Envoi - Letter to Rome

Dear Rome,

It seems like a memory now:

The 10 hour ride landing straight into your city; my feet hitting the pavement and running for 17 days straight non-stop.

Struggling with the language, but enjoying my stutters and the confused faces of the Italians when I asked for directions along the way.

The discomfort of feeling lost but the determination I felt trying to find my way. 

Taking pictures of my surroundings in hopes that when I look at the picture, it would feel as if I was looking at the place for the first time again.

It seems like a memory now:

The early morning grumpy faces

The aching feet

The dehydration

Being squished during transportation

The fear I felt for pick picketers 

It seems like a memory now:

The shock in my heart when I saw the Coliseum. Actually, that one isn’t a memory because I still feel the shock.

It seems like a memory now:

Walking through the ancient sights feeling like I was traveling back in time.

Caressing the walls and marble structures with my fingers hoping that it would make me a part of history.

Staring up at sky scraping structures wondering how in the world people so many centuries ago were able to build so tall.

Admiring beautiful art with beautiful friends

The sand between my toes and the view of the beach

It seems like a memory now:

The laughs surrounding the dinner table

The wine invading my blood stream making me smile uncontrollably,

The late nights dancing in Campo de Fiori

Making new friends and reviving old friendships as well

The bonding with fellow students and wonderful professors 

It seems like a memory now:

The food!

The fresh taste of tomatoes on my tongue

The painfully pleasurable feeling the freshly squeeze orange juice gave my tongue every morning

The fresh sent of herbs coming out of any given restaurant

The feeling of being so full to the point where I was going to explode but needing one more bite of that delicious pasta

The endless amounts of gelatos I ate.

The endless amount of Pizza I ate!

My first experience in Europe was amazing because I was able to experience it culturally and educationally. I also had the leisure of choosing what I wanted and did not want to do on my spare time, which allowed me to experience the city more than I thought I would. But mostly it was amazing because I was able to spend it in one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit. I learned and experienced so much from you Rome and in so little time. One thing I can take away from this experience is being able to pay more attention to detail. I learned to appreciate the litter things as well as the grand ones. I learned to manage my day and manage time; although I never got the being on time in the morning quite right. I learned to write down my ideas and express them coherently through your inspiration. I was inspired by your art and your liveliness. I was able to strengthen my Italian and my ability to learn and grow in a group. I learned to immerse myself in a culture and its all a wonderful memory now. One that in the future I hope to relive again.

Till next time,
Franchesca 

Capuchin Crypt

Giornale Quattro

I was recommended to go to the Capuchine crypt by two people. One being Steven and the other Jovany, who was a Rome kid four years ago. All I knew about this place was that there were bone exhibits. I didn’t do any research on it because I wanted to be surprised.  Getting to the crypt was fairly simple. I took the train to Barbarini and walked two minutes. I walked in and as I paid the cashier informed me that I could not take any pictures or I would be removed. I usually take those things lightly because no one has enforced those rules during my time in Rome so far. Before getting into the museum I walked into a room filled with bibles of different editions. It was cool to see the really old ones from a few centuries ago. I took out my phone to write notes and a women called upon me and told me to put my phone away. I wasn’t even allowed to take notes. I knew this was going to be my hardest solo excursion yet. My fingers get itchy when I see something really cool and I want to capture it. My memory also sucks so I immediately regretted not bringing my notebook. I handed in my ticket and walked into the museum. I was presented with pictures of different capuchin priest and their background information. I do not remember learning much about the capuchin people so I found myself reading all of the information available to me. They were Christians who devoted their life to helping those who are less fortunate. They lived a poor life and went to the places others would not dare enter to help and spread the word of god. They could be found in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, and dangerous spaces others are too afraid of entering. It was interesting learning about those who started off their lives rich and were introduced to the capuchin life and gave everything away to become a priest to help others. The museum also held different tools used by the capuchin priest. These included pottery used for medical purposes, everyday utensils, and they even had a collection of some of the watches priests own, which was pretty cool.

