Siena, Tuscany

We spent today in the small Tuscan town of Siena, a short hour and 15 minute drive from Florence. Siena is most known for its Piazza Del Campo, comparable to Florence's Piazza Signoria, as the political center and location of the Palazzo Publico, as well as the track for Palio, a bi-annual horse race around the perimeter of the shell-shaped square. Siena's other major site is Santa Maria Del Assunta, the Siena Cathedral. What was supposed to be the largest cathedral in all of Europe turned out to be, over the course of the 160 years it took to build it, a result of multiple architects, ideas, and design changes that have left the finished product with a dome that is off axis, an extra wall where a nave was supposed to be built, and an asymmetric facade (the bottom half and top half do not line up meaning that the vertical line from bottom to top is broken, resulting in the building appearing shorter). While the highly-decorated gothic architecture is impossible to not be impressed with and I give all the credit in the world to the sculptures who carved these decorations, this may be the first cathedral that I dare call somewhat ugly. The latin term Horror Vacui can be used to describe its interior, translating quite literally to "afraid of empty space." With the pictures below, I'll let you decide for yourself. 

Here in Florence, also known as our place to stay in between trips, school is in full swing. I've been improving my sketching skills in sketching and drawing where we've been to (and drawn) many galleries and museums around the city. In studio we are beginning the concept and design phase of our information center/cafe/auditorium/gallery for Piazza Ghiberti. Next week is our first midterm exam, a reminder of just how quickly the semester is passing by. Next weekend we will journey with reading cities to Verona and Venice before taking a couple weeks off for midterm juries. After that it is off to Barcelona, and then Paris for spring break. It's been an amazing experience thus far and there is so much ahead to look forward to.