Field trip today! Meeting at IES at 11:00, the Donno's led us on a five minute walk to visit the prestigious Last Supper painting. This painting is famous because it was painted by Da Vinci on the wall of the dining facilities of a monk monastery. It is unfortunate to have been in a room full of food, because the atmosphere has slightly eroded the painting off the cement wall. Additionally, since the monks needed an entry into the kitchen, they built a door which protrudes directly into the bottom of the painting! Once we got there, we were put in a pressurized room to prepare ourselves so that we could in no way harm the precious painting. It is very pressure and temperature controlled, and no pictures are allowed. We entered a huge, stone room, with two paintings covering the opposite walls. Obviously, the Last Supper was the main attraction. It really struck me how large the painting was on such a vast wall. Another reason the painting is famous is because it marks the beginning of painting during the Renaissance, where for the first time, paintings portrayed real depth. Additionally, Jesus started to be painted without a halo, which had been customary in traditional pictures. The Last Supper portrays the moment that Jesus tells his apostles that one of them will betray him, and they are in shock and disbelief. In the painting, Judas stuck out as being very dark, knowing he was whom Jesus spoke of. The disciple to Jesus' right had a very feminine face, which was argued to be Mary Magdaline in the Da Vinci Code (which I now want to read). There was an attempt at restoration of the painting, which made the colors more vibrant by extracting some kitchen oils, but took away some of the details of the work. On the opposing wall, there was a picture of Jesus being hung on the cross. It was also a pretty picture, but had much more of a cartoon look with lots of colorful characters, and it lacked depth. After our brief showing, we wandered into the adjacent church, which was very pretty. My favorite parts were the ornate arches in the ceiling and the dark, wooden seats surrounding the altar for people in the choir. Outside, Mrs. Donno took us to a small garden of the monks with a cute fountain in the middle.
When all the groups finished up their tours, we ventured onto a group lunch, meeting up with the art history class. I could not read that Italian menu at all... Thank goodness for Mrs. Donno! I decided to try my first Italian seafood, deciding upon the lemon grilled Mahi with potatoes and asparagus. Obviously, I topped off my lunch with a delicious cappuccino, when in Italy!! I decided to stick around after lunch to join Stampsies and the Donno's on a trip to San Bernardino, and I am so happy that I did. This was the most interesting church I have ever encountered. One of the chapels was completely decorated in skulls and bones of children and sickly people who had died in the church's orphanage and hospital. Although spooky, I thought it was really interesting. I almost found it comforting and better off that these people were buried in God's presence rather than being forgotten in the streets or being buried in a cemetery unknown. After this, we all headed to class together. No cappuccino break today since we just had a group lunch!
That night, we decided to plan our trip for the weekend after Tuscany. UGH I HATE PLANNING! Alyssa wanted to go to Monaco or Nice, but very few hotels were available, and they (along with everything in the city!) were very expensive. After hours of frustration, Karina and I decided to book a trip to Cinque Terre, which was very cheap and easy. We were so fed up with all this planning that we did not join the crew going to the club Old Fashion. I am just so happy that Karina and I booked something, and it's been a trip that had always been on my bucket list. However, this Hotel Souvenir has an external bathroom, so we will see what that means! Karina is a commuter and never dealt with less-than-ideal living so we will see how she holds up!