TIZIANO GASPARET | THE SANCTUARY

The Distraction-Free Monolith

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Moment

On 29 August, I finished simplifying my personal digital environment.

I did not just want to change a few settings.

I wanted my phone and my Mac to feel simpler.

The question I kept asking myself was very basic: do I actually need this?

If the answer was no, I removed it.

Where there was a good free and open-source alternative, I preferred it. When proprietary software was genuinely necessary, I kept it.

Not because I wanted to have the fewest apps possible.

I just don’t want to spend my day managing things I never use.

The Resonance

I did the same thing on my phone.

I removed Life360 and the apps I did not really need.

Google Maps was replaced with Organic Maps, and I use K-9 Mail for email instead of Gmail.

On GrapheneOS, I kept Google Play services where I actually need them, especially for apps such as WhatsApp and banking applications.

I was not trying to remove Google at all costs.

I was trying to use only what I need.

For free and open-source apps I use F-Droid. When I need a proprietary app without a good alternative, I use Aurora Store.

The phone itself is much simpler now too.

Fewer notifications, fewer colours and fewer things constantly asking for my attention.

The Friction

I did the same cleanup on my Mac.

I reduced the number of apps, notifications and things sitting around the interface.

CotEditor is still where I write, and VSCodium is one of my main tools for development.

Everything else needs a reason to be there.

The network follows the same idea: fewer unnecessary services and filtering that helps keep things I do not want outside.

The Finance profile is the obvious exception, because I need the banking and financial apps that actually handle my money.

And that’s fine.

I don’t want technology that looks perfect on paper.

I want technology that works well in real life.

The Quiet

In the end, the result is quite simple.

When I look at my phone, I do not see an endless catalogue of apps.

When I open my Mac, I do not have to get through a hundred things before starting what I actually wanted to do.

There are fewer notifications.

Unnecessary apps are gone.

The things I need stay.

For me, that is what the Distraction-Free Monolith means.

It is not about getting rid of technology.

It is about getting rid of the part of technology that I do not need and that keeps asking for my attention.

The phone becomes a phone again.

The Mac becomes a computer again.

And I can get back to whatever I actually wanted to do.

AUTHOR

Tiziano Gasparet

I am Tiziano Gasparet, an Oriental Languages student at Ca’ Foscari and the author of the Monolith. I write about what I live, study, and build, trying to turn everyday experience into observations that can be understood and shared.

Found something you want to discuss? Write to me.

Write to me by email tiziano@tizianogasparet.com

Write to me on Signal tizianogasparet.06

IDENTITY AND DISCIPLINE →

The Monolith is a personal digital space. I write, you read, and, if you want, we can talk about it.

The return from Stansted to Venice

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Moment

On 22 August, it was time to go home.

I took the train from Cambridge to Cambridge North and then continued to Stansted Airport.

Once I arrived, I went up to the terminals and headed towards departures.

This time I did not need to find a member of staff to drop off my suitcase.

I did everything myself.

The Resonance

I put the whole suitcase on the scale.

Then I scanned my boarding pass.

The machine printed the baggage label.

I put it on the suitcase, placed the suitcase on the belt and pressed the button.

The system took it from there.

Done.

It was one of those moments when you think: okay, that was it.

The Friction

After dropping off my suitcase, I went through security.

I scanned my boarding pass, went through the security check and then put my hand luggage through the scanner.

Everything was normal.

After that, all I had to do was go to the gate.

The only problem was that I had arrived very early, so I had a lot of time to wait.

The flight was originally scheduled for 19:15, but it was moved to 20:15.

The gate process was also quite slow.

But honestly, it did not seem unusual to me. Boarding can take a while almost anywhere.

The Quiet

Eventually we left.

One thing I noticed compared with my arrival in the UK was the way passport control worked.

When leaving the UK, I did not have a passport check like the one I had experienced when entering.

The border check happened instead when I arrived back in Italy, in Venice.

The flight was supposed to arrive at 22:20.

I actually arrived at 23:05.

About an hour later than planned, but nothing dramatic.

Train, airport, suitcase, security, gate, flight and finally Venice.

After two weeks in Cambridge, I was simply home again.

AUTHOR

Tiziano Gasparet

Found something you want to discuss? Write to me.

Write to me by email tiziano@tizianogasparet.com

Write to me on Signal tizianogasparet.06

IDENTITY AND DISCIPLINE →

The Monolith is a personal digital space. I write, you read, and, if you want, we can talk about it.

Two weeks of Intensive English in Cambridge

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Moment

From 8 to 22 August 2026, I spent two weeks in Cambridge taking an Intensive English course at Kaplan.

Classes were from Monday to Friday, so the rest of the day was free for Cambridge, meeting people and doing things outside school.

And there was quite a lot going on.

At school I studied English, but as soon as I left, I kept using it to talk to people, make plans, joke around and just have normal conversations.

The Resonance

The best part was meeting people from different places.

There were students from several countries, and I ended up talking to people I probably would never have met in my normal life.

