Today we had our first class in the CET building with Professor Cooperman. He explained how the course was going to run as well as got into some background information about Jews in Italy as well as initial information about what will be covered in the class. Professor Cooperman struck me as quite interesting in his lectures in that he has the ability to capture his students attentions in ways that my previous professors could not. He engages us as students in information that may not be easy to grasp or may not be as interesting for some students as it is for others. The class seemed very interesting for me because I learned things that I did not previously know about the Jewish religion as well as their role in ancient Florence. After the lecture myself along with Nick, and Ross decided since we not have the rest of the day free we would go visit something of high interest to us that isn't as popular in the states. We visited the Florentina Stadium where Florence's soccer team plays. This stadium was extremely fascinating to me because I have never seen a soccer stadium of this size being that this sport is not as popular in America. I almost could picture the mayhem that would occur during the games. After being taken back by this, we made or decent back to the dorm but needed to cross under train tracks in order to get there. As we walked through the alley as you could call it underground, the entire walls were filled with graffiti to the point where there was open wall. This immediately raised the question who is this graffiti culture in Florence? Their artwork was different than that in America in that the detail and the amount of time that was apparently put into this work was remarkable. This art struck me in ways that make me now want to further explore the graffiti culture in Florence and its comparison to the United States. In closing, the stadium and the graffiti was a great alternative to the gorgeous religious and ancient architecture you are used to seeing in Florence.
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