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ganzo egyptology newflorencetravel guide what safresco fieldtrips howtosurvive s.lorenzo fua

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affrico field florence faculty vs students soccer game april 30th 200 8

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inthisissue 2 letterfromtheeditor 3 livingthearts 6feelingflorentine 8foodies 12facultyportraits 14theworld&florence:twoviews 17fieldtrips 18thefairfieldpage 20whenit sallover 22do s&don ts 1 blending magazinefirenze

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springsemester2008 living thearts pomegranate is not only the name of a fruit by daniela caso seventy boys and girls stand closely to one another each wearing vibrant red uniforms their hands crossed behind their backs and wide smiles on their faces together they resemble the ruby red seeds of a pomegranate they are florence s il piccolo coro melograno the little pomegranate choir not a typical children s choir each melograno choir member has memorized over 80 songs in italian and other languages in addition to having memorized the words of each song they know their individual singing parts and choreography by heart the children ages 6-13 are not provided with sheet music from which to read or learn laura bartoli director and founder of the melograno choir prefers a memorization method that was created by mariele ventre the previous director of the antoniano children s choir of bologna laura has personalized the method however and included some of her own principles stemming from her experience as a violin instructor she says teaching a child to read music before singing is like teaching a child to read before speaking in fact many of the children in the melograno choir are too young to read as the current melograno intern i have had the pleasure of being introduced to this innovative teaching and learning process while assisting with concert preparation rather than using sheet music the children have cds with the songs they are learning bartoli suggests the children listen to the cds but does not require it she believes that by listening to the songs the children process the music and lyrics.thus by simply rehearsing the children begin to memorize the words and rhythm of the songs and are better prepared to learn the individual parts as well as dynamics techniques and interpretation the children in the melograno choir are trained to hear something repeat it and then memorize it bartoli believes this process of learning and singing from memorization is beneficial for the children s future in music and academics one melograno choir graduate francesco piccoli said the choir has surely increased my confidence and memorization abilities in school but mostly it has helped me meet new people and make friends francesco who was very timid before believes his personality has blossomed as well as his friendships thanks to the melograno choir to listen to il piccolo coro melograno please join us for la pace dei bambini concert at teatro pucini on may 11 at 4 p.m i hope to see you there fore more information visit the website at www.piccolocoromelograno.it 3 blendingmagazinefirenze

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blendingmagazinefirenze letter fromtheeditor dear reader the second issue of blending magazine has a different look and carries different voices after a semester of hiatus we ve decided to come back with a bigger format and bigger perspective on florence.you ll see what fua and apicius students have worked on throughout the semester where they ve traveled on field trips and get an intimate glimpse into the minds of faculty members as well as world views cultural reflections the exciting venture proposed by ganzo the cultural association-restaurant and much more thank you for taking the time to read us and thanks especially to this semester s contributors who represent both the staff and student body buona lettura the editorial staff gabriella ganugi luca bucciarelli grace joh photo by gabriella ganugi 2

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springsemester2008 creative campus art crawl by rebecca barton creativity fuels the imagination and inspires ideas that have the potential to make an impact on many if given the opportunity fortunately bari hochwald a professor at florence university of the arts realized the creative potential in the minds of students and organized creative campus as a result the goal of creative campus is to offer students who are studying abroad in florence the opportunity to collaborate with local students on theatrical musical visual and other artistic projects throughout the course of the semester this organization also aims to create events that offer positive night-time alternatives to pubs and discos since its inception in spring of 2007 students from universities all over florence have come together to create projects and events to share with the florence community at first there were five american universities involved in creative campus activities now a year later creative campus has expanded and works with 14 different institutions including american and italian schools in addition to working with students creative campus has also formed relationships with other similar organizations in the florence in order to collaborate on projects since its inception creative campus students have been involved in the following theatrical performance in conjunction with the florence international theatre company which was also co-founded by bari hochwald and aaron craig agnes of god love letters the butterfinger angel and most recently betrayal they have also established two events centered around specific themes which included the effects of the global economy on the environment and stereotypes this semester creative campus students organized an art crawl which was held on wednesday april 16 the evening was filled with culture food and fun.this event gave study abroad students and italian students the opportunity to come together for a special evening tour of the local artigiani artisan shops where they learned about the different artistic trades from the artigiani themselves the tour of the artigiani shops was followed by an apertivo complete with art and music over 100 students participated this year and the hope is that many more will come in the future for upcoming events please check the link included below and come and unleash the creativity within while learning about the creativity that fuels others for more information on creative campus and florence international theatre company please visit the website www.florencetheatre.com blendingmagazinefirenze 4

