Last week was marked by intensive italian class. This was first and foremost a reminder of how little I have retained from language classes back at Columbia. In the end, it was extremely helpful to review all of the verb tenses I've studied in the past and practice speaking with each other in class. I have come to realize that having taken 4 semesters of Italian, while I may sometimes feel that I don't know that much, has been and will continue to be a wonderful advantage. I have so far found myself in two drastically different linguistic situations, and rarely anywhere in between. The first is when I am on my A-game and the words I need are right there on the tip of my tongue. The other, upsetting and utterly infuriating, is when I feel as though no matter how hard I try to say what I want to express, I am trapped inside my body with no way to communicate except for with distressed facial expressions. The latter makes me want to curl up and die and usually occurs when I'm being spoken to in rapid fire italian by the man at the grocery store or the angry bum on the street. However, these two occur regularly on a day to day basis, so usually balance each other out. For that reason, I do not feel as though my italian has improved all that much, but I am confident that I will soon start to notice some headway. Half the trouble is convincing myself to TRY, and I already feel more comfortable doing that.
Today I had a very simple interaction with a woman who's way I was blocking on the bus. "Scendi?" I asked, wondering if she planned to get off at the next stop. "Si," she replied. This was particularly satisfying mostly because 'do you plan on getting off at the next stop' is so much more simply said in Italian. I'm picking up on so many of these little words and phrases, colloquialisms that I would never have learned in class. Two others are 'schialiamo' and 'da paura', courtesy of niccolo' and giaime. They mean "lets chill/hang out" and "that's sick" (that's so cool) respectively. I have yet to employ them, but it WILL happen soon.
Last weekend consisted of an out-of-this-world dinner for a friend's 21st, testing the waters of the Roma club scene, and a visit to paradise on earth, the Villa Borghese. Olio, Sale e Pepe is a ristorante right around the corner from our apartment and offers a set price for all you can eat appetizers, pizza and drinks, dessert and coffee included. Best pizza I've had here yet. Needless to say, the quote of the night became "I'm never eating pizza again...until tomorrow."
I was disappointed with the club scene of Rome, probably because it was so much like the NYC club scene, in that I don't belong in it. Long lines, people in heels, exorbitant cover charges. Not for me.
The Borghese visit, however, was for me. It was a mecca of classical antiquities surrounded by the most beautiful of gardens. I ventured up to the Villa Borghese with my roommate and Valentine Tara on Saturday afternoon. We had a 1 pm appointment at the Galleria and had never used the Metro before, so we arrived at the Galleria huffing and puffing and utterly disheveled. It didn't take long to shake that off though, because the scene in front of the old Borghese villa was nowhere short of perfection. The sun was shining down upon the people dotting the lawns. Couples lay on the grass embracing each other while a man in a funny hat stood, saxophone in hand, serenading the crowd to smooth, slow jazz recordings. A father smiled as he took his little daughter's hand, twirling her around and around and around. And Tara and I stood on the steps of the magnificent building taking in all of this.
Then we went inside. I could go on about the Galleria forever, so I will just talk about my favorite pieces. I knew from the beginning I was not going to have enough time to get to everything, mostly because they limit the visits to two hours, and while the villa itself is not exceptionally big, there is SO much packed into its rooms that to absorb and appreciate it all in two hours would be impossible. The reason I know about the Galleria Borghese is because of the Bernini that it houses. These were what I was most excited to see, and these were what I focused on during my visit. When I entered the villa, I was bombarded with frescoes and reliefs and statues and mosaics on all sides. The ceilings, walls and floors are literally covered from top to bottom, left all the way to right with works of art. I loved the fact that every time I looked up at the ceiling in any one of the rooms, my eyes were met with a scene of the Gods. I don't know much about art and therefore don't know if placing divine scenes on the ceiling is traditional, but I thought it was so perfect that they should be what we see when we look upwards, almost as if they are watching over us.
The other remarkable thing about the entrance room is that the back wall has a glass window right smack in the middle, through which you can see the sculpture I had been waiting and waiting to see. La Ratta di Persorpina. The Rape of Persephone by Bernini has always amazed me because the first time I ever saw it, I was shown a small picture of just a small part of it, the hand of Pluto on the thigh of Persephone. When I was shown this picture, I didn't know what I was looking at, and to me, this image looked like a real hand grasping a real thigh. When I was informed that this was a stature carved from marble, I was in awe. Getting my first glimpse of the masterpiece was very exciting.
The three things I loved the most were obviously the three most famous Bernini statues. David is colossal (though not nearly as colossal as Michelangelo's The David: it will be interesting to compare when I go to Florence this coming weekend) and full of tension. His face is scrunched up illustrating the strength required for torquing his body to launch the fatal stone at Goliath. His eyebrows furrow, the muscles in his legs flex, the veins in his arms and feet bulge. I noticed the same life-like details when I finally entered the room with Pluto and Persephone. The very first thing I noticed was Pluto's sturdy, solid leg holding his weight and the weight of Persephone as he abducts her. The most enchanting details for me were the way Pluto's hands grip into Persephone's thigh and side, folds of white, marble skin yielding beneath them. I loved these two statues so much. I stood in front of David for what felt like hours, walking around and around him, trying to figure out how Bernini could have carved his body into that cork-screw shape. I spent even longer with Pluto and Persephone. I stared so long and hard at them I swear they came to life for a moment. Like I swear to god I saw Pluto's hair wave as Persephone writhes, pushing his head away with her hand, trying to escape.
Lastly, I was impressed by Apollo and Daphne. This statue was not like the others. Yes, all three tell harrowing stories. Yes, all three convey intense emotion. But Apollo and Daphne didn't strike me because of their life-like features or the tension held between their eyes. I actually found their faces to be quite inexpressive. I was mostly awed by the intricacies of the statue, the way Bernini must have carved those hundreds of ever so detailed leaves as Daphne turns into a laurel tree, carved so carefully that when struck, the marble rings. I was awed by the way Apollo stands perched on one leg, his other leg seeming to float above the ground as he extends forward, trying to catch Daphne. The way Daphne's features so gently and subtly fade into the bark of the tree, her toes into the roots, rendered me reverential. Like the many ancient buildings I've seen so far in Rome, these statues spark deep admiration and appreciation for Bernini and his genius. The minute I stepped out the door I was already planning my next visit.
***
This week marks the beginning of 'real' classes. So far, I am in love with all of mine. I am taking Forma Urbis, an ancient archaeology class with Gianni Ponti (my adviser and the absolute MAN) which includes site visits to almost all of the famous architectural and archaeological sites in Rome, a contemporary italian politics class taught in Italian by a very sweet man name Mattia, a photography class in italian at a local university, and an international relations class on Italy and the US taught by two Roma Tre professors (another local uni). I will also be auditing a class on commedia, the italian theatre tradition and am taking the obligatory italian language class. SO far, all are good. I have already learned SO much and it all already ties in so well with my experience here so far; everything is relevant and everything I learn can be seen in practice or implementation somewhere in the city. More details on class to come.
I am tired now and I have some reading to do for Gianni. I leave for Florence on Friday morning with a bunch of friends (and hopefully I will get to see DANILKA), so I will have lots to report when I get back.
BACI e ABBRACCI
J
back at the fortress in assisi, just wanted to remind you.
1 comment:
bernini = baller.
arthum meets real life, da paura (did I use that correctly?).
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