The End.

We awoke this morning to our last site visit, our last art history class, and our last dinner together. Things are winding down. Assignments are being submitted and airport transportation is being organized. Feelings on this matter are diverse. A pensive Mindy commented, "Rome is great, but a bowl of white rice... If only they could be found together". On the other hand Kelsea stated that, “It is really sad leaving a city with so much living history". Regardless of your opinion of departing though, everyone will be disappointed to bid farewell to the companions to which we have become close to over the last few weeks.

The day began with a suspenseful presentation by Scott in which he demonstrated the errors from a section of Dan Brown's novel "Angels and Demons". This section takes place in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo. It revolves around the protagonist's discovery of a murdered body under a chapel in the church. On our walk to the Church, Scott pointed out inaccuracies in the book. For example, a scene that takes place in the Pantheon at 8:00pm, could never have possibly happened since the building closes at 7:30.



Figure 1: The Chigi chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo.

In the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo Scott showed us that the chapel that Brown describes as spacious and out of the way, is actually quite small with lavish marble and many decorations. He also pointed out that Dan Brown distorted some of the most important works of art in the chapel. After five weeks of art history presentations, everyone appreciated Scott's enthusiasm and use of humor.

Later in the day, we all met again so that each house could present their heraldic crests. These images were supposed to imitate the coat of arms of the famous Roman families that we studied. They used simple symbols to represent different aspects of the four apartments held by the Honors Program students. Below are photographs of some of the apartments and their crests. One apartment, which is located in the Campo di Fiori, was so large that it was split into two different families. The symbols and themes that the different apartments focused on ranged from nutella for one of the Campo di Fiori families, to navigation for the men’s apartment which was located the farthest away and through a maze of roads.



Figure 2: The men's apartment with coat of arms.



Figure 3: One of the Campo di Fiori family's coat of arms.



Figure 4: The Rome Center apartment with coat of arms.

After a break with much studying for the coming Italian final, the honors students watched presentations by another group from the UW, the design students. In these presentations we got a chance to look at the culmination of five weeks of photography and studio work. The books of photos were written to poems that the students chose. Several of these poems were actually written by Erin Malone, the instructor of our travel writing course.

We ended the night with the “Last Supper” at the restaurant Pierluigi’s. Here the students presented Shawn, Lisa, and Erin gifts in gratitude for all the work they put into making this trip a success.

The End.

Oh, the Mad Scramble

I think the impending end of the program has finally dawned on us, and as we assembled this morning, most of us had that panicked 'Ionlyhavetwodaystodoeverything' look on our face. Even Matthew's hair had lost its usual luster. Perhaps it was our refusal to submit to sleep or simply the replacement of the usual clear sky with ominous grey.

Nonetheless, we snaked resolutely to Villa Farnesina, a 'modest-sized' urban entertaining center (compared to the other villas and palaces we have visited). It was commissioned by Agostino Chigi in the early 1500s, and purchased by the Farnese family less than a century after it was built. Chigi was a wealthy banker who went to great lengths to display his wealth. He hosted lavish parties and dinners, and asked his guests to to toss their dinner plates into the Tiber River; Chigi was also a practical man though, because he placed nets in the river beforehand, and had servants collect his silver after the parties.

Once inside, Susie introduced us to the frescoes that cover almost all ceilings and walls of the house. In addition to the central stories depicted in each room, the frescoes contained hidden symbolism and false dimensions. In the Sala di Galatea, the ceiling painting by Baldassarre Peruzzi (left), encodes Chigi's birthday through the specific arrangement of the zodiac symbols, planets and constellations. The second room, Loggia di Psyche, contained work by Raphael that depicts scenes from the story of Cupid and Psyche; amazingly, the walls are flat and the dimensionality of the niches and windows are all painted (right). The left-most arch in the picture looks physically incorrect, but the viewer would have entered the room opposite the painted door (to the right of where this picture was taken from), so that the arches and shadows would have looked very realistic.

Next, we went upstairs and saw Peruzzi's skill in creating dimensionality out of flat walls--the room was painted as if it were an open space overlooking country surroundings. Even the painted floor of the balcony matched the actual tiles in the room. There was also graffiti from soldiers who occupied the villa during the sack of Rome (1527!), proving that graffiti and walls go hand in hand (right). After the morning's tour, we all went out separate ways to take advantage of the precious little time we had left in Roma.

There was an unexpected treat (or headache, for some) as it started to rain and even pour, lasting into the afternoon. Some of us scrambled to catch up on writing assignments while others enjoyed frenzied last minute shopping. There were quite a number of dashes to the Pantheon (one of our writing assignments requires seeing the rain pour through the oculus). Towards the evening, some students went out to dinner, using the excuse that it was the night before the night before the last day (but really, no one wanted to cook). I slaved away at the assigned reading for Scott's presentation (an excerpt from Angels and Demons), but then decided to start the book from the beginning, for educational purposes. Fun was had all around: crests were drawn and colored, family histories were written, life was given to a pomegranate, and many of us crammed in trips to the Forno and various gelaterias.

Monday, September 17

The day, as usual, got off to a rousing start at 9:00. Matthew, looking particularly attractive with his voluptuous brown hair and gallant stride, led the group through the streets for about 15 minutes before arriving at Il Gesù. Restoration work inside the church prevented the class from immediately entering, so the speaker was forced to alternately speak and yell as passing traffic allowed. After twenty minutes of this, the group entered to building.

