Last Days in Rome

Yesterday was a national holiday in Rome, honoring St. Peter and St. Paul, so we didn't have classes. Thus, I visited the Borghese Galley, which houses many Bernini statues and Caravaggio paintings that were part of the personal collection of Cardinal Borghese of the 16th century. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed, although I tried to sneak some anyway with varying degrees of success. The paintings were wonderful, but I, being a fan of Bernini, was more impressed with his statues. The major ones were those of Hades rape of Persephone, Apollo transforming a nymph into a tree, David about to slingshot Goliath, and Aeneas escaping Troy with his father on his back. Afterwards, I strolled through the beautiful Borghese Gardens until I reached the National Etruscan Museum. I really wasn't impressed with this museum at all. It wasn't because of its collection but because of its employees. They were all rude and very irritable. First, there are no signs that say picture taking wasn't allowed. All of the exhibits were in glass cases anyway, which boggles my mind why I couldn't take pictures. Secondly, the security guard couldn't had been more rude. Actually, to be quite honest, Romans in general are a mean and irritable lot. The Athenians are much nicer and appreciative of Americans. The Italians apparently must have forgot about the Marshall Plan and the U.S.'s involvement in helping them out after their economy's destruction in World War II. Anyway, the museum housed many of the finest pieces of Etruscan art found throughout Italy besides the Vatican Museum. My two favorite objects are the Sarcophagus of a couple and the painted vase of Diomedes, which recently has been returned to Italy from the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Afterwards, I took a taxi about 15 minutes north to the Catacombs of Priscilla. These catacombs housed about 10,000 early christian graves many meters underground. My guide showed me the way via a lamp, because it was so dark, which made picture taking almost an impossibility. Afterwards, I made my way back to my apartment to finish packing and prepare for the final exam, which we took the next morning. After the exam, we headed to the airport. Another reason why I am displeased with the Romans took place in their airport. I was the only one, the bag attendant made a big deal about, because my luggage was overweight. He even tried to charge me 150 euros because he thought he'd get away with it, because I'm a "stupid American". Luckily, one of our program directors was there, and I ended up paying nothing. He shut up quickly when she went off on him in Italian. Anyway, we flew into the city of Catania on the east coast of Sicily and then boarded taxis for the 45 minute drive south to Siracusa. The guys' taxi driver, Christian, was a straight up G. He's the only person I have ever seen with an Ipad as a GPS unit. After we arrived, I easily could tell I was going to like the Sicilian people much better than the Romans. They're all so nice and helpful much like the Greeks, which probably stems back to the fact that eastern Sicily was originally founded by the Greeks, not the Romans. Afterwards, I met our two new roommates, a guy from Texas and another from southern California, and then I got settled into my new apartment. Then, the group went out to dinner at a local restaurant, and I had some amazing tortellini.

Baths of Caracalla

Today, we visited the bath complex of Caracalla situated to the east of the Colosseum. These were the largest Roman baths in antiquity. Even today, the ruins take up so much space that it is used to perform musical performances. In its heyday, the baths would have been lined with massive and impressive marble statues, which I had previously seen in the Archaeological Museum of Naples. Afterwards, I headed to the EUR district of Rome, which is in the south, to check out the Museum of Roman Civilization. The EUR is the business district of Rome, filled with many modern buildings made out of glass and so on. There's also a building which is a square reproduction of the Colosseum. This area was started by Mussolini in the 1920s to show off to Europe how powerful and modern Italy was becoming again. If Hitler and Mussolini had not been defeated, the majority of European cities probably would have fell under this symmetrical type of architecture. Anyway, the Museum of Roman Civilization was probably my favorite museum in Rome. It doesn't contain any original artifacts, but there are casts of the most popular and telling pieces of Roman art, which are scattered throughout Britain, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy and other countries. Its intent is to show a complete picture of Roman civilization through a series of rooms showing Rome's evolution through art. Also, there are many models of reconstructions of temples, arches, buildings, etc. At the end of the museum was a room that had casts of all the reliefs on Trajan's column, which was absolutely amazing to see, and a massive entire room scale model of how Rome would have appeared during the reign of Constantine. Finally, I visited the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which houses the Bernini statue of Theresa in Ecstasy. Then, I had my last lecture that evening. It's hard to believe I'll be leaving Rome in two days!

