That very first night in Roma we walked from our apartment by the piramide (literally a pyramid that is the tomb of the magistrate Cestius. The story goes that Cestius' wife was upset that he'd taken a mistress, and vowed to do such things as defecate on his grave. As a means to outwit his spiteful wife, Cestius built his tomb in the shape of a pyramid, to prevent such defacement from occurring). As it turns out, our apartment is a mere fifteen minute walk from the Colosseum, and therefore the Circus Maximus and Roman Forum. It being a Monday night at around midnight, there was not a soul in sight. We were able to spend our first hours out and about in Rome alone with some of the most famous and beautiful relics of Roman history. It was simply divine.
Today was a whirlwind of sightseeing, as we were taken on a guided tour of the historical center of Rome. I was bombarded with an immense amount of information from our tour guide Shane, a strapping young man from Ireland who became a tour guide to share his love of Roman history. He took us to see the Via Giulia, which with its narrow breadth and quaint, colorful buildings is my favorite street to date. We saw the Vittorio Emmanuele (or wedding cake monument:exactly what it sounds like) and the homes of Berlusconi and President Napolitano. I was surprised to learn that the Italian counterpart to the White House is 10 times as large and 5 times as expensive to maintain as the White House. The most memorable sites on the tour, however, were the Fontane di Trevi, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. I sort of knew what to expect at the Trevi Fountain, but was struck by the fact that the water that spews from the fountain is recycled through many other fountains in other piazze around the city. It was too crowded and rainy to really appreciate the fountain itself, so I plan to return soon. Piazza Navona was big and beautiful and the Fontane dei Quattro Fiumi (4 rivers) was the first Bernini I have seen in person. Not a bad start. One of the figures in the fountain, the one representing the river of the Americas, has the most striking interaction with St. Agnes, who is perched upon a church that lines the piazza. Shane explained that, according to the lore, Bernini had a rivalry with the creator of the church. Agnes covers her heart and peers away from the fountain, while the figure on the corner of the fountain facing Agnes, shields his eyes to block Agnes from his view. This made me smile. I am constantly impressed by how big and grand many of these fountains and sculptures are, mostly because I can't seem to wrap my mind around how they were physically built. In many ways, I realize more and more every day, the ancient Romans were a lot more advanced and also a lot more liberal than we are today. More on this in later posts.
The Pantheon came at me out of nowhere. We rounded a corner and all of a sudden there it was. Amidst all the information Shane was shooting at us, I stood in awe of what was before me. If the Romans were trying to portray their power and skill to outsiders through the size of their architecture, they certainly convinced me. The building is impressive because of both its age and stature. But what I really love most, aside from its grandeur, is how the building is really meant to interact with nature and its environment, as a reflection of its purpose as a house of prayer. The oculus lets those inside experience the work of the gods, from the rain of Jupiter to the sun of Apollo. It was also special to see Raffaello's tomb inside.
I plan to return to all of these places, since 10 minutes of a 2 hour tour surely did not do each of them justice, and there is still so much more to learn and observe. These were merely my first impressions. I feel I've seen and learned so much already but still have such a vast amount to discover. While I've only been here for 3 days, I'm already worried I won't be able to spend enough time with everything Rome has to offer. But what's the use in worrying, right?
Aside from all of the sight-seeing, I have met a really solid group of people on the IES program. My roommates are more and more wonderful every day. We all have Italian language experience and are all interested in improving, so last night we went out to dinner at a delicious and inexpensive little ristorante below our building called Novecento and spoke only Italian for the duration. It was difficult but extremely satisfying, especially when we were able to successfully order from and chat with our waiters. After dinner last night, we met up with an apartment of boys from the program with whom we get along really well. They too speak some Italian, so it will be fun to practice all together. We drank wine outside in Piazza Sant'Egidio and listened to two Italians sing American music live in a nearby bar. Later, we went exploring across the Tevere and found ourselves in Campo di Fiori. Campo is a beautiful wide-open piazza, which unfortunately is the stomping ground of hoards of American students and young ex-pats. All 9 of us from IES spent a couple of hours getting to know each other better and said goodnight as the boys made their way across the river back to their apartment in Trastevere while we ventured back to Via Ostiense. The walk to and from our apartment is not short, but the more I do it, the more I come to love it. One of my favorite parts of Rome so far is walking down an average street and all of a sudden stumbling upon a relic of the past, like an arch from the Stadio di Domiziano, where prostitutes used to hang out almost 2000 years ago. Rome has this way of weaving everything within it together into a beautiful, colorful historical tapestry. I can't wait to continue to piece it together.
My beautiful roommates!
New friends!Un Abbraccio Forte-
J
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