hump day.

wednesday, june 9

we started the morning off visiting santi cosma e damiano, a church dedicated in 527 to two martyred brothers. the church boasts some of the most beautiful medieval mosaics in rome and was a true splendor to see in person.

apse mosaic and baldecchino from santi cosma e damiano

after that we visited san clemente, my favorite church so far. it is actually a church built on top of an older church built on top of ancient roman apartments built on top of an ancient roman mithraic temple...an art history lovers dream come true? i think yes. so many layers (literally and figuratively speaking - sorry, i had to go there).

apse and baldecchino from san clemente

my favorite part, aside from the exquisite mosaics and porphyry columns and layers of history, was a fresco cycle of st. catherine's life that is hypothesized to have been done (at least in part) by masaccio, an incredibly important figure in the story of art (look at this, my favorite of his, the expulsion from paradise, the expression, color - amazing:

after visiting the churches, brianna and i stopped into the most amazing purse store with incredible italian leather bags (mom, you would have had a heart attack). i didn't actually buy one there but brianna got a great backpack-style bag that she has worn everyday since. after spending about 45 minutes there being indecisive (as always), we actually SAT DOWN in a great little italian bar for a lunch of delicious panini and cannoli :) we studied there for a little bit then went to an amazing collection of exhibits at the Palazzo dell'Esposizione (unfortunately we didn't have enough time to see the whole palazzo and i will have to go back soon). they had an unprecedented collection of giorgio de chirico's work and i urge you to take some time to look at his work; you can start here:

we then ran to class at an irish pub (yeah you can do that in summer school) and after that i went shopping in some stores near our school with a group of girls from the program. overall it was a nice, cool day but i still came home exhausted...

crazy stream of consciousness on microsoft word

ok i apologize in advance for this post that i typed on microsoft word instead of writing in my journal by hand first; when i'm writing i can filter myself a little better than typing so this literally is word vomit all over the place. again, i ask that you not judge me too harshly...enjoy :)

this morning the bus ran late, the bus driver was CRAZY and there were literally people flying all over the bus. it was funny but quite discomforting…how do people drive here?!?! it’s crazy. there are lane lines but NO ONE follows them; people on scooters literally just zoom through traffic like it’s their job, it’s insane. brianna said that people "just learn how to drive here" as opposed to following the lines and lights like in america – i’m not sure which is better there; haven’t been any accidents that i’ve seen since i’ve been here but it’s something i’d be interested in reading about. anyway, i met brianna at the pantheon to go over our italian and then we made our way to the ara pacis (another one of my favorites!). it is so big, but small at the same time…beautiful, either way. i'm not sure i like the building its held in (thanks mussolini) but just seeing it and being able to walk through it was incredible.

the ara pacis

my favorite detail from the ara pacis of a little snake about to munch on some birds; oh, the creativity of the great augustus

after the class was over, brianna and i were telling professor biow about the caravaggio exhibit and he was like “well i’m walking right by a church with some caravaggio paintings, i’ll take you in there if you want”…um, yes please!! so next thing i know, i’m walking into a GLORIOUS church (the contarelli chapel to be exact) and standing in front of the calling of st. matthew, literally (and i’m not exaggerating here) MY FAVORITE PAINTING OF ALL TIME. aslkfalksdflskdjfsldkj i cannot describe the rush i got standing in front of that incredible painting. wow wow wow wow wow it was free i'm going back A LOT more i love rome i love rome i love rome. word vomit yes, but that’s how i felt today…living off an art history high. the best part of that experience wasn’t even seeing the caravaggios (but i don't want to undermine how INCREDIBLE that was)…there was a woman standing next to me who was very passionately describing the paintings and i instantly recognized we had a common love for caravaggio so i turned to her, nodded and smiled, and said “bellissimo”. i had no idea what i was getting myself into at the time but i’m so glad i did! she saw me and started talking to me about the paintings and the coolest thing about it was that i actually understood her! so far in this encounter i've learned two important life lessons: 1) let people around you know that you agree with them (especially when it comes to art) and, 2) i should speak to people about art in italian so i can actually understand them…woo! so anyway, brianna made her way back to where i was engaged in conversation with this woman about caravaggio. we came to exchange names (hers is donatella) and stories and turns out she lives in venezia…turns out we’re going to venezia in two weeks…turns out SHE INVITED US TO HER HOME FOR A MEAL AND TOUR AROUND VENEZIA…um awesome!?!? and this lady is legit; she’s a teacher in venezia and so so kind and was with her husband who actually knows a little bit of english. it was, once again, one of the most incredible, totally unplanned, spontaneous experiences i’ve ever had and so awesome. after that, brianna and i just walked around and saw a beautiful church façade that we just had to go into…turns out to be the santa maria maddalena, a gorgeous rococo church with elaborately decorated ceilings and beautiful sculptures all over. another spontaneous decision that was truly awe-inspiring. we continued to walk around aimlessly and stopped in a stationery shop that had the most amazing stationery, selection of leather-bound journals and other beautiful things of the sort that i will definitely stop by again. so by this time we had only about twenty minutes to eat and hike it to class, but we made it! stopped into a little pizzeria near the pantheon and ate on the way…so italian of us! not to mention the pizza was delicious as always!

