A visit to the Restoration Workshop in Firenze

Today me and my Intro to Florence group went to see the restoration site of several famous Florentine works. We got to see the original door of the bapistry of the Duomo and also the statue of Jeremiah by Donatello (see picture). It was really interesting! According to Thinkquest.com, many of Donatello's masterpieces are located in Florence. Some of these masterpieces include: St. Peter, St. Mark, Zuccone, St. George and the Dragon, St. John the Evangelist, Magdalen, and Angel with Tambourine. Other pieces considered to be some of his finest work are: Herod's Feast, St. Louis of Toulouse, St. Peter, St. Anthony, an equestrian statue called Gattamelata, and Jeremiah. A lot of his sculptures were Renaissance breakthroughs. David, for one, was the first nude statue of the Renaissance, and the equestrian statue, Gattamelata, was considered to be one of the best proportioned sculptures ever. In Donatello's Gothic style he used expressive ugliness to give the statue a life of its own. He used a powerful realism that gives his statues a distinct look.


It is going to be weird not really celebrating Halloween this year! Americans definitely decorate wayore than the Florentines. In America there is usually lots of carved pumpkins outside and decorations in stores and houses. In Florence you are lucky to see any decorations in any of the stores! I have noticed that there is some decorations in more touristy shops, but that's about it. My mom is going to be bringing me some Halloween candy though, so I am pretty stoked about that. One thing I really do is miss carving pumpkins! That is always a family tradition in the Maher family-- and my dad always cooks the seeds and salts them. So yummy! I wonder if me and my parents are going to do anything special for Halloween. Lillian's mom is here until Sunday, so we were thinking of having a family dinner on Friday or Saturday night. That should be pretty fun!

In the Ciao (our daily Gonzaga email newsletter), we heard the annoucement that we can actually choose our room mates for the Christmas tour. I am pretty excited about this, because usually they randomly assign us. But hey, it has its benefits too! Thats how I got to know my current room mate, Lillian! ANYways, so me and my friend Cierra are going to room together in our first location, Copenhagen, and then perhaps mix it up for Sweden. In St. Petersburg, there are four person rooms so I think we are going to try to room with a couple of our other friends too. We will see! I am really looking forward to the Christmas tour, but it is going to be so cold!

Well I really do not have much to talk about at this point. My life this week has been consumed with studying and preparing for midterms. I am still very tired, but I am relieved that after tomorrow I will have a nice, long weekend to relax! I think I might check out the new gym that is located in the basement of our school. I heard it is pretty nice, so we will see. I hope my foot is ok to use on the elliptical... hmm.

Ciao ragazzi!