June 19

We decided to get an early start today and visit the Etruscan museum. Katie, Kristen, Michelle, Jacob and I all met up at 9:30 and took bus 19 to the museum. This museum is absolutely enormous. You could easily spend a few hours there looking at everything, but after a while it does all seem to look pretty similar. So many pots! It is amazing how they were able to do such a good job putting everything back together and keeping it in such good condition.

Here are a few things I learned:

1. The genre of the deceased can be detected from the grave goods. Male tombs are characterized by hut urns and objects that represent war and hunting. Where as the women's tombs are characterized by candles, whorls, distaffs, reels and elements used to hold fabric.

2. A distinctive element of Vulci funerary art is the intent to reproduce the physical aspects of the deceased who were cremated: the ossuary is sometimes sealed with a ball-like lid suggesting a head.

3. Since the beginning of the 7th century B.C., the most important families established their power. The monumental tumuli of cerveteri necropolises were 20-60 meters wide and 12-15 meters high. These imitated modes from the near east and contained several rooms containing the deceased of different generations. External stairs made the tomb accessible for ceremony. The grave goods are characterized by rare and valuable luxury objects.

June 18

Today was a very much needed day. We were back in Rome, home as we call it, and we were able to just relax and catch up on sleep and work. Besides going to the Billa for some food, that is all I did: sleep and catch up on work. At six, we did have class though. In religion, one of the things we talked about was the Roman Domus.

First is the entryway, which has guard dogs, mosaics, frescos of something that would ward away evil (snake, fallis). Then the first major room is the atrium. Then there is the tablinum where the head of the household would sit at his desk. Early Christians would gather in the peristylium after a meal because it would be cool and would fir 30-60 people comfortably.

This is what Dr. Bednarz' weebley says about the Domus:

Roman rich house or domus, was the usual housing for important people in each city. Perfectly described by architects, it was endowed with a structure based on distribution through porticated patios: the entry
Roman domus. Fauces- gives access to a small corridor -vestibulum-. It leads to a porticated patio -atrium-. Its center, the impluvium, is a bank for the water falling from the compluvium. At both sides -alae- there are many chambers used as rooms for service slaves, kitchens and latrines. At the bottom, thetablinum or living-room can be found, and close to it, thetriclinium or dining-room. This atrium gave also light enough to next rooms. At both sides of the tablinum, little corridors led to the noble part of the domus. Second porticated patio peristylium, was bigger and endowed with a central garden. It was surrounded by rooms -cubiculum- and marked by an exedra used as a chamber for banquets or social meetings. Weather or available room caused that houses had one or two floors. These chambers were -tabernae-: little shops belonging to the domus or else rented to other merchants.

June 15-17

June 15: finally the day that we got to venture out of Rome for a few days. We woke up early, got ready and packed, went downstairs, and then we all went to the Termini so we could catch a train out to Napoli. We got a fast train to Napoli around nine in the morning. Even though we all enjoyed how fast the train was, I am sure we all wished that it was longer so we could take a longer nap. When we arrived in Napoli, things looked different immediately. Compared to Rome, the city was dirtier, smellier, there was garbage everywhere, there were more young families and there were more overweight people. It was obvious that there was a lot more poverty there than in Rome. After we got lost, went to the hotel and put our things down, and got lost again we finally made it to the train station (another one, not the same one we arrived at) and met the archeologist. We took a 45 minute train ride out to Pompeii. Once we were out in Pompeii, we went to a house that was being excavated by archeologists. I think that the most interesting things that were in the house were fresco's that were still in such good condition. These were much larger and better preserved than others that we had seen. It is amazing to think about how old they are but are still in such good condition.

After we looked around this house, we went into the actual city of Pompeii. Pictures courtesy of google images:

Pompeii is a Roman city and is partially buried because it was destroyed and completely buried when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. No one discovered Pompeii again until 1749.

The part I remember the best is the places that served soup. We saw two different places that people would go to and get their soup, this was usually for the poor. I thought this was really cool because when you think back to ancient times, you never really think of them having restaurant places.

After we walked around Pompeii for a while, we took the train back to Napoli, stopped at a bank, got dinner, then returned to the hotel.

