an eternal city...

ROME DAY 1:
Two weekends ago, our school took us on a field trip south to Rome. We met at the CSU center at 6:30 AM and took a bus all the way. There were a couple stops - one in the Necropolis at Tarquina to see Etruscan graves, and into the living town of Tarquina to see the Etruscan museum there. Our second stop was the Necropolis at Cerveteri to see more Etruscan graves. By now, I am completely Etruscan-ed out. However, the Cerveteri Necropolis is beautiful - it's foresty and green, maze-like with an air of peace and tranquility. The graves take the form of small hills with corridors leading inside. Think of the Hobbit Shire from "Lord of the Rings." I wouldn't mind being buried in this city of the dead...!
At around 6:30 PM we finally made it to Roma - our hotel was called the Jolly Leonardo da Vinci, and despite it's name, it was a very lovely place to stay! (There were lots of Nihon-jins staying there, which might say something...) Our dinner took place in the dining room at the hotel, with a first course, a second course, and a dessert.

ROME DAY 2:
I was spoiled during my last international trip - it was to Japan, and I had luxurious breakfasts of rice with misoshiru, onsen tamago, fresh fruit and 10 different types of juice. At the Hotel Jolly Leonardo da Vinci they also had a fantastic spread of mushrooms, sausages, juices, fruit, caffe, and an array of pastries. (Probably to live up to the standards of those Nihon-jin kankou-ers).
Our first sightsee-spot was the Roman Forum - the Palatine Hill, Capitaline Hill, Curia senate building, Commiteum, Triumphal Arch, Temple to Saturn and Hestia, the Basilica of Constantine...there were so many ruins, built during so many different reigns, and built at varying heights, that I couldn't take in all of that history in the 2 or 3 hours we were there.
On the bus on the way to Rome, we saw the Russel Crowe film "Gladiator." And the next day, there I was, standing in the Colosseum, where gladiators fought in ancient times. It was magnificent, awesome...and hard to imagine how it would have looked in 75 AD, with awnings pulled out, hearing the roar of thousands of Romans cheering on the fighters battling to the death.
The Parthenon and the Pantheon...the names are so similar and I always mix them up. But now that I've seen the Pantheon, it will hopefully be easier! On the outside, the Pantheon is a little dark and unimpressive...but once you walk inside, it's just as beautiful as any of the churches with colored marble and gold facades. It has a strange floor - it's concaved - and there is a circular opening in the roof - but rain never gets in. I didn't really understand it.
Later, we went to the Chiesa Luigi dei Francese, where I saw my first Caravaggio painting in person. The Calling of St. Matthew! Then to Piazza Navona, where we (sort of) saw Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers (it was under restoration - so our view was a bit obstructed). The church in the piazza - Chiesa Agnese in Agone, was in an unsual oval shape.
For dinner, some of us went to a restaurant where we had appetizer of fried olives stuffed with pork, and the Roman specialty pasta carbonara and for dessert, I had a ricotta torta (in the photo, the one on the very right.)
The Fontana dei Trevi was right down the street from where we had dinner...it was my favorite sight. It was more beautiful than any of the reproductions or photos I've seen of it - and we did the whole throw-a-coin-over-your-shoulder thing (I used a U.S. quarter, if you want to know), and then sat around sketching.
We found the Piazza Spagnolo and the Spanish Steps - the first thing I thought about was Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday." A couple of us climbed to the very top and enjoyed a moment with a view of the Roman skyline - but then it started raining so we found the nearest subway and (using our Roma Pass) rode back to the hotel.
By then it was about midnight, which meant we had been out walking and being tourists for about 14-15 hours. BUT...the night was not yet over. I joined a group that was going to Vatican City - and I'm glad I did...even though I was ready to knock out in the warm room back at the hotel...even though my feet were aching like I'd just spent a whole day running around and standing in lines at Disneyland. The Vatican was deserted, except for a few people and cars passing through. St. Peter's Basilica was glowing, the fountains on either side of it looked like misting sculptures.
If you ever have the fortune to be in Rome - if you have the opportunity, see it late at night. This is when it really lives up to its name: "The Eternal City." Everything looks and feels so ethereal - there is a turquoise glow emanating from everywhere, dreamlike.

ROME DAY 3:
Our final day in Rome, we got up at 6:45AM - in time for breakfasts, checkouts, and a bus ride to the Borghese Museum by 9:00AM. Caravaggio is my favorite painter from art history, and Bernini my favorite sculptor (thanks to The Ecstacy of St. Teresa). The Borghese Museum has some of their most famous works. David & Goliath, St. Jerome...Apollo & Daphne, the Rape of Persephone...I was able to sketch from Caravaggio's paintings while Dominic (our resident director) talked. I was filled with inspiration - I wanted to make all my lights dark and all my darks really dark...!!
Next, we headed to Via Veneto, a street lined with designer stores and posh ristorante and bar/cafes. Dominic and one of the other staff members, Refuggio, told us they were taking us to a "surprise" and led us to a small, discreet church called Chiesa Immacolata Consezione and their Capella dei Cappucini. Refuggio hurriedly told us that he had gotten us 10 minutes to go inside, but we would talk about these 10 minutes for the rest of our lives. I know I was pretty excited - and this was what was inside: there was a long corridor, with enclaves on our left. In these spaces were graves. Not that strange. But on the walls were bones. Hundreds of hip bones or jaw bones arranged in decorative designs. Rib bones and leg bones made patterns around us. The tiny disks from the spines were used to make small chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. And surrounding the graves were the mummified bodies of deceased monks, either reclining or standing up in praying positions or holding crosses. I could see their fingernails. It was creepy, for sure, and to top it off there was spooky, solemn organ music playing from speakers somewhere. a photo...
I mentioned before that I was Etruscan-ed out - by the first day. The next stop in our tour was Palazzo delle Esposizione, where there was an Etruscan exhibition. I can only see so many Etruscan esophagi and artifacts, and in Florence and Rome I am constantly served up history, Renaissance, works from antiquity, etc. Luckily there was a Bill Viola show at the Palazzo delle Esposizione, which was perfect - a lot of people cut short the Etruscan show and headed for the video art. I saw his "Crossing," "The Greeting," "Observance," and "Departing Angel," to name a few. It really inspired me to learn more about video art, and perhaps even try it.
Afterwards, it was about time for an early dinner, so a few of us entered the first open restaurant that we found open, where I had a truffle arancini, and my first Italian lasagna. It was a very leisurely dinner, and by 7:00 we were back on the bus, and by 1!:45 that night I was back at home in Florence.

I want to spend a year in Rome too - 3 days is not enough for such a big, diverse, modern, yet historically epic city.
my facebook albums of Rome:
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