On Wednesday night, Florence held a lantern festival in honor of the Virgin Mary's birthday. So there was a huge amount of people stuffed in a Piazza, many holding lanterns that they had made themselves. They paraded through the streets of Florence with a band marching in front and a police escort. There is also a tradition where little boys and girls run around with these little blowguns so that they can blow balls of clay at the lanterns to try and catch them on fire. More than once I got pelted in the back when a child would miss. This was a celebration when a lantern would catch on fire, all the kids would gather around and oo and ahhh at the fire before it went out. The festival also had a band and traditional dancing, so out on the stage were two accordian players, a flute player, a guitar player and eight dancers all decked out in traditional garb. They danced for a long time and then decided they needed audience participant so all these guys rush out and start asking random women to dance with them. Of course who gets asked?
Thursday we got to go on the terraces of il Duomo! They only allow people to do this one day a year and it was beautiful. There were some great views of the city and the country side and the shutter-happiness hit me again!
Saturday I went on the Ravenna field trip with an art history class, which was way fun and super tiring. We were at the bus at 7 and dropped off at 8:30. We got to see some beautiful churches and amazing mosaics (Galla Placidia and San Vitale!!) on this trip, as well as being given biscotti by a stranger, eating the Ravenna specialty piadina (flat bread, prosiutto, mozzerella, tomatoes and olive oil), and trying pistachio gelato :)
I love and miss you amici <3
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