Week One

I can't believe I've been in Rome for over a week now!  Thus far my trip has been full of excitement and pretty much non-stop activity.  I have enjoyed every minute of it, but I am definitely feeling the physical and mental stress.  Here's what I have been doing since my last post:

On Wednesday Dr. Rea, who is teaching the Daily Life In Ancient Rome class, took the entire group on a tour in the afternoon.  We saw the Porticus of Octavia, a public structure containing art, temples, and libraries which the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus, dedicated to his sister.  She then showed us the Theater of Marcellus, dedicated by Augustus to his so-in-law.  We walked along what used to be the Triumphal Way in Roman times, where victorious generals would enter the city to receive their triumphs.  We also saw the Mouth of Truth.  You put your hand in the mouth and it is supposed to crush it if you tell a lie.  I took a picture with my hand in the mouth and my hand is completely fine.  We finished our tour on the Aventine Hill, where we could see out over the city.  It was a beautiful sight.

On Friday, we went to Tivoli and toured Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este.  Hadrian's Villa is an enormous complex that would have housed around 450 members of the Praetorian Guard, numerous slaves, and any of the emperor Hadrian's guests.  He designed the villa and although it is in ruins now it was once full of fountains and cool pools and places to exercise, read, and relax.  According to Dr. Rea, Hadrian spent most of his time at his villa instead of in Rome, to the displeasure of many Romans.  I was impressed by the sheer size of the place.  Not only did it cover a large area, but every room was huge.  Much of the disrepair of the villa is due to pillaging of the marble for other construction works, including the marvelous Villa d'Este.  After a filling lunch in an underground restaurant where we learned how to make pasta we went to the Villa d'Este.  The Villa was full of floor-to-ceiling paintings and contained extensive gardens, which my friend Lindsey and I walked around together.  There were many sparkling fountains and more stairs than I could count.  In all, it was a wonderful day.

The night after returning from our Tivoli excursion I boarded a train to visit Venice with 13 other students on my trip.  It's getting pretty late here so I'll write all about it in my next post.

Until then,

Allison

 Mouth of Truth

 View from the top of the Aventine Hill

Hadrian's Villa

Caryatids at Hadrian's Villa

Villa d'Este