The summer of 2014 I will always remember for the classical philology exam. It was the toughest exam in my study program. I asked my aunt and uncle, who were in Australia for a few months, if I could take advantage of their absence to prepare for the exam in their villa in the city. Since childhood I’ve loved their house and especially the wonderful Italian garden with its boxwood hedges that create symmetrical and geometric flowerbeds that outline and enhance the white gravel paths. And then the trees present, such as pines, palms or the beautiful arbutus. When I arrived in mid-May I parked my car in the garagenear the annexes and didn’t take it out until the day of the exam. I immediately prepared the table in the garden with all the material I would need in those days: the four exam books, the pattern book, computer, highlighters, pens and lots of post-its. In the kitchen I had stocked up on fresh fruit to prepare extracts and smoothies whenever I needed to take a break.
Every once in a while Elena would join me in the evening. She would bring dinner and spend the evening outdoors questioning me about Pasquali's text or talking about the rhetoric in Plato's “Gorgias”. Elena was fascinated by the house and it couldn't be otherwise: as an architecture student she couldn't help admiring the beautiful ancient structure of the villa designed by the architect Giacomo Tolozzi. June 20th was the big day. I went to the university in the morning and had to wait until 3:00 p.m. to be questioned. I walked out of the faculty down the stairs as if I had wings on my feet: I got 30/30. I celebrated that evening with some friends. I was very happy: too bad I had to leave my aunt and uncle's splendid villa which, with its beauty, had helped me to lighten the days entirely dedicated to study.