June 16: Blue Capri. We as a group decided as a group to wake up fairly early, so we would have the whole day to spend at the beach. After we all were ready, we walked to the port so we could take a ferry out to Capri. Once we got there, most of us immediately bought tickets and went on another smaller boat so we could go to the blue grado. When we got back, about an hour and a half later, we students go a bite to eat and then went to the beach and spent the rest of the time on the island there. It was so much fun just relaxing and being there together. Unfortunately, after our lovely day at the beach, Lauren got attacked by a man on a vespa who tried to mug her. (We are all happy you're okay Lauren!)

June 17: Because of the events of the night before, none of us felt safe in Napoli anymore. Our professors and Dominica (as well as other students) did such a good job handling the situation, and we were able to get train tickets out of Napoli (to Rome) early in the day instead of waiting for night.

June 14

Today we took a day trip outside of Rome to the port of Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica was a working port town, and today you can even see the warehouses, apartments, mansions, shopping centers, the 2,000 year old theater, and baths that were once part of the active port of around 60,000 people. What we saw today was an excavated city that once was very active.

Ostia Antica is located at the mouth of the Tiber and was founded in about 620 B.C. As Rome was beginning to expand, Ostia was conquered and a fort was built there. It then turned into a naval base so Rome would be protected by invasion via the river. The importance of the base turned from military to commercial to around A.D 150 when Rome controlled the Mediterranean. Ostia Antica remained a busy center and big businesses would come and there were millions of Romans. As Rome fell, however, the port became abandoned and the Tiber retreated to about a mile away because the harbor sited up.

I would say that my favorite part was seeing the baths of neptune. In the Baths of Neptune, you can see a mosaic with Neptune riding four horses through the sea. There also is cupid riding the dolphin which looked nice, but the sea itself looked pretty frightening. Although not all of the mosaic is still in tact, it is amazing that so much of it is still in pretty good condition.

June 13

This was the first day we had a "student excursion" day. So Katie, Jacob, Kristen and I decided that we were going to go to the Etruscan museum. We left around 11 in the morning for the museum. We were originally going to take a bus there, but we were not exactly sure which line to take, so we ended up going to the metro and taking it one stop to Piazza di Poppolo. We got off the metro, but we still had a little ways to walk before we got there. After about ten or fifteen minutes of walking, we got to the museum to find that it was closed. Katie had picked up a magazine at St. John's that included a list of sights to see while in Rome. As we were looking at this, we realized that many things were closed on Mondays. After five to ten minutes of trying to figure out what to do, we decided that we should go to the Jewish museum, which was in Trestevere. So, we took a bus (19) back to Loponto, where St. John's is, and then we caught another bus (280) to take us into Trestevere right by the museum.

The Jewish museum of Rome has about 800 textiles, and some are in the museum and some are actually still

being used in Synagogues today. Christianization of the Roman Empire began in 312 with the Emperor Constantine

and reached its peak in the West in the end of 476. In Rome, Power gradually passed into the hands of the local

bishop, the Pope and the city remained under papal rule until 1870. Administration against the Roman Jews began

in that period. At times however, they had illustrious protectors, such as Gregory the Great (590-604). The pope

declared that Jews were not to be disturbed because they were to be converted with persuasion and not with force.

June 12

Today we went to the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church. This is Rome's only gothic church. The roof is not rounded like it usually is, but it has edges (see pictures above). But, and important reason why we went to this church is because Catherine of Siena died here and was buried here. In the front of the church you can see her tomb. Here is a website that does not say that much more about the church, but it has some amazing pictures that would be very worth while to look at.

http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Rome%20&%20Central%20Italy/Rome/Rome_Churches/Santa_Maria_sopra_Minerva/Santa_Maria_sopra_Minerva.htm

After we looked around the church, we had the option of whether or not we wanted to go to mass. Since I am not Catholic, I decided that I would pass on going to mass and I walked home. This was the first time that I was really in Rome by myself. I had walked to the Billa (grocery store) and back before, but this was the furthest I had been. It was so relaxing and enjoyable to just walk throughout Rome by myself. I knew my way back very well because I had done similar walks many times before, but still, this was the first time I was truly alone. I walked back to St. John's, put some of my stuff down and then decided to go to the Billa and get something for lunch. I think today was one of my favorite days because I did everything by myself and did not rely on anyone else to help me.