And what a sight it was. No matter of scaffolding could obscure the grandeur of the building, where the students finished the presentation and then wandered through the central nave for some minutes, observing the high alter and chapels of St. Loyola and St. Xavier. At 9:45, the group set off again, this time toward San Andrea.

Part way to the Quirnale hill the class stopped to view another church, St. Ignatius, to learn briefly about the frescoes depicting the peoples of the world being “enlightened” by Jesuit missionaries. The piazza in which the church stands is particularly interesting for its theatrical qualities, which one appreciates when standing before the church. The break to observe the church was short, though, and soon we were on our way again.

Soon, though, we were on the Quirnale, where we’ve been so many times in the last few weeks to observe obelisks and fountains, and fountains. Brianna began her presentation here, between the old papal residence and the piazza’s obelisk, telling us about the competitive church construction of Bernini and Borromini, as well as the characteristics of the Baroque school of art and design. A very short hunt for San Andrea was launched, and we went in search of that building.

Ultimately finding the church, Brianna set about informing the class of its special qualities, including the unusual stone work and eye-leading construction. We were all impressed by the difficult and expensive history that went into making this church, as well as the sumptuous décor that was used to make it such a spectacular piece of art and architecture for its time, as well as a masterpiece of the renowned Bernini.

It wasn’t long, though, before we were off again to see the nearby church of San Carlino, where we could compare the work of Bernini and Borramini. Almost all the student chose this church as their favorite of the two, with its calm white interior and light white paint. We even went into the church’s small cloister, which all agreed was comforting and relaxing with its quiet and sequestered feel.

This was the last stop on the trip, though, and after all the students had investigated the church and cloister thoroughly everyone broke for lunch and preparation for Italian class. The day was not long by our standards, but there was a significant degree of walking, making it a tiring experience. Both Il Gesù and the two Quirnale churches were interesting, though, and it was a great day, as ever, in Rome.

Return to Firenze

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Our last weekend in Italy warranted something special, and an overnight trip back to Florence was the perfect treat. This time we were guests of the Dempsey family, well-known for their philanthropy and generous donations to the university. No lectures, presentations, or readings. Just a charming church, a scenic villa, and a group dinner in the evening. But the night had never seemed so far away. All we could focus on that morning was busing our bleary-eyed, half-asleep selves to the Termini train station by 8:15am. Some empty suitcases came along, their owners ready to bring back the spoils of anticipated shopping adventures. Other students brought nothing more than a small backpack. You could say that our luggage reflected our individual Florentine agendas. Leather shopping and eating lunch at Za-Za’s restaurant, along with church-hopping and second dates with Michelangelo’s David were high on our lists.

After an uneventful bus ride on the #64 (Shawn came with us, so there was no way we could go wrong), we all made it to the station with a few minutes to spare.

Fig 1. At Termini in front of the McDonald’s, exhausted but still smiling.

We piled into the Eurostar. Journals and half-finished writing assignments emerged as soon as we took our seats, only to serve as pillows and lap-warmers shortly afterwards for all but a resolute few. About an hour and a half later, we were snaking along the narrow sidewalks of Florence towards Albergo Firenze, our little hotel. The amenities were basic, but the location – on the Via del Corso, a busy main road - was exceptional. It was a stone’s throw from the Duomo to the north and the Piazza Della Repubblica to the west. Much to our excitement, we found out later that Grom and Perche No (two of our favorite gelato stops) were nearby as well.

After checking in, we had a few hours free to do whatever we wanted. As we were already familiar with the city, this was a more a time for enjoying than exploring - or rather, the enjoyment of re-exploring rather than getting lost every two minutes. We didn’t forget about our final Quest assignment, of course. Thus began a mad rush to the Bargello Museum. We examined two bronze panels, one by Ghiberti and one by Brunelleschi. In 1401, a competition was held to determine who would have the privilege of designing panels for the north doors of St. John’s Baptistery. Each artist cast their own interpretation of the Sacrifice of Isaac, and Ghiberti was judged the winner. But we were invited to decide which panel we liked best and justify our choice. Interestingly, the group seemed evenly split in terms of preference.

Michelangelo’s Bacchus and an in-progress restoration of Donatello’s David were also on display, and we made sure to pay them a visit before dispersing. Subsequent reports from fellow classmates indicate that there was a lot of wandering, shopping, taking pictures, picking up olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Stefano in Mercato Centrale, and eating pasta with truffle sauce at Za-Za’s.

The group later reconvened to hear the Gregorian chants at the Basilica di San Miniato, where we were joined by the Dempsey family. Our lengthening shadows followed us across the Arno River, up a scenic hill, and through the Piazzale Michelangelo. Finally, the church came into view, at the top of a long and wide flight of stairs. It had a stunning white marble façade adorned with geometric designs. The inside was airy and very dimly lit, except for the screened apse at the far end, which was bathed in strong lamplight and drew our gaze right away. Behind the screen, a semi-circle of Benedictine monks were singing in Latin, unaccompanied by instruments, their voices reverberating through the high vaults. The chants followed a call-and-answer format. One voice would call with a single melodic line, and then all the monks would sing together in answer. Periodically, they paused to play a note on the organ, which would help tune the next series of chants. It was haunting and enthralling at the same time.

