An Aggie's Blog While Abroad

Layers of Rome

2012-07-29T15:44:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things about Rome is all the different layers that are visible. Things that existed in ancient times, medieval, renaissance, baroque, fascist, and modern times. They're all impossibly close to each other and interact with each other.

Here you can see several layers of Rome

(Left to Right) The theater is from Augustus' time,the apartments above it are medieval, the columns are from the imperial times, the square domed synagogue is post fascism, the yellow building on the right is post renaissance.

Fasces, a symbol in Augustus and Mussolini's times.

Fasces are bundles of wooden sticks with an axe blade emerging from the center, which is an image that traditionally symbolizes summary power and jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity".

The theater.

A church that was squeezed in between two temples.

Ruins that are thought to be from between the
occupation of the Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Hill.

A temple to Hercules oddly enough.

Its round shape usually makes
people think it's for a goddess.

A four way arch.

And closer.

Arch of the Argentarii. or Arch of the Money-Changers.

I almost wrote a paper on this but it's been so
damaged it would have been too difficult.

This depicts Septimius Severus and his wife preforming a sacrifice.

This would have depicted Caracalla
and his brother Geta, but Caracalla
had all images of Geta erased.

Gallery of Modern Art.

2012-07-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

We went to a modern art Museum. I'm not really a fan of most Modern Art. However, in this museum, "Modern" starts with the Unification of Italy in 1861. Which made it a little better.

Don't know what this is but it was cool.

The mirror floor with statues was awesome.

Immigrants leaving Italy.
Lots of people shown in their traditional dress.

Miners carrying one of their fallen co-workers.
The title is "The Victims of Work"

One of the wars for a unified Italy.

And again.

And another. This one depicting a sense of defeat.

One of the Generals dying.

Some of Garibaldi's Soldiers.

Woman dressed in a fancy style.

An artist that would
later radically change styles.

This is by the same artist as above.

Pictures depicting the "glory" of Fascism.

Mussolini at the top is depicted almost like a deity.

Van Gogh.

Creepy little kid carved from wax.

And an old lady also carved from wax.

Uhh yeah this is where modern art and I split ways.

ooooh metal.

Burned see-through plastic.

So this is supposed to look
like the earth. It's not too bad.

This one wasn't terrible either.

Burlap sacks.

I do actually like things with strong classical references.

Hercules literally, "killing the messenger."

6 of the twelve Olympian gods

And the other 6.

This was cool, but I'm not sure what
it is because it wasn't on the exam.

Hercules Again.

Ceres, goddess of fertility agriculture, nature, and the seasons.

Neptune. Lord of the seas, earthquakes and horses.

Minerva. Virgin goddess of wisdom,
handicrafts, defense and strategic warfare.

Venus. Goddess of love, beauty, and desire.

Mars. God of war, violence and bloodshed.

Apollo. God of light, knowledge,
music, poetry, prophecy and archery.

Diana. Virgin goddess of the hunt, virginity,
childbirth, archery, the moon, and all animals.

Pilgrims that are crawling towards a sacred monument.

Peasants working while a landlord supervises.

A girl who has been cast out of a church.

Cleopatra.

St. Andrew being tempted by visions of women.

A Muslim man practicing Salah. (Italy and
especially Sicily has a strong Arabic influence.)

Colosseum

Carnivale (Mardi Gras) in Rome.

The facade.

Palazzo Barberini and Baroque Churches

2012-07-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

It was a very rainy day in Rome (Monday July 23rd). Which made us all really really excited because that also meant it was cooler. In fact when I woke up I was surprised by how humid it was then how cold it was and then finally heard the rain and freaked out for a minute. We met our professor at the Barberini metro stop, then walked to the Barberini Palace.

The Barberini family sponsored some really amazing works of art. However they did this often by stealing what they needed to make it or melting down bronzes that would have decorated things like the Pantheon. There is a saying in Rome, "What the Barbarians didn't destroy, the Barberini did." I love this saying because it so aptly describes what happened.

They had a very large entryway.

I love ceilings like this.

Borromini's Staircase

Borromini was hired by Bernini to do the more complicated staircase in the Barberini Palace. (Enough B names?) Bernini isn't my favorite person from the Baroque period because he often took credit for things he didn't do and agreed to do things he knew he wouldn't have time to do, then unloaded it on his unsuspecting apprentices. This was just the case with Bernini and Borromini (although Borromini quickly stopped working with Bernini). However Borromini's architectural genius was able to make the awkward small area into a beautiful staircase.

Barberini Bees.. They're everywhere.

really really shallow stairs

Borromini actually curved the edges of the
columns so they wouldn't look as awkward.

See more bees.

And more.

Bernini's staircase.. Not that great.

His staircase actually gets kind of
awkward at the top.

Proof that it was raining.

The inside of the Palace.

And again.

and again.

Looking from the garden to the palace.

Gardens run wild from lack of care.

Facade of the Barberini Palace.

Motorcycles + Rain.

The four fountains!

Borromini's church at the four fountains.

One of the river gods.

Female river god.

The inside of one of Bernini's churches.

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa

This reminded me of the
apse of St. Peter's Basilica.

Every square inch must be decorated!! - Baroque.

Ecstasy of St. Theresa.

So much gold or bronze with gold leaf.

Borromini's San Carlo.

Borromini hated colors and paintings.

You can barely even tell that this is black and white.

Borromini's church at the Four Fountains (San Carlo) is really beautifully done, and very different from most Baroque churches. Most Baroque churches are decorated everywhere! They have something on every single inch of space. Borromini wanted the focus to be on his architecture which is amazing. He actually made this church for a group of monks who could barely afford to pay him anything.

Picture of the monks who he made the church for.

The courtyard is also a bit daring because
he made the balusters face different directions.

Borromini also got rid of the corners.

My tired classmates. Jk, I just took a picture when they
happened to all be looking away or blinking.

Another of Bernini's churches.

St. Andrew? ascending to heaven.

Hidden light and bronze rays. Typical Bernini.

Horse Statue.

Statue of Castor and Pollux with Obelisk

This is the Quirinale Hill. It's really beautiful and is the home of the President's mansion, the supreme court and a museum. It also has a beautiful view of St. Peter's dome and a road that leads directly to the Trevi Fountain.

Proof that it was stormy.

President's Mansion.

Supreme Court.

What used to be the stables of the Quirinal Palace.

Look it's the dome!

Check out this hipster.

Ooooh the Trevi....

It actually is the oldest Baroque fountain in Rome.

And the column -> rock thing is cool.

So are the horses.

I like the horses.

The bus stop we waited at.

I like this street. It's useful.

Where we had lunch

Day Trips! Bomarzo and Florence

2012-07-21T17:33:00.001-05:00

(I don't want to study right now)
This weekend we had two trips. One led by CEA and one that we planned ourselves. Friday we went to the monster park at Bomarzo. And Saturday we decided to go to Florence and go shopping.

Bomarzo is just north of Rome, still in Lazio, but the very northern edge of it. However it looks just like Tuscany.

On the way to Bomarzo.

Pretty pretty fields and hills.

Hay fields!

A small town on our way to Bomarzo.

One man killing another, and of course,
it's all because of a woman.

Tuuuuurtle

It's Pegasus!

a BIIIIIIIIIG Fish.

The front of a fountain possibly.

Tilted house!

This house was really fun. But also really freaky.

Walking was difficult because you
kinda always felt like you were falling.

Lidia and Katie just hangin' out!

Looking out the windows was really freaky too.

An Elephant!

And a River God. One of my roomates correctly
identified this because our art class is awesome!

Dragooooooon!

A vase.

Apparently that vase was supposed to look like an Etruscan Funerary urn, but they were usually shaped like houses or had some way of showing whether they belonged to a man or woman.

A sleeping woman.

Woman representing Peace or abundance or Fertility.

Elephant that's eating someone!

Monster face!

This had some sass against the Catholic Church. Basically suggesting that Hell might not be all that bad. It's quite daring for its time. And to sass the Church was to risk death. Even for someone as rich as a member of the Orsini family (creator of the park).

A weird combination of siren types.

More typical siren.

Lions!

Temple dedicated to the creator's wife.

Another big face with a ball and castle on top.

Suburb on the way home.

So pretty.

Hay! Feels like home.

All weekend I've been feeling like I'm home, or in Texas. It's weird to think that in a mere 6 days I'll be back at my actual home and really in Texas. I can't decide if I'm more happy or sad about that. I'll miss Rome, but I can't wait to go home and see everyone.

More pretty fields.

Little hillside towns.

Just outside of Rome.

