Roma, Siena, e San Gimignano

I have a lot of writing I to do.  The past two weeks have been eventful.  Two weekends ago, I went to Rome, where it snowed for the first time in over the decade.  Our class was allowed a private viewing of the Sistine Chapel, and for two hours that Friday evening, I enjoyed Michelangelo's ceiling, his Last Judgment, and the frescoes of many 15th century masters..  I spent the rest of the weekend exploring the city with a friend, romping through the ruins and popping into churches to find what we would find.  Despite the snow, it eventually warmed up to the point that it nearly felt like spring, and the streets were crowded with Carnivale plays and festivities.  We stopped for coffee during the day and for wine during the evening.  We spent Saturday night in Piazza dei Fiori, awaiting a Communist rally that was supposed to take place that evening.  It never happened, and after drinking with our countrymen, we headed home to watch American movies.  There are pictures in the album "Roma": http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037597&id=44700526&ref=mf.

Last weekend, I went to Siena and San Gimignano with Pr. Hatfield's Masterpieces class on Friday.  Though it rained all morning, we saw the duomo, walked along the fasaccio, and explored the Palazzo Popolo.  We heard lectures on how to develop a better eye for dating, style, and phony attributions.  There are many falsely attributed works, and so much of the scholarship of art history is detective work.  After the morning's tour, Caitlin and I were soaked from the rain but ate a late, boozy, and good lunch with a group of fun undergrads.  All of us then went to San Gimignano, escaping the rain momentarily until arrived there also.  The city still has many of its medieval towers that create an odd skyline.  In its duomo are frescoes that may also have been misattributed to different periods, like those in the Palazzo Popolo in Siena.  There is also a beautiful chapel by Ghirlandaio that I want to spend more time examining.  Otherwise, the city's famous gelateria was closed, and since it was evening by the time lecturing was finished, we headed back to Florence.  There are pictures in the album "San Gimignano & Siena": http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037596&id=44700526.