That made English feel much more natural.

It was no longer just something I studied in a classroom.

It was the language I actually used throughout the day.

In that sense, Cambridge almost became a second classroom.

The Friction

One evening I went to a pub with the others.

I don’t drink alcohol. It’s simply a personal choice. I don’t like the way alcohol makes me feel, so I prefer not to drink it at all.

That evening I ordered a lemonade.

£4.15.

Let’s not talk about the price.

What I really liked was how normal everyone was about my choice.

None of my classmates pressured me, none of the teachers said anything, and the bartender simply made the drink I ordered.

As an Italian, I noticed the cultural difference even more.

In Italy, it can sometimes happen that people ask why you are not drinking, make jokes about it or keep insisting.

There, it was simply: you want a lemonade? Fine.

The Quiet

Those two weeks went by incredibly quickly.

I studied, spoke English, met new people, laughed, explored Cambridge and spent a lot of time outside school.

Then 22 August arrived and it was time to go home.

Two weeks may not sound like much, but when you live them like that, they leave something behind.

I am not taking home only what I learned in class.

I am also taking home the conversations, the people and the feeling of having lived for a while in a completely different environment.

AUTHOR

Tiziano Gasparet

Found something you want to discuss? Write to me.

Write to me by email tiziano@tizianogasparet.com

Write to me on Signal tizianogasparet.06

IDENTITY AND DISCIPLINE →

The Monolith is a personal digital space. I write, you read, and, if you want, we can talk about it.

The paper ticket to London

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Moment

On 8 August, I flew from Venice Marco Polo to London Stansted.

I had my Ryanair ticket printed on paper.

I was not using the Ryanair app to show the boarding pass. I simply had the printed document and all the travel documents I needed.

Everything was normal at first.

Then I reached the gate and had my small problem of the day.

The Resonance

The first staff member kept asking me about the Ryanair app.

The problem was that I had booked through an external service, and the connection with the app was not working in the way she expected.

But I had the printed ticket.

We spent a few minutes trying to work out what was going on.

In the end, she sent me to another colleague.

And suddenly it became much simpler.

The Friction

The second staff member did not insist on the app.

She simply checked the documents.

Ticket, passport and ETA.

She checked everything, confirmed that it was all fine and let me continue.

That was it.

There was no problem with my booking and no problem with the trip.

The first check had started from a digital tool that was not working as expected.

The second person simply checked the documents I actually had with me.

The Quiet

After that little episode, I continued normally towards the gate.

I got on the plane without any other problem.

What stayed with me was quite simple.

Apps are useful, but they should not become more important than the documents that actually prove what you need to prove.

That day I had my ticket, passport and ETA.

Checking them was enough.

And the journey to London continued.

AUTHOR

Tiziano Gasparet

Found something you want to discuss? Write to me.

Write to me by email tiziano@tizianogasparet.com

Write to me on Signal tizianogasparet.06

IDENTITY AND DISCIPLINE →

The Monolith is a personal digital space. I write, you read, and, if you want, we can talk about it.

My very quick enrolment at Ca' Foscari

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Moment

On 31 July 2026 at 12:51:21, I received the email I was waiting for: my enrolment at Ca’ Foscari was complete.

My degree is Languages, Cultures and Societies of Asia and Mediterranean Africa, China curriculum.

What surprised me most was how quickly everything happened.

From opening the application to fixing a small technical problem, paying and receiving the final confirmation, less than a day had passed.

I honestly expected it to take much longer.

The Resonance

The story actually started a few weeks earlier.

On 13 June, I visited Ca’ Foscari for the first time.

It was my first chance to see the university environment for myself and talk to the tutors.

I really liked it.

They answered my questions, explained things clearly and gave me a very good impression of the university.

The following day I wrote to Ca’ Foscari Tour to thank them and tell them how much that visit had strengthened my decision.

After that, the idea slowly became something real: choosing the degree, applying and dealing with all the practical details.

The Friction

There was one small problem on 29 July.

While filling in the online application, my secondary school was not available in the Esse3 database.

Without it, I could not properly complete the section about my school qualification.

So I contacted the student office and explained what was happening.

I sent them the school’s details, a screenshot of the error and the substitute diploma certificate I had received on 23 July.

The problem was fixed quickly and I could continue with the application.

The following day I completed the payment.

Then, on 31 July at 12:51:21, the confirmation arrived.

The Quiet

When I saw that email, my first thought was simply: done.

For weeks Ca’ Foscari had been a possibility, then a choice, and finally an administrative process.

Now it was actually my university.

Classes start on 21 September.

There will be Chinese, notes, studying, exams and an entire university life that I have not experienced yet.

The paperwork is finished.

Now the real part begins.

AUTHOR

Tiziano Gasparet

Found something you want to discuss? Write to me.

Write to me by email tiziano@tizianogasparet.com

Write to me on Signal tizianogasparet.06

IDENTITY AND DISCIPLINE →

The Monolith is a personal digital space. I write, you read, and, if you want, we can talk about it.