then we had class and instead of hiking back up the hill to the quirinale to see another exhibit close to the caravaggio one, brianna and I decided to take it easy for the afternoon and hang out at the school. i ran back home to get my laptop so I could finally add pictures to my blog (talking about writing my blog while writing on my blog is creating this weird metaphysical thing going on in my head…oy). however, when i got home i realized that i didn’t have my phone, i.e. i lost it somewhere in rome…oops. i was freaking out but knew i had it at the pantheon so decided to stop there in hopes that someone found it and turned it in. to make a long story and a lot of freaking out short, it was there and brianna had actually called me a couple of times. i got back to school and turns out she had actually called three times while it was chilling in the pantheon (please try to imagine the scene: the pantheon, a gorgeous, silent with awe, historical structure with a rogue cell phone going off with no owner…and not just going off, but ringing with the incredibly annoying nokia tune we all know and despise…OY VEY). so yes, that happened.

anyway! can I just recap this amazing day? began at the pantheon, to the ara pacis, seeing masterpieces of caravaggio in situ, getting acquainted with and invited to spend time with one of the most fascinating energetic passionate women I’ve ever met, stumbling into a beautiful church, finding a great spot for gifts and awesome stationery, eating awesome pizza, leaving and retrieving my phone at the pantheon, and sitting in a beautiful medieval palace to blog! yessssssss rome i love you.

near tears day

sunday, june 7

today was INCREDIBLE. i know i say that about everyday, but i saw more beautiful, art historically significant, life-changing (i.e. making me reconsider art history as a major) things today than i probably ever will (until next week maybe...). we started the morning at the fori imperiali, focusing mainly on the forums of augustus and trajan and then on the column of trajan. seeing the column of trajan specifically was amazing because it's another monument that i've recently studied in art history classes; it's HUGE and just as beautiful as i imagined.

view of remains of trajan's forum, trajan's column, and a small temple-like structure in the background (not sure what it is now...i'll look it up later)

so after trajan's column, professor biow led us to the pantheon...wait, what? we're going to the pantheon right now? without any kind of intro or heads up? WHAT?!?!? i was FREAKING OUT like near hyperventilating walking in (for those who know me well, well you know how i can be...). WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW wow. teared up walking in and was stunned silent inside.
the pantheon literally is the most beautiful, tranquil, spiritual, awesome (in the literal sense of the word) space in the world; i haven't been to many but i know nothing can beat the feeling one gets standing in the dead center of the pantheon looking up through its oculus. the discussion of the meaning of the shape, center, space, blah everything about the structure and how it was built to literally connect the cosmos with the earth (the convergence of a circle onto a square, with the emporer hadrian as the center of it all...wow wow wow i get chills just thinking about it (for anyone who hasn't studied the pantheon before, what i just wrote about was probably meaningless to you and for those who have, i'm sorry i just botched such a beautiful and complex line of reasoning). ANYWAY, there's never enough to say about the pantheon and i could go on for days but i won't. you get the idea. i didn't take any pictures there because i was so blown away but brianna did so i'll just steal from her later! the weirdest thing about the pantheon though is where its situated, unassumingly in the middle of this piazza with street vendors and cafes all around it...very unassuming. one of the many mysteries of rome..