Fig 2. View of San Miniato’s main pulpit.

Around sunset we visited the Dempsey’s beautiful villa, the Villa Falvo, to enjoy excellent hor d’oeuvres and fine Tuscan wine produced at their own private vineyard. They were even so kind as to provide bug spray for everyone! The mosquitoes were especially hungry that night. I enjoyed learning about the villa’s rich history (it used to be a monastery), and all of us were pretty surprised to find a well dating back to the 1300’s behind a cabinet door.

Fig 3. Mr. Dempsey with an assortment of cold drinks and antipasti, out on the villa patio.

Then, it was off to dinner at the Dempsey’s favorite pizzeria - I Tarocchi. They treated us to pizza after delicious pizza, including pepperoni, prosciutto, and quattro formaggi. Before long, we were stuffed. Those who went to Vivoli for gelato afterwards were brave souls indeed.

Fig 4. Happy students with a quickly disappearing quattro formaggi (four cheese) pizza.

After thanking our hosts, we returned to the hotel to sleep off the food coma. Some got up bright and early the next morning to go hiking in Cinque Terre, but most returned to Rome for much-needed rest and relaxation. Alla prossima, Firenze! I miss it already.

Pilgrimage to St. Peter's

Today, our group of twenty-one attractive and brilliant honors students embarked on their epic pilgrimage to San Pietro (St. Peter’s), located in the heart of Vatican City. About half of the group had never been to this great church, including yours truly, and we positively fizzled with excitement. St. Peter’s has the largest basilica in the world, and attracts thousands of pilgrims each and every day. St. Peter is considered the father of the Catholic Church, the first pope.

As usual, we met Lisa in front of the Rome Center promptly at 9 o’clock in the morning. Our smiling faces greeted the sun as we anticipated our last group-journey to the Vatican. Lisa led the way, taking us on a route similar to the one taken by ancient pilgrims making their way to the Holy City. Although, the pilgrims of old didn’t have to contend with such aggressive traffic (aka scooters). We walked across the Ponte San Angelo (brief stop here so Melissa could give a short introduction to her site), then we made another quick stop for a group picture with a fabulous view of the basilica in the background. We continued down the Via della Concilialzione, and then completed our journey with our entrance into Bernini’s magnificent Piazza San Pietro.

FIG 1 - Group picture in front of St. Peters,
about to embark on the final leg of our journey.

Try to imagine how this journey was hundreds of years ago, before Mussolini built a massive road that led right up to a square. You would make your way up a tiny street, unable to see any monuments in front of you, and then suddenly you would emerge into a wide open space, with St. Peter’s rising high above you. Even being here now is awe-inspiring. Had I been a pilgrim traveling immense distances just to get to this place, I think I might have had a mild panic attack at the sight.

Once we were standing comfortably in the middle of St. Peter’s Square, we listened to Susie, Scott, and Melissa give their family presentation on the Chigi family (pronounced key – g). The Chigi can claim Pope Alexander VII, originally Fabio Chigi, as their own. The Chigi coat of arms prominently adorns the piazza, as it was completed under the papacy of Alexander VII.

FIG 2 - Susie puts on her glasses in prepartion for
the Chigi family presentation.

After the Chigi presentation, Melissa enlightened the group on the history and topography of the square. Gian Lorenzo Bernini is the mastermind behind the awe-inspiring square, which is partly enclosed by two semicircle colonnades. Originally there was supposed to be a third semicircle, entirely enclosing the square, but it was never added. Each colonnade has a quadruple row of columns, forming three covered walkways. There are a total of 284 columns, and 88 pilasters. 96 statues of saints and martyrs adorn the top of the colonnades. Bernini, the master of optical illusion, used architectural techniques to make the piazza appear bigger that it actually is in order to increase feelings of awe and inspiration. Melissa rewarded three lucky students with candy when they answered one of her questions correctly.

FIG 3 - Melissa gives her presentation on the square, and Henry
waits to complete his presentation on the obelisk.

Henry gave a brief aside on the obelisk in the center of the piazza. The obelisk is originally from Alexandria, and is thought to have been set up by Caligula in the Circus of Nero. In 1586, Pope Sixtus V commissioned the engineer Domenico Fontana to remove the obelisk from the circus, and erect it in the middle of the square, an impression feat considering the obelisk is about 85 feet high and weighs about five hundred tons. The task required 900 men, 150 horses, and 47 cranes.

Next, Anyie led us inside St. Peters to present on Bernini’s contribution to the décor of the great basilica. He was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII to build a baldacchino underneath Michelangelo's dome. It was unveiled on the 28th of June in 1633. The structure is a combination of baroque architecture and sculpture. The massive sculpture is cast in bronze taken from the Pantheon (the Romans recyced everything they could). Four gilt-bronze columns rise from marble plinths and support a canopy with tassels that look like they are flapping in the wind (still made of bronze). The baldacchino stands about one hundred feet high. Bernini also designed the Cathedra of St. Peter (Chair of St. Peter), which encloses an ancient wooden chair said to have been the episcopal chair of St. Peter.

