University of Wisconsin–Madison

Italy: Ella Buffalo (Learning on excursions)

A slightly turquoise statue of a man on a horse stands in the plaza of a building with many arches.
Statue of Grand Duke Ferdinand I de’ Medici in the center of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata

As I was lounging on the stairs, I gazed out into the center of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata. I admired the beauty of the architecture—the white arches and white columns and white concrete—while others simply passed through. Students from my travel writing class were scattered around, doing the same thing that I was trying to do. They were looking then writing, looking then writing, over and over again. My teacher stood in the center of the piazza, working on a half-eaten panini. She had taken us to this historical square in the hopes of inspiring a piece about Florentine history.

After some time writing, our instructor gathered us around the statue in the center of the Piazza. It was the last statue of famous sculptor Giambologna, and it depicted Grand Duke Ferdinand I de’ Medici sitting atop a horse. Our instructor asked the class if we noticed anything about the direction of Ferdinand’s gaze. I perked up at this comment, as the stone man was staring directly at a building with open windows I had noticed before. The building with the open window was the Palazzo Budini Gattai. Legend has it that a young married couple had lived on the second floor of the Palazzo, behind the open windows. After the husband was called to fight in the war, the wife sat at the window, awaiting his return. The husband died in the war, and according to Florentine legend, the ghost of his wife still resides behind that window. The window has remained open ever since. I never would have imagined such a story from my first glance at the open windows. Hearing such a legend made me crave more knowledge of Florentine history.

 

Ella smiles in front of a blurred tree.

Ella Buffalo

Hometown: Maplewood, Minnesota

Major: Journalism

Program: Santa Reparata International School of Art (SRISA)

While I am studying in Florence, I want to push myself academically and take classes that I would not otherwise have access to. I am so excited to be attending an art school in Florence and look forward to everything I will learn both inside and outside of the classroom.