June 11

Today we ventured out of the central part of Rome and visited the Catacomb di San Callisto. We took the metro first and then got on bus 118 to get to San Callisto. Once we got there, we walked to buy the tickets, and sat outside and waited for our tour. It was much colder today than the previous days, and not many of us were prepared so we were all pretty cold! As we begin our tour, the tour guide first takes us to a board outside the catacomb and explains the six christian symbols and other facts about the catacombs, many of which we already knew because of our first catacomb visit. The six christian symbols are an anchor, a dove, the good shepherd, a fish, and the orante. San Callisto was different than the catacomb we had previously seen because there were actual places for worship within this catacomb. "Tunnels and galleries on four levels is a maze of niches still open or walled custom made and designed for a simple burial, without cash but only in a sheet, sarcophagi and crypts, cubicles, epitaphs and carvings, the remains of oil lamps and vases containing perfumes. During the visit falls only on the second floor, undoubtedly the most interesting from an archaeological point of view. Now we find the copy of a statue of the fourth century preserved in the Vatican Museum, depicting the Good Shepherd, a symbol of Christ’s love. Among the other images, belonging to the vast symbolism devised by Christians during the persecution, when their religion was declared a “a strange religion” with the decree of 35 senators.You can see the Crypt of the Popes where the faithful descended on a pilgrimage to honor the martyrs. Continuing on, you can see the Crypt of St Cecilia where to place the coffin containing the body of the patron saint of music, now housed in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Trastevere, there is a copy of a famous sculpture of 1599, the Cubicles of the Sacraments, five small rooms where you retain some of the oldest frescoes of Christian era, representing precisely the most important sacraments in the Christian faith: baptism and the ‘ Eucharist. Crypt of St. Eusebius, smaller but decorated with marble slabs on which are three arches, one of which contained the tomb of the saint." (http://www.hoteldesartistes.com/rome-travel-guide/2010/11/the-san-callisto-catacombs/)

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June 10

Today was a pretty light day, we just went to the Vatican museum. I thought the museum was a little frustrating because there were so many tours going on that day and I did not know what a lot of the things in the museum were. My favorite part was going to see the Sistine Chapel. My high school italian teacher always talked about Michaelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, so it was amazing to be able to actually go and see it. Once I got there, I realized that I did not actually know that much information about it, so later on I looked up more information about it, and this is what I found.

Here is some history.

"The Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it derives its name, in 1475. It was designed to be - and still is - the pope's chapel and the site of papal elections. The Sistine Chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin on August 15, 1483.

In 1481 Sixtus IV called to Rome the Florentine painters Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli and the Perugian Pietro Perugino to decorate the walls with frescoes. Luca Signorelli may have also been involved in the decoration. The fresco project took only 11 months, from July 1481 to May 1482.

The Sistine ceiling was originally painted by Piero Matteo d'Amelia, who included a star-spangled sky. But in 1508 Pope Julius II della Rovere commissionedMichelangelo to repaint the ceiling.

Michelangelo was called away from his work on the pope's own tomb and was he not happy about the change. He had always insisted he was a sculptor and was contemptuous of fresco painting. The result are glorious depictions of human bodies that could only be created by a sculptor, and the project Michelangelo hated so much (at least at first) ironically became his most well-known work.

Michelangelo was asked to paint the Twelve Apostles and a few ornaments on the ceiling of the chapel. But as he began work on the project, Michelangelo conceived grander designs and ended up painting more than 300 figures.

He worked on the project between 1508 and October 31, 1512, in cramped conditions high on a scaffolding and under continous pressure from the pope to hurry up. The project would permanently damage the artist's eyesight.

Michelangelo was in his 60s when he was called back to the chapel, again against his wishes, to paint The Last Judgment (1535-1541) on the altar wall. The work was commissioned by Pope Clement VII (1523-1534) shortly before his death, and Clement's successor, Pope Paul III Farnese (1534-1549), forced Michelangelo to complete it quickly. It was the largest fresco of the century and is still an unquestioned masterpiece.

For important ceremonies, the lowest portions of the Sistine Chapel's side walls were covered with a series of tapestries depicting events from the Gospels and Acts. These were designed by Raphael and woven in 1515-19 at Brussels.