Also inside St. Peter’s is Michelangelo’s Pieta, which was difficult to get to through the crowds of people with cameras, intent only on trying to get the perfect picture. Lisa said she has never seen St. Peter’s as crowded as it was today. You also have to view the sculpture from a distance since it was put behind a barrier when it was attacked a few years ago.

After Anyie’s presentation, the group was set free to explore the basilica and surrounding sights. We could climb to the top of the dome, or go down to the crypt where many of the past popes are buried. Or to the gift shop to pick up some mementos and post cards. Also, attached to the gift shop is the post office. To mail postcards from the Vatican, you must have a Vatican stamp. If you use a Roma stamp your postcards will not be mailed.

We reconvened at 1:30 to attend our third to last Italian class of the program. Hard to believe our last day, and our Italian final, is only one week away exactly. After Italian we all went our separate ways to study (of course), and to enjoy our last few days with the beautiful city that is Rome. Sigh.

An eventful day!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Our day began with a 10am meeting at the portone, as usual. Joel introduced the aqueducts with a framed map as a visual. Before either of our two full presentations began, we headed over to La Chiesa Santa Maria della Pace, a small and peaceful church. Gabrielle gave us a short introduction about how Pope Sixtus IV commissioned the building of the church. We all looked around inside, and were delighted to discover paintings by Rafael.

Next, we headed over to the Piazza Navona, a familiar site. Brianna and Mark introduced the Pamphili family- they even brought portraits of important Pamphili to show the class, held up in the air by using various kitchen utensils as handles. Then, Mark proceeded to give us his presentation about the Piazza. Unfortunately, his presentation topic was Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), which has been under renovation for awhile now. A huge scaffold and opaque temporary walling blocked our view of nearly the entire site. We could only peer through glass windows to see the magnificent fountain behind the wall. Even then, some sides were completely blocked off from view. Luckily, Mark had the foresight to print out handouts of the fountain. He also sent us on a quest to match each river’s name to its corresponding river god statue. After he completed his presentation, we followed Joel to our next destination.

We made a stop along the way for a coffee break at Sant Eustachio, a café recommended by Lisa. Our system of ordering coffee was more efficient this time than our first attempt! I had a cornetto (pastry) instead of coffee, but the students who tried the coffee said that it was delicious. A few even went back for more coffee later.

Our next stop was the piazza by the former papal summer residence and the huge obelisk Henry explained to us earlier in the week. Joel taught us about the aqueducts, and how the flow of water throughout Rome affected population growth at different points in history. Then, we walked a little distance to the Acqua Felice, the fountain and source of the water in all of the fountains throughout Rome. Joel told us a bit about the architecture and history of the Acqua Felice.

The next few hours were free for students to spend as they pleased. We reconvened at 5:30 for our private tour of the Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museum) and Cappella Sistena (Sistene Chapel). We were joined by our guests for the evening, including a generous patron family and high members of the UW bureaucratic hierarchy. We headed to the Musei Vaticani, where solemn guards stood watch at the doorway. We were led into the museum. Everyone marveled at the magnificence of the artwork: paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. Lisa took the time to explain each of the major works to us, while Gabrielle seized the opportunity to present another piece of artwork related to her topic, Pope Sixtus IV.

After an hour of perusing the vast museum collections, we arrived at the Cappella Sistena. I had seen it once before, during the daytime, and I can definitely say that this experience in the chapel was far, far superior to my previous experience. It was just our group, alone in the chapel, with forty minutes to wander and write. I think most of us would agree that we could have stayed there for days. We were so fortunate to have been given this opportunity to see the Cappella Sistena in such freedom and silence!

Right when our two hours in the museum ended, we were ushered out of the Musei Vaticani. All of us- teachers, students, and guests- headed over to Dino and Tony’s, a friendly family restaurant. There, we were served plate after plate of antipasti, pasti, and dolci. We wolfed down the massive amounts of food and enjoyed hearty conversation with our respective table companions. It was the perfect ending to a long, eventful day.

On Our Best Behavior...

Oh the case of the Mondays. Apparently it is international, because being on the other side of the world has done nothing to stop the beast. Even the fact that it was Tuesday morning did not stop the Monday fatigue, because yesterday didn’t really count with its relaxed schedule – not in true Monday form. But needless to say, I peeled myself out of bed to make it to the Rome Center on time, my body still confused as to which day it was.

After deciding that it was in fact Tuesday, it became evident upon approach that this was to be no ordinary Tuesday. Distracting Shawn and Lisa as I slipped amongst the crowd were the first new Seattlites we had seen pretty much since arriving: the University of Washington provost Phyllis Wise, and Richard Meisinger, Assistant Dean for UW Medicine. Our pre-med students paid closer attention today than I had seen all trip. Strange.

After introductions and a sincere Happy Birthday tune to Mindy, we formed the signature Honors train, snaking slowly but surely by our favorite places en route to Palazzo Barberini. Like a seasoned tour guide, Lisa blazed us by the Pantheon, where a movie was being filmed, and then teased us with the Trevi Fountain as we continued without stopping. Many of us had not seen the amazing artistic feat yet, so we frantically took a few on-the-spot – and in some cases moving – pictures, knowing fully well that we would be able to come back in a couple hours.