so after having such an intense experience at the pantheon, we went to santa maria sopra minerva, a beautiful gothic basilica (actually the only gothic basilica in rome). inside there is an early statue by michelangelo, an exquisitely carved textile-looking statue by bernini and a chapel with an amazing painting (experimenting with perspective) - all for free! i must walk in to more churches around rome because each one is truly a gem.

christ the redeemer by michelangelo

memorial to maria raggi by bernini

brianna and i actually did run into another church after s.m. sopra minerva and ran to italian class (a.k.a. nap time...oy need to work on that). after class we were determined to see the caravaggio exhibit, no matter how long the line was, so we grabbed pizza on the way back to the quirinale and found (happily) a shorter line! great success. it ended up taking us two and half hours but it went by so fast because we talked to the woman standing behind us, stefania, the whole time. she was AWESOME. she actually teaches french so she was very helpful and patient with our broken italian.

she told us some great stories about her travels in america (especially las vegas) and actually is interested in hosting kids from our program now! one of my favorite stories was the ordeal she had attempting to order an "ot do" at a restaurant; naturally, the waitress did not understand her (because she wasn't saying anything that sounded remotely like english) for about twenty minutes...finally she figured out how to express that she wanted a "HOT DOG" (those open "o"s for italians are a nightmare!). the way she still says hot dog though is actually one of the funniest things i've ever heard and she was just awesome. it was a truly rewarding experience spending those two hours with her :)

stefania and her daughter at the caravaggio exhibit line

then, CARAVAGGIO! the largest collection of caravaggio paintings together in one exhibit EVER and definitely worth the wait! although the lighting was TERRIBLE and it was packed with smelly italians (and even worse, smelly tourists...), it was still amazing and breathtaking and i just love caravaggio.

time for class, pictures later!

ok back.

funny side-note: if you've ever read an art history book (or attempted to read one) you know that the language used is incredibly lofty, over-the-top, and convoluted at times (maybe why i gravitate towards it...my writing is usually like that too...sorry). anyway, imagine that, written originally in italian (the trend transcends languages even) then badly translated into english by a very obviously non-native english speaker...BAD NEWS BEARS for people like me trying to read about caravaggio in RUN-ON, overly dramatized, lofty sentences - oy vey. but all in all, a great exhibit and a great day.

the beginning of an incredible week

sunday, june 6

it was so great to be able to sleep in til 10 this morning! ilaria's daugther (emanuella - sp?) and youngest granddaughter (elisa, 8 months old) came for lunch and then brianna came over so we could make plans for the day. there is a caravaggio exhibit at the palazzo quirinale in rome now until june 13 that the school is paying for, so we decided to hit that up today...BIG MISTAKE. we got to the quirinale around 4 and when we finally figured out the line and tickets and what not, we learned that the line was taking 4 HOURS to get through (by this time it was 4:30) and the exhibit closed at 10 that night, not to mention we both needed to be home for dinner...such a disappointment. we climbed up this HUGE hill to get to the piazza di quirinale and were so discouraged by the unfortunate predicament we found ourselves in because of the ridiculous line for caravaggio. we wandered around aimlessly for about twenty minutes but after consulting our blue guide to rome, decided there was a lot to see in the quirinale and sat on a balustrade at the top of the piazza to look at a beautiful obelisk from the forum of augustus, flanked by the statues of castor and pollux (a famous roman story of brotherhood...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux).

obelisk and statue of castor and pollux

but just as we sat down and got over our disappointment from the caravaggio exhibit disaster, a guard came over and told us we had to move...um what? not gonna lie, we were pretty pissed. then all of a sudden the guards start closing off the area and a big van carrying some military band comes driving into the piazza...people start crowding around and brianna and i just had to stay to find out what in the world was going on. turns out, there is a building in the piazza di quirinale in which the president of italy resides and EVERYDAY there is a military procession (band included) to signal the changing of the guards at the palazzo (imagine the white house with way less security, in the middle of an ancient roman piazza, with the band of the armed forces putting on a show to announce a shift change of security...um what? never in america).

