This is a painting of a very strong memory of mine. It was the first day we arrived in Italy on a travel abroad program that would last almost 4 months. This was my first time I  Europe, and Italy especially was such a magical place. Living in Montana, I wasn't used to any buildings older than the 1800’s. This painting recaptures the moment I placed my hand on a building that was over 1000 years old. The wars and history this building was a part of, and yet it was just a normal building sitting outside (not in a museum). This was such a life change experience that just had to be captured in a painting. This is a Christian Ives original oil painting.