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springsemester2008 egyptology fua photo exhibition by luca bucciarelli it was during the mid-nineteen century when the great egyptologist champollion and the italian rosellini traveled to egypt for exciting history-making discoveries it was a time in which many ideas of design were dominated by the egyptian style it was the age of a great egyptian revival all over the old world florence being a culturally prominent city hosted this idea and design concepts in order to enrich its palaces and villas with the new egyptian motifs 2008 s shakespeare week is dedicated to antony and cleopatra displaying to the public the concept of egyptian revival that revolutionized the 1800s.thanks to the students of florence university of the arts who explored the egyptian revival motifs in florence the city had the chance to re-discover these forgotten treasures such as the temple inside the sibbert museum the monumental english cemetery that s filled with egyptian icons and symbols of eternal life as well as the egyptian room inside the archaeological museum of florence and the majestic statues facing via ghibellina at the entrance of the circolo borghese with such exemplar locations in the city and the great talent of fua students florence was able to display a rich photo exhibition of 18 unforgettable art works the exhibition took place from april 21 25 at the harold acton library at palazzo lanfredini one of the two seats of the british institute of florence photo by pilee blue mansfield

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springsemester2008 feelingflorentine stand out or get out by amanda bell the first few weeks i spent in florence i was amazed at how quickly people knew i was american as i walked through the san lorenzo market with my mouth shut i would hear the vendors switch from italian to english as soon as they saw me i did my best to blend in i wore the skinny jeans the colorful shoes the sunglasses but i simply was not blending in now that i ve spent nearly three months in florence i ve decided that i don t actually want to blend in surely experiencing the culture and participating in it is all part of the study abroad experience but losing your identity is not for many people part of being abroad is finding yourself and this is difficult to do when you re constantly trying to be someone else especially someone else that belongs to a different country and culture so i quit trying to blend in i wore my t-shirts my tennis shoes from home my rei rain jacket and north face backpack that scream american i abandoned trying to look italian but this didn t stop me from doing my best to speak italian whenever i could taking part in local customs and befriending italians i am in florence to experience things and enjoy myself and these things make me happy i want to do them i don t feel obligated before i came to italy i read that i shouldn t wear jeans white tennis shoes anything with my university s name or logo printed on it all these things advertised the fact that i was american and it seemed like being american was a bad thing an error i understand the concept of assimilating into the culture that you ll be experiencing and hopefully enjoying for three or four months being abroad affords the chance to be someone different from who you are and who ve you been you are libero free to be anyone you want but this is also a time to discover who you are and who you want to be being someone else for four months may be fun but it won t bring you much closer to being who you are meant to be at the most you ll find out who you don t want to be process of elimination isn t the best method in discovering your demeanor beliefs and personality i believe in and enjoy a more direct approach i actively participate in my self discovery by not blending in oddly enough as soon as i stopped trying to look and be italian people started treating me like i was i was asked for directions in italian more more vendors first spoke to me in italian i started hanging out with florentines i stopped trying to act the part and started being the person i know best me i frequently wear my university sweatshirt around florence and there was one day where three italians shouted at me colorado it s beautiful there i love it not to mention the attention i get from americans when they see my sweatshirt go rams rings out along lungarno degli acciaiouli often as i walk to class a simultaneous connection with italians and with people from my own country isn t half bad i m certainly not anti-italian at all i do many italian things and i ve loved and continue to love my time here it s just that i m more pro-me and all that entails t-shirts chewing gum many failed attempts at speaking italian and a love for pashminas so stop trying to blend in you can experience what the world offers while still maintaining and even discovering who you are you can be open to new things and everything and i encourage to you to but people will tell you to blend in and hide where you come from but that s terrible advice there s no reason to look like all the other colors in the crayon box instead stand out and love it blendingmagazinefirenze 6

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springsemester2008 the florentine internship experience by katherine mcclure visit a city for a week and you see the main sites live in a city for four months and you discover some of the local places live in a city for eight months and you become a member of its society i ve been in florence since the end of august and feel that it becomes more and more like home with each passing week my first several weeks here in the fall were full of the excitement associated with living in a new city especially a foreign one at that time just finding the nearest grocery store and the fastest way to school seemed like little triumphs however since then my life and comfort within the city has changed dramatically now i attend classes three days a week intern at a contemporary art gallery two days a week and go out with italian friends on the weekends actually immersing myself in the culture and the language through both my internship and spending time with italians has greatly enhanced my experiences abroad through these experiences i have gained a greater understanding of the culture and the italian mentality as my knowledge and understanding of the culture and the language continue to expand on a weekly basis i feel myself becoming lost in that undefined land between two cultures between two mentalities in many ways i am more of a florentine than just an american studying abroad yet at the heart of it all i am still an american would this change if i were to remain in italy longer the only way to be certain is to test the waters a plunge i m ready to take 7 blendingmagazinefirenze

