Saturday, July 30, 2011

Pagliacci, Pompeii, e piu!

The last week has been quite eventful and fun and piu! (piu= a little more/anymore) Friday I went to Teatro di San Carlo (again, the OLDEST opera house in the world!!!) and saw Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. While I do understand a lot of the Italian language now (after two months of studying it, I certainly should understand it!), I had no idea what was going on for the majority of the show. All I can say for sure, the clown got mad and killed everyone, then said "The comedy is finished." That was our clue that the show was over. (In comedies, you know it is over when everyone is married; in tragedies, everyone dies- quite Shakespearean). Despite not understanding it, I enjoyed it very much! It was beautifully sung, staged (the show included a ballet company, adding a real acrobatic level to the circus setting), and acted.





That alone would have been enough adventure for one week, but the adventures were just beginning! My friend from Oberlin-In-Italy-2011, Caitlin, visited us for three days, and she and I went to Pompeii together. Never before have I been in such a place! To see a preserved city was very humbling and the very definition of the word awesome. Pompeii is very huge, and a lovely place to just wander, which is what we did. I kept imagining the stories that happened in this place. What kind of person lived here? What did this shop sell? How did he feel when he died? The possibilities are endless, and we'll never know what the lives there were like. Getting to Pompeii and being there took up the entire day, and it was something I enjoyed and might do again.







Not only do I live in Napoli, I live in Lago Patria, a lovely little town with our own beach. That's right, I live one mile from the beach. At this beach we can see Ischia and Capri, two islands of Campagna (our region of the country). After Pagliacci and Pompeii, a full day at the beach was quite appreciated and lovely!




Two weeks left in Italia for me....I hope to have several more adventures before my time is up!
Buon giorno tutti! <3

2 comments:

  1. You are certainly enjoying your Italian experience reading your recent posts and Pompeii definitely warrants more than one visit.

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  2. Really pretty + neat pictures. Enjoy your next two weeks!

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