Today is my last day in la città eterna. I'm full of so many mixed feelings. On the one hand I miss my family and I'm excited for the fall semester, but on the other I really don't want to have to say goodbye to Rome. I've spent six weeks getting to know this city, but it doesn't feel like enough time.
I've spent the last few days finishing off my Rome bucket list. I saw the Ara Pacis Augustae on Tuesday with my classics class. It was amazing to once again see in person something I have learned about in class. The detail on the outside is incredible, and I was even able to spot some of the smaller details in the vine patterns on the sides. Through the windows of the museum I was able to see the Mausoleum of Augustus, who is the emperor I know the most about.
Mostly I have been trying to take pictures documenting the places I spent the most time. I took pictures of the classroom building, as well as around my apartment. I've tried not to think about how every day I do or see something for the last time, but the reality is it may be the last time I do many things here in Rome. I bought my last panino from the sandwich shop across from school today, and I have my last dinner in a little bit. I saw the Pantheon for the last time yesterday and did the last bit of souvenir shopping (not really a sad event, but still). I took my last exams and had my last Italian class ever. I still need to eat my last gelato and say my last goodbyes to some friends who I won't get to see after this summer.
I finished packing my bags and now I need to start cleaning up the apartment. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Italy. I have made so many memories and gone on more adventures than I have been able to post about. Tomorrow I have an extra long day of travel, but by this time tomorrow (Rome time) I will be back in the U.S. A big thank-you for reading about all of my adventures here in Italy. I've enjoyed typing up my stories and sharing my pictures with you.
I may be leaving tomorrow, but I know that I will come back to Rome someday. Until then I have plenty of pictures and memories to hold on to.
Allison Kane
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
Week Five: Museums, Ancient Sites, and Papa Francesco
As I get closer to the end of my trip I have been trying to squeeze in every experience that I can. This past week was one of the busiest I've had. I saw the Borghese Gallery and the Capitoline Museums with everyone on the program on Tuesday and Wednesday. I travelled to Ostia Antica on Friday and walked part of the Appia Antica on Saturday. On Sunday I attended mass in St. Peter's and then received a blessing from the Pope. In between all of my excursions I have had class, including studying for an exam and preparing for an Italian interview project.
After Italian class ended on Tuesday I had a few hours to kill before we were to meet at the Borghese Gallery, which is located in Villa Borghese, a beautiful park. My friends Emily and Lindsey and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to visit Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. We walked from the classroom building to the Spanish Steps with a little help from Google Maps. I was disappointed to see that both the fountain at the bottom of the steps and the hotel at the top were under scaffolding. However, I still took plenty of pictures, including one where I was eating gelato on the steps, and I climbed to the top. Lindsey, Emily, and I spent some time talking while sitting at the top of the steps looking out at the city.
Villa Borghese is pretty close to the Spanish Steps so we walked from them to the park. We were there very early so we decided to explore the park for a bit. We took pictures in a gazebo that had a column base in the middle of it. We found an interesting statue of a man on a horse that we weren't able to identify. When it was almost time to meet the rest of the group we found the Borghese Gallery and sat on a bench outside of it.
The Borghese Gallery was once the home of a prominent family in Rome during the 15th century. The gallery houses the family's collection of art, including four sculptures by Bernini. While all of the art was beautiful, I was most interested in the four Bernini sculptures. The first of the four that we saw was a sculpture of David before he slays Goliath. David's face had a look of intense concentration that is actually a self portrait of Bernini's face. The next sculpture depicted the transformation of Daphne as Apollo is trying to grasp her. According to classical mythology, Daphne was a nymph who caught the eye of Apollo because he was shot with a love arrow by Cupid. Cupid shot Daphne with the opposing hate arrow, causing Daphne to be repulsed by Apollo's advances. Apollo chased Daphne and as he got close to catching her she prayed to her father, a river god, who turned her into the laurel tree. In The Metamorphoses, the poet Ovid describes the transformation as occurring at the exact moment that Apollo grasped Daphne. The statue perfectly depicts the transformation: half of Daphne is already the tree, her face is one of horror as a man she hates tries to grasp her, and Apollo's fingers are just grazing her skin as it turns into bark. The third statue was by far my favorite one: The Rape of Persephone. The statue depicted Pluto as he is taking Persephone down to the Underworld to be his queen. Bernini sculpted her struggle against her captor and made the marble look like flesh. I could see Pluto's finger indentations on her skin as he pressed his hands against her. I was captivated by how realistic the marble looked. Although it depicted a tragic scene, the statue was beautiful. The final Bernini statue was of Aeneas with his father, Anchises, on his shoulder, and his son, Ascanius, by his side. I appreciated the depiction of the Penates in Anchises' hands that I read about in the Aeneid.
