July 23: Crests & Last Supper

Our last day together in Rome can be remembered as bittersweet but full of laughter. We started the day with each apartment representing a Crest to symbolize their experiences.

We began at the San Guiliano apartment where the boys created their Crest in front of us, piece by piece, with objects from their apartment. On their table they laid out tape in distinct shapes, and one by one placed the object in the shape and explained to us what it meant to them. Objects included a cooking pot, a camera, and the distinct memory of their experience preparing a roast chicken.

Next, we walked to the Campo girls apartment who had prepared for us their own rendition of Beyonce's Single Ladies. With their own clever lyrics and a dancing routine they entertained us and we all left with the lyrics of their original song Campo Ladies stuck in our head.

Unfortunately the Baccina boys had already checked out of their apartment so we weren't able to visit it, but they prepared a slideshow for us as a virtual tour and a funny rendition of their family dynamic. Each boy represented a figure of a family, from the father to the youngest sibling.
Everyone was excited to finally see Nikhil's own rendition of Caravaggio's Boy With a Basket of Fruit, making everyone burst into laughter.
Last but not least, we traveled to the final destination: the Pigna girls apartment. This crest was in the form of a story time, with snack for everyone and Andrea, dressed up as a Grandma, reading to the class.


In the end, the Crest assignment was an amazing success; everyone left happy to have to the opportunity to bond with their apartment one last time and to share all their funny experiences from their stay in Rome. To leave on an even better note, Lisa treated us all to gelato at Giolitti :)
Our group dinner at Perluigi could not have been a better feast. With a three course meal of delicious food, everyone left with a full stomach. We reconvined at Palazzo Farnese and spent the next hour at least saying our dreaded goodbyes, including a big group hug. We were all sad that the program has come to an end but at the same time excited to have made such great new friendships and unforgettable experiences. We said our final goodbyes to Mona and Lisa, thanking them for creating such a great program for us, and decided to venture to the Spanish Steps one last time. I think everyone can agree that Rome will always feel like home for us and, like Lisa said, words can never describe our experiences.





-Alexandra

July 22

Today we wrapped up the academic end of the Rome Program. For Mona's class, we began with a test on 'Sacrifice' that consisted of both questions on the theory of sacrifice and applying the theory of sacrifice to literature. The test was meant to be just over an hour but, knowing Mona's aversion to stress, we were given "theoretically five minutes" to finish at the end. 

Melanie listing off the seven theories on the origin of sacrifice - two so far.

After lunch break we talked about our favorite readings and theories encountered in the second half of the class. Girard's theory of 'mimetic desire' was by far the most popular, with Freud's coming in second.

Maggie and Peter ecstatic after the exam and getting one of their last paninos while in Rome.

At 3:00 we met Lisa to make our last art history trip with her to the Capitoline Museum. We hiked up Capitoline Hill in the hot sun and luckily received free admission (which we're still not sure how Lisa gets). Upon getting into the museum we were immediately enthralled by the statues of body parts and spent a good 20 minutes beholding them. 

 All of us imitating the finger statue in the background.

The art collection was impressive with a lot of Ancient art but also Renaissance and Baroque, including a few Caravaggio's. Probably the coolest thing to see was the original statue of 'Romulus and Remus with the She-Wolf' that we'd seen represented all around Rome. The statue was made during the 5th century B.C. and is now located in the "Hall of the She-Wolf" which, logically, doesn't contain much more than the statue itself. For an hour or two we wandered the museum and topped off our minds with Roman history after the last month of abundant learning. 

After Capitoline we all went our separate ways until later that night for dinner. Most of us met at Trastevere for pizza at a restaurant Lisa recommended.

After dinner we all went to the Pantheon to make a human pyramid between the surrounding columns. Despite initial complications, with perseverance we made a pyramid of ten and drew a substantial crowd to cheer us on. Most of us decided to cut the night short and head home to finish up our family crests.

One more day left!

-Aaron 

21 July: Chigi Madness!

The presentations today were all about the Chigi family. Michelle presented on the Villa Farnesina, which, despite its name, did not originally belong to the Farnese family as one would like to think, but rather, the Chigi family. Inside are numerous amazing works, including the Room of Perspective and the Loggia of Psyche and Love. The Room of Perspective is incredible, and I personally was fooled and nearly ran into a wall. The villa is gorgeous, and apparently, Augustino Chigi used to throw dinner parties where he would have his guests throw their dishes and silverware out the windows to demonstrate how wealthy he was, but he would actually have servants outside catching everything with nets.

