Primo
Ciao ciao!
I can't believe it’s been three weeks in Italy already. Three weeks of confusing paperwork, speaking bad Italian, getting very lost, and falling in love with this charming city.
Upon arrival, I had to get a codice fiscale (an ID code, like a social security number) and apply for a permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay). In typical Italian fashion, you need your codice fiscale to make an appointment for anything -- including getting your codice fiscale. And, you have 8 days to do these tasks but the government makes no promises that you will ever receive your permesso (some previous Fulbrighters got it after they left Italy). So, it was an eventful introduction to Italy.
View from my airbnb
A painter has been here the past few Saturdays working on this piece
Viterbo is a walled city -- meaning the city center is surrounded by towering walls. There are gates (Porta) at the entrances and exits for both cars and people.
Since being here, I’ve been able to visit UNESCO world heritage beech forests (which I’m also studying), tour an underground wine cantina, and go truffle hunting. I’ve had cacio e pepe, ‘0km’ cioccolato gelato, and many espressos.
Truffle hunting near Bracciano, Italy with Uzi the truffle-pup. Dogs are trained and bred to hunt for truffles.
Cacio e pepe and amazing wine with my friend Isabel, who is from Spain.
My new home, Viterbo, is a small city 2 hours north of Rome by train (as long as the train isn’t delayed). The people who live here are called Viterbesi, and like all of Italy, they have their own dialect. My advisor, Gianluca is a born-and-bred Viterbesi, and when he speaks Italian I have a really hard time understanding what he’s saying. Perhaps I’ll leave with an old-time accent too.
Viterbo is most known for its papal history. It’s one of the three places the popes have called home. In the 13th century, the pope lived in Piazza dei Papi. Viterbo is also famous for hosting the longest conclave. Priests debated the next pope for 33 months – and normally it lasts a few days. The townspeople got so frustrated that they rationed their food and took the roof off the building, hoping the rain and infamous Viterbo wind would speed up the decision.
Piazza dei Papi. Some of this area was bombed in WWII and has been reconstructed.
Nuns are a common sight!
Today, Viterbo is known for being one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. I was quickly enamored – the colors, cobblestones, alleyways, and profferli or stone steps. In many ways, it looks and feels like how I always envisioned Italy: saturated with color, noise, and waving laundry. Viterbo so walkable and easy to navigate, which has been really wonderful for me as a straneri (foreigner).
I've slowly started to meet international students (from Georgia, Turkey, Albania, Ukraine, Belgium, and Spain, to name a few) and Italian students (real Italians!!). When I asked some friends who grew up in Viterbo what they like to do here they said "Drink, this place is the worst." I guess everyone has some mixed feelings about their hometown, even if it's a medieval city in the best country!! All that aside, the Italian students have been very welcoming, and have spent time showing us their favorite spots in the city. Many people have asked me a lot of interesting and challenging questions about what the United States is like -- but it has made for lively conversations. And, several people have asked me to make them an American breakfast with pancakes.
In the Lazio region, the buttery northern cuisines hits the southern tomato-based dishes. Restaurants often carry a combination of these foods. You can find both thin neopolitan style pizza and more Pizzeria Romana style (thicker pizza) here, and the locals are very opinionated about which style is best. My colleagues have all told me different place for the “best pizzeria”, depending on what they prefer and where in Italy they're from. Right now, truffle mushrooms and hazelnuts are in season. Menus and markets are advertising those products heavily as well as “0KM” produce, which means the products are only from the Lazio region, a source of pride.
Saturday morning food market
I studied Italian in college and grew up hearing my Nonna and Nonno speak Napolitano Italian (basically another language), but the language adjustment has been both challenging and rewarding. Most young people speak fluent English, but it’s less spoken amongst people above the age of 40 or so. Being in a smaller city with fewer English speakes has helped to get me back in the swing of things. I have an Italian tutor and I’m trying to speak Italian as much as I can. It’s a victory if I can have a full conversation without someone asking me “Di dove sei? Where are you from?” One evening my first week I simply said “Scusa” in a shop and the shopkeeper immediately said, “Ahhhh United States!”
