"Rabbit" is "Cognilio" in Italian--I Think

It rained today, large, fat raindrops that splashed against the ground and scattered underneath your umbrella, soaking anything that was once dry and clean. Sansepolcro is just as beautiful when it rains, it seems.

We visited the Museo Civico in Sansepolcro today, the local museum that houses a wealth of wonderful nooks and crannies that are filled with interesting paintings and artifacts. Piero della Francesca, an early Renaissance artist who used mathematical precision to perfect his work, was a man of Sansepolcro and is greatly praised in this city. We saw several of his works, and the serene tranquility of the characters' expressions are astounding. His works religious in nature, and his is able to incorporate so many mathematical elements into his paintings that they are almost frighteningly symmetrical--I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler. He also painted Legend of the True Cross in Arezzo, and I highly encourage you to look him up online. I wasn't a big fan of his work at first, but I greatly appreciate it now.

I enjoyed the exhibit under the museum even more than the paintings within it--beneath the museum are ancient tunnels that house old keys, locks, clerical robes, and, my favorite, relics. The locks were so intricate during the Middle Ages and Renaissance! They were heavy and thick, and geometric or flowering designs of varying widths and lengths were used to individualize the locks. The keys were heavy and even more intricate than their matches.

We had dinner with our host families for the first time tonight. We were put in groups of two and a family from Sansepolcro would take us into their house for a traditional Italian dinner to help us get a greater feel for the culture. Jen and I were picked up by Loredagnia and Roberto, an elderly couple in which only Loredagnia spoke any English, and they packed us away in their miniscule car and drove us to their house, situated near the Buitoni Factory. Loredagnia has been studying English for ten years and hosting students from Meredith for that length of period, and she was incredibly welcoming and sweet. Her husband, Roberto, was the wisecrack of the family and made us feel instantly at home by teasing everyone within sight. He didn't speak any English, but he more than made up for it with a nice, two-hour game of charades. Living with them was Roberto's sister; Loredagnia and Roberto's son, Matteo; Matteo's wife; and Matteo's seventeen-month-old son, Andrea, who was the cutest thing I have EVER seen--big brown eyes that light up when he smiles and a swift little gait that has him running into the dog more than anything else.

They made us a wonderful dinner of crostinis with meat; risos with vegetables; rabbit and chicken with roasted vegetables; and fresh cherries for dessert. Jen had coffee, but I declined because of the sheer strength of Italian coffee in general. Instead, Roberto ended up tricking me into trying his brandy--blech! I got some great pictures, though :) They gave us a tour of their home and showed us a beautiful picture of their daughter, who was killed in an automobile accident in 2000. The driving is quite dangerous in Italy and street lights are optional, so it's a tragic truth of Italian life. Roberto and Loredagnia drove us back to our home and kissed our cheeks in farewell, and we promised to walk the passaggiate with them next week. I love them already!