Michelle presenting in front of the Villa Farnesina

After Michelle’s presentation, we all trooped back to the Rome Center for Alison’s presentation, because, unfortunately, the Chigi chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo was closed. Despite the inconvenience, Alison was able to give us a really good idea of what the inside of the chapel was like. It was designed by Raphael, and later altered by Bernini, combining Renaissance and Baroque styles.

Alison presenting in the conference room

We just had the two presentations on our schedule today, but I’m sure everyone was grateful for the afternoon off, during which we all studied for Mona’s test the next day.

Monday, July 20th

Today marks the start of our last week of class. We started the day with Mona's class at 10:00. For the first hour of class, we discussed the Ancient Rime of the Ancient Mariner. This subject was especially interesting because Mona has published work on the piece that brings to light a very interesting interpretation of the story. After filling out our course evaluations for Mona's class, we broke for lunch.

Yogesh, Peter, Laura, and Alexandra presenting Cain

After our lunch break, we had our final group presentation on Lord Byron's version of the Cain and Abel story. The group presenting was Peter, Yogesh, Alexandra, and Laura and they led the class in a discussion of the play. For the remainder of class, we reviewed for our test on sacrifice this Wednesday. The test review covered all of the exam and Mona explained each of the questions. Her testing philosophy is to minimize the stress, while ensuring that we still learn the material. This is a very nice change compared to many of my classes at UW.

On the way to the Pantheon

After an hour break, we met at 3:00 in front of the Rome Center for art history. We started my walking to the Pantheon where Alina began her presentations on the obelisks of Rome. She included a handout that had a really cool graphic of all the obelisks of Rome and their respective heights. After the Pantheon, we saw the Elephant obelisk, the obelisk at Montecitorio, and after a five minute walk, we ended at Quirnal obelisk. The obelisks were originally brought to Rome by Augustus as a show of the Roman conquest of Egypt.

Alina is all smiles to start her presentation in the Piazza della Rotunda

After Alina's excellent presentation, we walked to San Andrea al Quirinale. Cat began presenting outside of the church, but the facade of the church was under construction and traffic from the nearby street forced us to move inside. The church was designed by Bernini for the Jesuits to commemorate St. Andrew and is shaped like an oval. Bernini had a huge budget for the church, however he apparently was only paid with a daily loaf of bread. As this trip has unfolded, it seems that Bernini becomes more amazing with every anecdote we hear and work we see. After explaining the interior of the church, we toured several other rooms of the church and were allowed to visit the sacristy. Lisa had never seen this room before and it was decorated with a large ceiling fresco and smelled of old wood.

Cat enjoying the San Andrea al Quirinale after her presentation

We were then going to visit San Carlino, a similarily ovular church designed by Borromini. Unfortunately, the church was closed :( Lisa then announced that she was treating us to gelato at Gelateria al Teatro, which is located west of Piazza Navona, and a few minutes walk from my apartment. It is my favorite gelateria, and has many obscure flavors such as Tartufo (chocolate truffle) and red plum.

-Peter

Saturday, July 18th: Our Final Day in Orvieto

Saturday marked our final day in quaint Orvieto. We woke up to the best breakfast in Italy to date: pastries, cakes, cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, mini-sandwiches—even an espresso machine. After a delicious breakfast, we met in the lobby and said goodbye to our lovely Hotel, the Grand Italia.




For our site visit Lisa took us all down to the St. Patrick Well. While she was buying tickets we all met for a group picture!




Before entering the well Lisa gave us a brief talk to better put the well into context. After the sack of Rome, Pope Clement VII took refuge in Orvieto. While in Orvieto he built the well to ensure a continuous water supply to the city, even in conflict. The sixty two meter well was finished in 1537. It has the shape of a double helix, so that water can be transported in and out of the well efficiently.

The well was eerie and cool, and climbing up was a real hike! Here’s up the well from the bottom:



After visiting the well took the opportunity to check out the amazing views and take pictures. Here's a nice view of the wall that surrounds Orvieto:



Next we had a couple hours free to roam (not Rome. Haha!) around the city before we had to catch the train. Some of us decided to climb the bell tower. The tower is forty seven meters tall and the highest point in all of Orvieto, so naturally the view was excellent.