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springsemester2008 foodies living in middle-aged florence ganzo cultural asssociation by gabriella ganugi florence is renowned for being the center of renaissance art if i think about the renaissance i think about the public square and the life activity enthusiasm vision of the future innovations that were raised and praised in the period but living in florence doesn t give me the same idea the same sense of opening i feel florence today is more middle-aged instead i feel high walls of suspicion high walls of individualism ganzo doesn t have the ambition of starting a new renaissance era but surely intends to open the city up to novelty to share its beauty beyond the surface to help all the people who come to visit its splendor to better understand its significance beyond the disneyland attraction it may appear to be ganzo opens its doors to art culture genius aggregation food wine and anything that may bring a new enthusiasm to the city and its visitors the future is to build bridges and links between cultures and to educate/teach the younger generation to respect and appreciate what is different because different is not better or worse just different there is no color at ganzo no religion no dress code no boundaries only a youthful inspired scent and a brilliant energy of hope blendingmagazinefirenze 8

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photo by gabriella ganugi

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springsemester2008 more than a guide culinary portraits of florence by grace joh the new apicius publication of spring 2008 isn t about one type of cuisine one restaurant or a single chef.the protagonist related to an even more ambitious and wide-reaching topic is none other than the city of florence itself any visitor to the city will be bedazzled by a florence at times radiant rinascimentale and resplendent from the imposing duomo to the arching bridges that arise above the arno in other moments the racket and illegality of the sales of fake goods long waits for museum entrance and the overcrowded streets might detract from a deeper look into the soul of the city culinary portraits of florence is part travel guide part recipe collection and part insider s view of a city that might seem easy to define on the surface yet isn t definable at all especially if one s passing through with a map plotted with the tosee-just-to-say-i ve-seen-it landmarks the individuals behind its creation apicius faculty members and food communication students have singularly lived each moment and place contained in its pages and recount them from the point of view of a person who s here to live even if just for a semester in the case of a student and to divulge some establishments and landmarks are easily recognizable while other restaurants and artisanal labs have always remain hidden from the tourist eye but the uniting factor is an undeniable vitality a life-link that connects these places to the city landscape from unique and almost kitsch civaioli that sell both plastic chairs and exotic tuscan legumes to traditional knife shops in existence since the 1800 s to anecdotes and recipes this book evokes just what the title indicates portraits of florence painted with many colors voices perspectives and photos in order to spur the reader to live the city versus seeing it capturing its essence instead of evoking sensations or suggestions and last but not least the slim guide of addresses and phone numbers included in back cover of the book can be thrown into a backpack purse or pocket before one embarks on a florentine adventure trattoria ganino tucked away off of the piazza de cimatori lies a florentine culinary favorite called osteria ganino one would not know the great food and ambience this restaurant has to offer just passing by it the amiable staff traditional tuscan food and warm atmosphere makes this dining experience quite enjoyable because there was no music the ambiance seems more authentic with italian conversation as the restaurant s back drop a small but high quality wine list compliments the food perfectly the menu is very accommodating to english speaking customers because all of their dishes are translated into english the simplicity of the presentation is shown in the food as well as the interior and exterior of the restaurant.the flavors sing loud and delicious what makes this restaurant unique from its counterparts is that if you re lucky you may get an invite from the chef to make their signature meatballs polpette meatballs 3 potatoes 2 1/2 lbs of ground beef 2 large eggs 3 1/2 ounces of grated parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon of parsley 1 1/2 lbs of bread crusts removed 1 cup of milk in a large pot boil potatoes and set aside to cool grate the potatoes add all ingredients to the potatoes and mix roll into 2 inch balls bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 350 oven blendingmagazinefirenze 10

