May 15 - Jordan Martinez & Jaron Fuglie

Buonasera! Today was most of our first full day in Florence, Italy!!! Today was exciting for multiple reasons.

Everyone who flew in separately made it to Florence last night, resiliently working around flight delays and travel re-arrangements, meaning that this morning was the first time we had the entire group together in the Pensione Cordova. I was really fortunate to sit with mostly dancers this morning during breakfast and we regaled each other with the high and lows of travelling internationally (especially as small groups or individuals). Angela, Maria, Karin, Suzanna, and I celebrated the awesome cappuccinos and espressos we had around the breakfast table before heading out to the Gonzaga-in-Florence campus to meet our History Tour Guides for the morning. 

On the 30-second walk to the main lobby for the headcount before leaving the pensione, I was stopped multiple times by cheerful choir people (Carlos Vasquez-Baur first) wishing me happy birthday and telling me it was also Cailey Kudrna’s birthday (happy birthday again, Cailey!). Before we left the Pensione, Dr. Westerhaus (and Cheryl) lead the choir and dance groups in a really awesome round of the happy birthday song (in English, then Italian). What an awesome way to start the morning!

The joy continued into the early afternoon with our wonderful Historic Tours. The tours were lead by three Gonzaga-in-Florence faculty, diving the group into three smaller groups for ease of travel. My tour guide was Mercedes, who was proud to inform us that she has been working at Gonzaga-in-Florence since she was only four years older than the students! (She’s trying to retire from teaching Art History this year, but GU-in-Florence requested she stay on as a tour guide since she’s so good at it!) The walking tours lead us from the GU-in-Florence campus through the Piazza de San Marco (the Western most street being the border to the Medici garden where Michaelangelo learned to sculpt!), through the fashion district (bordered by the old Bishop’s Palace), to the Piazza della Repubblica (which housed the Western city gate and the “Old Market”), the New Market (which had a famous bronze boar. Legend says that when you touch the boar’s snout once, you’ll return to Florence. Touch it twice and you’ll fall in love with a Florentine! Mercedes was adamant the boar was responsible for her happy marriage to her husband.), we also saw some early churches and beautiful artwork on our way to the Piazza della Signoria (Government Square). 

The crown of the tour for most of the choir was touring the Accademia art museum, which houses many of Michaelangelo’s sculptures, including his famous David. Mercedes was able to help us see the nuance and flaws of some of Michaelangelo’s pieces, which made the brilliance of his sculptures stand out, because the flaws were so few! We discussed Michaelangelo’s serpentine approach to sculpture (his figures are usually twisting or turning their bodies somehow), his muse of the prisoner escaping his bonds (a commissioned set of sculptures that were unfinished but no less impactful in their philosophy of restraint and freedom. That the soul was trapped in the body and released by art or death, that the figure was trapped in the marble, released by the creator or artist, that the holy figure was literally held in bonds across their legs and arms and hadn’t found freedom because freedom was supposed to be symbolized in the next commissioned set that was never finished.) and of course, the history and ways to critically analyze The David. The David was a stunning 14 feet tall, leaning to the right and preparing “with adrenalin” to shoot down the giant, Goliath. Mercedes talked us through the process of it’s sculpture, being chiseled, smoothed with a pumice stone, and polished until it shined.  We were able to continue our tour of the Accademia by viewing ancient instruments from centuries ago in their instrumentak section. We saw Prince Ferdinand’s filigree-laden viola and Cheryl and Dr. Westerhaus were especially excited to teach about the history of the instruments we were seeing represented.

Later, we met for lunch at the Pensione and prepared for our rehearsal at the Conservatory, which was ten minutes away walking distance. The Conservatory theatre, which served as our practice area, had bubblegum pink velvet chairs and railing covers and was refreshingly warm compared to the chill from the fresh spring air outside. At this rehearsal, we were able to practice “A Time to Dance” with our Italian colleagues for the first time and toasted our first successful musical collaboration with Proscecco. Cailey and I were serenaded again with the Italian Happy Birthday Song under arms of Proscecco lifted in toast. It was one of the funniest and most charming moments I’ve had the pleasure to experience at Gonzaga. 

To round off my night, I went out to dinner with Jaron Fuglie, Aodhan Brown, Suzanna, Clara, PJ, Cassie, and Sydney. On our way to dinner, we passed a gelato shop that asked me to sing as a “test” after I told them we were in a choir (I sang “Se Tu M’ami” and got a raspberry/mango gelato that was incredible) and we looked at the notoriously beautiful Italian leather shops we passed on our way to fresh pizza.

If the rest of our time in Florence is as beautiful and charming as today has been, we can definitely look forward to an incredible time in Italy. Caio for tonight!

- Jordan Martinez

Wowza! It’s been a fun and crazy day! We’re all still a little bit jet-lagged and we’ve got lots to do, but it’s all so fresh and exciting that it’s worth the struggle to stay awake. We went on a historical tour of the city where we saw much amazing architecture and art. I enjoyed seeing all the statues and hearing the history behind them. It was a special treat to be able to see Michelangelo’s David up close. It’s so much bigger than expected (most parts of it anyway). In the evening we rehearsed “A Time to Dance” with some very talented musicians from the local conservatory. After our rehearsal we toasted with a glass of Prosecco and shared many laughs even though we didn’t always share the same language. A fresh and full day.

- Jaron Fuglie