A few blocks later we crossed the street into the 17^th century countryside and under the presence of Palazzo Barberini, a place probably recognized more for its use in The Talented Mr. Ripley and Roman Holiday, of which I have seen neither. In its own front piazza, we assembled to hear from Anyie and Erina an introduction to the family we had only read about. The two gave us a view into the propaganda value of art at the time, a hint as to what we would see inside. The outside of the Palazzo was something new to the studies within our class – the family’s French ties were obvious in the building’s floorplan and décor. But the main attraction was inside.

After the always mysterious group free entry, we spent our class day in the few rooms of the palace museum, focusing on three ceiling frescoes. The audience hall, our first stop, showed the intense iconography used in the Barberini art, along with additional adornments, from family symbols to simply heads of Pope Urban VIII. The second was the room Lisa wrote her paper on in school; it was quite amazing to hear all the connections and conclusions within the painting of Apollo and the four seasons (and senses), among countless other things, that could be made by one person. The evident awareness that the painters had with how their works would be viewed and by whom was similarly undeniably brilliant.

As if our necks weren’t sore already, Erina brought us to our final destination, Divine Providence, a huge ceiling fresco with a very busy scene. The family dualism into ecclesiastical and secular power ambitions were themes throughout the piece, and in addition to the endless iconography and symbolism, the illusion was amazing. The architecture in art created a whole additional floor above, though we were told of the near flatness of the ceiling. It had been called a “riot of color” and “second only to the Sistine Chapel,” and to that, I say: I agree, and we’ll see.

The group went their separate ways after finishing the tour on their own, with plans to meet up later for a group birthday dinner. When we met, Matthew took the reigns of the train this time, taking us to a quaint and inexpensive restaurant, reservations and everything. The food was great, and despite Junko’s wrestling with the candle, I think Mindy managed to blow it out at one point. The group treated themselves to gelato afterward, and there was some rumor about karaoke in the Campo, but I have yet to hear stories. For me at least, sleep sounded like a much better choice.

Lazy, multi-cultural Monday.

I found today that a family lives beneath the bridge I walk across every day. In the past three weeks I have walked across Ponte Mazzini countless times, with books, with groceries, with Elice, and I had no idea of their existence. Yet they are there, in four neat tents.

Our alarm went off at seven this morning, because on our free morning Elice and I had agreed to get up and do some work. That didn’t happen. But I did decide on an impromptu run. The sun was still coming up as I jogged along the river, and in such amazing light even the off-green water of the Tiber looked beautiful. When I was coming back up from Ponte Garibaldi, I decided to run down the stairs by the river instead of along the upper road. As I came closer to Ponte Mazzini, I realized the splashes of color I saw beneath the bridge were tents. At first I was confused about why I hadn’t noticed them until now, but in hindsight it makes sense that they would be situated exactly beneath the bridge, to make being under a bridge count at all. It was my first time going under the bridge instead of over it. As I approached, the family was just coming out. There were four tents in total, in camping shades of red, silver and green. On the ledge behind them were stacked luggage cases in various stages of disrepair. From the far tent a toddler tumbled out while his mother dumped a bucket into the passing Tiber. I made eye contact with a girl that seemed a bit younger than me as she stood by the water. Her white eyes looked startled in her dark face, and I suppose in this sense we looked quite similar. She could have been the same girl asking for coins outside the countless churches we have visited. I can’t discern their ethnicity, but I wonder if these are the same people who materialize each evening in the Campo with their well-worn instruments and provide their musical merriment in exchange for a few coins. In any case, I left them to their day and went on with mine.

After this small discovery, I packed lunch and headed for the Café Farnese for a coffee and some time to sit and work until I met up with other students to study in the Rome Center library. It was a lazy, slow Monday. After an exhausting weekend of Notte Bianca, a presentation (for me), and day trips to Pompeii and Naples, week four began with a catch-up morning for most. Several students worked on a poem or writing assignment, and a lucky few typed away at art history papers. Here Scott is hard at work on his Italian homework, going over vocabulary before class began at 12:30.


Italian class today was filled with useful sentences. Apparently now that we have mastered how to eat in Italian, we are ready to move onto what we like and dislike, how to ask the time, and basic verb conjugation. So now we will be able to talk about the right people, as long as they are acting in the present, complain about what we don't like, and be more punctual. (Although really I was fine with just the eating words.) We practiced our verb conjugation on each other by going around the room and asking questions in the ‘you’ form, then answering them in the ‘I’ form.

Di solito vai in discoteca? I asked Mark. (Do you usually go to the club?)
Si, di solito vado in discoteca, he replied. (Yes, I usually go to the club.)

Of course. I should have asked Mark something I didn’t already know about him.

Everyone says that Italian is a beautiful language, and that it is the language of love. But really, it is a hard language. It is demanding; it is always demanding that you make a choice, that you be precise. There are eight different forms of the article ‘the’. I asked Costanza how to say ‘the’ and she couldn’t answer me. In what situation, she wanted to know. Before I can say ‘I like’ something, I have to decide if what I like is a singular or a plural. Do I like one cookie, or four cookies? Sometimes, a girl just doesn’t know. Then, there are the preposition-like words. Sometimes it is ‘a bar’ and sometimes it is ‘en pizzeria’. Someone asked Constanza how to choose between them, and she said No regla. There is no rule. In Spanish, at least ‘a’ means ‘to’ and ‘en’ means ‘in’, so you know when you are going ‘to’ the place and when you are going ‘in’. I wonder how often Italians (or Italian language students) get mixed up when meeting at a designated place because half the group is waiting inside and the other half is waiting by the door. If this is the language of love, I don’t know whose relationship it’s being used to describe. Unless, of course, everything they are saying in those foreign language films is really nonsense.