The tower’s original bells date from 1313, but in 1875 a mechanical clock was installed as a gift from the city. While we were up top, we got the privilege of hearing the bells ring. They were loud, but beautiful.

During the free time others decided to browse the lovely ceramic shops. Orvieto is a town full of artisans and their small shops line the streets. Saldi is still going on, so a few lucky girls did some Italian shopping it the dress shops along the main street.

After our free time we grabbed a panino for the road and grudgingly left Orvieto to make the trip back to Rome. Orvieto was a truly beautiful town; with a slow and relaxing life, it was a much needed change of pace for us all. It's always great to come home though!

Ciao tutti,

Sheida Aalami

Thursday, July 16th

Our group started the day off with a trip to Vatican City for two presentations. The first was a very interesting report given by Alex about the Piazza di San Pietro (St. Peter's Square), which was designed by Bernini and commemorates the place where St. Peter was martyered (his bones are beneath the Basilica). In the middle is an Egyptian obelisk, flanked by two fountains and colonnades all around, with St. Peter's Basilica as the focal point. Bernini's Baroque design focused on creating a unique experience for the viewer, and his use of shapes and symmetry definitely achieved this.

The grand Piazza di San Pietro-this picture does not even capture it fully. The fountains would be on the left and the right, and the colonnades that you see would be wrapping around the outside in a big circle.

Alex enlightening us about Bernini's Piazza di San Pietro.

After spending some time outside in the Piazza, we went inside the Basilica for another presentation. C'Havala taught us all about Bernini's additions to the church: the bronze baldachinno in the center and the marble statues in the niches surrounding the baldachinno. These were both commissioned by Urban VIII, a member of the Barberini family-therefore, the family's signature symbol of the bee can be seen all over the baldachinno. We have been learning a lot in Art Histrory about patronage and how those who sponser artworks usually have some personal motive in mind, which this presentation definitely tied into.

C'Havala eloquently presenting in the Basilica

Inside of St. Peter's Basicila-you can see the baldacchino up front and center.

After a break for lunch and some down time, we headed over to the Rome Center to hear the last two independent project presentations. The first, by Alexandra, Yogesh, Aaron, and C'Havala, covered the life and paintings of Caravaggio, a revolutionary and controversial artist. The group showed us selections of his work and discussed the history, style, meaning, and controversy of each. Next we heard from Maggie, Mayme, Alina, and Melanie about Bernini's "The Ecstasy of St. Theresa." We learned about Theresa's life, the commission for the sculpture, the details of the sculpture itself, and the church surrounding the sculpture. They were both quite interesting and sparked some lively discussion.

When the presentations were finished, we all moved down a floor to Mona's apartment for aperitivo (an Italian version of happy hour, with snack foods and drinks-usually eaten as a precursor to dinner) to celebrate being finished with our independent projects. It was BYOB, and Mona provided meats, cheeses, bread, desserts... needless to say it was delicious, and I think it served as more than just appetizers for most of us!

Today marks the one-week countdown until our program ends-next Thursday is the last day of instruction. It will be another fun and busy week to look forward too!

Friday, July 17th, Off to Orvieto!

Ciao Rigazzi!

Right from the get-go our adventure to Orvieto certainly did not lack any excitement. As we boarded our train early this morning, there was a sudden episode of extreme confusion. Although there were no assigned seats in the car, a group of five or six women speaking in fast paced Italian desperately tried to convince us we were in their seats. Pointing to our tickets and then to our seats, we tried to push past the women to ease their worries and select a different seat. Little did we know, the confusion was an orchestrated scene so the women would have an opportunity to quickly and slyly slip their hands into our belongings. Thankfully, the passport and wallet stolen from Andrea's purse was caught at the door! Here is a picture of Andrea triumphantly holding her rescued passport. We ALL definitely learned a big lesson about train etiquette today.