The art in the museum was not any that I was use to. There were some paintings of the capuchin priest themselves and one painting by Caravaggio that were very beautiful, but what captured my eye the most was the representation of Jesus. Usually sculptures and paintings of Jesus are smooth and made elegantly. Many of the paintings of Jesus were rugged. There was one picture of jesus on the cross drawn on a piece of paper where he is drenched in blood. You could not see his face, only the way his body is positioned and his head looking down. There was also a sculpture where the material was made to look very dirty, so it looked rugged and brown. I felt like if I touched it dust was going to come off. Here Jesus was on the cross and he looked extremely ashen and emaciated. These artists were not trying to cover up the story of Jesus here.

The most interesting part of the museum was the crypt. I could not wrap my mind around the fact that someone actually went into the cemetery of the capuchin and took their bones and created art. As I walked through the crypt I would get chills because I was in the presence of the actual bones of actual human beings presented in an artful way. I didn’t know if to be amazed by the art created with every bone you can think of in the body or if to be creeped out. With the bones the artist created alters, baskets, caskets with whole bodies laying in them or standing around them, and he even created artful decorations with the bones including flowers and wall designs. Even though I was creeped out I was super intrigued and I kept trying to figure out which bone was which. I was able to point out the patella, scapula, some fingers, and of course the skulls. This was a very unique experience and words can’t really explain the feeling one gets walking through that place. I just really wish I was able to take pictures.

Maria della Vittoria

Gironale tre

I headed to the train station with Glen and Steven to take the red line to Barberini. According to Google maps the church of Maria della Vittoria was located  a few blocks away from the Barberini train station. I am not the wittiest when it comes to maps and navigation, I usually let others lead because they seem to know where they are going. We looked at the map and started heading in the direction we thought would be the churches, but as we later learned we were walking the complete opposite way. We ended up walking 7 blocks the wrong direction. We learned we were walking towards the Trevi fountain. Instead of turning around though, we decided to visit the Trevi first. We knew it wasn’t working but I felt like I needed to get a glimpse before I left Rome. Plus, I heard there was a good gelato place by the Trevi, so if not for the Trevi, I had to do it for the gelato. We got to the Trevi fountain and it was completely wrapped up. I wasn’t able to see much of it but the good part was that I was able to walk over it. There was a line leading into the Trevi from up top. It allowed us to walk through and look down at the coins in the fountain and maneuver our head to see some parts of the fountain. Although I didn’t get to see the Trevi in all its glory I still felt cool because I get to say I walked over the Trevi. After we got off the line we headed for the gelato place. I knew the gelato place that was recommended to me was on the left side of the Trevi but there were two side by side. We went in to both to see which looked better and we settled on the one that had the most people. We figured if theirs a lot of people inside that means the gelato must be good. I was wrong. I was very disappointed in the gelato. It tasted like ice cream. I had coconut and fragola and both tasted like vanilla ice cream with a ting of fruit. I did not go to a gelateria for ice cream. I went in to get my super taste buds blown by the taste of pure fruit. As you can see, I was highly upset, and told myself I needed to get another gelato by the end of the day to un do this treachery. After this we headed back towards the train station. We decided to take a bus because we were cutting close with time.

We made it to the church with about 15 minutes to spate before it closed. I walked in and all I could say is “this church is tiny”. I mean I knew I was going to a small church but I did not expect it to be this small. I walked in and it was like I immediately hit the seats for the ceremony. There was not much space to walk around. There was one square line around the seats that you could follow to see the church. It actually made me feel like this was a true space of worship. It was intimate and not flashy or luxuries like other churches I was use to. There was even a priest in the corner in one of the praying spaces peacefully reading his bible. The only thing that ruined the intimacy of the space were the tourist, including me, around taking pictures.