After Italian class about half the students met in front of Palazzo Farnese for our private tour of the French embassy. There were several collective misunderstandings about the regulations surrounding dress code, footwear, and passport requirements, and consequently there were several mad dashes made from Piazza Farnese to the Rome center. Anyie laughed later as she recounted her experience of running around in a group of skirted girls while the Campo crowd looked on. In the end, a simple tour of the embassy turned out some amusing results. Schuyler tucked in his shirt for the first time; Joel wore Shawn’s pants; many pairs of flip flops were shod in favor of closed-toed shoes, and later Schuyler masqueraded as Scott to get past the passport check. Apparently, the French are very, very picky, but not too bright.

However, everyone agreed that the tour was worth it, even if it was all given in Italian with a French accent. I couldn’t go on the tour since I failed the requirements on account of wrong footwear, not bringing my passport, and not looking like Scott. But Elice brought me a postcard of the beautiful Caracci ceiling painting, and Christina showed me a picture she took of a postcard of the Caracci ceiling (a much more economical loophole to the ‘no pictures’ rule that forces us to buy postcards). The paintings all depicted scenes of love, and the trickery of the love-god Eros. It was a painting of lovers being described by a young French woman speaking Italian. There’s not much more you can do to get the message of ‘LOVE’ across.

After a visit to the French, the day ended with an ethnic experience from another part of the world. Seven of us went to try a rather pricey Korean restaurant just around the corner from the boy’s apartment in Trastevere. Despite the steep prices, we were willing to fork up just for a taste of Asian food, and more generally, something other than pasta or pizza. Korean food was a new experience for some of the boys, but it quickly became clear as we were ordering that Christina was a well seasoned expert. She was able to offer precise descriptions of each dish as well as her appraisal of the taste. Later as we were leaving, she even tossed out a ‘thank you’ (gamsa-hapnida) in Korean, much to the amusement of the waiters.

The most delightful part of dinner was the generous spread of side dishes that accompanied our entrees. There was kim chee, spicy cucumber, potatoes, green beans with carrots, little pancakes, nori, fried tofu, and steamed greens. By the time we were done, almost every little plate was cleaned. For dessert, some people got pastries and others got gelato. Henry, alone, got both.

Despite it being a rather slow day, it was still eventful and entertaining in its own small ways. In case you’ve skipped down, the Cliffnotes version is: I ran, people studied, we learned Italian, visited the French, more people studied, we ate Korean food, Henry got two desserts.

Ciao!
Linda

Santa Maria della Concezione and Villa Borghese

We started off the day waiting for the 63 by the AS Roma store to ride down to Santa Maria della Concezione aka the Bone Church, which is, according to Shawn, one of the creepiest places in Rome. The church holds the bones of former Capuchin Monks. These monks were recognizable by their brown robes and white hats and the word Cappuccino derives from this. As you enter the church, there is one long corridor partitioned into several chapels with a plaque over the doorway that says, “What you are, we used to be. What we are, you will soon be.” These chapels are decorated the bones of some 4,000 Capuchin friars and a few skeletons in respectable positions. There are “bone lamps” that hang down from the ceiling supported by wire. At the end of the corridor is the skeleton of a princess who wished to be remembered in the same way as these monks preserved on the ceiling.

From there we took the small bus over to Villa Borghese where Linda presented on the four Bernini statues in the museum. Her presentation centered around an argument made by art historian who argued that these Bernini statues were not meant to be viewed from only one angle but from many different angles with each view telling a piece of the story. We approached each of the statues: Aneas and Anchises, Rape of Persephone, Apollo and Daphne and David from behind and then rotated around until we had seen each angle and observed the differences of the views as the stories unfolded. After she finished her presentation we were able to wander around the museum to view the other great works that it housed including more busts by Bernini and works by Caravaggio.

We then headed off to Pizza Re for a group lunch. By then many of us were very hungry and the gigantic and delicious pizza really hit the spot! Here, Henry, Mark and I are showing off our Pizza Fortes which included tomato sauce, olives, ham, peppers and was spicy! After lunch, Lisa wanted to show us her creepiest spot in Rome, a doll shop with a room full of broken, dislocated and maimed dolls but unfortunately it was closed. From there we all parted ways, some of us to shop, get gelato, do homework or take a nap in preparation of Notte Bianca!

Several students in the group started off the night cooking and eating dinner at the boys’ apartment in Trastevere. From there we stopped by Piazza Farnese, Campo de’Fiori and Piazza Navona, all of which had many people but not quite the crowds that we were expecting to see that night. When we reached the Vittorio Emanuele monument, we knew that this was truly Notte Bianca. There were literally people everywhere and we had to fight our way to the top of the Capitoline Hill to for a concert, as you can see by the picture. Notte Bianca was definitely an experience worth having but I don’t if any of us would be up for it again in the near future.

