Ciao! Welcome to the first of many daily diary entries for the Summer 2009 Honors Study Abroad in Rome! It has been such a rush to be in Rome, some of us for the first time, and quite a few of us for the second or third. But we can all agree, no matter how many times you’ve visited the city of Rome, it is still as spectacular as ever. There is just so much to see; I personally have been to Rome once before, but I can already tell that I am in for quite the learning experience this trip. Today being the first day of classes, we had Art History bright and early (ish) at 9 AM at the Roman Forum. Starting us off, on a bright sunny, breezy (thank god) late June morning, giving the first of 24 art history presentations was Aaron Perlmutter who taught us all about the intricate history of the Roman Forum.
The Forum has been here for thousands of years, and has been used as a market place with a key central location between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills as well as the stage for political evolution through the ages of the monarchy, the republic and into imperial Rome. Below are some snapshots taken of the forum from a distance in which we can various important monuments of the forum.
As we walked through the Forum we learned about the various temples built to honor the gods and emperors, Basilicas, Churches (which also doubled up as Senatorial houses)…etc. Every part of the forum had a story behind it, a reason for being built, a reason behind why it was a ruin and a reason behind why it looked the way it did.
After making our way through the forum we stopped at the arch of Titus, a Triumph made in honor of the Roman Emperor’s victory over the Jerusalem Temple. Teaching us all about Triumphs was Jackie Lin. Jackie taught us all about these great marvels and the magnificent processions held for the ancient roman emperors.
The Arch of Titus (as shown below!!)
Titus being pulled by four large horses accompanied by winged victory, again further depicting the procession.
The inside of the arch decorated intricately decorated with a large center piece at the top with the symbol of an eagle carrying a man into the heavens (representing Titus and his ascension into the realm of the gods)
After this we broke for a nice hill top luncheon on the Palatine hill. It was perfect conditions, sunny yet shade, blue skies, a nice cool breeze, great company and of course, FOOD!
We met up around 6 in the evening with to have a tour of the Campo de’ Fiori and the surrounding area to get a better idea of where the different shops in the area.
There was so much to see and experience as the campo is a very exciting area to be in especially in the evening time. We all decided to take a more hands on look at some italian culture
You know what they say, when in Rome.... :)
Overall it was quite a wonderful day full of learning, sight seeing, walking, good weather and great company!
I can't wait to see what day two has in store for us!
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