In recent decades, the Sistine Chapel has been carefully cleaned and restored, beginning with the 15th-century wall frescoes in 1965. The cleaning and restoration of the lunettes, the ceiling and the Last Judgment, a painstaking process using computer analysis, lasted from 1980 to 1994. The restoration included removing several of the "modesty" drapes that had been added over some of the nude figures.

The end result of the restoration has been controversial: Critics say a vital second layer of paint was removed, and argue that many of the restored figures seem flat compared with the originals, which had more shadow and detail. Others have hailed the project for saving Michelangelo's masterpiece for future generations to appreciate and for revealing the vibrancy of his color palette."

more at: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-sistine-chapel

June 9

Bright and early in the morning, we headed off to the Galleria Borghese where would be able to see some statues by Bernini. I'm going to talk about my favorite Bernini statue I saw, Hades and Persephone. This statue is amazing. I would encourage anyone who goes to Rome to take a trip to the Borghese Gallery just to see this. The amount of detail is incredible. One part of the statue that really stood out to me, and probably everyone who sees the statue, is the area where Hades is grabbing Persephone's thigh. It looks exactly as how it would if you saw someone actually grabbing someone's flesh with force like that. It's incredible to think that someone was able to perfect such a delicate task. Also, just in case no one knows the greek mythology of this story (I didn't) here it is:

Persephone was the daughter of the goddess Demeter. One day Persephone was dancing with her friends in a sunny meadow, having a good time, picking flowers.

Suddenly Persephone's spooky uncle Hades burst out of the ground and grabbed her and pulled her into his chariot! He took Persephone (purr-SEFF-oh-nee) under the ground to his kingdom, the land of the dead, and told her that he wanted her to be the Queen of the Underworld and marry him.
Persephone was very sad there under the ground. She wanted to go up into the sunshine again. But Hades would not let her. Persephone was so sad that she would not eat nor drink.

Meanwhile, back up in the land of the living, Persephone's mother Demeter was looking everywhere for her and could not find her. She cried and cried. Finally she went to her brother Zeus, who was also Persephone's father, and asked him to help find Persephone. Zeus, sitting way up there on top of Mount Olympus, was able to see where Persephone was. He told Hades to give her back.

But Hades said he would only give Persephone back if she had really not eaten or drunk anything from the land of the dead. Persephone had not eaten much, but it turned out she HAD eaten six pomegranate seeds. So they agreed that Persephone could spend six months a year above ground with her mother, but she would have to spend the other six months in the land of the dead with her uncle/husband. And that is how it has been since then, according to the story: that's why we have the seasons.

If you look at Persephone's story another way, you can see that it is a way of talking about how grain grows. Persephone represents the grain. Like grain, she comes up out of the earth in the spring, and dances in the meadow with her friends. Her mother Demeter is glad to see her and makes the sun shine. In the fall, though, Persephone dies as the grain comes ripe and is harvested. She has to go back under the ground again, as men plant the seeds under the ground. Persephone's mother is sad and cries, like the rain in winter. Then every spring she comes up again.

After going to the Galleria Borghese, we proceeded to go to the 250 year old St. Priscilla catacomb. This was the first time that I will have been in a catacomb, so I really did not know what to expect (picture above on left). Although we got there after the catacomb was supposed to close for a couple hours, we were able to get in. A catacomb is an underground cemetery where thousands of people would be buried. In this specific catacomb, there are about 40,000 niches. These catacombs would consist of up to 20 kilometers of space. This catacomb was used to bury people from the second to the fifth century.

June 8

Today we went to the Villa Doria Pamphili. While we were there, we looked at a few pieces of Caravaggio’s work. Two paintings that I specifically remember are “The Flight into Egypt” and “Penitent Magdalena”.

Flight into Egypt:

The Council of Trent issued a number of decrees which prohibited artists from treating many popular legends which were now considered improbable. The story of the Holy Family's flight&emdash;only briefly sketched out in the Biblical account&emdash;survived the strictures of the Council and often appeared in painting from the end of the sixteenth century. Most favored was a representation of the holy family resting, wearing from their travels. Caravaggio's idyllic painting is an individualistic representation of this.

