Italy- Member of the EU Population: 58,147,733 (July 2007 est.) Area (Total): 301,230 SQ KM
This is me with a group of girl friends I made on my Italy trip standing in front of Duomo in Florence. Starting from the left Pamela Riis who studies at American, Theresa Hayes studies at Creighton, Melanie Murray studies at Siena, Me, Tiffany Smith studies at St. Lawerence, and Liz Ronty studies at St. Lawerence also.
Oct. 20th We started our first day in Rome with breakfast in bed I guess you could say. The Italian culture isn’t use to continental breakfast and there wasn’t a space big enough to host a big group of tourists for breakfast so we ordered what we wanted and so we were given room serves for breakfast. We started our morning by walking to Trevi Fountain since our hotel was very close. From there we left for The Capitol Hill were is Piazza del Campidoglio located. In the center of Piazza de Campidoglio is Replica of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. The equestrian statue Marcus Aurelius is important because it was a model for all equestrian statues made after it’s existence. It is also special because it is the only fully surviving bronze statue of pre-Christian Roman emperor. The equestrian statue Marcus Aurelius’s survival is due to the fact du to its misidentification as the emperor Constantine, protector of the Christians.
After viewing the Piazza del Campidoglio we walked down to the Roman Forum, (Latin: Forum Fromanum) is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization was developed. One of the important structures of the forum is the Regia, the former ancient royal residency. A neighboring structure is the complex Vestal virgins were I have learned was a great place to live, a privilege to be chosen to become a Vestal virgin. After looking upon the ruins of the Vestal virgins complex we hiked up this side of the center most hill of the Seven Hills of Rome, Palatine Hill. The Flavian Palace is located on Palatine Hill and several temples.
Once we were able to climb down the Palatine Hill we had reached the front of the Colosseum. The area surrounding the Colosseum was crawling with tourists and street venders and walking, screaming, bothersome sellers of 20 postcards for 1 euro and scarves that hung off their arms. The line to the Colosseum was long but because we were traveling in a planed tour group we were easily brought through to the center of the structure. The Colosseum was build during the Flavians 69-81 A.D. Therefore its correct name is the Flavian Amphiteater. As we walked around the prominent Colosseum I looked out one of the windows and found a couple in their wedding clothing getting their pictures taken on a hill outside that was located next to a busy highway and the Colosseum on the other side of the hill. I then over heard a woman as she was walking by describing the schedule they would put into action when this old couple brought a large group of their family and friends, I imagine to this world renowned, iconic structure. Next on our list was lunch were I ran around finding internet to make connections with fellow Cornellians located in Rome because we did have internet at our hotel and I also searched for stamps for my newly bought postcards.
After lunch we headed to the Pantheon. The Pantheon, in Greek means “Temple of all the gods.” Since the 7th century the Pantheon has been used as a Catholic church. This means there is no entrance fee to enter this oldest standing domed structure in Rome. The Pantheon’s architect is unknown.
From the Patheon we left for the Campo di Fiori. This is a plaza that is enclosed by restaurants and bars. The plaza is a place were a lot of youthful folks. At the center of the plaza a statue of Giordano Bruno. He was a philosopher that was burnt alive by the Roman authority at the time in the center of Campo de’ Fiori. In Italian Campo de’ Fiori means field of flowers which is ironic considering Giordano Bruno now stands there scarily with his hood over his head so you can just barley see the profile of his face. It’s almost as if the Italians gave Giordano Bruno a field of flowers to say sorry for not trusting him and his abilities and honoring him in his lifetime.
That night my friend Lauren Fisher (who studies Landscape architecture with me at Cornell and now Urban Design at DIS) and I got together with Caroline Post (who is a friend from Risley, my dorm, and a friend of Lauren’s because they do crew together.) Cornell has a satellite school in Rome. I had planned to study abroad in Rome before I heard about DIS and I am very pleased with my choice. I found that Caroline has the same teachers as she does at home and that really turned me off from the program.
Oct. 21 We started our day off by taking the metro to Vatican City. I found the metros to be one of the most graffitied and crowded metros I have ever come across.
Arriving at the front of the Vatican City we picked up a new tour guide and a head set that allowed us to hear her as if she was right next to us. This was interesting when one got lost in the crowd and didn’t realize how far away from the group you really were. We viewed a couple different paintings and sculptures before we were brought to the Sistine Chapel.