After a train, tram and bus ride, we finally arrived at our hotel in Orvieto. Orvieto is a medieval hilltown north of Rome known for its beautiful scenery, pottery and food! After a short meeting, we dropped our bags and headed out for a "pick me up"- cappuccino. From 12:00pm-3:30pm we were turned loose to explore, discover the most picturesque viewing point and eat some delicious Umbrian food. This is a picture overlooking the lush and green countryside outside the city walls. The richly vegetative backdrop was a welcomed change from the bustling city. We soon discovered that Orvieto has a much different personality than Roma. Around 1:00pm, the doors of stores were swung closed, the curtains drawn and the store owners retreated for an afternoon siesta. The abandoned alleys had a much different feeling that the "never sleeping" streets in Roma. This siesta period did, however, make it much more difficult to find a restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we strolled a bit more and then met the rest of the class in front of the Duomo.

The zebra-stripped cathedral with a mismatched facade stands beautifully in the center of Orvieto. Similar to the cathedrals seen in Florence and Sienna, this cathedral boasted of beautifully barrel-vaulted ceilings and intricate tile floors. However, Florence and Sienna's duomos don't have the jaw-dropping San Brizio chapel. The chapel is covered in boarderline "SciFi" frescoes that depict the last judgment. One half of the room devoted to the angels of heaven and the other to the demons of hell. The chapel stirs uncomfortable emotions and implies an unavoidable fate through techni-color demons, idealized human figures and flamboyant Renaissance outfits. For the remainder of the afternoon, we had the freedom to explore the city more thoroughly. Nick, Anand and I decided to climb to the top of the clock tower for the best view in town. It was a lazy afternoon of sitting, chatting and enjoying the Umbrian sun.

We then, cleaned ourselves up and headed out for a group feast at Antico Bucchero. Twenty euro goes a lot further in Orvieto than it did in Florence, so most of us were able to order a Primi, Secondi AND dessert. The choices were diverse and extremely tasty. I personally enjoyed a homemade pasta with veggies and sirloin with a balsamic reduction, and of course, tiramisu for dessert! Notice Ben at the end of the table-- he must be REALLY enjoying his primi :)

After dinner, many of us went on a evening stroll. The stars were endless in the Umbrian countryside and finding a good place to watch shooting stars was the perfect finale to a great day. Can't hardly wait for tomorrow!

Ciao.

July 14th, Day of Presentations

Wednesday started out with Mona's class on gift and sacrifice, where we were lucky enough to hear two group presentations, one on Agamemnon, and another on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. We discussed theories of sacrifice as they applied to both stories and then compared them to modern day ideas of justice. Both groups were great!

After Mona's class we had a quick break to grab lunch at Ruggeri's, go to the market for dinner supplies, or more likely practice for presentations. With independent study projects due this week, everyone was a little bit busy, and most of us spent our free time studying inside rather then venturing out into the very hot weather.

In the afternoon, we had two art history presentations, mine on the street shrines dedicated to the virgin Mary, and Laura's on Piazza Navona. My presentation involved a lot of walking around, and at one point some people found themselves a little lost. But they caught up with us in time to hear all about the miraculous Madonnelle that protect the Roman streets.

After all that time walking in the hot sun, people were very excited to relax in the shade and listen to Laura tell us about Pizza Navona and the amazing Bernini fountain that stands in the middle. It represents rivers from the four corners of the earth, and is ornately decorated with all types of animals. Quick test: can you find the armadillo?

It's actually the dragon-like animal in the center-right of the second photo. Bernini didn't know what an armadillo actually looked like, so he made it up. And thus ends another busy day in Rome. Tonight the girls in the campo apartments are preparing for their independent projects or going to visit the Piazza Navona apartment.

Ciao for today!

Another busy day in another busy week!

Tuesday was all about the ceiling paintings. We started the day off with a short hike up to the Palazzo Barberini. Nikil taught the class all about the Barberini family and their rise and fall from power. Inside the palazzo we saw an impressive ceiling fresco by Pietro da Cortona called "Divine Providence". Nikil filled us all in on the characters and symbolism within the fresco.


Once we finished our snapping applause for Nikil's finished presentation, we moved on to the rest of the Palazzo Barberini and its other amazing works of Art. Lisa took us into the museum's current storage room to explain its ceiling fresco - which she had researched for her master's degree. I wish any room in my house was half as beautiful as the museum's closet!