Temples of Largo Argentina/Pantheon

Today, we visited the remains of the Temples of Largo Argentina and the Pantheon. The Temples of Largo Argentina are located on what used to be called the Campus Martius, the outer area of the Roman Forum. There are remains of four temples and the deities associated with each are unknown. Behind the Temples of Largo Argentina are the remains of the Theatre of Pompey, which was the location of Julius Caesar's murder in 44 BC. Then, we made our way to the Pantheon, my personal favorite Roman monument. It was constructed during the Augustan era as a temple dedicated to all the gods. The temple was modified during the reign of Hadrian dramatically, which was when the dome and ocular was added. During the Christian era, it became a church. Thus, it is the oldest church to this day. Inside, we could see the massive dome and ocular, allowing sunlight to give a presence of a divine light. Also, the tomb of Raphael is located inside the Pantheon. Afterwards, I visited the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. It was built on top of the remains of a temple to Minerva, the Roman equivalent of Athena. Outside, there is an elephant statue by Bernini attached to an Egyptian obelisk. Inside, there is a Michelangelo statue of Christ Bearing the Cross. Then, I finally made my second trip back to St. Paul's Outside-the-Wall's church, but this time I was able to go inside. The entrance was beautiful, being adorned with classical style columns and a luxurious garden. Inside, there is a painted arch with an image of Christ in the middle, Peter on the left with his two keys symbolizing the keys to heaven and earth, and Paul on the right with his sword symbolizing his spread of christianity. Afterwards, I finished the readings that were due for the quiz and attended an evening lecture.

Campania

This weekend, I headed south to the province of Campania to visit Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii and the island of Capri. The weekend started early yesterday morning. I left Rome at about 6:30 AM via train to Naples. About 3 hours later, I arrived and headed straight to the Naples Archaeological Museum, which houses many of the finest artifacts in all of Rome. Many of the statues in the museum had previously aligned the enormous Baths of Caracalla in Rome, which I will visit this Tuesday. Also, it houses the finds of the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Some of my favorite statues are that of Weary Herakles and the gigantic Farnese Bull. Upstairs housed the erotic collection found at Pompeii, having many illicit images and statues of phalluses and fornication. By far my favorite item of the museum was the Mosaic of the Battle of Issus, showing Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persian army in 332 BC. After I left the museum, I hopped on another train heading southbound to Herculaneum. Before I visited the site, I took a bus up to the foothills of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano which erupted in 79 AD and covered both Pompeii and Herculaneum, which aided in their preservation. It took me about 90 minutes, but I hiked up Mt. Vesuvius and had one of the greatest views of the Bay of Naples. Then, I returned to the bus, which took me back to Herculaneum to explore the site. Herculaneum was marvelous. I'm not a geologist, so I don't know the exact reason, but Herculaneum was covered in a type of ash different from that of Pompeii, allowing some of the multi-storey buildings to stay intact. The site basically allowed free roaming throughout the houses. Herculaneum attracts much less tourists than Pompeii, so it was quite peaceful. Also, Herculaneum was one of the richer cities of ancient Rome, so the buildings and their statues reflected that. The people of Herculaneum must have been able to exact from the eruption, because no skeletons were found on site. After several hours of exploration, I called it a day and took the train southbound for about a half-hour to Sorrento to stay the night. From the balcony of my hotel room, I had an absolutely gorgeous view of the island of Capri, which was to be my next stop. This morning, I took a ferry about 30 minutes to the beautiful island of Capri. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to check out the breathtaking (so I've heard) blue grotto, because I was rushed for time, and the line is always outrageous. Alas, maybe on my next trip back! Anyway, I did take the 2.5 mile hike uphill to see Villa Jovis, which was the emperor Claudius' famous palace of debauchery that he retired to at the end of his life. It's even said that he threw people off of the steep cliffs just for fun in front of the young Caligula, which would have definitely been a major factor in Caligula's later craziness. Anyway, the view of the island from Villa Jovis was just amazing. Then, I preceeded back towards the ferry and made my way back to Sorrento to catch a train to Pompeii. When I arrived, I was completely taken aback by its sheer size. I've read about it and heard many stories, but nothing at all compares to witnessing Pompeii in person. Walking through the winding streets, I was able to imagine myself as a Roman. The site allowed for that level of realism, well besides from the massive groups of tourists who interrupted all of my pictures. Just like the Colosseum and the Athenian Acropolis, Pompeii is a must-see for all people, no matter what their interest level or understanding of what their witnessing may be. Among my favorites, as is with so many others due to the massive line I waited in, was the Lupenare, the main brothel of Pompeii. Although it was the main one, there were at least a dozen more scattered throughout the city. Couple that with the artifacts displayed in the museum, and its easy to see why so many view Pompeii as being the sex capital of Rome. However, I tend to believe the Romans were just naturally sexual beings not just those from Pompeii. Anyway, the Lupenare had wall-paintings of all the different sexual positions, which were on the "menu". Then, I went to see the Garden of the Bodies, which had casts of some of the original bodies found during excavations. These people of Pompeii all died instantly without prior knowledge that a volcanic eruption was going to happen. Thus, we have a snapshot into the everyday happenings of a Roman city. Before I left for Rome, I grabbed dinner at a local pizzeria in Naples and had one of the best pizzas I've ever consumed. Naples is the birthplace of Pizza, and apparently they still know how to do it right after several centuries!

