Feb

16

Ciao from Arezzo!

Filed Under Europe, Italy, OU in Arezzo | Leave a Comment  | by

Hello,

My name is Tyler and I am studying in Arezzo, Italy for the spring 2012 semester. I am going to try and post once a week about all of the fun and exciting things going on here at the OUA campus.

Yesterday, February 15th, Kirk Duclaux’s Art History class and Dr. Stephenson’s music class took a trip to Florence. It was cold, but really wonderful. We went to Santa Croce and saw the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galileo. We also saw some beautiful art.

Art History Class

Art History Class

We did a lot of walking around Florence, and we got to admire all of the stunning architecture. After class was over we had some free time, so of course some of the girls and I went and did a little shopping. We bought masks for Carnevale and some beautiful scarves. After our trip to Florence we came back to OUA and had a Getting to Know Arezzo class. We discussed religion in Italian culture, and we heard the story of the Madonna Del Conforto. The Madonna Del Conforto is what the Aretini (people from Arezzo) believe saved them from an earthquake back in the 1700′s and ever since then they line up at the Duomo and pay respects on February 15th.

The crowd of people viewing the Madonna Del Conforto inside the Duomo di Arezzo

The crowd of people viewing the Madonna Del Conforto inside the Duomo di Arezzo

So after we heard the story we went to the Duomo to see the Madonna. It was a very unique and special experience.

This weekend almost all of the students here are going to Venice for Carnevale! For more information about the history and customs of Carnevale check out this website  – http://www.venetianmasksshop.com/history.htm

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