After unveiling all of the secrets to the fresco, we wound our way back through the art museum wing of the palazzo. We saw Raphael's "The Baker's Daughter" and learned the romantic story behind it. Raphael was in love with the baker's daughter, but was engaged to the niece of a cardinal. Art restorers discovered that Raphael had painted a ring on the wedding finger of the baker's daughter and then painted over it. They have recently uncovered the originally painted ring and we all got to see the hidden token of Raphael's love.


After the Palazzo Barberini, Lisa took us all out for coffee at Tazza d'Oro. We were quite the mob going into the coffee bar, but the baristas handled our 25 orders with amazing speed. It was absolutely delicious! Several people bought ground coffee to take home with them.


That afternoon was day two of our independent project presentations. Laura, Alex, Anand, and Elroy taught the class all about funerary monuments and its evolution from the time of the Etruscans to current popes.


Then Ben, Michelle, Cat, and Erin taught us all about Italian poetry and its evolution through time.
By the time presentations were over, everyone was ready to get out of those uncomfortable conference room chairs and go home and relax for a while before having to start on all of the other projects and readings that are dominating our time this week.

Ciao, tutti!
Melanie Drake

July 10th, More Florentine Adventures

Our last full day in Florence was a blast! We were busy, as usual, beginning our day with a tour of the Medici Palace. Lisa pointed out the technique of rustication on the outside facade employed by Cosimo de Medici when he had it built in the mid 15th century. Inside, the main attraction was the Magi Chapel, which houses a famous frescoe by Benozzo Gozzoli. The walls of the chapel are covered in a beautiful and intricate cycle of frescoes which depict the biblical scene of the Magi’s journey to Bethlehem. We learned that the famous Medici patriarchs Lorenzo, Piero, and Cosimo were actually painted into the scene, proof of their influence over the art they commissioned. Lisa also pointed out that Gozzoli had included himself in the painting twice, along with a huge procession of the Medici family’s friends and allies. Overall, Gozzoli’s masterpiece definitely sent the message that it paid to be on the good side of the powerful Medicis. They could even paint themselves into scripture.

Another great highlight of the Medici Palace was a high-tech room where we could take a close-up virtual look at Gozzoli’s frescoes. By standing on a lit-up panel beneath some sort of camara and sensors, we could observe the frescoes on giant screens, and scroll from one scene to the next by pointing. It was super futuristic!

When everyone had gotten a chance to explore the frescoes and the Medicis’ ample accommodations, we headed to the Academia. I think everyone was pretty excited to finally see Michelangelo’s David! He definitely did not disappoint. No matter how many pictures we have seen of this magnificent sculpture, nothing compares to actually seeing it in real life. Most of us were overwhelmed by the immense size of the sculpture. It’s pretty amazing that Michelangelo accomplished this feat in only three years. Compared with the Davids done by Bernini, Donatello, and Verrocchio, Michelangelo’s version is pretty epic. Later, some of us even wondered what would happen if the four Davids met each other!

Other highlights of the Academia included an exhibit of musical instruments, including a Stradivarius violin from the early 1700’s (!), more statues and paintings, and an exhibit of photography by the American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Part of our quest in the afternoon was to visit the Church of Santa Maria Novella and observe Masaccio’s Holy Trinity fresco. This church was quite ornate and beautiful to explore. Thanks to our ever-increasing art history knowledge, we discovered several Renaissance and Classical elements like the use of perspective to create depth.

Later in the afternoon Lisa took all the girls (and several of the guys) to her favorite leather store. We had all been very anxious to hit up the shopping and take advantage of Florence’s great leather products. As usual, thanks to Lisa’s connections we were able to get some great discounts, so much so that several of us who had no intention of buying something so frivolous as an Italian leather handbag were soon walking out of the store considerably less wealthy, but with fabulous new accessories! A lot of us splurged for large practical totes like the one Lisa often carries, and several guys bought nice wallets, or even glamorous purses for their girlfriends back home!

After our leather extravaganza we all used our free time to shop more, rest, eat, or work on our Quest. In the evening, a large group of us went on an adventure and ended up climbing up a gigantic hill to Piazzale Michelangelo. We were treated to a fantastic view of the city, the Arno River, and the sunset. Of course, we loitered there for a while and took a group photo, but eventually hunger set in and we dispersed into small groups, each foraging our way through Florence in search of sustenance to end a great day.

By Michelle