The artist ingeniously uses the figure of an angel playing the violin with his back to the viewer to divide the composition into two parts. On the right, before an autumnal river-front scene, we can see the sleeping Mary with a dozing infant in her left; on the left, a seated Joseph holding the musical score for the angel. Contrasting the unlikelihood of the event is the realistic effect of depiction, the accuracy of details, the trees, the leaves and stones, whereby the total impression becomes astonishingly authentic.

The statue-like figure of the angel, with a white robe draped around him, is like a charmingly shaped musical motif, and it provides the basic tone for the composition. It is an interesting contradiction&emdash;and at the same time a good example for the adaptability of forms.

There is no apparent precedence for a music-playing angel to make an appearance in the story of the flight into Egypt. Charming is Caravaggio's decision to actively involve St Joseph in the music-making.

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/bar_cvggo_flight.html

Penitent Magdalena:

An evolved Baroque Mary Magdalene is curiously seen in Caravaggio’s uniquely sensitivePenitent Magdalen of 1596-97, now in the Doria Pamphilij Gallery in Rome. Caravaggio’s treatment here is both sympathetic and idiosyncratic but visually correct only in regard to iconographic traditions of the Magdalene, This tradition, however, conflates four gospel texts that may have nothing to do with one composite woman nor do they necessarily all refer to the persona of Mary Magdalene, who is often said in modernity to be degraded into a sexual object of male fantasy.

The iconography Caravaggio employed here is both clever and innovative in many respects for its adherence to biblical text. In Caravaggio’s warm-colored tones bespeaking both her passion and Christ’s Passion, the Magdalene’s most typical visual attribute is the unguent vessel containing nard (Greek ναρδος from Hebrew or Aramaic נרד ) with which she is associated in tradition (rather than clearly supported from text) as having washed Christ’s feet with her sensuously long and lustrous reddish hair – and red is the color of sanguinity - after sacrificially pouring out its precious perfume (although here Caravaggio may be painting in advance of that biblical narrative moment). The same perfume nardus in Latin known from Pliny’s Natural History XXI.70 is probably from the Indian or Near Eastern desert plant Nardostachys jatamansi and is also called spikenard, its liquid color being golden red or orange like the Magdalene’s hair and the golden perfume hue seen here in Caravaggio’s painting. Other attributes are conveyed in the Magdalene’s putative life as a courtesan, implied by rich clothes and extravagant jewelry, and her body language of penitence is marked by her humble position, in this case close to the ground on a very low chair. What the Magdalene renounces in Caravaggio’s image is consonant with what has been noted in typical Pauline testimonia of the modest new woman of God - often suggested as a misogynistic text - who is unadorned by anything but grace: “not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls or expensive clothes” as St. Paul writes in I Timothy 2:9.

Many pictorial details encourage closer inspection. The biblical texts state that the perfume vessel which the woman (Mary Magdalene?) used on Christ – often mistranslated from the Koiné Greek New Testament as being of alabaster stone - was a glass alabastron (Greek ’αλαβαστρον), probably sealed in ampule form against desiccating air and oxidation; terribly expensive because vessel and perfume were to be used only once, the glass needing to be broken to release its perfume inside. Caravaggio depicts a glass vessel here, either deliberately or accidentally in closer accordance with the text, but perhaps better to highlight the gold transparence of the nard perfume as symbolic of the Magdalene’s pouring her life out. On her dress is another vessel or receptacle noted by Cinotti as a possible simile of the Magdalene herself and which she fills here in Caravaggio’s schemata. In this instance, the vessel on her dress bears a shell-like form as possibly representative of the Classical notion that shells (extrapolated from Hesiod’s Theogony) were one of the visual attributes of sea-born Venus to whose sacred cult most courtesans belonged either professionally or by practice as those who live for amor sacer. The perfume vessel shown in two distinct forms may be an accommodation of both traditions: the translucent glass form at her feet and also as an opaque white alabaster form on her dress. Vegetal motifs on her clothing may depict the source of the perfume as floral – and flowers are another attribute of Venus - but could in any case merely indicate the fertility which courtesans explicitly evoke. However one views Caravaggio's Magdalene, on the one hand his naturalism gives us opportunity to agree with Bellori that it is mostly a seated woman who could be anybody and on the other hand to disagree because Caravaggio's iconographic subtlety allows us to identify her by her perfume and hair and almost the moment of penitence when she rejects her former life as a voluptuary as the long traditions suggest.

http://traumwerk.stanford.edu/philolog/2009/03/caravaggios_mary_magdalene_ult.html

June 7

As today was a free day, I decided to take the time to catch up on some sleep and work. Since a lot of people went to the Roman forum, I did some research about the forum and am going to put it on my blog.