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

As I walked through the long overwhelming road in Ostia Antica, all I could do was wonder how people could walk through this space so easily. I found myself looking down more than I did up because of fear of falling. As I continued down the road I realized more and more that I was walking through an actual city. It was interesting being able to see the space as it was and not built over with modern structures. All the ruins seemed like mazes. I imagined houses and shops stationed where the ruins stand now. I took the time out to go in and out of those places, touching the walls so that it can take me back in time. Walking back through the long road I noticed stairs that lead up to a look out and big structures such as the theater. These particular spaces made me imagine the space more like a city with different functions. Like the main city of Rome, I began to notice the difference between one side of the city that could have been held for entertainment while other sides that city could have been more for homes, and others for worship. As I tripped and stared at the road before me I then started getting more and more interested in how far the road could lead me. I stopped paying attention to the structures and ruins surrounding me and focused more on the seemingly never ending road in front of me. I followed the road until the fatigued I felt in my body beat my curiosity. I was eventually able to see where the city ended when we reached the synagogue as a class. Although the walk killed me it felt like an accomplishment to walk through most of a city in a day, compared to the way we’ve broken up our walk through the city of Rome.

Church of the Gesu

Gironale due

             As I was hanging out in the Campo de Fiori getting acquainted with my presentation sight I noticed it was almost four o’ clock. I decided this was the perfect time to do my solo excursion on a large church. I had to learn the hard way that churches in Italy re open at four when I tried to go to the church of Gesu and it was closed. Immediately after it started pouring rain and got soaked outside, so that was not a good experience. The church of Gesu is right by Campo de Fiori and it was a beautiful day out, so I decided to try my luck again. I got to the church of Gesu and was happy to find it open. I walked in and was amazed by the luxury of the church. The church seemed like it was entirely made of gold. I’m not sure if its actually gold or paint but I was still amazed. Everywhere I looked I saw bronze and gold. 

           What really captured my eyes in this church was the paintings and ceiling art. I had seen my share of art in churches by then, but the art in this church really tugged at my heart. The pictures were gruesome. I feel like a lot of the sculptures or pictures of the crucifixion of Jesus and the martyr of some of the saints are made to look beautiful. They erase the pain and how gruesome the situation actually was. It could be purposeful, or because of the specific preference of the artists but I enjoyed the paintings in the church because it was real. There was no cover up. In the depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus he had blood running down his face and body. His head was hung in defeat and you could see how emaciated he was. You could also see the pain in his face if you looked closely. In that moment I felt like those paintings evoked more emotion in me than any angelic crucifixion would. There was beauty in the realism and the church was field with these kinds of paintings. I left that church feeling amazed and having a new appreciation for art. It set the stage for what I liked and what I didn’t. I noticed that I don’t enjoy conventional things and that this really plays a part in my experience in the spaces that I visit.

Momentary Blindness

I walked into the restaurant Old Bear and I immediately knew I picked the perfect spot for this assignment. The place was extremely packed and different aromas filled the air making my mouth water. I chose a table by the window and sat down. I initially closed my eyes to see if my sense of smell was heightened. I did not disappoint. I was pin pointing dishes made of beef, potatoes, and those covered in cheese. It may have also helped that I was starving. I did not want to appear weird so I did not close my eyes the entire time, I opened them until I received my wine and food. I ordered white wine with the Spaghetti all'Amatriciana. This meal contained spaghetti with tomato sauce, bacon, and pecorino cheese. As I closed my eyes I inhaled the fresh sent of tomatoes. As my nose was working I could also hear the sizzling of the pasta through the loud chatter of the restaurant. All my focus was on my plate. I was able to focus all of my senses to my immediate surroundings and my food. Again, this was probably because I was starving. It’s crazy how focused you can be when your hungry. My mouth was already watering before I took the first bite. The first bite was magical. Having my eyes closed allowed me to savor the food and not worry about what it looked like, but more what it tasted like. I noticed the little things that I would normally ignore, like the texture of the pasta, the way my taste buds danced as I chewed my food, and the aroma that hits my nose every time I go to take a bite. I put my food down for a bit and decide to savor the wine. I have strong taste buds so once the wine touched my tongue I felt a quick delightful pain. I think that was another sign of approval from my taste buds. It was letting me know that the wine had a strong flavorful after punch. As I continued to sip my wine, to my dread, I started choking on cigarette smoke. I’ve inhaled second hand smoke before, especially in Italy, but having my eyes closed made it feel like I was physically having my lungs squeezed because it was so unexpected. I quickly opened my eyes and noticed a man smoking next to me. To make matters better another man lit up a cigarette across from him. Momentary blindness was then over and the choking on cigarette smoke as I chewed my food began.

