered throughout the whole trip, there was one that made me stop and process. And no, it was not the decorated roof or the excessive decor littering all the walls; towards the end of the alter on the left, there is one nook that held this small sculpture by this “short time” sculpturer called Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Yes, I know who Bernini was he was the fasciate sculpturer that create the Medusa head in 1630, he makes and established the baroque style of sculpture, in tiny words I hold some little idea of who is Bernini.) called the “Ecstasy of Sanit Teresa.” With the golden binds shining upon the angel and Sanit Teresa. With fabric that flows down the sculpture, almost looking silky. As if the stone was fabric and not just smooth, coolly polished stone. Looking at the material almost tossed over Saint Teresa, it seems that it is virtually flowing with the breeze surrounding the church, making people feel one with the artwork. And it is not just the sculpture that makes it breathtaking; it is the store behind it. While erotic with its underlining message, it still holds Saint Teresa’s manifestation of love for her god and her spiritual connection with him. Showcasing everyone’s devotion to their god has no boundaries, just pure and unconditional love, or at least this is taught in every CCD class. For Rome, these two moments, while every differential in comparison, were the two moments that left me breathless, speechless, basically all and any -less ending words.
Enough with Rome; it is the weeklong time in Florence. For Florence, it was not the buildings or sculptures that made me rethink my life’s direction. It was not even in Florence; it was a location within the Tuscany area. It was a field of miracles. Yes, it was in Pisa. It was not the baptistry, the Duomo, the monumental cemetery, or even the leaning tower. We all received 5 minutes of peace in this microscopic minute. A moment in which we throw all of our belongings to the ground and toss any worries or doubts down the drain and hold a period of peace. All that could be felt was these small silky yet pointy blades of grass that touched every inch of our bodies, the way that the world just stopped spinning in those five minutes. The only movement that could be felt was the song “First Day of My Life,” vibration playing in the background and symbolling the idea that once the song ended, the world continued with its rotation, and we all showcased stages of rebirth. It was the grass; it was the song; it was the people that made the moment to the life-altering point that it was. Because remember, it is the people and not the location that makes the moments into memories.
The hike. This is all the explanation needed to describe this day. The hike. It was a day in which the class made it to 18 miles of walking, and I didn’t even know the amount of elevation gained throughout the whole hike. Because from Monterosso to Corniglia, it was a draining hike, yet very much doable. Especially with the lovely long breaks in between, it made it almost seem like a breeze. In each village, all the openings of water were taken full advantage from the clear blue of Monterosso to the more populated waters of Vernessa to the adrenaline-filled waters of Corniglia. In Corniglia, I had my very first cliff-jumping moment. And let me tell you; it was just “wow.” All I was thinking at that moment was nothing. Because I knew the first thought of doubt that crossed my mind would cause me hesitation and, in turn, ruin my chance. So, what did I do? Simple, I ran. I tossed caution into the wind and just went for it. Once I hit the water, that feeling of shock, of amazement hit me all at once. Informing me how I just jumped, how I just landed in the water, how I resurfaced, how I felt. I remember just laughing because all my emotions were rising all at once, making me fill overwhelmed and yet in sync with myself, if that makes any sense. But, after this decisive moment in the water, the test approached fast. Maybe, it was because I felt such an emotional drain that the last two mountains left never-ending; for a second, I remember that the peak of the hill between Corniglia and Riomaggiore felt as if it was this far-fetched dream through some point of our upward descent. But wait. This was different from the short distance climb of the last mountain. Yes, it read it right climb. Because this previous trail did not classify as a hike but a climb. I was climbing these rocks on all fours at one point. But that moment that we made it to the top of that last mountain showed us that any limitations we hold are placed on us by ourselves and no one else.
I should have some wonderful things to say about Venice. And yes, Venice is splendid, beautiful, and outstanding. It is genuinely storybook-level to think pine trees and stone surround this city. Yet, this was one of the places where I felt the most down. And it was not the locations. All the churches and buildings held their twist of Venice. It was the knowledge that this was the last destination. These were the last places that we, as a group, were visiting. Knowing this was the end caused me to see Venice in such a bad light.
While it was not the place itself, the connotation it held made it all world-shattering. It was the stories of the highs and the lows; it was the tears that were together as a class; it was the effort to eat together one last night; it was that final wine night at 1 am; it was the goodbyes that were slowing shared as each person needed to catch their flights. Venice, as spectacular as it is, was indeed the most challenging part of this trip. The rain in Rome, the steps of the Duomo, and the 20 miles hike were all trivial to the moments spent in Venice. To the memories shared among a group of 17 students, a strong-headed assistant, and a wonderful professor.
Miami in Miami 