sogni d'oro: Siena

Showing posts with label Siena. Show all posts

These buildings have seen so much—so many lives have passed through those streets and paused under the eaves, so much history has lived within their walls. They haven't changed and they never will and our stories and secrets will become a part of the brick and mortar. This quaint Italian town, the proud city of Siena, feels timeless because though old, these buildings are ever alive.

. . . .

Sorting through old files to save on a hard drive, I found the photo above of buildings in Siena, buildings that I walked past every day for a summer. It is striking to me, and somehow slipped through the cracks before. And now it reminds me.

Something about this morning took me back to Italy. I was simply walking from a parking garage to the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, yet I was distinctly reminded of days and routines from my time in Siena.

Walking through the cool, quiet streets of a city not yet awake, with a purpose in my step and my eyes taking in the details around me, I remembered mornings in Siena of walking through Piazza Gramsci and down la Via di Città, past the Piazza del Campo and piazza del Duomo. Tall buildings lined the streets and alleyways and the urban landscape was punctuated with fountains and gardens. I even noticed della Robbia-esque adornments on the Salt Lake Tribune & Deseret News building (unfortunately the photo I took is a little blurry, but I was amazed—you wouldn't see these in Siena, but this was such an uncanny Italian detail to appear, given the circumstances). Deserted tables and chairs sat outside eateries not yet open for business and the other people around me went towards their destinations with a similar sense of purpose. Even these similarities are so dissimilar in their specifics, Salt Lake versus Siena, yet the feelings that accompanied this moment were an important reminder: this tender mercy moment reminded me of a time that has long since passed (it has been two years), but reminded me that Italy was more than a beautiful dream; it was real.

One year ago I arrived in Italy (and celebrated Easter at a bus station in Rome).

Thinking about that day, that summer and the many many ways in which that dream-come-true was a life-changing experience.

Although I'm not spending this summer in Italy (magari), it feels full of promise. And what a wonderful feeling that is.

[Piazza del campo]

Months and months later, I've finally gotten my artwork from Italy framed! The block print at the top is from Venice. I love this iteration of Venetian Gothic architecture and the gold leaf accentuates the details even more. (also I love blockprinting, so it's just all-around perfect)

I bought the watercolor of Siena's skyline from a woman whose art shop was just down the street from the Duomo and Pinacoteca (and Kopakabana...). I walked past her studio everyday and although I liked her style of watercolor painting, her most of her colors were a little too garish for me. But this watercolor with deep blue and gold—perfection!

I found this video, taken [accidentally, hence the brevity of it] on our very first day in Siena. Nonna took us to the tabaccheria down the street from the laundromat to purchase bus tickets. And we had our first of many experiences with crazy Italian traffic in trying to cross the busy street back to where nonna had parked her car (partially on the curb).

"Vai alla striscia pedonale!"

"Go to the crosswalk!" she's telling Alexa.

Imagine my excitement [understatement] to look at the most recent copy of a favorite Italian design magazine and find our beloved Piazza del Campo featured on the cover!! Quanto mi fa felice questa coperta!

[some more Holga photos from this most recent set of exposures]

Tartuca fountain

fiori all'Orto botanico (flowers at the botanical garden)

Torre del Mangia

buildings surrounding the Piazza del Campo

le colline toscane (the Tuscan hills)

Going through more photos, I found many taken at sundry times in Siena capturing various parts of our day-to-day life. They make me very happy.

waiting out the rain at the Dante with Limher

waiting for the bus to go to church on Sunday morning

on one of our passeggiate, we noticed Katherine had donned skinny jeans with an appropriate type of sneakers, as all of the Italian youths.

cherry-picking the strawberries in the macedonia (fruit salad) after dinner

a rainy day in Siena

my favorite photo of all time of Limher.

it may or may not be photoshopped, but this actually happened.

Ashley walking down our street on a particularly sunny day (umbrella for shade)

a nightly dinner ritual of Ashley's which Amanda decided she wanted to master as well.

Michelle always panicked whenever we sat at our usual people-watching bench and one of these street-cleaners would drive past

Layne, on our adventure to the orto botanico

Ashley, Michelle, Edie, and Katherine enjoying our favorite gelato in Siena

Our day-to-day back in the states isn't quite the same, but I love the similarities; the other day Limher and I set out in the rain to get ingredients to make bruschetta, Ashley and I walk to the library or classes together, I saw a suspiciously similar street cleaner on campus last week and texted a photo to Michelle (her response via text: "NOOOOO"), we went wild with the delicious food at the Italian club's Gara Gastronomica on Wednesday, and Layne and I decided another adventure is in order soon.

I guess you could say things are the same, but different.

...for my favorite photos of Siena and our street, respectively.

I love that one of the weeds lining the side of the road, which we would strip clean of its seeds as we passed on our way to or from the bus stop, made it into the photo.

I like collections of photos [hence these various series] and found that I'd sorted all of the panoramic photographs that I took in Europe into a folder together. While not all of them are great (i.e., they're not all lined up perfectly), putting them all together somehow has a bit more impact.

from the top:

1. Siena: as seen from the back of the Palazzo Pubblico

2. a vineyard near Monteriggioni

3. the Piazza del Campo on the day of the Palio

4. sunflowers down the street from where we lived

5. Siena: the Duomo (left) and Torre del Mangia (right) as seen from here

6. the Piazza del Campo by night

7. the Via dell'Amore along the coast (le Cinque Terre)

8. Corniglia

9. Rome: the Colosseum by night

10. Rome: the Trevi fountain

11. Paris: the Eiffel Tower as seen from Trocadéro

12. Paris: Musée d'Orangerie

13. Paris skyline taken from the bell tower of Notre Dame

Tutto qui, un bel paesino, ogni di che non cambia mai. È così che la gente vive con semplicità.

Ecco il fornaio con il suo vassoio, lo stesso pane venderà.

In Siena, my friends and I were frequent customers at our favorite bakery near the Duomo, called Sclavi; I probably went there at least three times weekly as it was close to the studio and they had the most delicious breads which I often ate for lunch.

My last day in Siena, I walked slowly to the studio, savoring my last moments in the city. Walking up Via di Città, I saw one of the two women who worked in Sclavi (of course she recognized me, I laughed to myself) and we exchanged a happy "Buongiorno!" with one another as we passed in opposite directions. After leaving the studio in the afternoon, I stopped in Sclavi for one last piece of schiacciatina. Both women were there, and I told them I was leaving Siena, but that theirs had been my favorite bakery in the city. They were sorry to see me leave, but asked about where I'd be going—home, but by way of Paris and London. "Allora, un bel viaggio!"

I listened to this song the other day (Italian Disney music is an easy way to learn new Italian words, because the English words are familiar), and this memory came to mind. This song could easily be about Siena; they'd just have to add a line about the golden camera man.