Month: October 2018

A Home Away from Home

By Barbara Carranza
Photo by author 

I knew when I applied to the Special Project Experiential Learning (SPEL) Journalism course that Florence  was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I thought it would be the perfect spot for me: a relaxed, artistic, history-filled setting that would appeal to my old and free-spirited soul. It turns out I was right on the money (and so much more). As I’m getting ready to head back to Charlotte, my heart grows heavy. Although I have only spent two months in Florence, it’s evident to me that I have found a home away from home.

The thought first crossed my mind just a few days after my arrival. I assumed assimilating to a whole new country, language, and culture would naturally take time, but surprisingly, a sense of ease settled in me very quickly. Since I have always been curious about everything, I wondered: is it because Florence is the total opposite of Charlotte, a metropolitan city nearing 1 million inhabitants; or that everything is within walking distance, or maybe it’s the “homey” vibe that Florence just gives off that makes me feel so comfortable here? Whatever the case, it didn’t take long for me to tell my parents and friends that I wanted to move here. It was a big revelation for me because after all of the trips I’ve taken in my life, the closest that I ever came to thinking, “Yeah, I can see myself living here,” was Miami and Los Angeles. Not even Lima, Peru, my birthplace, and where almost all of my relatives live made the cut. Quite the opposite – I’ve repeatedly said that while I love visiting Lima, I could never live there. So when it dawned on me that I could actually picture myself living in Florence, I was shocked, but it was a good, welcoming realization.

Now that my time here is coming to a close, the reasons for my love of Florence have become clearer. I believe one of them is the persevered presence of its antiquity provides me an endless supply of imagination. As a writer, I read and write every day. Staying in Florence gave me a burst of creativity. I wrote articles for FUA during the day, and incessantly wrote my own stories at night. Whether it was in my apartment’s living room with the windows open or in a café down the street by the Duomo, the words poured out of me, and it was simply wonderful.

Another reason for wanting to stay would have to be the breathtaking beauty of the city. Raised in a place where skyscrapers dominate the skyline, Florence offered a nice change of scenery. Instead of having the Bank of America Corporate Center, Duke Energy Center, and Bank of America Stadium in the horizon, there was the Duomo’s terracotta-lined dome, Giotto’s bell tower, Palazzo Vecchio’s Torre di Arnolfo, and the surrounding hills of the valley that the city lies in. At times, it made me feel like I was living hundreds of years ago, when Florence reigned supreme during the Renaissance.

Though I’m happy to return to my family and friends, I’m also sad to leave Florence. I’ll always carry the memories with me. I don’t know when I’ll return, but what I do know is that one day I will.

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Making Risotto

By Teddy Duffy
Photo by author 

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself extremely hungry in my Introduction to Italian Food Traditions class. Luckily, I found out we were making risotto that day. Having never tried it besides my mother’s, I was excited. I enjoyed the risotto so much that I decided to make it myself.

My first step was to turn on some Andrea Bocelli because he has the voice of an angel and he is one of the few artists I know from Italy. Once the music was on, I began. Instead of following the dish we had made in class, I decided to put my own spin on it. I added in sausage instead of mushrooms and decided to double the recipe to feed the guests I had over. I don’t recommend cooking a dish on your own for the first time with guests over because it adds a lot of pressure to the process. Thankfully, I loved it and delved into cooking. Keeping my eye on three different pans at once was difficult, so much so that I grabbed a small dish towel to use as a sweat towel. I had sausage with shallots, garlic, olive oil, and wine sauteeing in one pan with rice in another, and the broth in a large pot. While all of the ingredients were cooking, I was shredding some parmigiano reggiano and cutting up parsley. Apparently, I was pouring so much sweat and shaking the pans so hard to mix them that one of my guests asked if I was okay, to which I replied, “I’m in Florence, how can I not be okay?”. The loud opera music just intensified the scene. Finally, as everything came together, I began to combine the ingredients. I threw the sausage into the risotto and poured the bowl of parmesan in as well. Based off of my guests reviews and my own taste buds, it was a success. Everyone loved it so much that my guests offered to pay for all the ingredients this week if I cooked it for them again.

All in all, it was lots of fun to learn about a traditional dish while still putting my own spin on it. I guess I have no on else to thank but Andrea Bocelli!

Teddy’s Risotto
Ingredients:

360 gr ( 12 oz ) ( 2 cups ) Arborio rice
3-6 Italian sausages (based on # of people)
4 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
60 gr ( 2 oz ) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
120 ml ( ½ cup ) dry white wine
1 + ½ liter water for the vegetable broth
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 celery and 1 zucchina for the vegetable broth
15 gr ( ½ oz ) parsley, finely chopped
60 gr ( 2 oz ) extra virgin olive oil salt to taste

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Bookshops in Florence

By Lillian George

FUA student Lillian George tells us everything we need to know about bookshops in Florence.  

Florence is filled with several historical landmarks, and many people travel from all over the world just to see them. Shopping is also a must whilst you are visiting Europe, but what about books? Sure, go ahead and order your book on Amazon, or your kindle, but are you getting the real experience? Having items shipped to you whilst you are in another country can be expensive, and it can take a few weeks. Going into a bookstore is an experience in itself, and it can really take you into a whole new world.

