Fiesole is a small town up a high hill looking out over Florence. The student orientation was held there on our first Saturday, and students got to see the wonderful views of Florence and the Arno River valley. I went up for a quiet day of reading, eating and picture taking. Here are some of the pictures.
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Italian trains and strikes
On Sunday, many of the students were off to other parts of Italy and Europe (Venice, Rome, Prague among others), but those still in Florence who were trying to visit cities in the area discovered that Italian trains have a habit of going on strike. The strikes are often announced, and last a specified period and I’m not sure what exactly they accomplish. Usually a few trains run so that people are delayed but not completely stranded.
Here are some pictures of the train station in Florence, called Santa Maria Novella, and the many travellers trying to find a way to get to their destinations.
Carrara Marmotec — International Trade Show for the Marble Industry
Here are pictures from the trade show, Marmotec. There are large machines for use in the quarries (to cut blocks), and then machines for transforming the blocks into other products. The trade show also has samples of marble from different parts of the world. Pure white marble comes from Carrara, but other colors and qualities are also located in particular parts of the world.
Marble Quarry in Carrara
We went from the trade show, Carrara Marmotec, up the mountain to where they excavate large blocks of marble (the small ones are ten tons). This year we went to a different cava than in previous years, and the owner of the site was able to talk with us about their operations. The weather was rainy, so we did not drive to the other quarry, but here are pictures from last year, when we had a bright sunny day.
Marble, Bronze and Mosaic
We visited Barsanti, a family business in Pietrasanta that produces art pieces in marble, bronze and mosaics. Some are done at the direction of artists and others are commissions from customers who want artwork for their buildings (or for cruise ships).
After the visit we stopped and had lunch in Viareggio, which is one of the beaches that is easiest to reach from Florence. It is mostly a boardwalk and you pay to “rent” the place you sit, but we were able to see the Mediterranean and have a relaxing lunch.
Nuclear power in the Italian news
Here’s an article from the NYTimes about a possible return to using nuclear power in Italy. An opponent of the plan said the following:
Emma Bonino, an opposition politician who is vice president of the Italian Senate, said that it made no economic sense to build nuclear plants because they would not be ready for 2o years or longer.
Think about the “production process” to build a nuclear power plant. That would clearly be set up as a “project,” but do you really think the throughput time would be twenty years? What would likely be some of the longest tasks? The bottleneck(s)? Could you arrange tasks in parallel to make the throughput time less than twenty years?
This is something you could research and talk about on your journal page, if you’re interested in this topic.
Olive oil production in Italy
We visited a small but very high quality olive oil company, Frantoio di Santa Tea. It has been a Gonnelli family business since 1585. We toured the production facility and had an oil tasting. Because of the way they organize production, they can produce oil from green olives, or from black olives, or from a mixture. Each has a different taste. Here are some pictures from the day.
Next up is a company that produces pieces of art from marble, bronze and mosaics.
wiki formatting conventions
I would like you to use the “Edit Page” function instead of the “Comment” button, if possible. I will save the comments for questions or my feedback that will not be part of the “final” version of the page.
When you enter something, start and end your comments with your name, like this:
[jeff]
blah blah blah
[jeff]
You can use colors to (or italics or bold) to set your entry apart, but try to choose ‘good’ colors. Use the button that has a capital A, and try to avoid the button with the picture of the highlighter. Also try to avoid the really light colors (like yellow).
The right side menu bar has “Company Visits” for each group as a page. There will be a link to a separate page for each company we visit. Put your comments on this page, not the “Company Visits” page. I will move misplaced entries, but it will be easier keep everything straight if you make comments on the right page. Thanks (and sorry for the confusion).
Let me know if you have other questions about this. I can meet you in the computer lounge before/after your M&M class if that would help. Just let me know what time works for you (send me an email).
Friends and Families
Please feel free to give the website address for this blog (jeffrummel.blogspot.com) to your friends and family if you want. I’ll post some pictures and update a little about what we’re doing in the class.
People who are reading the blog are welcome to leave comments (with questions, for example) and I will try to respond to them as quickly as possible. To minimize the amount of “blog spam” the comments are moderated (by me) and so they will not show up immediately.
Frantoio di Santa Tea
Most everyone seemed to have the idea for the trip, and the tour was pretty quick (small place). I’ll post some pictures later. There are now pages under the Company Visits tabs on the website where you can add your observations, analysis and questions about the visit (note that good questions are a positive contribution to the website).
The only potential hassle will be if two people edit the same part of the page at the same time. One of you will get a sort of error message from the website — just let me know if you do and I’ll go in and try to fix it. If you are just adding some text, it is sometimes easier to prepare the text off-line and then cut-and-paste it quickly onto the page. That will minimize the chances of two people saving at the same time.
You can also add comments, but I would prefer you use the Edit Page tool (top of the right menu bar). You can also upload attachments, but try to make sure the files are not too big. If I start to run out of space I may have to delete some files.
I would also like you to use the Edit Page tool for your individual journals — I will go through and fix some of your pages.
Remember that Wednesday is earlier (7:30 departure) because Pietrasanta is a bit farther away. The tour there may be slightly longer (we will see bronze, marble and mosaic production) and I’m hopeful we’ll break into two groups for this trip. We will stop for lunch on the way back at Viareggio, and you are welcome to stay there and get a train back to Florence or to ride back on the bus. I’ll see what time we arrive for lunch, but we’ll probably have the bus leave Viareggio around 2:30 or 3:00.
Thursday is a full day as well, up to Cararra with another 7:30 departure. You’ll be able to snooze a little on the bus if you want.