I really don't like Gianciotto Malatesta much. But I honestly didn't understand anything about this whole story with the brothers-in-law Paolo and Francesca. All I know is that they're all dead. My teacher makes me study Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, who lived in Florence too, like my aunt and uncle Irene and Giuseppe. The Divine Comedy is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. There's also Charon. And Minos. I don't know who they are. Actually I do, but I didn't really get it.
But I think Gianciotto Malatesta is such a funny name to say. And when I say it everyone laughs. Such a weird name. I had a really good time when we visited the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, and I was really good at it too. It felt like a real field trip, finally. First of all, the church is super close to my school. One minute on foot. And the day was really hot and the sun was beautiful. We went in and we had to look at the whole church carefully. There are really beautiful columns and they're very tall. I think it's called Santa Maria because there are so many pictures of Mary. Inside and outside. And outside there are ten women all around Mary—five on the right and five on the left—and they're holding lamps. Then there's also Mary at the top of the bell tower. And inside too. The church is very beautiful. I walked all around it and looked at everything, because that was the assignment. So now I can be a tour guide for people who go there, because I've already been there and I know that there are ten women on the right and left of Mary. They don't have to count them because I already did. I'm the guide!
Anyway, I've been in that square at night lots of times too, when I go eat at Meo Patacca or at Trattoria degli Amici. At night the church is much prettier because of the lights and everything shines. It's much better at night and more fun too because you stay out late. But I haven't done that in a long time.
When we go on these trips with school I have fun. Both when it's my group's turn to be the guide and when we have to listen and another group does the guiding. Now we have to go to Tiber Island, which is close too but not as close. There's the basilica of San Bartolomeo there that I studied. I've already been there but not with school. It's fun because I'm doing all this with my classmates, and they're all really nice and they make me laugh.
I like writing the report about these trips too. Especially because I always get a good grade.