military presentation of the changing of the guards at the palazzo quirinale

brianna and i could NEVER have planned a day that turned out like the one we had and although i was somewhat disappointed with the caravaggio exhibit, the military procession - just chancing upon it - was one of the coolest things EVER. there's always something INCREDIBLE happening in rome and the best ones to experience are the ones unplanned :) then brianna and i got some insanely delicious nutella garnished gelato and parted ways at the metro.

when i got home, i had dinner with the family, watched some scooby-doo in italian (an interesting culture shock to say the least), played dress-up with martina and went to bed! just another day in the eternal city...loving it.

a special trip to tivoli

saturday, june 5

this saturday, the program took us all on a special trip to tivoli (a small city about an hour outside of rome) to visit hadrian's villa and the villa d'este, two of the most beautiful villas in the world. we had a wonderful time there but at hadrian's villa i again experienced difficulty attempting to mentally reconstruct what once stood where the ruins are now.

an awesome wall thing at hadrian's villa

hadrian's villa

chilling with an alligator at hadrian's villa with some beautiful copies of classical roman statuary in the background


one of the many fountains at the villa d'este

it was a long and tiring day but tivoli is definitely a city i'd love to come back to again to escape the hustle and bustle of rome (i actually think i want to get married in tivoli...it really is just breathtakingly beautiful). also, i got a gelato with chocolate and melon, my new favorite combination. after i got home from tivoli (around 5 or 6), i walked around the area near ilaria's house (my house?) and stopped into some shops (dangerous!) and bought a great bag. the ladies that worked in the shop were so nice and patient with my terrible italian and i'm very happy with my purchase. it was a great day, but i did get homesick that night :( i really miss my people and yogi!!! will someone send me a pic of her (i.e. MOM AND/OR STEPHANIE!)? watching two episodes of mad men, painting my nails, and making an epic playlist did help me get over my homesickness though and now i'm good to go!

side note, i'm so glad brianna is here with me. we have had some of the coolest experiences together and i really don't know what i'd be doing without her! love that girl.

pictures! and filling in the gaps

i realized i left out a day of experiences on the blog! so here goes: june 3

we met in the morning at a bookstore near our school and had a little orientation session and then italian class. the school i go to everyday is BEAUTIFUL! commissioned by some rich brothers in the medieval era, it served as their castle for some time and was later acquired by the roman government and turned into one of the most prestigious areas for american studies in the world. every ceiling and wall and doorway and floor is beautifully decorated and the piazza it sits in is full of gorgeous statues and carved reliefs...i'll never be able to sit a regular classroom again! i'll upload more pics of the actual school periodically but for now i'm trying to take it all in! everyday i come in i see something more beautiful than i did the day before and wahhh it's just awesome.

brianna and i with one of the many statues at our school

anyway, after our morning class we had about an hour to kill before heading to the fora romana (roman forums) so we headed to a great little pizzeria called "PizzArte" for some delicious, authentic italian pizza. it really is just better here.


so after a delicious lunch we headed to the fora romana for our afternoon class. there we saw the ruins of what used to be the bustling center of rome during the republican and imperial periods. the remains of temples, rostrum, triumphal arches, living areas, shops, and other awesome ancient roman things are all over the fora and it was really cool to see those remains. although i must say that it is incredibly difficult to imagine what used to stand where the ruins are now and i am having a hard time contextualizing the overwhelming number of deteriorating remains we see everyday...one of many of my goals for this trip is to figure out how to do that...wish me luck. anyway, here are some shots of the fora, specifically the arch of titus (still in tact) with one of my favorite ancient roman friezes depicting the spoils of the roman victory over jerusalem.

a view of the fora from the street


arch of titus

arch of titus (detail, frieze: spoils of jerusalem)

after finishing at the fora, we went on a long trip to pick up our cell phones (an adventure in and of itself) and then home for dinner! a great (and EXHAUSTING) first day!

by the way, i apologize for the disparate use of present vs. past tense in my entries...switching between italian and english grammar structures is incredibly difficult. i think my ability to express myself in grammatically complex english is while i'm here detiorating, which is incredibly unfortunate. ha please don't judge me when i get back and am unable to form grammatically correct english sentences or when i randomly say "sì" instead of yes in everyday conversation (it happened while i was on the phone with my mom last night...). ok dinner time! mmm. arrivederci!