Just the other day I was walking down the crowded streets of Florence, and I stumbled upon an old bookstore, BM Bookshop. It had a very retro feel to it, just by looking at display in the window. I wanted to walk in, but it seems that the store had been permanently closed. I could tell right away that this bookshop had been around for quite some time. The person working next door could tell I was a student, and she greeted me immediately. I walked over to the friendly woman and introduced myself. I decided to try to talk to her directly about the store, although my Italian is not very good. Luckily, she spoke some English and I was able to learn more about the remarkable BM Bookshop. Talking to someone about this shop and learning as much as I did was a great experience, even if I did manage to go inside the store itself.

BM Bookshop was possibly the oldest English language bookshop in Florence, Italy. It was first introduced about fifty years ago by Libby, an American, and her husband Francesco, an Italian from Florence. The focal point of this store was the huge selection of Italian cookery books, tourist guides and books on art, architecture, design and fashion in English. However, recently (before they shut down) they added French, German and Spanish language sections. BM Bookstore was a sincere and welcoming location for English-speaking people. This bookstore was located in central Florence, and even if you cannot go into the store anymore, I recommend taking the walk over there just to see the history of it all.

The woman I talked to, who preferred to remain anonymous, peaked my interest about this store. Later that day, I went home to do some research. The most recent owner of the shop was John Werich, a young Swedish man who has lived in Florence since 2006. He bought the store because he was looking for a way to put down roots in the city. This store made him feel at home, but it’s sad that the bookshop did not last very long while it was in his possession. He and his family are art lovers, so when he bought this historical place he decided to bring some art into the store. Another interesting fact is that the store was not always called “BM Bookshop”, he renamed it to be “B&M Books and Fine Art”. He decided to rename the shop when he bought it to honor his family’s love for art.

Walking around Florence each day is getting better and better for me. I’m able to navigate the city without GPS now, and it really is becoming home. Finding stores like BM Bookshop is what this city is all about. Just because a place is shut down forever, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn about it. I am grateful to have met the woman who taught me so much about this little old bookshop with a history behind it.

See more of Florence and Italy at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.

Permesso di Soggiorno (Permit to Stay)

SPEL Photography student Donald Blair shares his experience at the Questura in a photo story. 

All photos by Donald Blair

Getting your permesso di soggiorno in Italy means waking up early!

Don’t forget your passport.

Have a seat, bring a good book, and don’t forget snacks!

Wait your turn, and be kind.

Once your fingerprints have been taken, you’re all set.

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A Ghostly Side of Florence

Palazzo Budini-Gattai and the open window

Photo by author
By Barbara Carranza

SPEL Journalism student Barbara Carranza gives us paranormal suggestions for an alternative tour of Florence.

I’ve had a life-long fascination with the paranormal; just ask my family members or friends. When I arrived in Florence, one of the first things I searched up was if the city had any reported haunted sites that I could visit. With Florence being ancient and enriched with history, of course I wasn’t let down.

The fall season has descended upon us, and with the temperatures dropping, what better way to spend your nights than reading scary stories and strolling through the streets to check out some of Florence’s darkest legends and mysteries?

  • Palazzo Budini-Gattai

If you’ve been to the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, you’ve seen the Palazzo Budini-Gattai. A red brick building with three floors, it was constructed in the 16th century by the Grifoni family and eventually came under the ownership of the Budini-Gattai family. The legend attached to this place is in the far right window on the top floor. It is always open, even when it rains. The reason for this is because the ghost of a noblewoman is still waiting for her husband to return from war. They had just married when he was called for battle, and the young lady waited by the window so she could see him return, but he never did. Heartbroken, the woman became attached to the room and the window until she died. When the shutters were finally closed, an unnatural force moved the furniture and threw books off the shelves. The chaos didn’t stop until relatives reopened the window – and so it has stayed open, never to close lest someone wants to risk angering the ghost.

Located in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, on Via dei Servi, 51.

  • Pensione Burchianti

Located less than a 10-minute walk from the Duomo, the Santa Maria Novella train station and the basilica it is named after, Pensione Burchianti is a 3-star hotel that is situated perfectly for tourists. Open since 1919, the hotel has garnered a quality reputation for housing celebrities, politicians, and poets over the years, including an alleged visit by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. However, guests might find themselves not the only ones residing in their suites. Among the reports of unexplained events, paranormal stories in the hotel includes hearing children skip down the hallways, the feeling of being watched, the sensation of icy cold breath being blown on people’s faces, and sensing the mattress dip as if someone was sitting on it. If that doesn’t scare you, there is also the Fresco Room where people have seen a pink, translucent figure. The owner of the hotel refuses to stay overnight, so if you’re brave enough to do it, make sure to record your stay because you might capture something!

Located on Via del Giglio, 8.

  • Palazzo Vecchio

Find yourself wandering by one of the Florence’s most recognisable landmarks at night? Here are a couple words of advice: don’t yell out Baldaccio d’Anghiari’s name. Palazzo Vecchio, and the Piazza della Signoria in general, have witnessed so much blood spilled on its pavement over the last 600 years. For example, the hanging and burning of Friar Girolamo Savonarola in 1498, an event that is commemorated in a plaque positioned on the exact place where he was executed. But did you know of the mercenary Baldaccio d’Anghiari? In 1441, he was wrongly accused of treason and killed in the Palazzo Vecchio. His body was thrown out of a window and dragged across the Piazza where his severed head was put on display. It’s now said that his ghost roams the premises of the Palazzo; sounds of footsteps can be heard when it closes for the day and all the tourists have left. Do not yet his name and avoid saying it out loud for no reason. If you decide to address him, you must speak respectfully in a low voice.

Located in Piazza della Signoria,
Opening hours 9am-7pm Monday-Sunday, 9am-2 pm on Thursdays.

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