On the trip to Pisa and Lucca with other students from the International Studies Institute, our professor and chaperon Stefano Corazzini (ISI Art History faculty, licensed Florence guide) had a bit of a run-in with an angry native tour guide. Our group was standing outside the Cathedral in the Piazza dei Miracoli, listening to Stefano’s lecture on the shape of the building and the importance of the city of Pisa to Renaissance art, when the tall blonde came marching over and began telling him off in rapid Italian for teaching us! He explained that he was our professor, but she went on to say (in English, for some reason) that unless he was a paid guide, he was not allowed to teach us. She came back three more times, and on the fourth encounter, she threatened to call the police. Stefano was completely unflustered, and simply said, “Maybe we should continue talking about this upstairs. Upstairs is better.”

Besides the tourist life, my experience here has been extraordinary in other ways. One thing that I don’t suppose will ever change is the awe I feel when I see monuments and famous artworks while walking around the city. My interest in Michelangelo started with my first picture book about the Sistine Chapel and continued with the Art History courses I’ve taken in my Studio Arts major. When I learn about these famous pieces in a lecture hall, with no sense of scale or reality, I still manage to retain some sense of awe. That weak wonder cannot compare to the pure childlike joy that comes from physically seeing the façade of il Duomo. • Marissa Stanton