Scuola San Giorgio degli Schiavoni

July 14, 2009

C'est le quatorze juillet. Vive la France. Okay, it's not Italian and I'm not in France but it is a major holiday there so I though I shouold say something in French.

Today is the day for Carpaccio. He was the student of Gentile Bellini, one of my favorite artists. There is the possibility of going to a concert at 5 at Santi Giovane e Paolo but we are meeting friends at Campo San Polo at 7:30 for dinner so the timeing would be tight. We have decided to give the convert a miss and go to the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni instead since it was closed on Sunday.

Class was interesting. We had a substitute teacher for a day and she was very good, really making us have conversations the whole time. We wer learning the conditional but only by using it, not by writing anything down. I think if we were learning that way for the whole two weeks our conversational skills would probably be more advanced although we might be frustrated by not having any notes to refer to.

We had a mediocre lunch on the way to the scuola since Peter doesn't care about food, but the Carpaccio paintings more than made up for the meal. While this was one of theminor scuole, the San Giorgio cycle is excellent and there are some other paintings of interest in the the scuola as well. The scuola is a small, highly decorated building from the beginning of the 16th century that has been wonderfuly preserved. I especially liked the coffered ceiling. There aren't many of them left in Venice. Shaul had recommended last summer that I go see the paintings and I'm glad I had the opportunity.

Afterward we went back home via the Internet point. Peter continued home but I stopped to see if I could buy a dress. I was not successful although I plan a further shopping expedition before we leave Venice. I really would like to get another linen dress this year.

Then, after doing some reading, we met some of the NEH crowd, not participants but Shaul and Susy, Dana, Martina, and Frances, for dinner at Campo San Polo. Everyone had pizza except Peter and me. We both had salad, me because of my wheat allergy and Peter because he can't eat tomatoes. We all had a very nice evening. Dana and Frances are leaving for the US tomorrow. We probably won't get a chance to see anyone again before we leave on Saturday but Marina will be back for RSA in April and Frances will be back in Venice by then as well so we will see everyone then. I hope to see Susy on Thursday but it depends on her schedule.