hello, weekend

There are a few things I forgot to mention about the Ara Pacis Augustae. Our program is 15 credits, 5 for each class and then 5 more for an independent project. My project (it's a group project actually) is on the Ara Pacis, and I am focusing on the Ara during the Mussolini era. Mussolini tried to emulate Augustus, and so played a key role in reconstructing the Ara Pacis. The whole piazza which the Ara was moved to is called the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, and also includes the Mausoleum of Augustus. Clearly the whole area was a huge piece of Fascist propaganda. The fascist buildings are still there and I took a lot of pictures of the area for my project. You can see how imposing they would be, reminding people of the totalitarian power of the state.


So yesterday we had Professor Modiano's class again, and then visited some sites for Art History. First we went to Trajan's Forum, which you would never know used to be a huge, grand complex from the ruins that remain today. Trajan's column, however, remains in good condition-it is still standing from when it was completed in 113 AD, made to honor Trajan's victorious war against the Dacians. The reliefs of the column go around in a spiral and are extremely detailed, depicting events of the military campaign. Now there is a statue of St. Peter on the top, which was added in the 1500's.


Where the basilica (law courts) would have been, with the column in the background.


Where the marketplace would have been.

We also visited the Pantheon! I have already been there a few times since we live so close, but it was interesting to hear new information about it from the presentation. It was, and still is, quite the architectural feat, especially with the huge dome on top. There were actually two other Pantheons before the one that is there today was built by Hadrian. I can't remember what happened to the first one, but the second one burned down in the great fire of Rome. I want to go back when it rains to see the rain come through the occulus! Oh we also saw the tomb of Raphael inside the Pantheon-ahh!




The Oculus.

After the Pantheon, Lisa took us all out for gelato-she had promised it as a reward to the people who turned in their visas on time. So delicious! They had like 50 flavors.


Last night we had people over to our aparment to cook dinner, then went to Piazza Navona and saw Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers. All of the monuments and churches look so much more daunting and mysterious at night, when they are all lit up against the dark background. Pretty cool. There were tons of people around and it was fun to just hang out there.



And now finally it's the weekend! Tonight we plan on going out to dinner, which will be a nice break from cooking at the apartment. I'm thinking pizza! And then tomorrow morning we are going to the Porta Portese flea market in the Trastevere area. I'm so excited! The market is huge and famous for having lots of really interesting items. We are going to go early to get the best picks. More on that later!

"it's just you and the grape"

Picking up where I left off-the tour of the Campo di Fiori and its environs with Lisa, our Art History professor. We saw the good places to shop and eat, and then went to a little wine bar! The place is called l'angolo divino, and Lisa knows the owner so he gave us all a little taste of wine.

Yesterday we had our first class with Professor Modiano. Her class is called "Gifts and Sacrifice," so for our first lecture (10-2 with a lunch break) we got an introduction to ideas about gifts. I never knew there were so many in-depth and complicated thoughts/theories surrounding "the gift." I think the second half of the class will be more about sacrifice, although the two ideas are definitely tied together. It actually seems like it will be pretty interesting and relaxed, which is good!

For Art History we visited the Ara Pacis Augustae, a.k.a. the Altar of Augustan Peace. The Altar was built around 10 BC and was built to honor Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, and the peace he brought to the empire after his military victories. It's housed in a modern building that also serves as a modern art museum-quite an architectural juxtaposition to the altar itself, and controversial among Romans as well.





And then today we went to the COLOSSEUM! Technically called the Flavian Amphiteatre. It was so cool. At all of these ancient sites we go to for Art History class, I try to imagine what it was like to be there back in the day, and thinking about gladiator fights, huge crowds, mass executions... pretty crazy stuff. Plus the building itself is obviously so colossal and architecturally amazing.

"Don't spare his life!" (thumbs down is what spectators would do when they wanted the gladiator killed)


Panorama of the inside-on the bottom you can see the cages where they kept animals and stuff. It would have been covered by a floor originally. You can also see all the different levels of seating (divided by class).


After the Colosseum we went to the Baths of Caracalla for Art History class, and had our picnic lunch at the gardens there. I won't put up any pictures of that since I already put some up when I went there before. It was still fun the second time around though!

I guess I should add a few notes about living in Rome. For one thing, it's been fun to go to the Italian grocery stores and find what we need, as well as going to bakeries, butcher shops, etc. A "supermercato" is nothing like Safeway or QFC... they are pretty tiny. But so far I am enjoying trying new things and experimenting with cooking for myself here. Walking around can get kind of crazy what with all the small cars and especially the mopeds/motorcycles on the narrow cobblestone streets and little piazzas. There is always something going on too-for example, the church next to our apartment had a concert or something the last two nights in a row. It all just adds to the energy of the city!

