28 May Poppi
I honestly was not sure what to expect when our group ventured to the small town of Poppi. As it turns out, visiting smaller, less tourist-y cities makes the Italian experience all the better, as you truly get the chance to quietly absorb the culture and sights around.
On our first day, we visited an incredible castle called Castello di Romaina, which was home to some of the rich history of poet Dante Alighieri. It was amazing to see firsthand what Dante witnessed after his exhile from Florence which influenced his writing in the Divine Comedy.
We also had our first Italian lesson, which was very beneficial and a lot of fun. We learned how to introduce ourselves and describe our physical features. We then played a game in which we described someone in the group and everyone else had to guess who we were talking about. Although my Italian is far from perfect, I felt that even in those short sessions with the Italian instructors I made a lot of strides in learning the basics of this new language.
Our second day we toured the Castell di Poppi, another beautiful castle in the heart of the city which overlooked a field at which Dante battled during the conflict between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines. Once again, seeing this incredible monument in person allowed me to better imagine the influence these events had on Dante and his writing, enriching my experience studying his work.
We also had class in the castle, which was definitely a very cool experience! We analyzed some passages from Dante’s Inferno and Purgatorio, which helped heighten my understanding of the work. It was really helpful to hear our instructor read the excerpts in Italian–it was so musical!
Overall, I was surprised with all the deep history and culture I discovered in Poppi and hope to visit again sometime in the future.
