Italy Realized (Final Blogpost)

 "We are familiar with the notion that the reality of travel is not what we anticipate… therefore… reality must always be disappointing. It may be truer and more rewarding to suggest that it is primarily different” (deBotton 11).

I thought I had fairly good expectations for the trip before I began. I had taken the courses before, studied up on the history of Italy, and waited in anticipation for this trip for two years. While I was certainly not disappointed by Italy in any stretch of the word, I must admit that it was certainly different from what I expected.

I will start with getting around, as this was a major focus of my reintroduction blog. I had always thought of Italy (and Europe in general) as very walkable and as a cornerstone for what American cities should strive for, but reality is different. While Florence and Rome were very walkable, the streets were not as nice as I thought. I thought avoiding the car was possible, but even in the most walkable areas of these cities the car found a way to intoxicate itself in the atmosphere. While both cities were also walkable and pleasant, this was mostly in a limited area and I did have to pass by areas that were not as pleasant to walk through and, especially for Florence, anyone not living in the downtown has to get on a motor vehicle, much like American cities. Venice was very walkable as well, but it was limited by the canals, which made navigation difficult. I don’t think this is necessarily bad, as Venice was actually devoid of motor vehicles that could run you over, but it was different from what we are used to in the US, as there are constantly places where you are almost at your destination but have to go around and find another way. The vaporetto was very similar to a bus or subway system in the US, but required more manpower and longer times at each station due to it being a boat that needs to dock. Cities like Paderno also showed me where Italian infrastructure was behind, with a noticeable lack of sidewalks making it almost harder for pedestrians in that town. I found it interesting how the ride to Paderno from the plane revealed an Italy that was more similar to Indiana than I expected, with roadways, signs, and fields of grain. I still think that there are takeaways from this trip, and I do like the idea of a carless city like Venice, but I might be more selective in what elements I would take to any city plans I would design myself rather than simply copying the Venetians. High speed rail was fun to ride, and I am seeing now that the only real thing the US needs to do is straighter, smoother, flatter tracks order to implement it (there were many tunnels in Italy for the sole purpose of keeping the tracks level).

Moving beyond transportation, the food culture of Italy was different from what I expected. I assumed every dinner would be three hours long. While Italians certainly have an expectation that dinners are sit down affairs, it seemed to be less extreme than I assumed. The dinner with the Italian family was surprisingly more relaxed and familiar than I thought it would be, although the idea of having multiple courses is still different. Drinking is something that is also seen very differently. In Italy it is seen as a compliment to the food and the conversation, but the US sees drinking as a way to get tipsy. I honestly never really noticed this until coming back this week to an internship and hearing my coworkers talk about how a drink was good, but “too weak” to help them get a “buzz.” I have not participated in drinking culture much before, but after Italy I doubt that I can see drinking the same way as my coworkers and have any desire to drink to get tipsy like they do. I also found the variety of food to be quite lacking in Italy. The pasta was always really good and I appreciate that they put so much effort into it, but I now find myself appreciating how America has a much wider array of food available. Most of the cities we were in had mostly pasta, pizza, and sandwiches with only a few other restaurants, but in any mid-sized city in the US you are guaranteed to find at least one good place that serves Mexican, Chinese, burgers, steak, southern, Italian, and so many others. By the end of the trip, I was looking for some more variety in my food, but realized that Italy was different and that it doesn’t have the same amount of multiculturalism as the US. Thus, it does Italian food really well and had some of my favorite meals ever, but lacks having as much diversity in the meals readily available. I also found that while fast food sucks, having only sandwiches and pizza as the quick-stop food was not ideal either. Food in Italy was good, but not different from my expectations.

Another difference includes the haggling culture, which you don’t see in the US. Some of my proudest moments took place in those marketplaces when I got the price down several euros. I still remember getting my hat down to 2/3 of its price in Florence. Talking with merchants was a key memory for me, and I will always remember the shoe salesman in Bassano who spoke no English and how fun it was to explain to him what I wanted.

The age of buildings was also very clear. I wrote about this in more depth in my possessing beauty blog, but I was absolutely stunned by the Florence Duomo as I came to realize its full size and age. The amount of age on any building as well the shear amount of history was staggering. The Uffizi and Vatican had endless supplies of art to see, every corner in Rome had a new monument to see, and every church in Venice has supported generations of local support.

This class has changed my mindset, but it has been doing so since 2020 when I first took much of the material. I had new ideas about how everything works and started to question why things are the way they are. Actually going to Italy solidified many of these ideas, although it will take time to see the fill effects. I have realized for a while now that I want to live in a city. Preferably and older one with lots of art and history where I can walk to work. Italy has made me certain that this is what I want to do. It felt odd to have to drive everywhere for my internship so far. I don’t know if I will fully see the effects on person any time soon, but I am already noticing small differences this week between how I see the world and how my fellow interns do. They seem more content with the norm and living in a calm down to earth area (I am in Kansas City for my internship) and finding efficient solutions. There is less questioning of this norm and an asking of why things are the way they are. I need more time to fully see the effects, but the change has already occurred. While a paradigm shift has occurred in my mindset, it will take me more time to see the effects this has on my world, because “when paradigms change, the world itself changes” (Kuhn 111). Whatever this trips effects will have on me, I know that my memories and experience from the trip will stay with me forever. I am so happy that I choose to go on this journey and realized the trip started two years prior.

Final sunset in Venice

Works Cited

de Botton, Alain. The Art of Travel. New York: Vintage, 2002.

Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 4th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2012.