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Jennifer Doering
Matt Davis
Country as Text: Italy
20 June 2014
The Adventure to Italy
Ive always wanted to see Italy. I dreamed of the day I would be able to visit the beautiful
and culture-rich country, and spent my childhood reading fiction novels set in Italy. When I
learned of the trip to Italy last semester, I was overjoyed, and couldnt wait to sign up. My
expectations for the trip were very simple: I wanted to experience Italy in all her glory, eat
delicious food, and get lost to see what surprises I could find. I felt somewhat prepared, armed
with the slight knowledge I had learned in reading my fiction novels all those years and that I
had gained from my short course at Dominican, Country as Text: Italy. I knew a little about the
history and customs of the country and couldnt wait to learn more. As soon as the school year
was over, my adventure could begin!
When I looked out the window of the airplane, and saw my first sight of the boats of
Venice, I was in love. I forgot my cold, I forgot how horrible I felt, I even forgot the many hours
I had spent trapped on multiple planes. All I could see and think about was the beautiful city in
front of me, Venezia. From that moment on, my expectations for the trip were not only met, they
were exceeded dramatically. I had known that I would have a great time in Italy, but I hadnt
expected to fall so deeply in love with her. Three of my favorite experiences were exploring the
islands of Murano and Burano while in Venice, spending an hour in the beautiful town of
Sorrento, and visiting Vatican City. Both Murano and Burano were beautiful and picturesque,
and I didnt quite get lost there, but I took a ton of pictures and got lost in the beauty of the

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landscape. It also didnt hurt that my group and I explored an Italian supermarket in our quest to
find lunch. It was an adventure to figure out how the packaging machines worked, but an
incredibly fun one. The sandwiches we made were delicious. Although I was only able to spend
an hour in Sorrento, my parents and I made the most of that hour. We walked to a pizza parlor
and ate lunch with the locals, then raced to get gelato and limoncello before we had to board the
bus again. I think that the pizza and gelato I had in Sorrento was the best food I ate during the
entire trip! Vatican City was filled with historical and religious artifacts and I loved being able to
see all of them. They connected to both my love of ancient Greek and Roman mythology and my
Roman Catholic faith. Returning to Vatican City to see Pope Francis just added to the
experience.
Another aspect of the trip that surprised me was how much I learned about the places we
visited. I had expected to learn about Venice, Florence, and Rome, but I hadnt expected to learn
so many interesting pieces of information. Some of my favorites concerned Venice, Rome, and
Vatican City. One of the books I read in my childhood, City of Masks, was about Venice. I had
always assumed that the masks worn during everyday life in the novel were fictitious, since I
thought Venetians only wore masks during Carnevale. But there was more to the story: Our guide
in Venice explained that masks were worn during everyday life by ancient Venetians if they
desired privacy on the small and cramped island. I was delighted to learn this information and
that there was some historical support for one of my favorite childhood stories. However, I was
heartbroken by another piece of information about Venice. Cruise ships that visit Venice hurt her
in two ways: they cause stress to the canals, hurting the city physically, and arent required to pay
a tax to stay in the city, hurting the city financially. I resolved to never go on a cruise to Venice
and always stay in a hotel in the city. Everything that I learned about the ancient Romans was

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fascinating, from their understanding that they only worshiped one god, money, to their use of
marketing to keep their citizens happy, through the construction and use of the Colosseum. I was
also surprised and found it humorous to know that the Spanish Steps were actually built by the
French to be used to reach their French church. However, they were renamed the Spanish Steps
because the Spanish people sat on the steps all the time. The multiple uses of obelisks was also
interesting: they were considered old to the ancient Romans, so they served as a piece of history,
but also pointed the way to churches for those who couldnt read street signs, and could be
considered Catholic, as long as there was an added cross on top. Vatican City was filled with
interesting objects and information, but my favorite was learning that when Michelangelo
painted the Sistine Chapel, he placed God inside half of a human brain. It was fascinating to
know that he connected the new scientific knowledge of the day to religion through his art. I
loved every new piece of information I learned about Italy during my stay.
I also learned quite a few cultural differences between America and Italy: There are no
pews in the churches in Italy, so that more people could attend mass. Standing people take up
much less room than sitting people. There is no such thing as a line in Italy. Everyone just pushes
and shoves to get to the front. Family is a big deal to Italians, Americans as well, but much more
pronounced in Italy. Food is eaten in a different order in Italy, and served in a different way in
restaurants, often with the result of customers being required to pay for water. Italy is also barely
a unified country, with each city just a little different from each of the others.
I had learned of most of the cultural differences mentioned in the last paragraph in class
before I arrived in Italy, but experiencing them made them much more real to me. I didnt hear
about the lack of pews in churches in class, but even if I had, hearing that there are no pews and
sitting on the orange plastic chairs lined up in a beautiful church are two very different things. I

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feel that I understand the cultural differences a bit more, since I actually experienced them. I
pushed and shoved my way through several non-lines during my stay and experienced a true
Italian woman who argued angrily with us for bumping into her, accidentally. I was shocked at
the chaos of it all and still dont quite understand why the Italians refuse to form organized lines.
But it is their culture and it must be Italian since I experienced it in every city, especially Rome. I
witnessed the power of family in Italian culture in the numerous restaurants that we attended that
were run by close-knit families. My favorite was Trattoria Monti, where baby Sophia was
proudly shown off by her grandmother, the wonderful chef. I also ate my food in a completely
different order than I was used to during my stay. The entirety of restaurant eating is different in
Italian culture, from the cost of water, to the order of courses. I dont understand the thinking
behind it, but do understand that it is simply their culture and all cultures are different.
The biggest cultural difference that was made much more real to me while I was in Italy
was the differences between all the cities in Italy. I had heard in class and read in one of my class
texts, The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples, that the regions
of Italy were very different, but it didnt ring true to me until I experienced it for myself. We
heard about the differences of each city and dialect of Italian from each tour guide during our
stay in each different city. But I think the best way of explaining the differences between the
cities and how they fit together as a country is with something my mother said to me during the
trip: Last year, my parents and I traveled to Paris. One of my favorite souvenirs was a collection
of medallions I had bought at each landmark we visited. I found one such medallion at the
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, and was eager to find more during our stay. But,
though I searched long and hard in every bookstore, I didnt find any others. My mother told me
that I wouldnt find any others because Italy wasnt used to working together. I shouldnt expect

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Italy to have a similar souvenir in each place because, in reality, they were much more used to
working as separate places with separate souvenirs. It is a little strange for me to have learned
something so important about Italian culture through my search for souvenirs, but I am proud to
have learned a little more about Italy in any way I could.
This adventure to Italy took me to many different places and gave me numerous
opportunities to learn more about the country that I have loved for a long time. The trip gave me
a way to fall deeper in love with Venice, eat delicious food and gelato, and learn a lot of
interesting things about Italy and its culture and history. I learned fascinating things about the
ancient Romans and Venetians and about the cultural differences between modern Italy and
America. I dont understand why many of these cultural differences exist in Italy, since they
make no sense to me, particularly the lack of orderly lines, but I do understand the differences
themselves. Traveling to Italy and experiencing her in all her glory gave me a much better
learning experience then sitting in a classroom. I walked the marble floors, ate the delicious food,
listened to the different dialects. I now believe that I know much more about Italy and cant wait
to return. As I wrote in my travel journal, Arrivederci, Italy. Ill come back one day, dont worry.