So it turns out that when you are in walkable cities you WALK. I have loved being able to get places without needing a car and I think I have been much more observant because of it. There is so much visual diversity within every street that we walk down, both in color and style.
I don’t know if this is because I am walking everywhere and I just don’t as much in Austin, but the streets feel like they are meant to be experienced by people. In Austin (around campus), the buildings have very little embellishment. Most visual excitement can be found inside the buildings, but the outsides are bare bones. In Italy, every single facade has some level of artistry. Each building feels like it is competing with the one next to it while your eyes pull you down the street looking for the next contestant.