Personal Essay: I Want To Visit Italy

When I was young, my next-door neighbor’s family was Italian. His grandma would tell us stories by their fire at night of an old lady on a flying broomstick who would give gifts to the good children. Her eyes would light up as she told us of the beautiful music that she enjoyed hearing on the radio as a small child, even younger than us. His mother would make wonderful Italian food when I would stay the night; all around the house you could smell the simmering herbs and meatballs being cooked for her world famous spaghetti all over the house. His father was an artist. He would paint scenes from his childhood of bustling marketplaces, enormous castles in the countryside and beautiful churches decorated from floor to ceiling with elaborate designs.

For example, I would love to try authentic Italian cuisine. I’ve read that real Italian food is vastly different from americanized Italian food, and there is also food there that will never come here, and I want to experience it for myself. There are artists like Anthony Marino, who incorporate touches of renaissance artist’s style into their more modern art expressions. I would kill for a studio tour from one of these artists, as I’ve been a longtime fan of the “vecchio moderno” (modern old) art movement. I want to experience the music of Italy as well. It’s lively, strings mixed with electronic sounds and it tells story with the notes, which is almost unheard of, especially for an entire country. Little markets in small towns are another part of Italy’s culture I want to observe. There are so many things that wouldn’t be even sold in other parts of Italy, like homemade desserts and things like that. You also get to know the people as well when you’re browsing, it could leave you with fond memories or even a new friend. I’d also love seeing young children’s faces light up in towns’ parks as they gather around trees as they celebrated the Epiphany, which is like Christmas for us, except entire towns celebrate it