I’ve been working at the Universitá della Tuscia for two weeks. My team- Gianluca, Francesco, Michele, and Isabel—are wonderful. My advisor, Gianluca, is a strong conservationist and organizes Italian “half-earth” day every year (the 2021 event is this Friday!). He’s full of ideas and enthusiasm, always racing between projects and phone calls – but like a true “old Italian”, he goes home for lunch and siesta religiously a 1pm and usually returns at 4 or 5 pm.
Living and working in Italy has been an exercise in pazienza. Waiting for paperwork, permits, emails, etc. My research has changed course a few times (waiting for files from the carabineri forestali, the branch of the military that manages the forests...). Our fieldwork keeps getting delayed which is, "the Italian way", says my advisor.
In August, there was a severe fire in Aspromonte National Park, in southern Italy. Using data from the European Space Agency, we are mapping the severity of the fires and trying to quantify the regrowth. In another project, I am mapping the natural regeneration of the Bosnian pine in Pollino National Park. And before it gets “too cold”, we’re conducting some field studies in naturale di ortebello, revising the land use map that was created in the 1980s. A large component of my time here will be spent working on communication and preservation efforts for the UNESCO world heritage beech forests, which extend throughout Europe. We’re still brainstorming how this will take shape – perhaps maps, videos, publishing some writing. I’m loving working with such an interdisciplinary, passionate team. Having the opportunity to dip my toes into so many projects has been so welcome after being so focused on one topic in graduate school. I’m already learning so much and feel so grateful to study what I love in a place I love. And I am so, so excited for fieldwork.
Old growth beech!
Many of the Italian stereotypes ring true -- it is loud, there’s a lot of food all of the time, and the bureaucracy is very real. Everyone stays out late and gets up early (how?!). Everyone says ciao bella, especially older people to younger folks, or if a shopkeeper wants you to buy something. But perhaps the truest is that people are so welcoming and will go out of their way to help you or engage with you. The streets here are narrow and only one car can pass at a time. Still, it’s a common sight to see a car stopped in the middle of the intersection, the driver leaning completely out of the car to talk to a friend. As the line of cars and scooters builds and starts honking, the driver won’t leave until their conversation is over. When talking about this with Michele, my friend from work, he said “Well of course you talk to your neighbor it would be rude not to!”
Every time I’ve been on some sort of local adventure, like a trail run or hike, people have introduced themselves to me. They’re excited to have a conversation in Italian-English and to learn about why I’m here. Many strangers have given me recommendations or their phone number saying, “You need anything you call me!”
Trail run views!
Another time, I was at the verdura (one of the many shops that sells vegetables and fruit) and asked if they had sweet potatoes. The owner said no, but when I was leaving the store, he ran over with one sweet potato he had found in the back -- and gave it to me as un regalo. I could go on and on with these moments of kindness. I’ve noticed how affectionate and caring people are to each other—giving nicknames, frequent hugs, always stopping to chat for a while. People hold hands when they talk, or hold each others faces. Even to strangers! It feels so different from the United States, and this affection is something I wish we had more of.
Lastly, some low-quality pictures of high-quality food (and because I promised my cousin Johnny Boy I'd share food pictures :) Pretty much after every meal I text Kelt that the food was "LIFE- CHANGING." Not pictured but enthusiastically consumed: panna cotta, pizza all'aglio (garlic pizza), pistachio butter, pane, cacio e pepe,
pasteries I don't know the name of but were the BEST, and many amazing veggies and cheeses from the market.
Toscana pizza: prosciutto and panna di cucina
Zucchini flower pizza!
crema bomba (cream bomb)
And last but not least—a warm grazie to everyone who reached out before, after, or during my journey to Italy -- it is and was so appreciated!
A presto,
Olivia
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oliviafaybox