Gladiators, Romeo and Castles

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Most of the people I spend time are architecture students and as such we have all perfected the balancing act between practicality and creativity. Then we met the art and literature majors. This encounter led us directly to the Italian city of Romance and Whimsy: Verona.
First stop: the stadium. The stadium in Verona is a mini-colosseum, except for it has a well-preserved hole in the center where they used to hoist animals and fighters up into the ring (the colosseum's main floor has collapsed revealing the various passages and rooms under the ring). This was especially entertaining for us, because the pit meant we could pretend we were bad-ass Spartans like in the movie 300! Naturally we took turns being King Leonidas who kicks the "messenger" (usually my friend devon) into "the pit of death." While the accuracy of the film is doubtful, and the stadium in Verona is totally unrelated to the Spartans, we had a blast! Its always fun to bring history to life in such a silly way, even if it is utterly absurd and implausible. Thats how we roll, hehee....
After that, we went to the other end of the city to visit La Casa di Giulietta. According to legend, Shakespeare wrote the play Romeo and Juliet about an actual couple from Verona, Italy. La Casa is where Juliet supposedly lived; it even has an amazing balcony that any director would drool over! In fact, the recent film Letters to Juliet was filmed at La Casa. Despite the romanticism of the legend, the first thing you see when you walk through the main entrance, is Graffiti. I felt so disappointed that such a whimsical place had been so carelessly desecrated. Then when I walked closer, I realized, it wasn't really graffitti, it was hundreds and thousands of names; couples who had written their names in hearts all of the walls of the vestible in hopes that Romeo and Juliet would bestow their blessing. Others still, were notes from lonely singles, asking Juliet to send them that special someone. My friends immediately began to scribble their names with those of their boyfriends' back in the states. Ironically, I'm glad I was single for that trip; because in 5 years, chances are, those relationships will be over and those photos of scribbles on Juliet's wall will be a bittersweet memory. I felt oddly satisfied with my own note to Juliet, simply stating "Send Me Love" with my initials and the date. Five years from now I hope to show that photo to a boyfriend, fiance, or husband, saying, "Look, she sent you!"
La Casa di Giulietta is more than just a legendary house, it actually functions as a museum. Inside, the interiors are restored and maintained, complete with antique furniture and clothing. All three levels are furnished for the museum, and of course, there is Juliet's Balcony. We all took turns posing at the balcony as if we were rehearsing for Shakespeare!
After, we headed off to Museo Archeologico where all sorts of Roman ruins are on display, indoors and out. It was a most unique museum experience, given how half was inside, half was out, and you were constantly moving in and out. It was wonderful and varied and the perfect place to see Roman artifacts.
After, we went to Museo a Castelvecchio, and yes, the museum was housed within an actual castle. The castle was originally built in the mid-1300s and is medieval in design (Renaissance ideologies were born around this same time, so the distinction is important). In the 1400s when Verona became part of one of the many Italian Republics, it was converted for military use, which remained its function until the 1920s. In 1925 after renovations it became a museum, but it wasn't until 1958 that it became a renown museum; it was renovated and refurbished by Carlo Scarpa and only after that did the museum gain such acclaim. Why is this important? Because I am an Architectural Nerd, and Carlo Scarpa is a genius! The Museum houses countless Medieval statues and paintings as well as some Renaissance works, but my personal favorite was the weapons collection. I am a very peaceful and non-violent person, but for whatever reason, antique weaponry appeals to me!
Ironically, the most memorable moment of the day had nothing to do with history or romance, and had everything to do with the "sleepy hahas." We crammed an awful lot into one day. In the words of my professor Franco, we did a "two-day Japanese Kamikaze tour" of Verona in one day. So by the time we got to the Museum at Castelvecchio, we were all exhausted. After getting our tickets, we picked a nice little spot between the scuplture gallery and the courtyard where we sat for a few minutes while a couple of us used the ladies room. 15 minutes later, we were still sitting there, waiting for one girl, our friend Kathryn. By this point, we were all beginning to worry a bit. Devon expressed genuine concern that she might have drowned, while Emily suggested she may have flushed herself by accident. Emily was about to go check on her, when I said Kathryn was probably just taking the biggest dump of her life; Emily no longer had any desire to check on Kathryn, and we all began to giggle uncontrollably at the possibilities. It wasn't really funny, we were just so exhausted, we couldn't help but laugh. We were still laughing when Kathryn came out a few minutes later, and when she asked what was so funny, I simply said to her, "did everything come out all right?" Kathryn looked at me with this puzzled look on her face; the joke clearly went right over her head, and everyone else began another round of hysterical laughter. Again, it wasn't really funny, we were just so tired. Then, I started laughing so hard I couldn't breath, and I couldn't really laugh either, I just made these wheezy-old-man-laugh noises as tears streamed down my face. Of course, this just instigated another round of giggles. About ten minutes later we had calmed down enough to begin our museum tour, which we enjoyed immensely. Then it was off to the train station to return to Florence.

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Photos

Verona (50)
Some things just get lost in translation... hahhaha!!

Roman Arena (18)
Anyone see the movie 300?