On Wednesday afternoon we toured the Capitoline Museums. They contained many classical sculptures, including busts of the emperors and their families. I also got to see the statue of the wolf nursing Romulus and Remus. One of my favorite parts of the tour was getting to look out over the Roman Forum. It was nice to imagine what the Forum would have looked like in ancient times, as seen from the Capitoline hill.
On Friday I wanted to go to Ostia Antica, which was the port of ancient Rome. I met my friend Jared in the morning and we bought bus/metro tickets. I knew exactly how to get to Ostia, but I accidentally had us get on the wrong bus. Fortunately the bus we got on stopped at Piramide, our metro stop. Unfortunately, I missed the stop and by the time I realized my mistake I had no idea where we were. Jared and I decided to try and ride the bus around until it got back near Piramide, but after over an hour on the bus we had to concede that our plan wasn't working. We finally got off the bus and walked around for a bit before catching a taxi to Piramide. Once there we boarded the correct metro and were finally on our way to Ostia. I felt terrible about getting us lost and delaying our trip to Ostia, but Jared was very nice about it, reassuring me that he was enjoying the experience of getting lost.
Eventually we made it to Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica is one of the best preserved ancient sites, so it looks a lot like Pompeii. Jared and I had a good time climbing through all of the ruins. We saw a set of Roman baths, a temple, and a theater in addition to many, many houses. Jared and I discussed classics and books while we explored, and it was a wonderful afternoon. At one point I turned a corner in a house and let out an "Oh my gosh!" Jared rushed around the corner, expecting to see a statue or another work of art. When he saw that it was just a toilet he almost fell down because he was laughing so hard. I happen to have an appreciation for Roman plumbing, so I thought it was really cool to find a toilet just sitting there in a house. Once Jared recovered, I had him take a picture of me on the toilet, because, why not? It was so amazing to be able to explore Ostia. There weren't a lot of barriers, so we were able to climb around in places I hadn't expected to be able to climb.
Saturday morning I walked from my apartment to the Appian Antica with Sherrie. It was quite an adventure because we were walking along a road that had a fair amount of traffic and no sidewalks. Several times we had to wait for a break in traffic to walk around vines that were blocking our line of site. Although we didn't make it all the way to the ancient stones, it was still nice to walk along what was one of the most famous roads in Rome. I think that we walked about 7 miles total (based on my best Google Maps estimate).
Sunday morning I went to mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Although it was rainy, a group of us walked from Piazza Belli, which is right down the street from my dorm, to the Vatican. The mass was in Italian, but I was able to understand small amounts of it. I am proud to say that I recognized the Gospel passage as the one about the loaves and fishes. After mass we explored some of the souvenir shops to kill time before the Papal Blessing. At 11 we went back into St. Peter's Square and found a spot to stand that had a good view of the Papal Apartment. At noon we got to see Pope Francis stand in his window and we listened to him give a blessing. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime ind of experience. I felt very lucky to have been able to see him, as I think he is a great Pope.
I only have a few more days in Rome, which makes me sad and yet happy. There are things I miss about the United States, but I also don't want to have to leave Rome. I'm hoping to be able to squeeze in a few more experiences before I leave Friday morning. I have fallen in love with this city. I hope to post one more time before I leave, so be on the lookout for my final post from Rome.
Allison
After Italian class ended on Tuesday I had a few hours to kill before we were to meet at the Borghese Gallery, which is located in Villa Borghese, a beautiful park. My friends Emily and Lindsey and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to visit Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. We walked from the classroom building to the Spanish Steps with a little help from Google Maps. I was disappointed to see that both the fountain at the bottom of the steps and the hotel at the top were under scaffolding. However, I still took plenty of pictures, including one where I was eating gelato on the steps, and I climbed to the top. Lindsey, Emily, and I spent some time talking while sitting at the top of the steps looking out at the city.
Villa Borghese is pretty close to the Spanish Steps so we walked from them to the park. We were there very early so we decided to explore the park for a bit. We took pictures in a gazebo that had a column base in the middle of it. We found an interesting statue of a man on a horse that we weren't able to identify. When it was almost time to meet the rest of the group we found the Borghese Gallery and sat on a bench outside of it.