Some more apartments.

And some more.

I'm not sure if there are really people who live in regular suburban homes or if everyone near Rome lives in farmhouses and apartments.

Florence was fun, but this time I forgot batteries for my camera. It's always something. Of course, I returned to my favorite markets and bought some more stuff that I'm sure I didn't need including two new scarves. We walked by Il Duomo which I wrote my paper on. And by the copy of Michelangelo's David and the Gates of Paradise which two of the other girls did their papers on. It was a really fun day and we got lots of great deals. But by the end I was ready to be back in Rome. We all slept on the train, and then ate dinner and did some studying, but mostly uploading photos and the like.

Renaissance and Baroque Churches

2012-07-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

Today we went to a lot of churches.. A lot.. Or that's how it felt anyway. In fact I'm pretty sure I don't remember all of their names, but I'll try to look them up as I go. We met in Piazza Navona to study the Four Rivers Fountain. I was hoping we would be able to go inside the church that is right next to it, but by the end of the day I was glad we didn't.

Piazza Navona, where the Stadium of Domitian was.

The Baroque church dedicated to St. Agnes.

The Obelisk that tops the fountain.

A horse inside the Fountain.

This little girl was actually drawing the
horse, and doing an amazing job.

The River Nile, covering its head because
they didn't know where it started.

Italian Senate House.

Guards out front.

A chandelier inside.

Basilica di Sant'Agostino.

The light streaming into these churches was beautiful.

A shrine to Mary that expecting women pray to for
healthy, problem-free deliveries.
Then they bring votive offerings and pictures of their babies.

It's stories like these that make
me love Catholics and Italians.

This church is so Baroque it almost hurts to look at.

This is Maria del Popolo.

More Groin Vaults and some Bernini Sculptures.

Smaller side altars.

Honestly, I'm not writing much today because I just finished my research paper about Brunelleschi's dome last night and I'm really, really tired. So tired in fact that I'm planning on going to bed at 9 or 10.

Galleria Borghese

2012-07-18T11:58:00.002-05:00

Last night we went to a Pizza and Gelato crawl. It was delicious. And we were about 30-40 minutes late... I, for the life of me, cannot find Campo de Fiori without getting lost once. It's awful. I don't have too much time to work on this since my paper is due tomorrow, but here we go.

We went to the Galleria Borghese. And as much as I loved that museum, I hated that we couldn't take pictures. I don't know what order everything is supposed to go in and I'm hoping that this is all the important pieces...

Better color.

Sacred and Profane Love

The sacred love is actually on the right, showing a goddess, who will never die. She's holding a torch that represents and undying love.The profane love is on the left and is a Venetian bride who holds jewelry and a rose that is already dying. They are both sitting on a sarcophagus (death) that is filled with water (life). A putti, the angel, is playing in it. There is a lot more symbolism that I won't go into.

Apollo and Daphne by Bernini

This is one of my favorite sculptures at the museum. It's beautiful, and there's great movement in it. It also captures a fleeting moment, which is what baroque art is all about. In this moment, Apollo is chasing Daphne after being shot by Cupid's arrow. However Daphne was shot by a repelling arrow and is pleading for help to her father who in turn pleads to the gods. They then turn her into a tree. She is in the process of transformation, it's amazing.

The Deposition by Raphael. His painting is really amazing. He is a part of the High Renaissance. In his time they reached absolute perfection.

Bernini's David, it's not my favorite. Maybe I just don't like the face, or the fact that it's Bernini's own, but something is definitely unappealing about it. Yes it's a great work, but it's not personally pleasing to me. However it might be on our exam so I've left it in.

Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, is portrayed as a Venus. What's remarkable is how real it looks. Her body appears to actually make a depression in the marble bed.

This is my other favorite.

The Rape of Persephone.

It looks so real, and all of the movement simply bursts out at you. In this case Pluto falls in love with Persephone, the most beautiful mortal woman in the world and brings her back to the underworld with him. She cries and prays to her mother to let her return to earth and she is allowed above ground 3-6months each year. And during this time all the flowers bloom and the fruits begin to grow. This of course is Spring.

You can see the indentions his hand would have made, there are marble tears on her face. It's really truly gorgeous.

Caravaggio's David & Goliath.

I don't particularly like any of Caravaggio's works, but we need to know them for our exam. Here's this story.

Also by Caravaggio.

Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Dei Palafrenieri)

Vaticano

2012-07-18T10:55:00.003-05:00

We went to the Vatican Museums.. Now I could sit here and give you a history of the Papacy and their collections or I could let Wikipedia do it. I choose the latter, mostly because of time rather than because I don't want to.

This is Augustus as he would have been painted in Roman times. Quite... striking... Almost ugly. The main upside is, all the details on his cuirass (armor) really pop out at you.

One of my favorites.

St. Peter's dome of course!

It's pretty...

Gardens.

The beginning of the gallery and,
the beginning of the crowds...

I mainly took a picture of this because, one of the girls said,
"oh look it's the Death-star!

It's supposed to be a comment on the inner
workings of the world... I don't really get it.

Biiiiig head.

My Professor.

She's pretty awesome!

Weird mask like thingy.

The Laocoonte.

Michelangelo loved this piece and it's
influence can be felt throughout the Renaissance.

It was discovered in 1508-ish.

You can't forget to look up!

Torso of Belvedere. Also large influence on
Michelangelo and others.

Minerva or Roma?

Remind you of something? Oh yeah! the Pantheon.

This was a fun way to copy it. However this
one has glass and it *doesn't* rain inside.

Hercules. His face got smushed in the casting process.

Augustus as Pontifex Maximus

CROWDED.

Sarcophagus of Helena, the wife of Constantine
who worked to bring back many relics to Rome.

Augustus.. and a security guard.

Detail of Constantine's daughter's
Sarcophagus. She was a martyred saint.

It's so pretty and entirely from Porphyry.

Funerary Urns.

Flavian Woman.

Beautifully decorated ceiling.

I couldn't get the colors to come
out right on my camera..

Apollo orrrr Dionysus?
It bothers me that I can't tell.

Campania!

Roma!
(The easiest way to tell is to look at the River.)

Siena and Florence

Venice

A really bad picture of the sign for the Sobieski Room.

Hanging people is cool right?
Hawkward...

Mosaic floors that I don't hate!!

Look at that statue in the upper right!
It's the She-Wolf!

Fresh Air!

A better horse than the day before.

Constantine in the middle!

Latin and.. Hebrew I believe. I need to brush
up on my language recognition skills.

"By this sign you shall win."
Beginning of "Conversion" of Constantine.

Replacement of Pagan gods with Christianity.

God in the burning bush.

Expulsion of Heliodorus

This is a good horse, and was executed by Raphael.
Also the statues beneath it are flat!

Story of Isaac.

Release of St. Peter.

Mosaics that used imperial marble..

Philosophy

And the other side.

Poetry

Theology

Fire in the Borgo.

Detail of Aeneas from Troy.

Battle of Ostia.

Sistine Chapel... No Pictures... Snap.

"Shhhh.. No pictures.. Shhh.."

Whatever it's cool and I'm not buying a postcard here anyway.

Fancy Shmancy stairs the pope uses.

We went from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica. Our class (supposed to end at 12) lasted until 1:30. We all decided it was better to stay there than to go to our next class which started at 12:45.

The obelisk outside St. Peter's.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica.

A side-dome.

Jubilee doors.

Another beautiful side dome, they're all
mosaics so it's hard to get pictures with the sun.

Painting re-done in mosaic form.

Michelangelo's Dome.

It's just one meter shy of the Pantheon's width.

Apse of St. Peter's.

By Bernini. I'm not a fan of his bronzework.

Meagan's camera died, soooo I played photographer.
Too bad mine didn't focus properly.

Side part of St. Peter's.

Painting originally by Raphael.
Copied as a mosaic.

Mosaics in a side-dome.

Clare being silly, or as we like to say,
Awesome!

This is a pretty cool Obelisk.

Lidia placing the obelisk in the square!

My camera missed the jumping picture.

Waiting for the bus...

Still waiting...

My very very sneaky roommates decided to bring some holy water home for their families. But they didn't have all of the little bottles with them, so they poured water from a little bottle into a regular water bottle. This was about the funniest thing we did all day! There's some extra left over so they might bless everyone's suitcases before we leave... Question of the day, Does stolen Holy Water still work?