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photo by gabriella ganugi pine nut sauce 1 slice dry bread crumbled 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 3/4 cup pine nuts 1 teaspoon of sugar 1 tablespoon apple vinegar 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil soak the bread in the vinegar place all ingredients in blender and mix adding the olive oil slowly this sauce is a good accompaniment for fish and poultry red sau 1 pound ce ripe 2 cloves gar tomatoes 1 onion min lic 5 basil lea ced 1 pinch crusves minced hed red pep per 1 tablespoo n of vinegar salt extra virgin olive oil blanch boiling e the tomatoes in one min water for about begins ute until the skin to come place off cold wathe tomatoes in ter minute andfor about one skins ,slice then remove the in half rem tomatoes ove seeds then dice tomato mix togeth crushe es onion baser il vinegad red pepper and and mix add oil r the we to sistency wit desired conll h a fork b sauce aromatic her minced 2 cloves garlic minced 1 hard boiled egg minced gon 1 teaspoon tarra minced 1 teaspoon mint minced ley 1 teaspoon pars e minced thym 1 teaspoon vinegar 2 tablespoons white pepper salt and extra virgin 4 tablespoons oil olive and herbs mix garlic egg salt with vinegar add oil this pepper and olivewith sauce goes well poached fish ag 1 re gr 2 c sto cr ape up s sa sta umb juic our uce 1 ta le b s of e or u nrip rin ble rea on e sa d o spo d e slic e 4 lt a f on on m olivtablend p e or inced of e o sp epp ang on oo er e ion il bo ns il th ext by ra su on e ju virg in rfac e th ice in th the e ird and in e on rem soa skim red soaa bleion aainink the theuce we ked nde nd g liq bre an ll b r ora uid ad a d p add read ad nge m w fork epp the an d the pee ix l po ell wit th er an oil ad mix ultr hesd nd y ga au mix sa me ce w lt m go ith ea es ta nd pecori no ch 1 teas eese sauce poon of min ley ced pa rs5 basil leaves 1 tabl espoon 1 hard of pine boiled nuts 1 cup egg gr pecorin ated aged o rom an 4 tabl espoon o cheese olive oi of extra l virgin salt an d pepp er mix pa rsley basil nuts in and bl pecorin ender ad pine o oil d salt an egg per an d mix well w d pepgoes ith a fo w rk poultry ell with po rk an d garli c sauc e 10 ga rlic clov es 2 tabl espoon s brea crumbs d soaked in vine extra virgin gar olive oi salt an l d pepp er mix ga rlic an d brea crumbs d in blen der w tables ith 2 poons of oliv add ad e oil ditiona l olive mixing oil with a fork un sauce til the is the desire sisten d concy tarragon sauce 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons bread crumbs soaked in vinegar extra virgin olive oil place all ingredients in blender and add olive oil slowly this medieval sauce is a good accompaniment for fish and meat gr 3 een min table sa 2 ced spo uce on 1 clov sp 2 hard es g ars ley 1 anc boile arlic min table hovy d eg m ce spo file g ince 1 on ts min d tab d cru le ca m ced mb sp pe inc ex rs ed tra s so oon vir ake br mix gin d ea ble all oli in vin d ve eg ad nde ing oil ar sa ding r wh redie pa uce oliv ile nts slo in me nime is aeow il ly eg ats nt f go gs an or od this d bo ac ha ile co rd d mbo ile d w c aln st rum ut 2 ale bs sa win tab bre of o uce 2 e les ad ne slic 1 0 s vin poo e p tea kinn ega ns of 4 arsle spo ed w r whit e gin tab y on aln les of ut sa oli p min s lt a ve oo ce nd oil ns so d ex pe vin ak tra pp p eg th er vir ad arsle ar e tin d y mix bre ad ue the in wa ad an din to bre a lnu in d g mix ad b ts the th t co is s pep he wh and lend and po mp auc pe oil ile co er ult an e r s ry ime is to add low nnt a g t sa ly for oo ast lt fis d a e h a cnd salse antiche sauce raw tomato cherry toma1 1/2 pounds toes garlic 2 cloves 1 small onion 5 basil leaves red pepper 1 pinch crushed oil extra virgin olive salt and pepper s in half cut the tomatoe the food ugh and pass thro skins whisk mill to remove garlic onion together the red pepper basil crushed ls ofolive and 4 spoonfu hetoma add t oil a n d pepper toes salt mix this whisk to combine pasta ked sauce with coo sauce peppercorn slice of crumbs of one stale bread apple vine2 tablespoon gar rse ground 1 teaspoon coa black pepper rse ground 1 teaspoon coa red pepper rse ground 1 teaspoon coa pink pepper olive oil 4 tablespoon d in the vinesoak the brea pers finely gar mix the pep the bread in a blender addcontinue to the oil and and d well this mix until mixe d accompasauce is a goo ted meat niment with roas se chee tta rico e ese sauc a che ricott s 1 cup alnut ps w 1/2 cu oil olive er pepp and salt ese a che ricott puree s in a walnut 2 taand ding er ad blend e oil ns oliv nd spoo ble salt a n with seaso per pep