The Borghese Gallery was once the home of a prominent family in Rome during the 15th century. The gallery houses the family's collection of art, including four sculptures by Bernini. While all of the art was beautiful, I was most interested in the four Bernini sculptures. The first of the four that we saw was a sculpture of David before he slays Goliath. David's face had a look of intense concentration that is actually a self portrait of Bernini's face. The next sculpture depicted the transformation of Daphne as Apollo is trying to grasp her. According to classical mythology, Daphne was a nymph who caught the eye of Apollo because he was shot with a love arrow by Cupid. Cupid shot Daphne with the opposing hate arrow, causing Daphne to be repulsed by Apollo's advances. Apollo chased Daphne and as he got close to catching her she prayed to her father, a river god, who turned her into the laurel tree. In The Metamorphoses, the poet Ovid describes the transformation as occurring at the exact moment that Apollo grasped Daphne. The statue perfectly depicts the transformation: half of Daphne is already the tree, her face is one of horror as a man she hates tries to grasp her, and Apollo's fingers are just grazing her skin as it turns into bark. The third statue was by far my favorite one: The Rape of Persephone. The statue depicted Pluto as he is taking Persephone down to the Underworld to be his queen. Bernini sculpted her struggle against her captor and made the marble look like flesh. I could see Pluto's finger indentations on her skin as he pressed his hands against her. I was captivated by how realistic the marble looked. Although it depicted a tragic scene, the statue was beautiful. The final Bernini statue was of Aeneas with his father, Anchises, on his shoulder, and his son, Ascanius, by his side. I appreciated the depiction of the Penates in Anchises' hands that I read about in the Aeneid.
On Wednesday afternoon we toured the Capitoline Museums. They contained many classical sculptures, including busts of the emperors and their families. I also got to see the statue of the wolf nursing Romulus and Remus. One of my favorite parts of the tour was getting to look out over the Roman Forum. It was nice to imagine what the Forum would have looked like in ancient times, as seen from the Capitoline hill.
On Friday I wanted to go to Ostia Antica, which was the port of ancient Rome. I met my friend Jared in the morning and we bought bus/metro tickets. I knew exactly how to get to Ostia, but I accidentally had us get on the wrong bus. Fortunately the bus we got on stopped at Piramide, our metro stop. Unfortunately, I missed the stop and by the time I realized my mistake I had no idea where we were. Jared and I decided to try and ride the bus around until it got back near Piramide, but after over an hour on the bus we had to concede that our plan wasn't working. We finally got off the bus and walked around for a bit before catching a taxi to Piramide. Once there we boarded the correct metro and were finally on our way to Ostia. I felt terrible about getting us lost and delaying our trip to Ostia, but Jared was very nice about it, reassuring me that he was enjoying the experience of getting lost.
Eventually we made it to Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica is one of the best preserved ancient sites, so it looks a lot like Pompeii. Jared and I had a good time climbing through all of the ruins. We saw a set of Roman baths, a temple, and a theater in addition to many, many houses. Jared and I discussed classics and books while we explored, and it was a wonderful afternoon. At one point I turned a corner in a house and let out an "Oh my gosh!" Jared rushed around the corner, expecting to see a statue or another work of art. When he saw that it was just a toilet he almost fell down because he was laughing so hard. I happen to have an appreciation for Roman plumbing, so I thought it was really cool to find a toilet just sitting there in a house. Once Jared recovered, I had him take a picture of me on the toilet, because, why not? It was so amazing to be able to explore Ostia. There weren't a lot of barriers, so we were able to climb around in places I hadn't expected to be able to climb.
Saturday morning I walked from my apartment to the Appian Antica with Sherrie. It was quite an adventure because we were walking along a road that had a fair amount of traffic and no sidewalks. Several times we had to wait for a break in traffic to walk around vines that were blocking our line of site. Although we didn't make it all the way to the ancient stones, it was still nice to walk along what was one of the most famous roads in Rome. I think that we walked about 7 miles total (based on my best Google Maps estimate).
Sunday morning I went to mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Although it was rainy, a group of us walked from Piazza Belli, which is right down the street from my dorm, to the Vatican. The mass was in Italian, but I was able to understand small amounts of it. I am proud to say that I recognized the Gospel passage as the one about the loaves and fishes. After mass we explored some of the souvenir shops to kill time before the Papal Blessing. At 11 we went back into St. Peter's Square and found a spot to stand that had a good view of the Papal Apartment. At noon we got to see Pope Francis stand in his window and we listened to him give a blessing. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime ind of experience. I felt very lucky to have been able to see him, as I think he is a great Pope.
I only have a few more days in Rome, which makes me sad and yet happy. There are things I miss about the United States, but I also don't want to have to leave Rome. I'm hoping to be able to squeeze in a few more experiences before I leave Friday morning. I have fallen in love with this city. I hope to post one more time before I leave, so be on the lookout for my final post from Rome.
Allison
On the Spanish Steps
Galleria Borghese
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the building.
Statue of Lupa nursing Romulus and Remus
In Ostia I climbed a stairway to nowhere
At the beginning of the Appia Antica
Papa Francesco
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