Rinascimento

2012-07-16T14:27:00.000-05:00

Today was a fun picture day.. Well, fun after the excitement that is getting to classes in Rome. Buses make me want to react violently. The bus you need is always late, and packed. We ended up getting off at the wrong stop because I couldn't remember the right one, and we couldn't really see where we were. They also don't announce the stops.. I have a fair amount of anger towards the Roman bus system. And on that note, their website is pretty awful. Anyway that's enough of that rant.

Palazzo Farnese

We met our professor here, behind Campo de Fiori, at the Farnese Palace which is currently the French Embassy in Rome. It's really cool, but we couldn't go inside because we aren't super scholars (researchers) or French citizens or whatever. Sooo we just talked about it from the outside. It was designed in early 16th century (1517). At the end of the 16th century, the important fresco cycle of The Loves of the Gods in the Farnese Gallery was carried out by the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci, marking the beginning of two divergent trends in painting during the 17th century, the Roman High Baroque and Classicism.

Church inside the square.

Fountain from Baths of Caracalla

We then walked to the Spada Palace built in 1540, but re-done in 1632 (17th century - Baroque) by Borromini after being bought by Cardinal Spada. Borromini turned it into a wonderful work of art rather than simply a building. He liked to play with spaces and defined forced perspective. He inserted a hallway that appears to be very long, but actually is basically a Willy-Wonka room.

Palazzo Spado from the front.

Augustus!

Romulus

On the left is Trajan.

Private gardens that would have opened to the Tiber.

Lemon trees & a trellis.

Willy Wonka Room I couldn't take
this picture but everything's on the internet.

After discussing various points about that palazzo, we went to Villa Farnesina, which is gorgeous. And just barely north of the main area of Trastevere. (Trastevere has some of the best food in Rome.) It's across the bridge from Campo de Fiori. Villa Farnesina was completed around 1510, it was decorated by Raphael. His work with perspective and 3-D figures is unbelievable. He was also a master of anatomy. It's truly an amazing place.

You can just barely see St. Peter's in the background.

Bridge between Campo & Trastevere.

Statue to a Roman Poet.

Isn't this cool?

My fascination with
graffiti strikes again.

Pac-Man!!

Old style Italian garden.

An awesome staircase!

The conference of the Gods to decide Persephone's fate.

The feast after the decision was made to let her in.

Believe it or not, these are just paintings on a flat wall.

These too.

Cupid and Venus discussing their problems.

Beautiful marble floors.

Painted marble columns.

The garlands between pictures featured all sorts of "new" fruits and vegetables discovered in America, including, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins and other gourds.

Venus complaining to Zeus.

Weirdest cupid-type thing I've ever seen.

Cupid and the 3 graces. Raphael almost
certainly painted the one facing away.

Little cherub things playing with the gods' weapons.

Hercules

A beautiful painting of constellations that were in the sky the
night Agostino Chigi (master of the house) was born.

And another.

Representing Gemini and the Swan.

Aquarius and Capricorn

This is on the cover of our books!

Crest of the Family.

a better picture.

More Fake 3D.

And some more.

Marble floors again.

"Ruined Illusion" although still fairly good.

Graffiti from sack of Rome in 1500's

Gods working in a Forge as a chimney topper.

Alexander the Great showing mercy.

Alexander and his new wife.

This horse is TERRIBLE. Not done by
Raphael or any of his students.

Look! Constantine's Basilica!

Before class we got our tests back and I was a little nervous because I knew I messed up one of the ID slides, (got the Column of Trajan and the Column of Marcus Aurelius confused). But I ended up with an A so apparently all my worrying was for naught. Of course, that won't stop me from worrying about my other test or the papers I have due. Which by the way, is why I won't be posting as much written stuff. I just don't have the time for it. I need to be doing schoolwork and not fun blog stuff.

Mosaic floor!

After this we had 45 minutes to grab lunch and get back to Campo de Fiori. So we stopped at a place and had some pasta. then headed back. We met our professor at the market, bought a couple of things for a dinner we have to prepare, and then went back to our apartment (after me making us take the bus in the wrong direction of course). We rested (cooled down) for a bit, then went to the grocery store and bought everything else we needed.

Internet picture. I forgot to take some.

Our Menu includes

Antipasto - Bruschetta - Bruschetta
Primo Piatto - Spaghetti con Noci - Spaghetti with Walnuts
Secondo Piatto - Pallotte Cacio e Uova - Bread Dumplings with Cheese
Dolce - Torta di Mandorle - Almond Cake

Mosaics, Mosaics, Mosaics.

2012-07-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

(July 11, 2012) We went to several churches with mosaics that dated from the 4th century until the 19th century. It was very interesting and only got old towards the end. The 19th century mosaic was however a remaking of the old one, and therefore not so interesting.

Obelisk outside Santa Maria Maggiore.

We first went to Santa Maria Maggiore. It's really a beautiful church and quite large. I was surprised at first by how big it was. This was the church with 4th century mosaics.

Back of Santa Maria Maggiore.

We accidentally met our professor at the wrong side of the church, but she found us eventually so it all worked out.

Front of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Inside of Santa Maria Maggiore

Some floor mosaics.

The floor mosaics really make me kinda sad because they originally belonged to works dating back to the Imperial Roman Empire. I would love to have seen more of those palaces or temples as they would have originally been decorated.

I love these walkways.

There's also a museum underneath the church. It houses many... interesting artifacts from the history of the Church. Including a bunch of relics, some robes and other various items.

Remind you of someone?

Often in Christianity there was a re-purposing of imagery from the previous era. In this case they made the Madonna to look like Pax or Tellus from the Ara Pacis. It's really fascinating that they just re-assigned the same kinds of images to tell a new story.

I personally dislike this. Just sayin'.

Relics, 'nough said.

Quote from my teacher: "Oh my god, they're teeth! How gross! Oh, I suppose I shouldn't say that, it's kind of sacrilegious."

Whip/switch used for voluntary penance.
Outlawed in 1967.

Hammer used to open door for Jubilee year.

After finishing with this church and museum we went to Santa Prassede. This church was built by Paschal the 1st in the 9th century. He was a bit of a self interested pope if you ask me. However he had some interesting ideas involving Iconography. And he chose a very interesting artist who portrayed all of the characters in a very stylized manner.

Santa Prassede

Jesus' handing of the Church to Peter is represented like an emperor handing down a law to his right hand man. This type of scene was depicted for a long while until it was eventually changed to and image of keys, but the main story still shines through.

Jesus handing the Church to Peter.

The elders of the Church are represented to look like Senators. The resemblance is remarkable and must be on purpose.

Elders of the Church.

Notice that the name is Pascal, not Christ?
Yay Popes.

Mosaic floors.

Pope Paschal 1 also included a portrait of himself in the main apse. He is standing at the same height of some of the other saints and has a square halo around his head. This signifies that he was still alive, but likely to go to heaven when he died.

Paschal 1 holding a model of the church.

This stone was said to have been brought back by Helena (Mother of Constantine). Whether or not it is real is debated.

Apparently the rock Jesus
was flogged against.

Jesus and some saints.

Pretty mosaics.

Jesus is represented using a window,
because he is, "the light."

They often use a picture of deer drinking from a stream quoting a beautiful verse from the old testament. Psalms 42:1-2. "1 As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God. 2 I thirst for the living God. When can I go to meet with him?"

Popular image on top. Deer drinking waters of life.

This scene is very similar to a plate we studied with a man giving something to an emperor.

Saint presenting something to Jesus.

After this church we had to walk to San Giovanni in Laterano. While walking we spotted the cutest looking bakery I've seen so far. However we didn't have enough time to go in which was really sad.

Upon arriving at Piazza St John the Lateran we went to the Baptistery because we had about 10 minutes until it would be closing.

Another deer that should be drinking water.

Baptismal Font

The design featured below is found on the Ara Pacis and almost every apse we visited. It's crazy how popular this was in Christian churches.

Mosaics, look familiar yet?

These statues are from the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to leave to get to our next class in less than 30 minutes.

DRAGOOOON!!!

Doubting Thomas.

Apparently this contains part of the
Table from the Last Supper.

So pretty.

Today (July 12th we had finals. So no interesting stories Just a lot of tiredness.)

Class and Ballet (July 10th)

2012-07-12T10:43:00.001-05:00

We went to the Arch of Constantine. I've already talked about this so I'll refrain from repeating myself.

It's fun to play with pictures

I think I've been there before....

I really like this arch, or all arches in general.

Another side view.

It's just *SO* photogenic!

Then we went to the Basilica di San Clemente (Basilica of St. Clement). We weren't allowed to take pictures here, so I was only able to sneak a couple. The church is built on 3-4 layers (depending on how you count). The bottom most being a group of Roman houses, then a temple to a pagan god, then the first church dedicated to St. Clement, and the modern day church of St. Clement.