Voyeur

As I sat on the steps of the Vatican looking out to the papal audience a huge Brazilian flag peaked my interest. It was bigger than most of the other flags people brought, and its range from me allowed me to perfectly see the curves the wind created every time it blew onto the flag. I got up to see the mysterious person holding the flag and I noticed it was a family. It was a Brazilian family. There was a mother and a father with a little girl who was 4 years old and boy who was 10. They were all casually but gracefully dressed. The mother had a yellow cotton floor length dress on with a white cardigan on top of it. The little girl wore a cute pink flowery dress with a cardigan matching her mothers. The dad and the son both wore a short sleeve button down shirt with pants. They came all the way from Brazil to see the pope and you can see the excitement on their face. The little girl was not as entertained as her the rest of her family. She was fussy and seemed bored. She held on to her mother’s leg and played with her dress. The mother was so entranced by the pope that she did not pay much attention to her daughter. The father waved the flag vigorously, showing his patriotism to his country, hoping that having the symbol of the flag can bless his country as much as the pope’s presence can bless him and his family, so he too paid no mind to his daughter. The little boy had a gleam in his eyes that matched the faith and excitement of his parents., but the little boy, who cared deeply for his sister, noticed her boredom and took her hand in his. He smiled at her and gave her a toy. With excitement the little girl played with her toy while her parents listened to the ceremony. They stopped waving the flag while the pope spoke to show respect. Everyone held on to every word they could understand until the ceremony was over.

Ekphrasis

In a dark room little tiny fingers softly caress the face of a mother. His other hand holds an apple as small as him. With red cheeks and soft brown eyes the baby stares lovingly at his mother’s face while he is curled up naked in her arms. A blanket lightly caresses his back while a cushion finds comfort under his bottom. The mother gently holds the baby and gives into his touch. One hand lightly positioned on his back and the other under the blanket barely touching his feet. She looks down with eyes of admiration. Her features are fair, making her appear as if she is angelic. Her smooth face does not crease one bit. They treat each other so delicately. Its like one or the other might break. The love radiates through the picture. 

Madonna Col Bambino by Pampeo Batoni

Space and Place

I entered through some grand spacious stairs. It was welcoming but it made me feel small, which inevitably added to the enormity of the space. I had a choice between a left or right turn and I choose left due to the talk of it being Romulus’ living space. I began walking behind my professor and was tempted to follow in his footsteps to gain more knowledge but a huge building structure caught my eye. I decided to turn into the bumpier road instead of the nice flat road through the trees he and many others took. The space felt like a park because of all the tress, benches, and singing birds but once I climbed into one of the buildings, I immediately felt like I was in a fortress. I kept imagining how Romulus would feel walking around this secluded space over looking the city. I walked from building to building touching walls and climbing up steps. I found myself wanting to be higher and higher. I wanted to reach the highest peak so that I can feel as gran and powerful as the space I was in. I started thinking about the few chosen people who were able to experience this palace and those who could only dream of it. As I proceeded through the space I found that I would walk towards doors and secluded side areas because I was curious to know what was inside. Anything that seemed secret made me want to discover. In some areas I found beautiful views and in others just a dead end. My process was very much of discovery and my curiosity stemmed from wanting to feel grand and also wanting to ease mystery.