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springsemester2008 faculty portraits fashion professor marco de micheli by luca bucciarelli born and raised in florence marco de micheli is a 100 florentine artist and fashion designer he started his studies at the university of florence studying literature and philosophy and dreaming to become a writer but writing not pretending to be good writer but a proper one is not an easy task so de micheli decided to enter the creative field which is still hosting him fashion he followed his passion for sketching and drawing and was inspired by his beautiful and fashionable mother so that he became the very popular designer he is today by working with important brands fashion houses such as moschino ferragamo ferré he has been creating links between creativities when the fashion and advertisement market hardened and these products became less sellable he admits that fashion is less about creativity and all about marketing but there are ways to make it artistic the pure demonstration of this are marco s favorite artists from warhol to cattelan passing through rauschenberg and the entire pop art that he visibly admires you can see it from the way he teaches by recreating an fua factory such as the one that andy warhol created in the 60 s his classes are places where everyone contributes both students and teachers in an informal environment which professionally creates fashion but without losing a bit of sense of humor and a critic approach to the social aspect of contemporary life this joyful and satiric critic to the modern human compulsions are indeed central in the art works of marco de micheli who showed his genius last year in rome with his exhibition named art game addiction to fashion pretension to be intellectual fearlessness to become old and body status and muscle building are stretching and trapping the modern individuals into a vice from where you can only escape with a big laugh de micheli will continue presenting his works and his thoughts to the world of art and for the future perhaps in florence as well the city where he is from and the city he probably knows better how to make fun of but his career as a teacher will continue following the students who are impressing him everyday with their passions and dreams the same he has had and still has since he started using his creativity to donate colors to the world this is one of the reasons why marco became a teacher first as a mere attempt but then he discovered how much he liked to develop human relationships due to inspiring the future fashion designers with his particular way of working joyful and creative funny but professional and more clearly in two words conceptual but not intellectual blendingmagazinefirenze 12

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springsemester2008 by amanda bell when prof francesco sommariva was young he had a french-polynesian girlfriend he wanted to spend time with her on friday evenings but she would always tell him no that her time belonged to her and she would do with it as she pleased i ve heard this story at least three times and each time it gets better but not because francesco embellishes he releases more and more information each time he tells it i first heard this story in class psychology of culture shock the second time in famous hotel sacher in vienna over turkish coffee and goulash.the third time in class again francesco has dearly loved his life and i have dearly loved hearing about it the first day of class my classmates and i spent the first twenty minutes of class listening to francesco speak about his life it was bit shocking at first in the united states most professors don t divulge the academic and personal stories that francesco did and certainly not on the first day of class but francesco somariva is not like other professors other professors don t say and now it is time for a cigarette break otherwise i kill you every forty minutes but other professors aren t nearly as well-traveled or have first-hand experience with what students go through as far as i know francesco s career history has included being a manager for a major hotel corporation as well as a manager for a very large auto corporation in europe taking him all over the world he knows the industry and market of sweden france and belgium like his pocket he says after years in the managing and globetrotting business francesco treated himself to three months in french polynesia.that s where he met his now ex-girlfriend.the things we do and the people we meet when we go abroad away from our surroundings francesco s experience with and knowledge of culture shock has brought him here to florence he has studied psychology for over 25 years and has a vast knowledge of well everything he teaches at fua as well as at apicius and he also organizes and attends many of the field trips offered through the school it was during the vienna fieldtrip that i got to know francesco a little better hear more about this ex-girlfriend of his we sat in hotel sacher with a small group francesco s cigarette smoke was blowing in my face and another guide mentioned this to him intending her comment to halt the smoke francesco daubed his cigarette in the ash tray took a puff and then said it does not bother me a sly grin creeping over his face unfazed he launched back into his story smoke curling from his cigarette like springs into the air and she said to me no you can not come with me this day and time is for my girl friends and not you so go and i said ok this is how the french polynesian women are and this is how francesco is he blows smoke into your face he shows you around town and invites you to partake in his dinner party he offers sarcasm and a constantly smoking mouth he will leave you alone in a foreign city if you don t have the good sense to ask him for directions back to the hotel from what i hear of her he sounds like his old french polynesian girlfriend but francesco offers something else something much more important francesco offers empathy he knows what it s like being alone in a foreign country surrounded by unfamiliarity and the unknown but just because he empathizes doesn t mean he pities you he offers ways to circumvent and shorten many of the feelings students experience when they first travel abroad he treats coping like a skill one we must hone in order to enjoy our time abroad instead of lamenting the difficulties disappointments and disasters we experience sometimes you have to have a french polynesian girlfriend in order to appreciate who you are where you are and get to where you need to be but tahiti is certainly a beautiful stop along the way it does not bother me 13 blendingmagazinefirenze

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