Part of the ground of the 1st church.
Notice the marble has writing.

One of the most beautiful apses.

I'm not sure why this one is soooo blue,
but it's still pretty.

Floor marbles taken from imperial monuments.

A really "ugly" ceiling. It's probably
covering something more beautiful.

Then we walked up a big hill to Santi Quattro Coronati. Which had some really beautiful medieval frescoes featuing Constantine. They tell the story of how Pope Sylvester cured Constantine of leprosy, Constantine's resulting conversion, and his giving the Pope the Lateran Palace. The frescoes were made in the 9th century.

9th century tower.

Messengers summoning the Pope.
Pope visiting Constantine.

Emperor Constantine... With a beard...

Some more of the pretty frescoes.

Mosaic floors that make me sad.

We went to go see a classical ballet (Giselle). I don't really think I like ballets. I was moderately entertained throughout the first act but had to read the program to know what was going on. (Apparently I'm not too good at reading interpretive dance stuffs.) Anyway we weren't allowed to take pictures so I don't have any.

Terme di Caracalla

Picture of the Willis

The area was gorgeous though. My favorite parts of the night was, the music, and the location. We also played the Italian version of musical seats. Which is where 5-10 minutes after the show starts you move as close as you can to the stage. Pretty fun, but felt very undignified.

I also happened to fall asleep for a tiny bit of the performance. But that wasn't a big deal.
Also our bus ride back to the apartments was crazy! It was like the bus driver wasn't sure how exactly brakes worked. I'm fairly certain he didn't know braking gently was an option. It was fun though. We ended up getting home at 1AM and I crashed.

Augustan Building Program & Other Musings.

2012-07-09T14:37:00.002-05:00

So today (Monday July 9th) we visited many of the things that Augustus built and some of the important things around those areas. We started with the Ara Pacis.

Museum that houses the Ara Pacis

The Ara Pacis was built by Augustus in 13AD. Right before he was declared Pontifex Maximus. It's an interesting piece that I really love. It has so many interesting references and details.

My favorite panel from the Ara Pacis itself.

It was used for sacrifices to secure the Pax Romana that began under Augustus' reign. This was a relative peace as it was enforced quite brutally. But this didn't really bother the Roman people.

Picture from the internet.

The scene pictured represents either Tellus (Earth) or Pax (Peace) as a woman with two children on her lap and agricultural abundance around her. She is accompanied by a water nymph and an air nymph.

Mausoleum of Augustus

Where Augustus, his whole family and all the emperors that followed him until Hadrian (excluding Nero). It was built to look like the circular tombs at Certeveri. A throwback to the previous civilizations would have been a popular move since it would solidify his identity as a Roman with a legitimate claim to rule.

Res Gestae (copy)

A list of all of the things Augustus claimed to have done for the sake of the Roman Empire. He claimed to have collected up all the silver statues (80) of himself and had them melted down and given over as offerings to Apollo. He restored 82 temples & built many new ones. He also instituted laws that Mussolini and even Berlusconi would later reference.

A Fascist building.

The Fascist building program and many of it's other ideas took from those of Augustus' time period. Mussolini had a vision of Rome as a great city, and Italy as a great nation. He loved the history of Italy and was still trying to reinforce the idea of National Pride. At the time he was elected Italy had been a unified country for less than 100 years. Which is crazy if you consider how long people have been living there.

Head of Italy's Government

Berlusconi also took from Augustus and had another influence, Mussolini. He gave everyone with two children a 1000Euro bonus. Of course now Italy is paying for its mismanagement, but at the time it was difficult to realize that something was wrong. Especially since Berlusconi had a monopoly on the media in Italy.

Column of Marcus Aurelius

One of the other girls had to give her presentation on this Column. It's relatively like the Column of Trajan, except for a few differences that are hard to note if you haven't studied the two. This column made greater use of the drilling technique meaning that the figures stood out more. Therefore they're also more damaged because of this. I generally dislike this column more, although I'm not really sure why. I guess it just seems more disorganized.

The Pantheon.

How many times have you been to the Pantheon? I've been 8 times.. 8 times. That's more than once a week. Why have I been here so many times? I'm not sure. I guess it's a pretty impressive piece of architecture, and an incredible feat of engineering. But that's just too many times to hear, "There's no glass over the opening, so when it rains, it rains inside the Pantheon." Most boring sentence ever. Also I guess it's shocking the first time you hear it, but at this point it's gotten a little old..

Bernini's Chick

This is also known as the Elephant and Obelisk. It's pretty cute and stands outside the Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Piazza Minerva, right behind the Pantheon. I actually like this because it's different from many of the other obelisks found in Rome. The elephant is representative of the pope it was commissioned by.

Pretty Stained Glass

This is from inside Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The body of Saint Catherine of Siena is housed here. Which is really cool since I had just studied her my last semester at A&M. It's fun being able to relate things to my previous classes. But only fun when new and old information is being combined.

Blurry picture of my new skirt.

We're going to an Opera tomorrow (Tuesday July 10th)! And since it is summer and an outdoor opera, the dress-code is somewhere between semi-formal and casual. So maxi dresses, or skirts are apparently the best. I failed to bring a skirt with me so I had to go shopping today. Thankfully by procrastinating I managed to catch them at a time when everything was on sale! Best time ever. I also almost bought a pair of heels. Because what girl doesn't need more heels? But I decided to wait and see if I really loved them or if I could find the same pair for a cheaper price.

Ticket!

I'm surprisingly excited to see the Opera they're taking us to. It should be interesting to see how much of it I can understand. And it will just be a fun night. I just wish it wasn't so close to midterms (which are Thursday). But oh, well I'll just have to study before hand. Speaking of which I should start doing that now.

Campania Again!

2012-07-08T06:50:00.000-05:00

CEA July 2012 Group in Naples!

This weekend (July 6-7th) we took a walking tour of Naples, spent the night in Sorrento, and then spent Saturday at Capri.

Naples.

Part of the original walls of the city. Made of Tufa.

Oldest standing tower.

Naples... Not my favorite...

Gothic Church

Terracotta altar.

Nativity scene.

Gothic Windows.

Ruins beneath the church.
Dated to 1st century AD.

Street full of Nativity Scenes.

Celebrity Look-A-Likes!

Marie Curie

Silvio Burlesconi.

Really expensive Nativity Scenes.

Graffiti... Graffiti everywhere...

Again, Naples was not my favorite. There was Graffiti on every monument. The buildings were mostly in a state of disrepair. It really just wasn't that great. The pizza however was amazing. As I expected it would be. What would have been more interesting to see in Naples would have been the Museum there. It houses something like 70% of all Roman Paintings and Mosaics. Incredible

A store dedicated to tobacco products.

We spent the night in Sorrento. It was really fun, we basically took a shopping tour around the city (where I picked up a pair of earrings) after dinner and then just went to bed. We were all incredibly tired and happy to have rooms with "air conditioning."

On the ferry to Capri.

We then left to go to Capri in the morning. Everyone sleeps on the ferry rides for the most part. Something about them just puts you to sleep. (Unless you often get seasick, then it makes you very ill.) When we got to Capri we took a boat ride around the Island and then ate lunch. All the others wanted to lay out and tan, so I found a spot in the shade and read for 3 hours.

One of the girls couldn't swim so another got her a tube!

The arch you have to make a wish under.
I passed again. Who needs wishes?

Jumping in!

First beer in Italy.

Lunch at Cafè Augusto

View from my reading spot.

Look at all the people on this beach!

Then we headed back to Naples to catch our bus to Rome. Every time we leave Rome I'm always so glad to be back. After only 6 weeks it feels like home here. Although I think I miss Texas more than I will miss Rome. It's kinda weird to think that I have less than 3 weeks left here.

This is Naples...

Cool tower-y thingy.

Gasometer - Italian Style

Naples looks huge, but it's really
pretty small when compared to Rome.

(Just for perspective Rome is about 3million people, Naples is around 1 million, and Florence is about 0.4 million people.)

Capitoline Museum and Renaissance Food

2012-07-08T05:54:00.000-05:00

Thursday, July 5th, we went to the Capitoline Museum. It was pretty cool. And by pretty cool, I mean, it's probably my favorite museum ever! (At least right now.) It houses parts of the foundation of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus.

The famous she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus is there, and has only recently been discovered to be from the Renaissance instead of the Etruscan time period. So recent in fact, that my textbooks still say that it is Etruscan.

She-Wolf with Romulus and Remus.

Marcus Aurelius Statue.

Constantine.

