We learned a lot of new vocabulary today in Italian! We can all now label our classrooms and our bedrooms. I’m glad that the class is learning new stuff rather than learn the same thing over and over again. We got to run around the classroom and the bedrooms to label everything; this way, we would gradually remember all of the vocabulary.
In Travel to Learn, we learned more about our upcoming travel to Florence and what to expect as a tourist. Dr. Webb got all of us a really nice hotel to stay in, too nice according to Mr. John Rose. We will all travel there together, but to better know or learn our sense of directions, we have to find our ways back to Sansepolcro. I can’t wait till next weekend!
There was a crowd for Margherita today. It was a fairly full table for lunch. We had numerous guests, one lady from Sansepolcro, one couple from the Netherlands, two of the Professor Bankers, and Mrs. Mary Susan. It was interesting to hear stories from all over. It was quite a treat.


For Art History, we went to Arezzo. Who in Art History can say that they traveled around Italy for class? We can!! We went to study more about the frescos painted by the wonderful Piero della Francesca. He was amazing at what he did. Too bad I can’t show you because we were not allowed to take pictures. In the church, in the very back behind the altar piece were the paintings of the “Legend of the True Cross.” It was great to see it on paper but to see it in real life, it was remarkable! No words can really explain what we were lucky enough to see; but I’ll try to describe it.
There are ten frescos put together in a complicated order. The first one was in the top right corner and was a depiction of the death of Adam. A few pieces of the fresco were gone but the painting itself was fairly straight forward, nothing to explain except the fact that the painting was divided in half by a tree painted in the middle. On the right of the tree was Adam on the ground being fed the “seed of knowledge” that his son found for him. On the left of the tree was Adam dying; he being was surrounded by a crowd of people. In the far back of the fresco, just to the right of the tree, were two angels, I guess overlooking to see what was going on.
The second painting was right underneath the death of Adam. This fresco was split into two as well by a pillar. On the left, Piero did a painting of the wood, the one that will be made for the cross of Jesus, adored by the Queen of Sheba. And on the right was the meeting of Soloman and the Queen of Sheba.
The third painting was just to the left of the second. This painting showed the burial of the wood.
The forth painting was just below the third. This painting was about Constantine’s dream. Constantine was the general of Rome and he was going to be in a battle with Maxentius in about 1311. Constantine dreamt that an angel came down and told him that his men will not kill a single person and that he will win the battle that way; and the angel gave him a lit symbol of the cross. There was a miraculous mystery behind the stars in this painting. The stars are known to be the exact arrangement from the sky in 1463 at that same exact location. The only difference was that it was a mirror image of the sky. There is no proven belief to why Piero painted the sky this way.
The fifth painting was to the right of the forth, which is also right under the second painting. This painting was described as the Battle of Mialein Bridge, which was the battle between Constantine and Maxentius. As described in the forth painting about Constantine’s dream, Constantine did as he was told. At the battle, Constantine and his men did not kill a single person. Constantine held the lit symbol of the cross that the angel gave him and he ran Maxentius and his men down the Tiber River; and Maxentius and his men drowned.
The sixth painting was to the left of the third one. The painting was a depiction of the tormenting of the Jews. In this painting, the Jews were represented by Judias. He was being tormented because he seemed to know where the original cross of Jesus was but he would not tell anyone. The men of Constantine tormented the day lights out of Judias, and still he did not tell them. Constantine wanted the original cross to make Christianity the main and only religion in Rome. Judias being Jewish did not wish for Constantine’s plan to succeed.
The seventh painting was to the left of the sixth painting. This painting is described as the discovery and proof of the true cross. The Romans finally found three crosses, but they did not know which one was the “right” one. As you can tell in the painting, the Romans found the true cross by waving it over a dead man and the man was then alive again. If you look in the far back left side of the fresco, it is a painting of Arezzo.
The eighth painting was right below the seventh. This scenery told the story of the Battle of Heraclius, the Emperor of Rome, and Chosroes. If you look closely, there seems to have one man looking straight at the viewer. This painting shows a great deal of foreshortening, overlapping, contrast, and balance.
The ninth painting was above the seventh painting. This painting portrayed the exaltation of the cross. The painting shows when Christianity became the main religion.
The tenth, and the final painting was below the sixth painting, which was also in between the forth and the eighth painting. This painting is known as one of the stages of the annunciation. The painting shows that there is a pillar splitting the painting in two. The Virgin Mary is on the right being approached by the archangel on the left of the pillar. In the top left corner, there is a depiction of God. Looking closely at all the frescos together, there are two of the same faces, God in the annunciation painting and the surrendered King in the painting of the Battle of Heraclius and Chosroes, the eighth painting. No one knows exactly why Piero did this but it was “bold” according to scholars because who would ever depict the image of God in one painting and in another, the face of God as a failure. I believe that he was illustrated this way to show him as a “person;” people have their ups and downs in life but that should never stop them from anything.
The Church of Piero della Francesca, in Arezzo, was a great way to see up close, some of the works of Piero. I learned quite a lot from just this one church. It was incredible to see the frescos in person. The people in the paintings were just about as tall as I am. The fresco was a sight that just has to be seen by everyone.


After the church, we left on the latest bus to go back to Sansepolcro for the city balestra; it was against Porta Romana and Porta Florentina. The “Balestra” is a competition involving crossbows.
Amanda and I came a tad bit late, so every seat was taking and still hundreds of people were left standing or squeezing themselves through others just to see what was going on. Luckily, I found a great spot where we were almost front row; the only problem was that it was Porta Romana all around us. It was still okay because we still cheered for Porta Florentina.
The balestra was amazing! We are Porta Florentina (because our side of the city leads to Florence). It was such a tight competition. These men were amazing at shooting crossbows as if they were born to do so. It was a sight to see for yourself; something that is just unexplainable. The crowd was so spirited and had great pride and joy for its side. The shooters went one-by-one. First one side and then the other, and then judging time to see which side got closest to the center. There were about eleven rounds total. It was such a close game; the sides were almost always at a tie. Luckily, or skillfully, Porta Florentina won!!