Art is anything you can get away with

My stay in New York is over and tomorrow I am going to back to Italy. I had the best time ever over there and it has been an amazing experience. I really hope to come back soon. I also have to say that, beside the extraordinary architecture and the tasty burgers, I have been able to appreciate USA for all those things that can offer more than Europe: loads of possibilities, different chances for everything, a precious kindness of the people, powerful thoughts and the real possibility to do what you want to. Here are the pictures of my last days in New York that I spent visiting the Moma (Museum of Modern Art) where I sow the famous Matisse’s painting “La Danse” and Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”, strolling around the Flat Iron (one of the tallest skyscraper since it was built in 1902) and going up the Empire State Building to see for the last time before leaving the city full of lights. Spectacular to leave you without any words. 

A.P.C denim skirt / Louis Vuitton bag / K Jacques sandals / Topshop top

Columbia University

Since I graduated last month I can’t stop thinking about my future and my career. In the specific I would like to attend a phd in the architecture’s field, focus on the heritage and restoration. With these idea on my mind today I have been at Columbia University to visit the campus and get some informations. Columbia University is a private US university, part of the Ivy League, and it is considered one of the most prestigious and famous of the world. It was founded in 1754 by King George II of Great Britain, in the period that is where the legitimate government of New York was to Her Majesty. It is located in New York City on the western side of the island of Manhattan, the Upper West Side. The core of the University was the King's College, whose name stands still on the lintel of the main building in which the library, but the official name changed in 1784 when, with the American Revolution, it became Columbia College, which emphasizes so distant ancestry precolonial European continent. In 1896 the Columbia College became "Columbia University in the City of New York": name that still holds today. This campus, designed by NY's most important architects of the turn of the 20th C, McKim, Mead & White, is a fortress, surrounded by a pink granite palisade walling it off from the neighborhood. Once you enter, though, the campus opens up as a remarkable, unique place: a quintessentially New York college. Eschewing the faux-Oxford feel of Yale and Princeton, it is uniformly Beaux Arts in style, boldly symmetrical and vertical, with tall palazzo blocks creating courtyards and quads. The center is dominated by Low Library, a limestone homage to the Parthenon. The formality of the design is softened by the lush greenery and by the casual play of the many students hanging out, draped across its grand stair. The campus is dotted with great buildings that are worth a visit: St. Paul's Chapel has a wonderful honey-brick interior; Avery Library has one of the world's best collections of original architectural books and prints; the new science lab at the northwest corner is a cutting edge structure, with metal louvered siding and expressed trusswork. The whole place has a distinctly noble feel, with just the right balance between regal pomp and warmth, between vastness and intimacy. It was a great experience to visit the campus: it has such rich history and culture, and really provides a unique new perspective to the city at whole.

Isabel Marant shirt / Theory shorts / Chanel flats / Louis Vuitton bag

Brooklyn bridge and Dumbo

The Brooklyn Bridge is a the biggest and oldest suspension bridge in New York City and it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. The bridge was initially designed by German immigrant John Augustus Roebling in 1869; while conducting surveys for the bridge project, Roebling sustained a crush injury to his foot when a ferry pinned it against a piling. After amputation of his crushed toes he developed a tetanus infection which left him incapacitated and soon resulted in his death, not long after he had placed his 32-year-old son Washington Roebling in charge of the project. However Washington Roebling also suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of decompression sickness shortly after the beginning of construction and his debilitating condition left him unable to physically supervise the construction firsthand. Roebling conducted the entire construction from his apartment with a view of the work, designing and redesigning caissons and other equipment. He was aided by his wife Emily Warren Roebling who provided the critical written link between her husband and the engineers on site.[ Under her husband's guidance, Emily studied higher mathematics, the calculations of catenary curves, the strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and the intricacies of cable construction. She spent 11 years assisting her husband to communicate with the engineers and to keep the project going. On 24th May 1883, Brooklyn Bridge was completed and opened for 150, 000 people crossing over. Yesterday, after seen it in many movies and in many books, I finally cross the bridge from from Manhattan to Brooklin. It was very exciting for me,  and the view of the Manhattan skyline behind me with all the landmarks was breathtaking. After taking thousand of picture and stopped every five minutes to admire the view I arrived in Brooklyin. I walked around the trendy area of Dumbo and then in the tree-lined streets of Park Slope between the old Victorian houses, pushing me to the prom. I also stopped at Grimaldi’s to take a slice of pizza that was really good. It was really a great day.

Isabel Marant dress / K Jacques sandals / Cartier watch / Celine bag

Saturday at the Met

On Saturday, after a morning walk around Central Park, I have spent the rest of the day at one of my favorite museums: the Metropolitan. The Met is one of the finest museums in the world and is located on the right side of Central Park in New York, along what is called the Museum Mile. There are permanently exhibited works from classical antiquity and Ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures of almost all the great European masters, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. The Met also has a considerable amount of works of art African, Asian, Oceanic, Byzantine and Islamic. Beside in the galleries of the museum it is always exposed major reconstructions of interiors, ranging from Rome in the first century to the modern American design. I have appreciate every single pieces of the museum, but the parts that have interested me most are the Italian paintings and the Modern Art. I have worn something very comfortable like a pair of vintage denim shorts and a boho bluse that I have bought some months ago in Paris.

Isabel Marant blouse / Levi's denim shorts / A.P.C sandals 

Greenwich Village and Soho

Friday was all about the Village and Soho. The Village in my opinion has to be the most romantic part of New York, with tones of tiny streets and brownstone apartments that I wish I could one day live in. My first stop was Washington Square Park. This little park has such a fun atmosphere where people are playing music or chess, taking their pictures in front of the fountain or making chalk art on the pavements. It’s definitely the place to sit down for a few minutes and people watch. In the area Perry Street is my favourite little street without no doub. It boasts the most beautiful townhouses with pretty doors and is also close to Magnolia Bakery:  the cupcakes are so tasty and the decor is so cute. In the afternoon I went to Soho, the prime shopping and dining territory. Now that its impeccably preserved cast-iron fire escapes and industrial facades showcase the wares of Chanel, Prada and numerous less exalted brands, the area south of Houston Street is a far cry from the hardscrabble manufacturing zone that once earned the derisive nickname Hell’s Hundred Acres. But Soho isn’t just a mere urban shopping mall: though many of the art galleries that made Soho New York's contemporary art hot spot in the 1970s and ’80s decamped to Chelsea and the Lower East Side, some excellent art spaces remain. Walking along the cobblestone streets I found great restaurants, bars and things to do in this downtown neighborhood for the evening. It was such a great day and I definitely had a lot of fun.

Toyshop dress / Chanel flats / Celine bag