In the same room there is the Statue of Marcus Aurelius, which I now know entirely too much about. It was the subject of my speech which I think I did alright on. Back to the statue itself, it is the only surviving equestrian statue from antiquity (Roman times). It survived because people thought it was a statue dedicated to Constantine. This error likely began after it was placed in front of the Lateran Palace (former residence of the Pope). However a quick look at any pictures of Constantine will show that these two works are clearly both from different times, and of different people. Constantine is never shown with a beard, and his face is much more stylized. There are large bronze remnants of a statue that was dedicated to Constantine in the same room. So it's easy to make a quick comparison.

Commodus (son of Constantine)
dressed as Hercules.

A statue of Venus.

The dying Gaul.
Part of a collection made for Cesar.

Not sure, but it's pretty.

An Amazon warrior. Her dress is
so dark because it was originally painted.

A fawn and a goat carved from red marble
from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

Centaur, part of a Pair.
From Hadrian's Villa.

Never more excited.

Emperors and family members of Rome.

Professor and tired classmates.

There are so many fun statues in this museum! I absolutely love it! Everything from decorative statues, to sarcophagi, to portraits. Portraits are also currently my favorite works.

Marcus Aurelius 161-180AD.

Hadrian 117-138AD.

Trajan 98-117AD.

Vespasian 69-79AD.

Flavian Woman. - 69-98 AD

Septimius Severus 193-211AD.

Caracalla 198-217AD.

Nero 54-68AD.

Have I mentioned how much I love portraits? These are some of my favorite Emperors, and some of the most recognizable. (If you want more information on any of them or their portraits just ask. I didn't want to overwhelm this post with info and pictures.) These are so much fun because you can watch how styles change from naturalistic to more abstract and back again. Each emperor had something in mind when his portrait was carved. It's really cool to know the history and what was going on when these were made. I'm only a little obsessive. But really there are worse things for me to be fascinated by.

View of the Roman Forum.

And another view.

The museum also includes part of the Tabularium from the Roman Forum. It's pretty cool. It also connects the two sides of the museum. From here there is a beautiful view of the Forum. The Tabularium used to house the laws of the Roman Republic and Empire. Above it is now government buildings.

A bad picture of another Venus.

Such a nice museum.

A blurry picture of a Flavian woman.

Mosaic from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

A soldier who has been mostly remade.

A Pan/Fawn/Satyr.

A river god.

There are just so many statues that I absolutely love in this museum. It's amazing. And I can't rave about it enough. After this class we went to my food and wine class and had some Tortelloni in a saffron sauce and something like a pot roast. They were both interesting and from the Renaissance. They aren't my favorite, but they weren't bad either. We also tried a Cabernet and a Merlot. I liked those darker red wines much more than the white we had tried earlier.

Colosseo, Fora Imperiali, e Mercati di Cibo

2012-07-04T11:36:00.003-05:00

Colosseum

Arch of Constantine

Temple dedicated to Roma

Colosseum

Markets of Trajan

Column of Trajan

Madison lecturing on
the Column of Trajan.

Column of Trajan

Today my Art class went to the Colosseum and the Imperial Forum. The Colosseum was kinda boring since this was my 3rd time being there and we didn't really get a whole lot of new information. It was however quite hot.

We then went on to visit the Imperial Forum and the Column of Trajan. I've realized I'm kinda terrible about knowing which thing is which in the Imperial Forum, and I really hope that's not on the test.

One of the students had to give her presentation about the Column of Trajan and she did a very good job. Especially since we hadn't studied it in class yet. I'll be giving a speech about Marcus Aurelius which is slightly easier for me since I've already studied it. I'm actually kind of excited because it should be interesting to see what my professor says about my presentation.

Interesting combination.

I've already said how much I love new and old buildings being put next to one another and people continuing to use the old buildings.

Family towers.

For our Food and Wine class we went to a market near Termini Station. The people there were great! They were all nice (some a little too nice) but that's much better than having people who are angry that you're there to shop and not buy or that yell at you for taking pictures.

There were a lot of interesting things for sale, about half were things I'd never buy because I'm too scared to even try to cook it properly. I might have an idea of what the end result meal should be for things like lungs, stomach, or tongue, but no idea how to get it there.

Spices!

Fish

Plantains and more spices.

Beans

Eggs, wine and packaged foods.

This is a relatively short post because I'm really tired, pretty hungry and probably a little dehydrated. All of which I plan on remedying as soon as it is culturally acceptable for me to go grab some dinner. (6:30PM is WAY too early here.)

Italia E Le Mie Lezioni

2012-07-02T13:35:00.000-05:00

Circus Maximus at 6:30.
The game started at 8:45.

It seems like a much longer time ago than just last night, but yes, last night (Sunday July 1st) was the Eurocup Final... If you've seen the results, you know it didn't end well for Italia. Spain played extremely well and Italy seemed a little off their game. It was really fun watching though. We went to a restaurant in Trastevere where we got dinner for about 10 Euros each. Not too bad to sit in the air conditioning and watch the game. When it got to halftime, we went down to Circus Maximus with everyone else in Rome. Well, everyone but the people who were leaving early because they knew it wouldn't be ending well. (2-0 at the half can't be a good sign). So we made our way into the crowd and watched until Spain scored the third time and then decided we should probably head out. We weren't the only ones who felt this way and so it was really crowded.

There was an estimated 200,000 people there.

We walked from the Circus Maximus to the nearest metro stop, found out that it was closed, walked to the Colosseum stop and the rest of the group decided that it would be better to walk. Some Italian guys saw us looking at our map and when we told them where we wanted to go they told us to take the metro or the bus. We told them we were going to walk and they said, "You're Crazy!!" I agreed, but wasn't about to get on an overcrowded metro by myself. So we walked... It took an hour and a half... It was more than 3.25 miles... I was dead tired and just wanted water and sleep when I got back to the apt.

What the crowds looked like according to Google.
We were somewhere behind the smoke.

Today was our first day of classes (hence the second part of the title). My first class this semester doesn't start until 9:00 which means I can sleep in about 30 minutes more than June semester. That's fun and I appreciate it a lot. Also I now have 45 minutes in between classes instead of 30. So hopefully it will be enough for me to get between wherever we are in Rome and CEA's campus. It's a little stressful because it usually takes an hour to get between but maybe we can start class a little earlier than 9:00 and get out a little early.

Anyway, that class (Angels & Demons and Artists in Rome Art Through the Ages) is taught by the same professor as my art and archaeology professor from last semester. She's super nice and knows an incredible amount. I'm really happy to have her again, even though the first part of the course is a recap of what I had just covered. I'm excited for when we get past Constantine's time towards the Renaissance. It will be fun to take an actual class about Renaissance art.

My other class starts at 12:45 and is The Culture of Food and Wine in Italy. It should be mildly interesting if not quite as awesome as the other class. I am however, excited to learn more about what foods are from what regions. That should be fun. Anyway between classes I don't have much time to eat so I hope they give us a lot of food for the second class. That would be awesome.

Night Tour of Rome

2012-06-30T19:01:00.004-05:00

So tonight we decided that after being cooped up in the apartment all day with nothing to do, we'd go out and see some things. We started with dinner around 8:30-8:45 and that lasted until around 10:00 because well, it's Italy. By the time we had paid and were leaving most of the girls were tired and wanted to get some rest for the big game (which is tomorrow not Monday as was originally thought). Anyway it ended up being one roommate and I that were still wanting to go out so we did. We took a bus to Piazza Venezia and that started our tour.

Vittorio Emanuele II Monument

This monument is really distinctive and as I've said generally disliked by many Romans. Italians have fun opinions on monuments several are widely disliked however famous they might be. This particular one is really useful though because it is so unique and it is a good landmark. If you can see this, you can usually tell roundabouts where you are. It's relatively close to the Colosseum and to the rest of Ancient Rome, It's also next to the Capitoline Hill, and It is located right near Piazza Venezia (a big bus stop). These are all good things to know when you're in Rome.

A wedding shoot.

LOTS of people can be found in this area taking pictures for their wedding. It's really really popular and for obvious reasons.

Roman Forum

We walked by the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine, but for some reason I didn't really take any pictures. I'm sure I'll have another chance though. We couldn't go in to the Forum because it was too late, but we could look around at the outside. The Roman Forum is really beautiful, but it is a little hard for me to distinguish the different buildings and what they were. I guess I got used to seeing images of what they would have looked like.

Roman Forum

And again, the Roman Forum, this is looking out from Via Fuori Imperiali and you can't quite see the Via Sacra in this picture. But it led from the Colosseum to the arch of Septimius Severus. And many trophies from Roman conquests would have been brought up that street.

