Besides my brief encounters with locals at stores and
cafes, I haven’t had much interaction with Italian culture. I am living here,
but I’ve been waiting for that moment when I feel out of place or witness
something so unusual that it makes me really stop and take notice of the
cultural differences. I finally felt like I experienced that when I attended
Carnevale in Viareggio, Italy on Sunday (Feb. 12th).
Carnevale is basically the Italian version of Halloween mixed
with a Mardi Gras-like parade. Everyone is dressed in elaborate costumes, some
of which have themes. Others just wear intricately decorated, colorful masks –
which is what I did. I was so stoked to wear my silver sequin mask,
unfortunately it wasn’t very flattering. Haha
Before the carnival parade began I spent a little time
wandering the beach nearby. It was funny seeing everyone running around the
sand wearing their masks. It was also odd wearing full winter attire on the
beach. I realized I had never been on a beach in cold weather, nor had I ever
been to a beach that wasn’t on the Gulf of Mexico. Viareggio beaches are
beautiful: Clean water and sand with a backdrop of snow covered mountains. But
I hear they’re nothing compared to Sicily or the Amalfi Coast. Hopefully, when
it warms up, I’ll see for myself!
The parade was like none other I had experienced before.
All of the floats were gigantic artistic masterpieces portraying a political
message – almost all dealing with former Prime Minister Berlusconi. Some were pretty
provocative, leading me to wonder if anything like that would be allowed in a
states parade. Probably not…along with the masses of tweens and teens drinking
and smoking. I couldn’t get past how weird that was. Nevertheless, when Italians
come together to celebrate, they really know how to enjoy themselves and have a
good time!
The following week was fabulous and fashion-filled. One
day for my History of Italian Fashion class we visited the Scuola del Cuoio,
not too far from my apartment and the Santa Croce church. It’s a school and workshop
where some of Florence’s finest leather goods are made by hand. One of the
artisans demonstrated an old renaissance technique of applying gold leaf
texture to a piece of leather. The design was intricate and unique to the
artist, making every piece special. People such as Princess Diana, Audrey
Hepburn, and Gwyneth Paltrow owned leather goods from the school. It was
surreal thinking they had walked the same hall that I was standing in.
For the next class meeting we had another field trip,
this time to Pitti Palace, which houses multiple museums. It’s always such a
task getting to class in the morning, especially when we have an onsite
meeting. And of course the days I’m running late is when I have to climb huge
hills and navigate confusing streets. Once I reach the destination though,
panting and perspiring, it’s always so worth it.
Pitti Palace came into view as I sped-walk past shops and
cafes that lined the street. It was so massive; I couldn’t believe I hadn’t spotted
it from afar – or that I hadn’t been to this place yet! My ultimate idea of
Europe is enchanting palaces and castles, and finally I was standing at the
entrance of one! The palace was bought by the Medici family in the 1500s and
was the main residence for the ruling family, as well as the place of reception
for other world rulers visiting Florence.
We visited the costume gallery which includes in its
impressive collection the garments of a few members of the Medici family. And
not just any garments – the clothes they were buried in. So someone had a lot
of work collecting the shreds and pieces of fabric that remained. I thought it
was weird that they dug up the bodies of some of Italy’s most famous historic
figures and took their clothes. But it was pretty amazing seeing it in person.
Other costumes on display were dresses ranging from the 1700s to modern day –
including some of Italy’s best known designers who made dresses inspired by the
ancient costumes.
In my Fashion Marketing & Merchandising class we also
had a field trip to the Salvatore Ferragamo museum. I was really excited to
learn more about a designer I was only familiar with by looking at ads in
Vogue. The museum housed tons of original designs by Ferragamo, including the clear
wedge shoe that won him the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award. In just this one visit
my love for fashion and admiration of designers grew – in leaps! Ferragamo
began making shoes at age nine, and nothing ever set him back from his dream.
Even during financial crisis when supplies were limited he used his creativity
to create from what was available. We saw some of these products of creativity
in the form of shoes made from fish skin and cork, and they weren’t any less
beautiful than hand-crafted leather. I also had no idea how loved his designs
were by some of my favorite movie stars: Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Bette
Davis, Lauren Bacall… to name a few.
It’s wonderful to live in a place where these things are
in my backyard, so to speak. I can experience everything firsthand that
otherwise I would only learn about through slideshows, sitting in a cold class room.
I know it’s not possible to always have this available for teaching methods,
but it helps an awful lot and is so much more intriguing. There should definitely
be more field trips in college, or at least more efforts to make class a little
more interesting. I feel very lucky to have these things available to me.
The following weekend we had another trip to a small town
near Florence called Fiesole. The day consisted of another lovely hike up a
hill (of death) to a gorgeous view of Florence. Unfortunately it was a bit
foggy so my photos didn’t turn out as nice. But that really was the least of my
worries.
A few days prior I found out that the person subleasing
my apartment in Austin was moving out. I had two options: find someone new to
move in or pay the rent myself and say “adios!” to traveling and return home
early. I guess you can imagine this was my worst nightmare coming true. When I
got the email I couldn’t help crying and remembering those horrible days at
work last semester, where I would push through the stress and hatred of my job
because I knew the more money I earned, the more I could travel. I basically
had control of making my dreams come true… it just depended on how much I was
willing to put myself through. And I did it. Three jobs added up to 40+ hours a
week on top of 12 hours of classes and an internship. I really don’t know how I
managed – and here I was suddenly feeling like all of that was for nothing.
Just when everything was starting to feel comfortable, Austin came back to
haunt me.
I’ve found that abroad, even more so than in the states,
I’m constantly trying to figure out the lessons I’m learning from situations
such as this or what God is trying to show me. It was hard to come to any nice
conclusion; I was mad as hell. I would never do that to someone, especially if
I knew they worked so hard to travel and that was all the money they had. But I
guess you can’t expect people to be reliable or treat you how you would treat
them - at least not in this day and age.
Standing there at the top of the hill in Fiesole, I felt my
worries slip away for a bit. Here I was in a place I thought I’d only ever
dream of seeing and I was letting something take away my enjoyment. Something
that, as hard as it was for me to admit it (I tend to be the queen of
worrying), I knew would ultimately work out.
I walked over to a bench and saw the phrase “Smile Like You Mean It” written in white marker on the top. This was exactly what I needed
to see and it cheered me up for several reasons. It reminded me of my favorite
band The Killers, who have a song of the same name. Second to praying, their
music is what I always turn to when I need cheering up, hope, or a new way to
think of things. They are like my soul mate in music form – yep, I’m pretty
obsessed!
Not only did I think of The Killers and all their sweet
music remedies, but also of my brother Chad (who is as equally obsessed with
them as I am). It made me think of all the phone calls and conversations my
twin and I shared when we had problems to discuss. I knew if Chad was there he’d
first give me a hard time, make fun of my problems, then tell me to listen to
The Killers and move on. Because everything would work out. Everything would be
alright.
For the rest of my time in Fiesole I decided I would
march forward and enjoy myself. I had a Roman theater to see, Etruscan ruins to
climb, and a delicious Tuscan meal to eat. And I would do it all smiling like I
meant it. J