Ciao,
anyie

September 7, 2007

September 7, 2007

The day began with the bus ride to Orvieta. 8:00 AM was, apparently, a hardship time to get underway in Rome, as 17 of 21 students took naps over the hours to the small town. Matthew, Melissa, Joel and Susie were the rare students awake the entire trip.
Soon we were in Orvieta, though, and only a short furnicular and bus ride away from our hilltop retreat. The group broke up into multiple groups for brief explorations of the tiny town, then reconvened in the pottery museum on the east side of town.
The museum, though small, was interesting with its deep well, pick marked quarry, different age levels and pottery shards. Near the end, as the tunnel complex returns to the surface in the museum building, a balcony extends over the rising stairs. Most students took a look, like these three did at the tour’s conclusion.

After the museum portion was completed, the group split into many pieces to explore the city. One group went to the pope’s old well, traveling down the cold and deep double helix. They later visited San Giovanale and ate at Anticco Bucchero. Another group made a tour of the city’s wall and saw the incredible views from that vantage point. They ate pizza on the go and tried wonderul gelato. Yet another group stayed at the pottery museum building for the wine tasting. The final wine, a red called Vino s Tavola was the favorite variety.

After recollecting for the bus trip to Civita, a unexpected spot of free time developed during the bus’s delay, and one section of the class played “big booty,” much to the amusment and entertainment of onlookers.
Soon, though, we were off again to yet another small Italian town. The bust ride lasted over an hour, but most people were happy for the respite, and once the tour bus parked we were off to Civita. And what a sight it is.

After making the long trek across the foot bridge, the class worked its way to the traditional olive press in town and sampled their oil on toast. Everyone was impressed and the family was sold out of oil before the second half of the students were even able to try it. The inside of the restaurant was nice, though, and a good time was had by all.
Tired and ready to get some rest, we slogged our way back to the bus, and though the delay there, in Civita, and in returning to the bus added up to a significant deviation from the schedule, it was certainly a great day.

Capitoline Hill and Obelisks!

We began the day at the usually time, meeting at the usual place, 9am at the portone. In the Campo di Fiori, Henry opened his presentation on obelisks to kick start to morning. We then followed Lisa and Junko to the Capitoline Hill for Junko’s presentation. Midway up the hill, we discussed how the stairs looked more like a slanted ramp. The omission of step-stairs allows horses to climb up the ascension quickly (possibly more useful a few centuries ago). At the top, she described Michelangelo’s reconstruction of the space and a brief history. We learned the ideas to rebuild the space emerged after the sack of Rome in 1527, under Pope Paul III. He wanted to impress the emperor with the remodeling by invoking the ancient glory of Rome.


The stairs to the top feel grandly welcoming and the open space above really draws in attention. Two large statues of Romulus and Remus frame the ascension. Junko pointed out their distinctive egg-shaped heads as a defining trait of the twins. These figures along with the area itself point out to the Vatican. The floor of the piazza contains dark and light tiles creating a twelve-pointed star that radiates attention to its center, but also draws viewers out as their eyes follow each leg to a point. The center represents this hill, and especially Rome, as the “belly button” or center of the world. Michelangelo went as far as creating another building to make a more symmetric space. Although the ‘square’ is not a true square but a trapezoid the overall feeling still emanates harmony. He also created emphasis in upper levels with the use of columns. Another typical Michelangelo attribute is the large cornices along the upper rim of the buildings.

The oldest museum in the world sits on this hill. It contains numerous bronze statues, rarities that didn’t melt down into cannons during wartime. Equally curious, is the bronze statue in the middle of the piazza. Supposedly the statue portrays Marcus Aurelius but in the past people have thought and/or mistaken it for Constantine.

Afterwards, Henry led to group to Piazza Quiranale as he resumed his presentation on the obelisks of Rome. During his introduction the topic, he stated some of the main characteristics that define an obelisk. They must be square, monolithic, have a tapering shaft, has to have a pyramidian with a sixty degree crown atop, must be solid not hollow, and should be one large piece of stone. Originally, the tops were made of gold and shone to look like appoint of light, like rays of the sun.

Thirteen obelisks mark the Roman horizon. Sixtus V and Pious VI ordered the creation and transportation of the majority of them. The placement of these obelisks seems random at first but most are placed in sight of another obelisk. This creates another level of connection and unity within the city while simultaneously beautifying it. As years past, the structures changed in significance. They have ranged from remembrance, to Christianity. After this obelisk we walked over to the Piazza Navona and studied the one atop Bernini’s fountain.

In the afternoon, we attended Italian class. Our teachers showed enthusiasm as always. This lesson centered around conversation when ordering food, common vocabulary and conjugating verbs. One of my favorite words of the day was pranzare, meaning “to have lunch” (something I’m glad I did before class with all that food vocabulary!).


After class we had a few hours to spare before a 7pm reconvening for an antipasti potluck at Lisa’s apartment. Due to weather, the location moved to Shawn’s apartment in the Rome Center. Each apartment did a great job in preparing food for the group. The girls in the Campo apartment brought cantaloupe melon and prosciutto, the Rome Center apartment made tomato and artichoke bruschetta, the Trastevere girls added cookies and Nutella, and the Trastevere boys contributed pizza Bianca with pesto, salad, and lettuce with fresh figs and walnuts.