Prison of Apostles Peter and Paul.
Mamertinum

We ended our tour after viewing Capitoline hill which I also neglected to get pictures of. Being a tour guide either requires more confidence or a bit more studying, although the girl who went with me seemed to appreciate it. We took a night bus home since it was around 12:30 when we finished. Between getting gelato and waiting for the bus it took us awhile but we got home around 1:00-1:30.

Campo Di Fiori & Italia's Win!

2012-06-29T07:30:00.000-05:00

We took a walking tour of Rome that wasn't really too impressive if you've actually studied any of the major landmarks of Rome we saw. But it's starting to feel like I won't be here forever. One day I won't be able to just walk over to Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, Piazza del Colosseo, or any of the other impressive monuments that are here.

Piazza Navona.

Piazza Navona was built on top of the Stadium of Domitian. The large church you see on the left (part with towers) is dedicated to St. Agnes. Who was allegedly martyred there after refusing to marry the Prefect's son during Diocletian's reign. (There's more to the story but you can Wikipedia it if you feel the need to know the rest.)

Piazza Navona again.

Piazza Navona is filled with people and artists and tons and tons of people illegally selling silly toys that I'm sure break extremely easy. And the toys don't seem like that much fun anyway. You just throw them on the ground and they squish... I don't see the fun, but some little kids really like them.

A different view of some ruins.
Part of the stadium of Domitian.

I'd seen these particular ruins several times walking past the other side of the building, but never from this side as they're usually closed off. It's from the end of the Flavian era, very late first century AD.

And again.

If you didn't know, the street level of Ancient Rome is about 20ft lower than that of Modern-Day Rome. This is due to floods, fire, and lack of care when rebuilding things (instead of clearing rubble they just flattened it).

Pantheon

It's super cool, and a marvel of engineering, but it's a little boring the 7th time. Although this time there was a "nice" incense smell that gave me Catholic School Flashbacks. Also it says it was built by Agrippa during his third term as Consul, but really this one was built by Hadrian (second century AD) some years later. There was an original built by Agrippa (during Augustus' time - late 1st century BC to early 1st century AD) but it was heavily damaged and had to be re-done. It also would have been facing the opposite direction.

Spanish Steps

The tour ended at the Spanish Steps. Which I've spent too much time around in my opinion. They're impressive to be sure, and they're one of the most famous landmarks in Rome. But they're not one of my favorites. Also just a random fact I haven't shared before, The Popes decided to put obelisks in front of many of the most important churches in Rome.

They're tiring, but we didn't walk up them.

There was some discussion about where we should eat and watch the soccer match (Italy vs Germany - Semifinals). We ended up going from the Spanish Steps to Campo di Fiori with only a minor uncertainty in direction once or twice. We made it there within 30 minutes and proceeded to try and find a place to eat. Everywhere inside the square was either too crowded or too expensive, so we walked off to the side where a guy told us we could sit in the air conditioning, and watch the game. The prices weren't bad so we said sure! I had a pizza margherita (not feeling too adventurous at a new restaurant). And we watched the game.

The most commonly screamed phrase was Vai Vai VAI VAIIII! (Go Go GO GOOO!) It was really fun listening to and watching the Italians rejoice and complain about different things happening in the game. Italy was up 2-0 in the first half! And they played very well for the rest of the game. The end score was 2-1, Italy advancing to the finals vs Spain on Monday night. Tuesday we all might be a little late for class...

After Italia scored.

After the game, the crowds went a little crazy. Some of the girls got a drink at a close-by american bar. And we headed home shortly afterword thankfully not having to find and take the night bus. We caught what must have been the last 62 bus of the night, and it took us on a detour to Termini which was a little nerve-wracking for me because I knew we were headed the wrong direction, but couldn't figure out if the bus would still be going by our street. It did, thankfully, and we all got home safely.

There were slightly fewer kids outside our apartment (I assume they were all at Piazza del Popolo where things were supposed to be crazy). But there were still people honking and yelling and using air-horns all night. It's fun when you're celebrating, but annoying when you want to sleep.
Today is the combined feast day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. They are two of the most important Saints in Rome. So as a result most things are closed. Which is slightly annoying since I was gonna go do some stuff. But oh well, it can wait. I think the Italian attitude of everything working out when it works out is starting to take root with me. It's pretty fun, and not very good when combined with a heavy dose of procrastination. Although I don't really have anything important to do right now so it's kinda ok.

Rome, July Semester!

2012-06-27T13:09:00.002-05:00

So, the last two of my roommates got here today. (4 girls in an apt meant for 6 = awesome) Their flights were both delayed a lot, I think they were both planning on being here about 24hrs prior to the time they actually arrived. So now we're all in Rome together!

Today we started orientation, everything was pretty much a review for me, but that wasn't the worst. I mostly used today to get to know everyone and refresh some stuff, ask important questions, point things out. Generally I've been trying to be helpful. And really trying not to seem like everything's super easy because I was confused when I started, and yeah, a lot is easy to pick up on the first week or so, but it's easier if someone helps you. It's also sometimes easier to ask a fellow student than a professor or administrator. (Although I really love all of the people who work at CEA Rome! They're really nice and try very hard to make you feel welcome and at home here.)

This is what campus looks like..

Also, tonight I think we'll be cooking a roommate meal (penne pasta), with the supplies CEA left us, and tomorrow we're going on a tour of the neighborhood we're living in... Yay... Ah well, maybe there's something that I never knew I never knew about this Piazza.

And as a follow-up to my previous side-note, today, as a part of my Activity book, I got a crossword puzzle and a Wikipedia challenge (like, get from Bicycle to Ants in less than 11 steps using links inside articles). So I'll be busy for awhile. And there's more to come! Best boyfriend ever award? I think so.

Fiorenze -> Firenze

2012-06-26T04:13:00.002-05:00

I decided to take this chance to post all of the (1) random pictures I've taken on my phone when I didn't have my camera handy.

A fountain on the way to class... Turns out it's in the Borghese Villa.

Saturday I traveled to Florence all by myself. It was only a little stressful, but it was totally worth it. Unfortunately I left my camera at home, so lots of phone pictures. (also the title of this post is the old Italian name of Florence and the new) Now, in Italy there are very few places that have air conditioning, and even fewer places that use it. Churches are one of these exceptions. So while I was in Florence Saturday I decided to cool off in various churches and pull out my Kindle and read for awhile. It felt a little weird at first, but then I decided whatever, I paid 3.50 to get in, I might as well enjoy and make the most of my time there.

So Saturday I sat and read in Santa Maria Novella
for about 1.5 hours today.

Ha! It says: Today's rich and powerful are unfortunately
not as tasteful as the Medici.

I went and got lunch at a small cafe, and paid extra to sit down. Unusual in my neighborhood at home, but quite expected in Florence. I sat and read while waiting for my food. One of the waitresses saw my Kindle, and exclaimed something in Italian speaking much too fast for me to follow what she was saying.
Her friend came over and said (in Italian), "It's like a little computer right? Like an Ipod?"
I quickly recovered myself and agreed and then added, "Well, it's only for books, but many books."
She replied, "Oh, how do you get them on there do you scan them?"
"No, you download them from the internet"
"Oh then they cost money?"
I thought about how to say it for a second and said, "Yes, some, but very old books are free. Only new books cost money."
She asked "How many books does it hold?"
Now, I have no idea how many books a kindle holds, but I figured a guess would be fine. "I'm not sure, more than 100."
She said, "Wow, you're German, no, English?" Which seems to be everyone's guess on meeting me. I guess I look rather German, but have an accent that reminds them of English. I also assume many Americans that come to Italy don't take the time to learn the language, whereas British people seem to know at least one other language. I told her I was from Texas, of course (because Texas is better than America). And that was all of our conversation until I left when she said, "Ciao bella!" and I felt like I'd made a new friend. It was pretty fun.

And a blurry picture of Basilica di San Lorenzo
where I read for another 2 hours.

I also spent a lot of time walking around generally being a little lost, but I had a map and was confident enough that I would be able to make it back to the train station by simply asking anyone I saw "Dov'è Santa Maria Novella?" My mediocre knowledge of Italian is very very handy in those sorts of situations. It really doesn't take much command of the language to ask that though (or so I've tried to convince my CEA roommates). However it was unnecessary as I was quickly able to find and orient myself on the map I had been given on my previous trip to Florence.

Some fun chalk artists.

