Submitted by Emma Aufrichtig on the 2016 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science…
A few days ago we left Venice, the city built on water, and traveled four hours to Siena. Even after being here for a few days, it still amazes me how different the cities are from one another. One uniqueness of Siena is pici, the spaghetti like pasta that is native to this city. At every restaurant I have been to, pici is main section of the menu. As my time in Siena comes to a close, I am definitely going to miss the wide abundance of pici that I am currently surrounded by. Many people have told us that Siena is the only place in Italy where pici is made, so everyone is trying to enjoy it while we are still here!
If you ever get the opportunity to travel to Italy, you must make an effort to visit Pisa. Even for just one day, Pisa is an incredible place with monumental buildings. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is just one of the many buildings which are leaning, and all of them are covered in frescoes. When walking through the Camposanto cemetery, I was amazed by all of the frescoes that lined the walls. We even learned about a fire that had destroyed many of the frescoes, however with certain technologies, many of them were restored and still are maintained. Pisa was one of the most amazing places that I have been to so far, and when thinking about how an entire city is on a slant, just makes it that much more incredible.