The Roman Forum is located in a valley that is between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill. It originally was a marsh, but the Romans drained the area and turned it into a center of political and social activity. The Forum was the marketplace of Rome and also the business district and civic center. It was expanded to include temples, a senate house and law courts. When the Roman Empire fell, the Forum became forgotten, buried and was used as a cattle pasture during the Middle Ages. (http://ancient-rome.tripod.com/romanforum/roman_forum.htm)

Also, Since I created my Weebly on Roman Architecture, I am going to post information on here about the Arch of Titus (which by the Fourm).

The Arch of Titus was built at one end of the Roman Forum in the 80's AD to remind people about the Emperor Titus' victories in the war against the Jews in Israel. It is part marble and part travertine. Titus was actually already dead when the arch was built, but Titus' younger brotherDomitian was emperor, and he wanted people to remember his brother Titus. So the inscription has Titus' name on it. (It says, the Senate and the People of Rome, to the Divine Titus, son of the Divine Vespasian, Vespasian Augustus). The letters were originally picked out in shining bronze letters, but the bronze has been stolen away and melted down.

On each side of the fornix, or arch, are engaged fluted columns, the captials of which are the earliest example of the Composite style.
The inside of the arch has relief (raised) carvings showing the victory parade when Titus got back to Rome.
You can see the Roman soldiers carrying a huge menorah (candlestick) which they had taken from the Jews. They are about to go under a triumphal arch.
On the other side, the Emperor Titus (whose head is missing now) rides in a chariot drawn by four horses.
The holes were made by people in the Middle Ages digging out the lead clamps which once held the travertine blocks together. They wanted to melt down the lead to make new things.

The treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem are shown being carried on
litters (fercula) in the triumphal procession of AD 71. They include
the seven-branched candelabrum (menorah), silver trumpets, and the
table for the shewbread. Two plaques carried aloft would have had the
names of conquered cities inscribed on them. After the triumph, the
treasures were placed in the Temple of Peace in the Forum of
Vespasian.

Preceded by his lictors, Titus, in a quadriga, is led by Dea Roma, the
Goddess of Rome, into the City, as the Goddess of Victory crowns the
triumphator. The personifications of the senate and people of Rome are
at his side. The deeply carved reliefs, with the figures in the
foreground casting their shadows on those behind, create an illusion
of movement and depth that, together with the human and allegorical
figures, make these panels the most important sculpture of the Flavian
period.

June 6

Today we finally got to see the inside of the colosseum. Since we were with an archeologist/tour guide, we were able to go to the under ground level and the third level. It is hard to imagine how the colosseum used to look. There used to be seating everywhere, and other than a little section, it is all gone now. Also, since the ground level has been torn up, you can see all the way to where the underground level is. If they had not had a reconstruction of what part of the ground (and fighting) level would have been on, it would be even harder to imagine what it looked like. Here is the link to the trailer from Gladiator, and it gives you a little bit of a sense of what it was like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo

June 5

Today we were woke up early to go to the Vatican and St. Peter's. We walked over to to the Vatican and stood under the hot sun that was only going to get hotter throughout the day, so we could get through security. As we had to have ourselves covered to go into St. Peter's, I was wearing jeans. Since there was not a long line to go to the top of St. Peter's, that was the first thing we did. We walked up the steps to the top which I heard was something about 551 steps. It was incredibly hot outside and there was not much ventilation inside, and it got so hot I thought I was going to die. Despite my near death experience, I made it to the top. The view was incredible. We were able to see Vatican City and an overhead view of the city we have been in for a week now.

When we were finished, we went down into St. Peters and saw the basilica. One of the things that stood out to me was the Pieta by Michaelangelo. Prior to visiting, I had no idea what this was. I did learn though that it is from the Renaissance period and it is a sculpture of Jesus on the lap of Mary after his crucifixion. It's amazing how a great artist can turn stone into such a masterpiece.

June 4

Today we started off our day by meeting in the courtyard of St. John’s. Sister Bednarz began to tell us what we were going to do today, and she gave us a list of things we should know. Here is the list and their definitions.