During the night, Henery decided to impress us with his artistic vision and made a very convincing portrait of Joel. The night kept our stomachs satisfied alongside very entertaining company!

Ciao Tutti!
Susie

Two Churches and a Castle

Our day began at 10 am with a brisk walk past the Colosseum and up a hill to one of Shawn’s favorite places the Church of Santi Quattro Coronati, meaning the Church of Four Saints. The church, which is one of the four oldest churches in Rome dating back to 500 AD, contains the city’s oldest bell tower, and functions to this day as a working Augustinian convent whose nuns take a vow of silence.

Upon entering, we walked through a courtyard that whistled into a quiet chapel where Shawn rang a doorbell. A habit-wearing nun, who appeared to be the only one who hadn’t taken the vow, let us into a courtyard where you could hear nothing of the city. A fountain dripped in the center, and for forty minutes we heard nothing but it and the occasional 747 and ambulance siren, the only sounds architects in the 6th century could not design against.

After we left the tranquility of the inner courtyard, we traversed the campus and stepped into the Chapel of San Silvestro where Shawn turned the tables on us and gave us an art history lesson by having us decipher the frescoes documenting the healing and conversion of Constantine.

We reconvened at 3 pm for our actual art history class and kicked off our afternoon with an introduction to the Farnese family by Matthew, Junko, and Christina outside the Palazzo Farnese, which is conveniently located one square away from Campo de’ Fiori. The Palazzo, who’s upper floors where design by Michelangelo, supports the largest coat-of-arms on a Roman building façade. The Farnese coat-of-arms contains the papal crown and corresponding keys, added in honor of the Farnese Pope Paul III, and 6 Fleur-des-Lys. We also recognized some similarities between the Palazzo and the Florentine Medici Palace, such as the large cornice, extensive bench, and exterior rustification.

Following this prsentation, we trotted over to Castle San Anelo where Christina presented on the Castle's changing historical role. Apparently, the Castle began as monumental tomb dedicated to Emperor Hadrian and grew to contain not only his tomb, but also the ashes of his successors. It also incorporated some of the ancient burial traditions that we have already discovered, including the technique of circumambulation. Overtime, the mausoleum was transformed into a fortress and eventually taken over by the Papal court. Now a covered passageway connects it to the Vatican. Inside we toured some of the old Papal apartments and the Hall of Justice, and from the pinnacle, we enjoyed the view offer by the Castle’s prime location.

The Tomb of Pope Julius II and the Risen Christ

We visited two churches today – the church of San Pietro in Vincoli and the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva – where we had a brief discussion about relics, as well as questioned and analyzed the artworks associated with the famous artist Michelangelo found in each church.

Although it looked as though it could have rained at any moment this morning, the weather did not interfere with our trek to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli where Elice presented on Michelangelo’s tomb for Pope Julius II. While sitting on the steps outside the church, we learned that the name of the church meant “Saint Peter in chains”, and the chains are a relic referring to the imprisonment of Peter, which can also be found in the church. Elice then engaged the audience with the history and description of the tomb of Pope Julius II. She spoke of the problems that Michelangelo faced while building the Pope’s tomb, such as constant interruptions because of the many other projects that were commissioned to him at the same time (i.e. the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel).

When one first enters the San Pietro in Vincoli, the Pope’s tomb is not clearly visible. Instead, the viewer must walk towards the back corner of the church to see it. The central feature on the tomb is Michelangelo’s statue of Moses with horns on his head (center figure on the bottom half), which is believed to be a mistranslation of the bible. Michelangelo originally envisioned his statue of Moses to be much more grandiose. However, because it was never completed to Michelangelo’s liking and took 40 years to complete, the statue of Moses was thus referred to as the “tragedy of the tomb” by Michelangelo himself.

After our tour of San Pietro in Vincoli, we just had to stop by Caffe’ Tazza D’Oro for some good ol’ Italian coffee before heading to the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Considering we had 22 coffee orders, I was impressed by how quick and accurate the baristas were! And, like true Italians, we each happily emptied our glasses while standing (as Italians rarely sit and drink their cup of Joe). I also learned that the latte macchiato is considered a “baby’s” drink from the viewpoint of the Italian’s, as it consists of mainly steamed milk and a splash of coffee. Although it may not be the ideal Italian coffee drink, I say it still hit the spot!

Inside the Santa Maria sopra Minerva stands another one of Michelangelo’s statues – the Risen Christ, which is located towards the back of the basilica. This particular statue, however, is considered one of the artist’s least admired works. Though critics have never appreciated it, the patrons were fond of it. Many of the criticisms that arise from this sculpture are due to its nudity – some feel that it is an inappropriate representation of Christ, and the figure’s disproportional body – broad hips on thin legs and large buttocks. Despite these criticisms, we discussed a specific argument that suggests changes in light and angle of the statue significantly affects how the Risen Christ is interpreted. If we view the figure from the left (where the cross is directly facing us: bottom picture), then we no longer notice the many flaws that have been noted, which is probably how Michelangelo envisioned his sculpture be displayed.



















Class ended after our discussion of the Risen Christ. And what do you think we did after a hard day’s work in Rome? Well, we naturally stormed the city for some amazing Italian food!