Submitted by Sean Glennon on the 2024 Winter FINC/ENGL program in Italy…
For the first week of this study abroad program, we stayed at a campus not far from an old Tuscan city called Volterra located a little more than an hour outside of Pisa called SIAF. Walking through the city it’s interesting hard to wrap my mind around how long this city, which was once unbeknown to me, has stood in Tuscany. There’s deep Estruscan history dating back further than the Roman Empire that I would have never heard of without seeing it first-hand.
The roads within the street weren’t design with cars in mind and is mostly fully walkable. Walking through town, I recognize the slow nature of the city where nobody is rushing to be anywhere and how much more laid back it feels in the town compared to United States, where people walk around with a greater sense of urgency. Businesses close between 12 o’clock and 3 her for family business to spend time with their families. Compare this to in the United States where businesses stay open during this time because this is a valuable time where businesses would be making most of their profits during lunchtime.
This more relaxed nature is also reflected in the roads, where cars are smaller and there are no major highways connecting cities. I got to enjoy the hilly scenery after leaving Pisa airport towards Volterra. Even though I’m not even driving, it’s comical to me at least how much slower and nicer the drivers are to one another on the windy roads.
It has taken time to adjust to this slower lifestyle here in Italy, as I’m still not used to the multiple course, small portion dinners here either. It wasn’t until I witnessed for myself in Europe how much faster America moves compared to other parts of the world. (Submitted on January 10, 2024)