Culture Explosion!

Thursday and Friday were filled with cultural shenanigans. We learned how to play bocce on Thursday, and Friday we took a day trip to Ravenna, Pomposa, and Comacchio.

First- A quick rewind

Last week there was a parade for the Palio – an annual horse race/cultural festival/celebration – and it was extraordinary! I went with my host-mom and she explained all about the different sections of the city that compete against each other and pointed out all of the different elements of the parade. All of the participants dress up in medieval clothes and basically put on the parade as it was in the past. It was night, so I apologize if the pictures are not of the highest quality.

Ferrara's Prince

Drum line

Devil

My section of the town: San Giorgio

Spinning flags was important

Now-Bocce!

We learned a little bit about the history of the game, the different types of throws, and how big of a sport it actually is (there’s an international bocce federation and world championships). It was a lot more intense than I thought it would be. They basically have bocce courts where multiple games happen in one place. It’s kind of like an Italian version of a country club where old men go to play bocce and cards. (Keep in mind that they also have junior and women divisions)

Not only did we learn how to properly throw a boccia (pronounced bo-cha), which is a single ball, but we had a little competition. There were three different tasks: getting the bocca in a tire, hitting another bocca, and having your bocca stop in the middle of a mat. I am very proud to say that I got 4^th place and a medal to prove it, so watch out, I’m now a bocce pro.

And finally- the day trip!

This day trip was organized by the program, so there was little aimless wandering, and lots of picture taking. We went to Ravenna (which I really liked) where we saw the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in Classe, the Basilica di San Vitale, and Dante’s tomb. The basilicas were amazing. They had tons of mosaic from the Byzantine Empire, and needless to say, I took way too many pictures for my own good, so I’ll have to limit what I post. Dante’s tomb was interesting to see, and it brought up many memories of AP English.

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in Classe

Basilica di San Vitale

Dante's Tomb

After all that, we went to an old abbey in Pomposa. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but it was interesting to see the different styles that had influenced the church’s design.

Italian pride was everywhere

They took different columns from different places

Then we took a little breather in Comacchio (aka “Little Venice”). I thought it was kind of like what the Netherlands would look like if it was in the Mediterranean. It was a cute little town; a nice place to stop for gelato!

Ouf- okay, that was a lot, but it’s hard to spread it all out when I don’t have internet at home and I can’t just randomly decide to write a post. But that catches you up on the happenings in Italia!