Katy Hamlin
Full Year 2008-09
Contest Winner
Host Institution: Università degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo" -- Italy
Home Institution: University of Vermont
Period: All Year 2008-2009

The Italy you know is wearing a mask. It is dressed up in layers of chiffon, hiding its truth behind a masquerade of grandeur and pearls. It is merry, jocular and lighthearted-on the outside. Here is the Italy you love in Venice where the Carnival season pulls the robes of winter from the closet to celebrate the spring and bring the community together once again on the watery streets.
	These streets hold reunited families, passing stories and jokes between their lips, although they never move. Recounting their lives for the past year and making plans for the future they cement the bond of family, the most important aspect to Italian culture.
Its here in Venice where the town elders gather together with wisdom and experience to watch over the youth and future of their culture. Their stately elegance and sophistication is as evident as the roses they hold in their palms.
	Italy is not just an aging land full of antiques and ruins; it bustles with the youth of a country filled with history, made stronger by its past and optimistic about its future. Here the children receive their lessons on the street, learning what it is that makes them Italian; the costumes, food and music of their ancestors are given to them to remember and one day pass on to their own children.
In Italy it can be said that every sound is turned into a melody. The streets become filled with chatter, instruments and laughter blended into a harmonious rhythm, so that when you capture a still of this moment in time it appears dull and lifeless to its reality. The life of Italy breathes and is in constant motion.
	If Italy every turns it’s back on you, you may find that it’s just as beautiful from that side. To truly know a nation you must accept its “bad side” as well as its good. If you embrace the aspects that seem unfamiliar or strange then you’ll begin to experience the world through a different view and see your own culture with a new light.
Italian culture embraces the uncommon and the impossible. It’s only here that you can find the sun and the moon walking together through the busy center streets. Everyone, despite their differences, comes together in celebration to create a community of one, rejoicing in the uniqueness that they all share.
	If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the busy streets above you can always flee to the canals of Venice. Here the refugees seek solitude and moments of repose. You can watch the buildings pass you by and gaze at the throng of excited masses basking in the overwhelming beauty of it all, reaching the epiphany that this is where you’ve always belonged.
Soon you’ll find yourself not as an outsider observing the festivities of a country steeped in tradition, but as full fledge citizen embracing the folklore and customs of a place you had fallen in love with.
	Of course like all good things, the Carnival week at Venice comes to an end. The city returns to its everyday life, quickly dispelling any evidence of the activities held within its walls. The streets and canals appear empty without the confetti and banners hanging from every corner. But if you look closely you can see that Italy hasn’t changed at all. Without the mask it is still filled with family catching up over an afternoon coffee. Local food, music and art are still the foundation of its very streets and even though you may have to leave Italy after everything you’ve experienced you can be certain of one thing: Italy will never leave you.