Markets of Trajan

Giornale uno

I decided to go to the Markets of Trajan for my solo excursion with Sarah. I knew that I could receive extra knowledge on this trip because of Sarah’s previous experience with Rome so I was excited for that. My day started off at 9 am, which was kind of early for me but I can now see it was a blessing (just kidding..maybe). I was able to get up and shower but was not able to run for breakfast. Luckily Sarah allowed us to get some breakfast. My life changed that morning. I had my first freshly squeezed orange juice in Rome and it was amazing. There was a burst of flavors and my taste buds were so confused that it was painful. It was like sticking a straw into an orange and sipping it. I know have to have a glass every morning to function. Anyways, a group of about 10 of us headed to the metro to get to the Coloseum train stop and walk to the markets. This was also the first time I got on the metro in Rome and to counter my amazing experience in the morning this one was more traumatizing. As we waited for our train at the termini station we witnessed a lady getting robbed. We were really close to them but I was not able to tell who was robbing whom. I just remember seeing both ladies pulling, yelling, and screaming in Italian, but there was one that was smacking the other in the face, so I’m using she was the one getting robbed. It was very sad and the sadder part was that everyone stared and no one helped. Sarah told us to move away and I understand that we couldn’t do anything because putting ourselves in a dangers situation in a country that is not our may not be the smartest of things. I still felt that the own Roman people did not feel the need to help their own people. After that I started clutching my bag and becoming more alert. It’s sad because I live in a dangerous city and I never felt the need to constantly clutch my bag and watch the people around me. 
I remember saying the day before and quote “we survived the day no one got robbed, maybe its not so bad”. Now I am always prepared and follow a buddy system. 
Moving on from the sadness; we all made it safe to the stop. I walked out of the train station and the first thing I see is the Coloseum. I knew it was the stop, but I did not think that it was going to be so near. I was literally in shock. I was not prepared to register the grandness and its beauty. We had to move on quickly to get to the markets but I kept looking back at the Coloseum because I was not ready to let it go. Eventually we got to the markets of Trajan and in my mind it had a lot to live up to because I just saw the damn Coloseum. I didn’t expect to actually walk through an ancient building so it did live up to my expectation. It was very cool to be able to walk inside a place that others in ancient time laid their footsteps. Looking back on it now it’s kind of special because a lot of the structures and ancient buildings we visit are sometimes closed off or are ruins that don’t allow us to have a full experience (I still love it, don’t think that I hate it). The museum was my first experience with ancient structures and it really brought me back in time. There was one set of stairs that brought me back so much that I was shocked.. It reminded me of the movies. It led up the stairs but it was dimly lit, had dirty old bricks, and actually looked very dingy and dungeon-esk. I guess I think of ancient hallways like scary dark dungeons. Regardless, it was very cool. Other than that I walked around the space, enjoyed the ancient structures, and touched a lot of walls just so that I can feel a part of the history. Sometimes I imagined others walking through the same space and it just made me feel damn cool. 
My only complaint was the random art that was in every single room and exhibition that held ancient structures or ruins. The first room I walked into had manikins with designer dresses in the room with the statue of a headless armored male man. I was a bit confused but I let it go. As I continued walking around I notice there were random instillations of art, jewelry, dresses and abstracts in every room. The Modern art pieces really took away from the exhibition. It was taking away from the significance of those structures, which to me were beautiful in itself. I’m not sure if they were training to make it look like a modern market, which I get but by the end I was seriously pissed and hated all the art instillations no matter how beautiful. Imagine walking into a room where there is a beautiful marble structure of a cupid angel that’s thousands of years old in a room with designer dresses and sound it the background. It totally ruined the moment and overshadowed the piece. I could not even here the explanation of the piece because the sound installation was too loud. I may have gotten overly worked but I really think those art instillations took away from the moment. Other than that I really enjoyed the ancient structures and ruins. I was able to see a lot of beautiful scenic views when I went to the outside area of the markets. It blew my mind how old the structures were and it really made me internalized the moment.