Tivoli

Today, we visited Tivoli, which is about an hours trek northeast of Rome, to see the beautiful villa of the emperor Hadrian. It was his own private "get-away" from the strains of being imperator. There are massive lakes, which he used to stroll around and get lost in deep philosophical thought. Hadrian was a cultured man, who enjoyed learning, so he had libraries spread throughout his villa. My favorite part is the Canopo, a massive lake which had statues, some of crocodiles, lined all around it. Hadrian formed the Canopo to give off the image of being the Nile River in Egypt. Afterwards, we headed back to Rome, and I went off on more independent exploration to see some of the most famous historical churches in Rome. First, I visited the Church of San Clemente, which has three layers dating to three different time periods. Pictures aren't allowed, but I was able to sneak some anyway, without flash of course. The first layer was a Renaissance church painted by Michaelangelo. Unfortunately, this place was too crowded, making picture taking almost impossible. The church was dedicated to St. Catherine, and it was quite beautiful. The second layer held a 4th century AD church, containing many mosaics and wall-paintings. The third layer was used during the 1st century BC for the cult of Mithras. Then, I visited the Church of San Giovanni in Laterno. This church was dedicated to St. John and originally was the seat of the papacy until St. Peter's Basilica was constructed in the 16th century. Outside the building was a massive statue of Constantine, the "father" of Christianity. Inside, the nave was lined with statues of the 12 Apostles. Among my favorites was Bartholomew, who was holding a knife and his skin, since he was skinned alive when he was martyred. Across the street is a little building which holds the steps that Jesus supposedly walked upon to receive his sentence from Pontus Pilate. These steps were said to have been transported from Jerusalem after Christianity became the official state religion of Rome. Then, I visited the Church of Santa Maria Maggliore. Outside the church there is a huge Corinthian column with a bronze statue on top of Mary holding the baby Jesus. This church was dedicated to St. Mary, and the great Baroque sculptor, Bernini, was buried here. He was honored with such a privilege because of his great masterpieces of art he constructed for several catholic churches in Rome, most notably his design of St. Peter's Square. Then, I visited the Church of St. Peter's-in-Chains, which supposedly housed the chains in which Peter and Paul were held in during their time in the Mamertine Prison and before their execution. Inside the church was Michaelangelo's statue of Moses. Later that evening we had lecture, and then we went out to eat for one of my classmates birthday.

Capitoline Museum

Today, we visited the Capitoline Museum on the Capitoline Hill. Not much archaeological sites are left on this very important ancient Roman hill but those that are have been incorporated into the Museum. As we entered the Museum, we saw a huge collection of Greek and Roman busts. One of my favorite exhibits was the Statue of the She-Wolf. Also, there are statues of Commodus posing as Herakles, the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Dying Gaul and the remains of the colossal statue of Constantine. My favorite vase was that of Ajax and Achilles playing dice in full armor. Inside the museum were the remains in situ of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the Tabularium (the area of Roman archives) and the Temple of Vejovius. That evening, after lecture, I took a walk through Rome at night to see the Colosseum, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain lit up as well as many other huge buildings.

Ostia Antica

Today, we took a train about 30 minutes southwest to visit Ostia Antica, the harbor of ancient Rome. It is tremendously large and an excellent site to explore if you want to get a grasp on the layout of a typical Roman city. Just like any other Roman city, Ostia had a a bath complex, a theater, a forum, and many residential buildings. The bath complex had this entricate mosaic of Neptune. One of my favorite things about the site, though, was the marketplace. Since Ostia was on the Mediterranean Sea, it was a very important commercial hub. Mosaics were used to label the type of stores. My favorite, an elephant (Roll Tide!), marked some sort of Eastern shop. There was a museum in the middle of the site, but it really wasn't anything special. After a thorough exploration of the site, we headed back to Rome. Then, I decided to do some more independent exploration. First, I checked out Piazza Navona, a "square" which actually is oblong in shape in order to maintain the original dimensions of the Circus of Domition, which used to be in that exact location. In the middle of Piazza Navona lies the Four Rivers Fountain with a huge obelisk stemming from that. It truly is a beautiful sculptual work of Bernini. Then, I proceeded east and ran into the Column of Marcus Aurelius, which was inspired by that of Trajan and also having reliefs of his wars. Finally, I made it to the Trevi Fountain, one of the most beautiful combinations of architecture and outdoor sculpture and relief that I have ever seen. Then, I called it a day and went back to the apartment, where I just hung out for the rest of the evening.