Every time I go to this market, the one by il Porcellino, I buy one thing at least. First it was a purse, then some gifts for other people, and I almost bought a scarf, but didn't feel like haggling. And I know 18Euros is WAY too much to pay for a scarf, even a nice one. The fun thing about this is, I now really know about the right price to pay for things, where you can haggle, and where you can't. It's really fun learning all of this, because it makes me feel like I'm really, well not a native, but at least like I'm fitting in.

Il Porcellino! I love that market!
There's so many fun things to buy!

I love street art! It's so much fun!! Although Florence doesn't have quite as much as Rome, and not nearly as much politically oriented art, it's still interesting. The political things are the most interesting to me. I love propaganda because It's just so interesting. How it works on people, what works in one culture, and what doesn't in another. I may have mentioned this before, but I'm taking a class on Propaganda and Dissidence in the fall and I'm really excited for that class, I'm sure it will be a lot of work, but it's also sure to be fun.

I had a picture of one of these from the first time
I went to Florence 3 years ago, and I thought
it was cool someone's still putting them up.

This next bit doesn't particularly pertain to Europe so, if you're only interested in my adventures, you can stop here. But otherwise feel free to continue if you wish.

I've refrained from mentioning this in my blog because I feel it's not really the place, but today I can't help it. Background: (My best friend told me he liked me two days before I left for Europe. Terrible timing right? But he's my best friend and my favorite person ever and so we started dating. We try to talk a lot, every day if we can. And I just can't wait until I can see him when I get back.) So anyways he's pretty awesome, and knows that I get bored a lot. So he made me an activity book of sorts. I'm saving most of it, so that it will be a surprise. Today I opened the first page, and it is a word-finder puzzle-thingy. The words I have to look for are either Roman Emperors, fantasy things (like from Lord of the Rings) or other things pertaining to Italy. It's so much fun, because it's custom made from a list of my favorite things. And I'm just too excited to not tell everyone ever about it!!

Fun Classes & Hot Weather

2012-06-20T13:26:00.002-05:00

So this week we've gone to museums and churches for the most part in both of my classes. It's been pretty fun. And very convenient since they are both usually air-conditioned and it's in the high nineties around here. My room however is not air-conditioned, and I don't have a fan.. So that's less fun. Having the windows open only helps when there's a breeze and today there was none... I'm considering finding a church or museum or something to go study in.

My Art and Archaeology class visited the catacombs under the basilica of St. Agnes today (where she was actually buried). It was pretty cool, and conversely to what movies and stories tell you, Christians did not hide in these catacombs during their persecution. First, they couldn't have survived the air down there for more than twenty minutes. And second, the Romans actually sold them the land and recently following the opening of the catacombs, Christianity was made legal by Constantine in 313AD. Anyway, the catacombs were interesting to see, most of the ones we saw were from the 4th Century AD (Constantine's reign.) It was a little creepy, seeing all the "shelves" where people were buried. But there were only 4 skeletons and they were behind glass. It was interesting to see just how small they would have been, maybe 4-4.5 feet at the most, and weighing only 150-170lbs. Crazy.

(viewer's discretion advised, description below.)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ru3k_EzMyQWiskpzCd8jVQHWyVG4pLocFmztTYkIinCZxyTQW3zOS_FB9quX7UjTDEj0Yi3nqWYPnq8VuSZlBbcAsHnMZQ-Gtdfa2SWuYwgbM360UeZYosF-o7C3nP__Bn7gcM8l1Uw/s1600/bone-church-4.jpg

Photography class went to several churches including a church/museum with an area that was decorated entirely with bones of monks who were found nearby. It was kind of funny though because we weren't allowed to take pictures there, and we went there for a photo class. But it was still really interesting to see. A lot of the people in the program are anxious to see everything they possibly can, so I feel a little lazy, but I have another month to see some of this stuff, and My next Art&Arch class will be taking us to a lot of other churches and museums so I'll get to see even more stuff.

So anyway finals are tomorrow meaning I'd better get back to work. (Although I am slightly farther along than I'd originally expected to be.)

Oh, No, Finals...

2012-06-17T17:19:00.001-05:00

So it's officially finals week for me. And I'm a little frightened. But I'm fairly confident it will be ok in the end. This weekend I haven't done much as far as leaving the apt goes, mostly just gelato, pizza, and grocery runs. I've been catching up on some homework, and working on my final project for my photography class.

I love Roma!

Main Synagogue in Rome.

Bridge... Near the Forum & Jewish Ghetto.

Moooooore locks. One of them had a Kiwi bird on it.

We have to make a portfolio of our favorite pictures and some clippings and writings and stuff. I'm not super excited about this project, but I think it will be ok. I don't super hate all of my pictures so it will probably work.

For my Art & Arch. class we just have a normal final which is nerve-wracking enough. But I did ok on the midterm, so the final shouldn't be that terrible. I'll just be spending most of the week studying.

Poster supporting Palestinians.

Inside a church... Not sure which one...

An old Roman temple near the Mouth of Truth.

That being said, I will be really happy when I get to sleep forever on Friday. But hopefully not too late so I can still wake up on Saturday for my 8AM Train to Florence! I'm really excited to be spending the entire day there. I love Florence more than anywhere else in Italy (right now). And I just can't wait to go back and leisurely walk around the city. This will also be the first time I'm really travelling by myself.. So that's a little scary for me, but I'm pretty sure it will work out.

Picture of part of the group on the docks of Sorrento.

Me at the Mouth of Truth.

The Vatican!...So many times...

Sorrento, with one of our Admins, Andrea!

Orientation doesn't start until Tuesday, and so I have plenty more time to travel/relax/explore Rome. I've been toying with the idea of visiting Milano, Bologna, Assisi, or Sicilia. I'm so torn, they all have their own merits. Milano - Architecture and shopping. Bologna - History, and architecutre. Assisi - peaceful, beautiful, different. Sicilia - (apparently) completely different culture & food, interesting social aspects, and just a different area of Italy altogether. But there are some problems with each, Milano - expensive for a short amount of time, Bologna - earthquake (2-3 weeks ago, left 17 dead), Assisi - have to deal with difficult transportation issues, Sicilia - need a flight, short term travel is impractical. So I'm thinking about just staying around Roma and visiting all the parks I've skipped so far. Anyways these are just my favorite options and their problems.

I probably won't have time to post anything until I finish with finals, but I'll put pictures of how my project turns out up here, I'm hoping it turns out well.

F is for Florence!

2012-06-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

First, I'm just terrible about updating this if I have any school work that needs to be done. And I had to write a research paper. So, there haven't been many updates because I was spending 70% of my free time on that.

Yay sunsets and Domes!

(The rest of these pictures were all taken when it was dark, with different camera settings.)
This is part of the Roman Forum.

And again, with my highest ISO setting.

My favorite ISO setting of the night (around 200-400).
Il Colosseo is in the background.

Blurry, not on purpose pictures always turn out
better than blurry, on purpose pictures...

Temple of Saturn and I forgot the long one... Julius Ceasar's Basilica?

Where Peter was held prisoner.
Walking photos at night are usually terrible.

Look, Cobblestones... They're so... "Fun."

Column of Trajan, so beautiful!

Markets of Trajan.

But on to the main points, we did some night photography Wednesday evening, which was surprisingly fun since my camera's pictures weren't as terrible as I'd expected. We met at the Vittorio Emanuele 2 monument at 8:30pm, and walked over to the Capiotline Hill and looked out at the Roman Forum then went to the Markets of Trajan and then went home because it was about 10:30.

Today I went to Florence with CEA. I've always liked Florence for some reason, maybe it's just that the time periods that it was at its best are my favorites, or that I just have more knowledge about it in general. I'm not sure, but whatever the reason, I love it, and today was just beautiful. We saw Il Duomo, the Doors of Paradise, Michelangelo's David, Il Porcellino, Ponte Vecchio and much more. I love the city, but since it was planned in the Middle Ages, it's a little easy to get lost. I ended up buying a scarf for 5 Euros, and a large purse for 55 Euros discounted from 68. I probably could have gotten a better deal, but didn't want to haggle over it. Only one other girl and I were returning to Rome this afternoon, so we headed back to the station around 4:15. I only got a little lost, and considered asking directions, then as soon as I had decided to do so, I realized where we needed to go, and we went. We arrived at the train station 3 minutes early, and got to talk to two of the CEA admins who had come with us on the trip. They were really great, but they told me that next semester I'm going to have to speak to them only in Italian... That'll be fun... But really the practice would be good for me. Upon arriving at Rome, each of them offered to share a taxi with each of us, very convenient since that would be able to drop us off closer to our apts, and was on the way for them. We gladly accepted, and went our separate ways.