There was a moderate line to get to the Sistine Chapel and once reached the chapel I was aw stricken. The ceiling was very high and the room was full of people. I found that Michelangelo painted women that were very muscular and manly like. I also learned from Lauren that he was one of the first artists that used colors like red and green or yellow and violet when painting the shadows of the figures. An example would be a red dress with green shadowing. It turned out to be a very successful method of painting. It was disappointing to find that visitors weren’t allowed to take photos and then they did anyway. This meant people were constantly told to stop taking photos. There was even a loud broad casting sound system that sent a booming voice throughout the chapel that told everyone to stop people from taking pictures and then silence because it told everyone to be quiet too. Soon thought the constant murmur of voices would start up again around the room as well as flashing of cameras. Once we left the Sistine Chapel our new tour guide left us near the post center office in the Vatican City. This is when and where I mailed off my absentee ballet. It’s so cool to say I voted from the Vatican. Haha.
Once that was finished Lauren and I set out to find Rafael’s The School of Athens painting. We were taught that Rafael used this painting as a study of the human body for example the way a human lays, sits, stands, walks and looks. The Vatican was overwhelming but was interesting and crowded with interesting but mostly annoying tourists.
Next to the Vatican museum is St. Peters Basilica. Visiting St. Peters influenced me as much as the Sistine Chapel and maybe even more. Me and there other friends decided to climb up to the top of the dome before we explored any other part of St. Peters. Viewing Rome from a birds eye view was really awesome. It gave me a little more of a perspective of were the city had been placed in the landscape. After exploring the top of the dome we explored the inside of the building. This building was so breath taking and that’s when I understood why the church buts a lot of energy into their churches because it makes one feel like godly things exist.
After St. Peters we walked around some more around the city and came to Palazzo Farnese. Palazzo Farnese is the most imposing Italian palace of the 16th century. The Palazzo Farnese architect was Antonio da Sangallo and the palace was modified by Michelangelo from 1546 and completed 1589. There were town baths in the plaza. The building currently houses the French Embassy in Italy. This is where we ended our tour for the day at the plaza in front of the palace.
Oct. 22 Today was out tour of the not-so-known parts of Rome. The first thing we saw when we existed the subway we came upon Pyramid of Cestius. After that we were brought to a cemetery that could also be seen as a garden. We also saw Monte Testassio which is a hill build out of broken clay pots. I can’t imagine all the time and effort to make the pots and the end up in a pile covered by soil, plants, and buildings. We were then brought to the Bath of Caracalla. I was trying to imagine people swimming in a space covered in marble. Right now only the brick structure of the building is left. We then went to a church where you stick your hand in a sculpture and if your had comes out you don’t lie and if it doesn’t you lie. From this spot we were allowed to walk around on our own but had to be back by 4:30 so we could leave on the bus to Florence. Before we left we met up with Caroline Post once more. The country side was beautiful with mountains and hills.
Oct 23. The first museum we visited was very exciting because there was a very famous sculpture within, David. The Galleria dell’Accademia also had other interesting sculptures, more paintings with religious themes, and musical instruments produced by a very famous artisan. It was fun to join a group young peers I had never met and sketch David in the corner without feeling uncomfortable. During the tour I was aware of the fact that because I was young I was more culturally accepted in areas were older citizens would have felt out of place.
We then saw a few more sights and went to a few more museums. During lunch Lauren and I and a few other students ran up to the top of the Duomo. Lauren and I enjoyed seeing the cities from above because it gave us more context of where the city is located, and the structure of the city itself. Some of the sites we saw from above and at ground level like Piazza Signoria (a plaza with replicas of important sculptures),Santa Maria Nourella (another church), and another church Santa Croce where Michelangelo is buried.
Once our tour was finished for the day Lauren and I set out to find her friend Bri and get a tour of her Rowing Club house. I found it to be a prestigious club like the New Your Yacht Club especially because it was located right next to Ponte Vecchio. Bri introduced us to her host mother who didn’t speak any English that I was aware of. Bri exposed us to this awesome restaurant with a nice buffet that was cheap but really nice because you could try traditional dishes. It was defiantly the cool place to be. Later that night we went out clubbing and I found out how creepy Italian men can be at clubs and that’s when I realized in this way our cultures were different.
The next day my classmates either went back to Copenhagen or dispersed to other locations throughout Europe and I was leaving for Paris that night on a night train. I spent my day at the Boboli gardens and got a hair cut in an Italian haircut shop and was delightfully pleased even thought there was a laugh barrier. The sleep train was a little awkward because I found the France or expected them to be stand offish to Americans. The sleep train from Paris to Denmark was much nicer then the Italian train.
Night I met some boys doing the Red Bull challenge before I got on the train. The challenge is getting to the next location with just red bull that is given to them at each location. Germany was their next stop.
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