1. Penates: gods who watched over the home or community to which they belonged: originally, two deities of the storeroom.
2. Insula: an insulawas a kind of apartment building that housed most of the urban citizen population of ancient Rome, including ordinary people of lower- or middle-class status and all but the wealthiest from the upper-middle class.
3. Domus: the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras.
4. Lares: Guardian spirits
5. Lararium: A shrine to the guardian spirits of the Roman household.
6. Paterfamilias: The head of a Roman family.
7. Patron: An officially recognized high status position in Roman society.
8. Imago: Imago clipeta usually used in reference to the images of heroes on Roman shields; Imago Dei, means “Image of God” in Latin.
9. Salutatio: The morning greeting of the Roman patron by his clients.

After we left the university, we walked to Trestevere, and we took a long route so we were able to see the city of Rome from a higher point. The view was amazing, and you could see all of the sites we have seen up close. We continued walking and finally got to Santa Maria church. We looked around the church a little and then were able to go underneath it. I would say that my favorite part was being able to see all of the old mosaic work from the third or fourth century and on. It is amazing that some of their work is still preserved and you can tell what some of the artwork was. Sister Bednarz also mentioned that she thought some of the artwork was from closer to the sixth century, based on what they were wearing. Also in this church were little boxes that Sister Bednarz believed were used to hold bones. When I was in Peru, I saw boxes like that, and they were used to hold bones, so Sister is most likely correct. When we were discussing that I got really excited for when we go to the catacombs. There is so much in those church’s beneath the church, and it would be really interesting to have an archeologist so he could tell you what everything is.

First Day of Class

After leaving the dorms a little after nine this morning, we walked to Piazza da Popolo. We first sat down on the step outside of Santa Maria del Popolo. Professor Bednarz briefly talked about Habakkuk, Caravaggio, and Jonah and told us different chapters of the Bible to look at. Since there was mass going on in the church, we went into the Piazza and talked about the Egyptian oelisk of Ramesses II from Heliopolis that is in the center of the Piazza. We also talked about the “twin” churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli that are located at the entrance of the Tridente. As we were doing this, we were able to see what some Romans are “really” like. A woman must have decided that she did not like or want her pants anymore. She took off her pants, walked over to a fountain (completely naked on the bottom) and threw her pants in the fountain, stood there for a few minutes staring at them, and then walked away. As amusing as this was, it was kind of uncomfortable she did this so casually.

We then proceeded to talk about the fountains at either side of the Piazza. On the west is the Fontana di Nettuno, where Neptune stands in the middle with his trident and a titans and two dolphins. We then talked about the fountain on the other side that included the founders of Rome and their proceeder, but no one is exactly sure what the statue is. We then went into Santa Maria del Popolo and walked around the church and talked about Caravaggio’s art (which was inside) and Kristen told us about a few of the paintings.

We proceeded to go to two more churches and looked at statues, their meanings, and different art works. At the third church, we went to a first century church that was located under the church that people use today. It was really interesting because we got to see first century brickwork and how they were able to construct a church for themselves. A really interesting part of that church was a section in the back that was most likely used for baptism. There were two sections for baptism and it is thought that either one was used for washing feet before going into the main baptismal, or one was for the kids and one was for the older people.

After we took a break for lunch and some time to relax, we started an adventure throughout Rome. We students had no idea where we were going to go, so we were all filled with suspense. We ended up going to a market from the Roman era that had may levels. It was really interesting to see this market and to realize how complex this was. It was really impressive, especially because the area that it was built on was so uneven that it must have been hard to stabilize this. We then walked a little ways and went to dinner. After dinner when we were sitting in the small piazza, it was interesting to notice people noticing us. Italians, or Europeans in general, dress well, and to see a group of people dressed in tennis shoes and t-shirts it must have been funny or unusual to them. It was also funny to see them laugh at some of the people in the group because of how crazy they were acting. Some people must have had some good drinks at dinner and were just having some fun, and the Italians thought it was funny and were mimicking them.

When we left the piazza, we walked around Rome a little more and saw the Colosseum. It was really cool on the top of the hill we went to because from the angle we were at, we did not see any of the modern day Rome, just ancient rome, and it was beautiful.