Well, the rest of the day I plan to catch up on the reading for Professor Modiano's class. Ciao!

and it begins

So we moved into our apartment yesterday! It is in the Piazza della Pigna, a few blocks from the Pantheon and a 5-minute walk to the Campo. The apartment is gorgeous. Our landlady is really nice too. She only speaks Italian, so getting a tour of the apartment and trying to understand the rules and whatnot was interesting, although I think I picked up most of it since Italian is so similar to Spanish.

The view from my bedroom window


Our living room


The front door

Our street-Via della Pigna


Our neighbor, the Pantheon :)


After settling in to the apartments, we had an orientation at the Rome Center, some time to relax, and then our first big group dinner! We went to a place called Trattoria Moderna.

We all started off with some antipasti. Delicious! There were 6 or 7 different kinds to choose from and I tried one of each. This was probably my favorite part just because they kept bringing new things to try and I really enjoyed the variety.




Then we got to choose our primi, or first course, which is usually some type of pasta or other starch-I had risotto with porcini mushrooms.


Next came secondi, the second course of your choice of meat. I had Saltimbocca alla Romana, which is veal (I tried not to think about how I was eating a baby cow...) with prosciutto and sage, marinated in wine. SO GOOD!


And of course we got dolci, or desert. Most everyone, including myself, got tiramisu.




So then today we had our first day of class! It was Art History, which consists of going to sites, walking around, and listening to presentations by our classmates. It's basically a tour and a class wrapped into one! Today we visited the Roman Forum, the Arch of Titus, and then picniced on the Palatine Hill. There was so much to take in! The Forum has so much history and many different pieces all with their own story. The Arch of Titus depicts the triumph, a sort of parade, that was held when Titus returned victorious from battle. It is meant to commemorate him as well as show the power of the Roman empire. The Palatine Hill is where the emperors lived in elaborate palaces. Only the ruins of the palaces remain, but you can get an idea of how grand they were.



The Curia-where senators and powerful men met to discuss politics.


The Rostri (what is left of it), a place for oratory and speeches-these were open to all people. Great orators like Cicero spoke here.


The remains of one of the multiple basilicas in the Forum, which was used for trials and other legal procedures before basilicas acquired their religious connotations.


A general view of the Forum-none of these pictures do it justice in its entirety.


What is left of the temple of the sacred flame of Vesta, which was tended by the Vestal Virgins. Most of this is reconstructed-only a few pieces of the original remain.


The Arch of Titus.


Just the courtyard of one of the grand residences of an emperor.


The view from the top of the Palatine Hill.


After class we stopped for gelato on the way home, and now I plan to do some reading for the Gifts and Sacrifice class tomorrow. Later we are getting a tour of the best places to shop around the Campo. Should be fun!

"I didn't mean to call you a fat cow!"

Ciao tutti!

Now that I am fully recovered from jet lag I am starting to enjoy Roma much more. Today we started off by getting breakfast and coffee at the hostel bar, did a little reading for classes, then set off to explore the city! I rode the bus for the first time and that was an experience. We went to the Therma di Caracalla (baths of Caracalla), which Shieda is presenting for her project. We all have to present a site to the group for our Art History class. The ruins of the baths were huge! Apparently there were different areas for different purposes-outside for talking and eating, then inside for exercising, bathing, massages, and so on. It was pretty amazing to think about how much work it took to build the baths, as well as how they old they are and yet still partially standing. Pieces of the mosaics from the walls were scattered around, along with parts of columns that used to be standing. The tile on the ground was also still there in some areas.



Me and the ruins!



After our visit to the baths we got lunch at a pizzeria, walked around for a bit, then went to see the Campo di Fiori, which is where the UW Rome Center is located.

My lunch! Molto bene!


We took a bus back to the hostel, napped for a few hours, and then went out to dinner! We walked for almost an hour to find an area that someone had recommended to us. There were eight of us, and we definitely stood out in the area-everyone else was Italian. It was an adventure. But we asked someone where a good restaurant was and ended up at a place called the Porca Vacca. It was SO GOOD! The menu was all Italian (a lot of the restaurants in touristy areas have English menus) and we found one server who spoke a little English. I had insalata mixta, gnocchi con pesto, and we all shared some vino.




And it was Nick's birthday! So we celebrated with tiramisu and another desert that our server brought for Nick. We sang him happy birthday too. Our server was super nice-his name was Ergent, but he goes by "Erie."


The group with Erie (minus Maggie-she took the picture)


Oh and here is a picture of the entrance to our hostel. I am sharing a room with 4 other girls from the program, and some people from the program are in 6 or 12 person rooms with people they don't know. It's been a good place to crash for a few nights.



Tomorrow we finally move into our apartments!

Roma Roma Roma

Just arrived in Roma! We are staying at the Yellow Hostel on Via Palestro. There are lots of other students staying here, and pretty much everyone from our program that arrived early is here too. We move in to our apartments in the Campo Di Fiori on Monday, which is where we stay for the remainder of the program. Going out for dinner tonight and exploring tomorrow!

Ciao for now!