The most beautiful church in Florence.
(At least on the outside.)

The Medici Family!

Their "palace" it's quite beautiful for how simple it is.

Basilica di San Lorenzo

The dome, 6 ft bigger than the Pantheon.

The doors of Paradise. - Nickname given by Michelangelo.

Palazzo Vecchio.

Markets by Il Porcellino

Ponte Vecchio

So now I get to read, and smell my new purse. (Are there people who don't love the smell of leather?)

My new Purse, big enough to hold a textbook or two!

My scarf, side 1.

My scarf, side 2.

I think I might go to a market tomorrow, or read, or do nothing... I haven't decided...

Weekend Trip

2012-06-11T16:50:00.001-05:00

This weekend we left Friday for Pompei, then headed on to Sorrento that night and Went to Capri the next morning and back to Rome Saturday night.

Pompei's mosaic floors.

A vendor's booth in Pompei

Streets of Pompei

Walls that we learned about in class!

Pompeian Forum and Mt. Vesuvius.

Pompei was fun, but since I'd already seen it, it was a little boring. Looking at ruins usually gets boring after the first hour and a half anyway. It was interesting to combine several of the things I now know about art and archaeology from that time period (79AD I believe) with what I was seeing. But still, seeing the same rooms that I remembered from the last time I was there was not exactly exciting. It was nice to get some more pictures, and the group picture in front of Mt Vesuvius and the Pompeian Forum is also cool. But anyways, I would only recommend going on the same introductory level tour once. If you want to truly hunt around and look at things in depth it could be a lot more fun.

A cute little lock!

Beautiful Sorrento.

Lemon Orchard

Lemon Orchard.

And again.

Castle type building in Sorrento.

We left Pompei and went to Sorrento. Sorrento is my favorite town in Campania (a region of Italy). It's just beautiful, kinda has a smaller town feel, and is way cheaper than Capri. We arrived at the hotel, considered swimming then decided to go venture out into the town instead. We saw lots of cute shops and some beautiful coastline views. In Sorrento, you can find lots of street vendors selling beautiful porcelains, and charms with chili peppers on them. The porcelains are made nearby and are one of their trademarks like their lemons and Limoncello. The chili peppers are to ward off the evil eye. We got gelato at a small gelateria, and they offered us a free sample of Limoncello... It was really strong, and tasted mostly like Vodka, I was immediately uninterested. We found a club to visit later, and a lemon orchard. The orchard was so pretty I took a ton of pictures. Then we headed back for dinner where I had gnocchi and some sort of pork. They were both absolutely delicious. So was the strawberry cake I chose for dessert. Then we went back to the hotel rooms and got ready to go out dancing. I hadn't really planned on dancing, but everyone had made it sound like so much fun and I hadn't brought anything better to do with my night, so, out I went. We walked to a bar that said it had karaoke (it didn't). And we all started dancing, some of us better than others. I'll admit freely, I'm definitely not one of the best dancers, but I definitely had fun. Everyone was shocked, 1. that I had even come out with them and 2. that I was dancing and having fun. Apparently I'd gained a bit of a reputation as a homebody since I hadn't gone out with the group yet. Anyways we kept dancing, switched bars once and then decided it was time for gelato and the trek back to the hotel. Thankfully I and a few of the other girls are really good with directions and we never strayed far of the main streets.

Bluest waters you've ever seen!

So beautiful.

You're supposed to say a wish as you go under.
However I couldn't think of anything to wish for.

Almost everyone went swimming.

Just a fun picture of splashy water.

In the morning we took a ferry to Capri, which is without a doubt one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. We took a boat ride immediately upon arriving and that is really the best way to get an idea of what the island has to offer. I highly recommend it, even the second time around it's amazing! There's also a ton of really fancy (and expensive) shops in the upper city of Capri. The whole city looks kind of like a Grecian city, almost all the houses are white, and contrast beautifully with the blue waters and green vegetation. The rocks are also a stark white. Really it's just amazing there. We left Capri at 4pm and took a ferry back to Naples.

A castle-y thing in Naples.

Port of Naples. Right before my camera died.

Naples isn't one of my favorite Italian cities. To me, it's a little dirtier, a little more left behind (60s projects are everywhere), and the mafia is supposedly more prevalent there (almost as bad as Sicily) than anywhere else. I really don't know anything good it's famous for besides Pizza.

We drove straight from Naples to Rome. I was really happy when we finally got back, It seemed like it took forever! Sunday I was so tired I decided to stay in bed most of the day and got up pretty much just for lunch and gelato. Kinda sad, but super relaxing and just what I needed.

Busy week/weekend

2012-06-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I'll try (starting tomorrow) to get out 2 posts a day to get caught up. It's been really busy here, or I've been catching up on sleep. Midterms were Thursday and I was away from my computer Friday and Saturday. So basically I've been super stressed and today was my day to stay in bed, watch movies and relax. But I promise to try and get caught up soon. However I do have a research paper to write, so that'll be fun.

I'm the Weirdest Nerd...

2012-06-04T14:09:00.000-05:00

It's a hippocampus! Half-fish, Half-horse!

Another shot of one of the side-fountains at Piazza della Navona

The church at Piazza della Navona.
And some vendors setting up for the day.

The Pantheon.

So today in my Art and Archaeology class we learned more about the emperors of Rome from the time of 500BC to the time of Christ. It was REALLY interesting. I loved everything we talked about, and having completed all the necessary readings, It was way more fun than usual, because I was able to make the necessary connections. I'm super excited to go to museums and actually see the things we talked about. It's also fun to make connections between what I've learned from film 1945-present, and other culture classes to these ancient works. Next semester I'm taking a class on Propaganda and Dissidence, so it's fun to connect the Imperial works with the ideas they were trying to convey. As my professor said, "No art in Rome was done, simply for the sake of art. It was done to send a message to its viewer." I love this quote because I feel it also applies to different places and different times. Although it is blatantly clear that many emperors used public works of art to further their reputations.

Creeper Photos at the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

Creeper Photos at the Pantheon.

Creeper Photos at Piazza della Navona.
This guy was looking at the Four Rivers Fountain.

Creeper photo at Campo de' Fiori

Creeper photo at Piazza della Navona

Creeper photo at the Pantheon.

Creeper photo at Piazza della Navona.

Basically I couldn't be more excited to learn everything for this class, and (this is the scary bit) I think the test could be fun.. I think I've officially crossed the line between simply admiring the culture and obsessing over it. Every day we learn or see something new about Italy whether it's from the times of the Villa-Novans, Garibaldi's unification, or Mussolini's rule or even something completely modern, it doesn't matter. I'm simply fascinated. From every time period something amazing happened. And while Rome didn't stay the center of the World, the Papacy, or Italy it did last, and managed to keep many of its ancient sites and statues.

Some cool looking graffiti.

This says, "Filter the Truth!"

This seems to be by the same people.
I'm not sure what it's about, but it looked cool.

So, with my nerd rant mostly over, it's time I get back to the real purpose of this blog; a place to post things about my experience in Rome. We met at Piazza della Navona for my photography class. We took pictures of people and then walked around some alleyways to the Pantheon. Took some pictures there, half people and half architecture. Followed some more alleyways until we arrived at a church (Santa Maria sopra Minerva) in Piazza della Minerva.

Stained Glass at Chiesa di Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

St. Catherine of Siena's tomb!

Chiesa di Santa Maria sopra Minerva

A skull... weird...

This church was beautiful, and while walking around - and surprisingly, managing to take some good pictures - I found out that in this church St. Catherine of Siena was buried. This is significant because I've actually read some of what she'd written in the 14th century. She was an extremely influential person, and wrote directly to the Pope, Kings, and other Officials. Basically this was the first time I have been impressed by a tomb in a church. There's so many here you just kinda start to stop seeing them. I was really glad I stopped to see who this was though. (I guess this is another nerd rant, sorry.)

Mmmmm delicious fruits!

Pasta, I think.

Jewelry!

Balsamic Vinegar and a guy who is Super prepared against pickpockets!

Purses, bags, t-shirts, everything!

Anyway, after that we walked to Campo de' Fiori which was a really fun marketplace that I plan on heading back to on one of my free days. It opens every morning and lasts until 1:00. They sold everything from fruits and vegetables, to jewelry, to scarves, to pasta, to wine, to balsamic vinegar. Everything! It was really great and most of the prices seemed reasonable. So that made it extra fun.

Tomorrow we meet in Piazza del Popolo for my photography class, and at a museum for my Art class. I'm really excited for that, and for our weekend trip to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri!