Last days in Rome

This week a group of us spent our free day outside of the city of Rome in beautiful Florence. It was a much needed break from all the hustle and bustle to wind down before ending our trip and heading home.

One of the things I was most excited to see in Florence was the statue of David in the Accademia gallery. Michaelangelo never disappoints. I was speechless when we walked into the room where the David is displayed. I have seen pictures and studied the statue, but you can't really appreciate the scale and the intricate detail until you are standing right in front of it. I must have looked at just the veins in his hand for at least 10 minutes. My only reaction was complete disbelief that something this beautiful and incredible could have been carved out of a chunk of rock. I read on one of the plaques in the museum that Michaelangelo sculpted the David from a piece of marble he found. I don't know about you, but I definitely don't think I could be inspired enough, after happening upon a giant chunk of rock, to sculpt something that beautiful and intricate.

Michaelangelo's famous "David". I have never been so intrigued by a right hand.

We spent most of the rest of our day relaxing. We shopped around the street stores, ate gelato, walked by the river and enjoyed Florence. We did get a little ambitious and decide to climb the 412 steps to the top of the bell tower at the Duomo (which we regretted for a moment around stair 346) and got an incredible view of the whole city. Of course, after climbing that many stairs, we had to take an excessive amount of pictures of the city to document what we had worked so hard for. All in all, it was an incredible day. It was a lot of fun to get out of Rome and see what other parts of Italy are like. Florence is definitely a city that I would put on my list to come back to if I ever get back to Italy.

The view from atop the bell tower at the Duomo. Florence is so beautiful!

At the Ponte Vecchio doing some shopping and enjoying the Florentine sun. 

These past 3 weeks in Rome have been beautiful and full and eye-opening. I have loved learning about the incredible history of this city and its people. I loved every moment of terrible, half english half italian, attempts at interactions with the Italian people. Rome is a vibrant city full of so much more than you would ever expect to find here. While I am excited to get home to my friends and family, and share my experiences with them, I will miss Rome terribly (especially the food and the freedom to eat gelato multiple times a day without getting weird looks). I am incredibly thankful to have been able to experience this wonderful city, and can't wait for my next adventure in Europe.

Roma, fino alla prossima volta!

Il Musei Vaticani

Today we visited Vatican City and spend most of our day inside the Vatican Museum(s). This series of museums, joined together to make one large museum, houses collections of art and artifacts collected by the popes, including some of the most important pieces of Renaissance art in the world.

The museum's history is generally traced back to one specific sculpture, the sculpture of Laocoon and his sons. Laocoon was a Trojan priest who was killed along with his sons after attempting to expose the Trojan horse. The story goes that Apollo sent snakes to kill Laocoon and his sons because of this attempt, which was interpreted to the Trojans as a sign that the horse was a sacred object. The statue shows a scene of fear, suffering and death. The oldest son, who is entangled in the snakes, is afraid; the father, bitten by a snake, is in tremendous pain and suffering; the youngest son, the poison having reached his bloodstream, is dead. This is an impressive sculpture to see both artistically and historically, and had a large impact on the Italian Baroque period of art.

This sculpture of Laocoon and his sons is one of the most famous not only in the Vatican Museum, but in the history of art from this time period. 

One painting at the Vatican that was particularly interesting for me to see was a depiction of the Battle at Milvian Bridge. This battle was fought between Constantine and Maxentius for sole control of the Roman Empire in the west. What is particularly interesting about the Battle at Milvian Bridge is that Constantine - the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire - is said to have fought this battle in the name of the Christian God. There is a story that has been related of a vision of God to Constantine before going into battle against Maxentius that he would be victorious in the sign of heaven at Milvian Bridge. After winning this battle Constantine is said to have dedicated his life to Christ, and had a significant effect on the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. A year after winning this battle, Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, which granted religious tolerance for Christians and put to an end a period referred to as "the age of martyrs". It is because of this progression of Christianity that Constantine and his story are still so widely found across Rome. This painting serves as a representation of a victory not only for Constantine, but for Christianity as a whole.

In this scene of the Battle at Milvian Bridge, Constantine his shown on a horse, his army victorious, while Maxentius and his troops drown in the Tiber river. 

My favorite part of the Vatican Museum today was the Sistine Chapel (although I know that sounds like a cop-out answer). The most famous piece of this chapel, and artistically my favorite piece, is the ceiling which was painted by Michaelangelo between 1508 and 1512. Interestingly enough, Michealangelo was intimidated by how large the commission was, thinking himself much more a sculptor than a painter, and made it known that he would prefer to decline painting this work. The Last Judgement, a large painting on the wall behind the altar and the last work to be added, was also painted by Michaelangelo. Although you cannot take photos in the Sistine Chapel, so I have to take any pictures I add from the internet, a photograph cannot really do justice the incredible beauty and history that is manifested in Michaelangelo's artwork.

Perhaps the most famous piece from the Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" is found near the center of the chapel on the ceiling. The works in the Sistine chapel are progressive chronologically and show the creation story, the life of Moses, the life of Jesus and the judgement day. 

The Pantheon

This past Saturday, we started our morning with a visit to one of Rome's most well-known pieces of history - the Pantheon. While many people know of the Pantheon, much fewer know of its actual use both historically and present day. It is one of the most well-preserved buildings remaining from ancient Rome, and is incredibly impressive in its size and architectural significance.

The Pantheon was constructed in 125 AD by emperor Hadrian and was dedicated as a temple to all the gods. The word Pantheon is actually a latin word meaning "all the gods". This building was then given to the pope in 608 AD, at which time he transformed it into a church with the name Sancta Maria Dei Martiri. It is a church dedicated to "Saint Mary and the Martyrs". Since the renaissance, the Pantheon has also been used a tomb and serves as the final resting place for the famous artist Raphael, among others.

A view of the front of the Pantheon. Because the porch did not end up being as tall as they had anticipated, a transitional block had to be put in place to match the height of the dome, so the building would be structurally sound. 

Something that is particularly impressive about the Pantheon as a structure is the giant domed roof. The dome weighs over 4 tons and has an oculus at its center that is 30 feet in diameter. The height up to the oculus and the diameter of the dome are the same - 142 feet - making it suitable to fit a perfect sphere. The Pantheon is still considered to have the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome. The oculus at the center of the dome is the only source of natural light in the Pantheon and is thought to have been created possibly as a symbol of a connection to heaven (or the gods in earlier Roman history). Throughout the day, the light moves around the Pantheon in a reverse sundial direction. On the anniversary of Rome, the light shines directly through the doors to the Pantheon and the emperor would often stand at this entrance and address the people.

Inside the Pantheon looking up toward the oculus. At mid-day, the amount of light that shines through is very bright throughout the entire building.

Today, the Pantheon remains a church and holds mass regularly. The artistry inside the church is incredibly beautiful, and is largely made up of hues of gold. While the Christian church has added chapels, statues, paintings and inscriptions, the structure of the Pantheon has remained the same since the time of ancient Rome. It is an incredible testament to the stability of Roman architecture and stands through time as a representation of the Roman people.

A picture of me inside the Pantheon next to the front altar.
There are many details representative of Christianity, even just in this picture. 

Pompeii

(If you are following my other, more personal blog, you have already heard some of my thoughts about Pompeii; however, one post is not nearly enough to give the full story of what a visit to Pompeii is like)

Wednesday of this week we got up at 6 am (something I am not a fan of, but will do in special cases such as this) and trekked out past Naples to the ruins of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. Pompeii was the day of this trip I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. I think I easily could have spent all day there, wandering the streets and ducking in and out of buildings. It is incredible how well-preserved everything there is. Like I said at the start of this post, Pompeii is not a short story by any means. It could take me days to really bleed dry all the knowledge and experiences I gained from day in Pompeii. For now, I'll just highlight some of the things that were most interesting for me.

Walking into Pompeii is immediately impressive. When you pass through the city gates you walk into a large piazza, from which you can see a great deal of the city set against the backdrop of Mt. Vesuvius. As I stood there, acknowledging the affect Mt. Vesuvius had on this place, and saw it - still towering over everything - I was reminded that even after all this time, the volcano still holds precedent here. Yes, it is "dormant". Could it suddenly decide to become active again? Honestly, I don't know (I am not an earth science major) but the idea that it could so easily wipe out an entire city, and still lives where it has always stood, is kind of intimidating.

Mt. Vesuvius still towers over what remains of Pompeii

As I said before, the city is incredibly well-preserved. Entire homes and shopping complexes still stand, many with paintings and mosaics still in tact on the walls and floors. One structure that was particularly interesting that we got to go inside of was the bath complex. Public baths were very common in Rome and the surrounding area during this time in history, but while we have discussed them extensively this was the first (still standing) bath complex that we were able to actually walk inside. It makes it much easier to picture what things may have gone on, and how they lived their day to day lives, when you can see what things would have looked like. The baths are interesting in Pompeii specifically because they were divided for men and women, which was not always the case. In modern-day society, it would be considered inappropriate to most people for men and women (who are not married, dating or may not even know each other at all) to share baths. While many other baths with shared rooms had "set times" for men to come that were different from the women's, both sexes often showed up at the wrong time of day and used them at the same time. These kind of public bath structures had a variety of rooms that are somewhat similar to the kinds of rooms we have in public places like gyms and swimming pools. There was generally a changing room with "lockers" for people to keep their clothes while they bathed (i.e. a locker room). The other rooms consisted of a "hot" room, much like a sauna/steam room/hot tub (which we commonly find inside locker rooms today), a tepidarium - a room of medium heat - which was used as an adjustment room before going from hot to cold or vice versa, and a frigidarium - a cold room. Outside of these baths there was also often a palaestra, which was essentially an outdoor work out center for gladiators and professional athletes (again, much like a gym). Being able to see these baths as they would have been was an incredible insight into the daily lives of ancient people.

The "locker room" of the baths in Pompeii.
Those cubbies would have been where they kept their belongings while they bathed. 

The most incredible, and definitely the most impactful, part of Pompeii was to see the casts showing the bodies of those buried beneath the ash after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. When archeologists began to excavate Pompeii, they discovered large holes in the ground with little evidence of why they existed. After finding these throughout the city they decided to pour plaster into them to find out what had made the imprints. When the casts were removed, the archeologists realized they had uncovered the final resting places of all those lost to Vesuvius thousands of years earlier. These casts show the people in their final moments, found as they would have died. Mothers holding their children. People on their knees in prayer. Final moments of life frozen in time by layers of ash and pumice. It is tragic and so beautiful, to get to see these last seconds. It shows the true character of these people, and is the only artifact of its kind. Although I'd seen pictures of these casts, there is something about standing in a room full of them that feels different. Realer. More personal. Pompeii gave me incredible insight into both history and humanity. It was an experience I definitely will never forget.

A room full of plaster casts shows the pompeiians as they would have been in their final moments.
A particularly interesting cast in the middle shows a man on his knees in prayer.
Eyewitness account, written down by Pliny, is quoted as saying
"There were some so afraid of death, that they prayed for death"

Rome's Port

Today we ventured out of the main city of Rome to Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica is an archeological site, close to Ostia (a suburb of Rome), that houses the remains of an important port city of ancient Rome. Ostia served as Rome's seaport for a time, and was an important part of bringing goods, including food, to Rome's 1 million residents.

Something particularly interesting about Ostia is that it is one of the only cities that contains well-preserved ruins of buildings that would have been an important part of day-to-day life. In Rome, most of the structures that remain are grand forums, marble statues and impressive buildings. Because Ostia was abandoned very suddenly, it seems to have been almost frozen in time - only effected by the natural decay of aging structures. We got the chance to see apartment buildings and homes that the citizens of Ostia would have lived in, as well as where their shopping centers and markets would have been. We even went inside of an old firemen's barrack, which is something I had never seen before. We visited an ancient "dry-cleaners", where people would send their togas to be washed. Something interesting (and still kind of gross) that we learned about these cleaners is that they very often used urine as a detergent. This meant that public toilets were of great value to these businessmen, as it gave them a place to get urine cheaply to use for their shops.

This is the "fire station". It is interesting to note that these firemen would have been much more military personnel than the firemen we think of today, making these barracks similar to a military base. 

These are the tubs that would have been used to wash togas in the ancient world, often using urine as detergent. 

While in Ostia, we also visited the town's forum. What struck me the most about this area was that it was incredibly similar to the way the forums looked in the heart of Rome. This is likely because the leaders of Rome would have heavily influenced the way things were done here, and even gotten involved themselves if a particular project interested them or was of significant worth to them. It is interesting to note details like this, because it shows an excellent example of the power held by leaders in Rome at this time, and their desire to show that power to people under their rule.

View of housing and a piece of the forum from atop the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (a temple to the same god, and with the same general layout, as the temple atop Capitoline Hill in Rome). 

Ostia also served an interesting purpose in that it was used as our stepping stone into the early days of Christianity. There is evidence of early Christianity in Ostia, as we have reached the point in our chronological study of Rome when Jesus would have been alive and starting his ministry. It is incredible to think about how quickly this message spread, and the way it changed society in Rome as a whole. Christianity, unlike the pagan religions of the past, is a belief system for everyone. Rich, poor, criminals, prostitutes, thieves, saints, sinners, the whole lot. This idea of everyone being equal in the eyes of God, and everyone worthy of His love and mercy, rubs a lot of the wealthier Roman people the wrong way. With their pagan gods, they could win their favor with sacrifice or showy temples in which they would show off their wealth. The Christian God has no interest in these worldly possessions, and shows no favor to the rich or proud. I am interested to continue to learn about how this shift in religion changes Roman culture as a whole.

First-Century Rome

As we trek across Rome every day to countless fora, museums and monuments, we often pass by the Colosseum. (Not only is it very central to historic Rome but is massive and very hard to miss). Yesterday we got the chance to go inside it and hear about the incredibly brutal history housed within the stadium's walls. 

An outside look at the Colosseum.
This massive structure covers 6 acres in total. 

As I'm sure most people know, the Colosseum was used largely for gladiator fights. It was also used for public spectacles - such as animal hunts, executions, recreations of famous battles, plays and mock sea battles - but is most closely tied to the death battles that occurred here, often from dawn until dusk. It is estimated that the Colosseum held around 50,000 (possibly more) spectators during its prime of use. Each day the stadium would fill with people, who watched as men fought each other to the death. One of the most popular "executions" involved pitting prisoners of war against wild animals, who would then literally tear them to pieces. These prisoners were generally left at a severe disadvantage, being given either a small wooden weapon or no weapon at all. 

Interestingly enough, the use of wild animals in various events in the Colosseum actually lead to the extinction of some species in this area. One such example is the lion, which used to be native to Europe. Lions were often used in gladiator battles, and so many of them were killed that the Roman gladiators slaughtered every lion in this region. (Clearly the area has not been re-populated as it is generally uncommon to see a lion wandering down the streets of Rome). 

These battles were judged by the crowd's response. If whatever they were doing was causing the crowd to laugh or cheer, they would continue. When the crowd became weary or was no longer interested, they changed it up. The spectators were also given the power to decide whether a man could live or die. If a gladiator fell, the other gladiator could walk up to the emperor and ask if he should live. The emperor could then decide himself, or give the crowd the chance to give a thumbs up, or thumbs down, to decide the man's fate. While this seems horrific to most of us, it is important to note the amount of power this gave to many Roman citizens who had minimal societal power at that time. It could be seen as quite the self-esteem boost to have enough power to decide whether a man lives or dies (as morbid as that power may be). 

Inside the Colosseum. Originally there would have been a wood floor covering the catacomb-like structures beneath floor level. This wood would have been covered by about 6 inches of sand, which the gladiators fought on top of.

We spent the other half of our day yesterday on the Palatine Hill, including a visit to the Palatine Museum. The Palatine is considered the foundation of Rome, based on stories of founders settling here. Mythology says that this hill is the location of the cave that the wolf brought Romulus and Remus after she found them. For those of you unfamiliar with this story, legend says Romulus and Remus were twin brothers who were abandoned, and then found by a she wolf who took care of them and kept them alive. A shepherd then found them and took them into his home. Later in life, the brothers disagreed on where to found their city, Romulus killed Remus, and founded his city (Rome) on the Palatine Hill. Because of this, the Palatine Hill stands as an important representation of Rome's humble beginnings, a theme which later emperors use to their political advantage to win the favor of the people. 

A large part of what is left, in ruins, on the Palatine Hill is the remains of the House of Augustus. This house served as Augustus' primary residence during his time as emperor (though he didn't refer to himself that way). This palace is set atop the hill, which looks over the Roman Forum and a large part of historical Rome. Not only is the view beautiful, but would have served as a symbol of Augustus' power as emperor. He was able to see all of the inner-workings of his beautiful city from the comfort of his own backyard. It also kept him close to important government buildings and temples, so he could keep an eye on what was happening and maintain his involvement in daily Roman life. 

View of the Roman Forum from the Palatine Hill. 

Rome - The Late Republic

We started our Friday morning with a visit to the Largo Argentina, a square in Rome that used to be home to 4 temples and the Pompey's theater, the first permanent theater in Rome. What is particularly interesting about this square is that, unlike the squares and forums that followed it, the buildings were all somewhat haphazard and were built by different people at different times, with little regard for the grander plan of the square. As previously noted, the theater that was built here was the first of its kind. In Ancient Rome, the tradition was to build theaters out of wood, and then tear or burn them down after the performance was over to preserve the sanctity of the Roman people. Because of this, when Pompey built the theater he added a small "temple" into the top level, in order to give the appearance of something besides a theater. In present day Rome, this square is used as a cat sanctuary. Cats in Rome are allowed to live where they are born. When they find injured cats, they bring them to this sanctuary and help them heal. It essentially serves as the "cat capital" of Rome.

A view of the Largo Argentina from the street above. Pieces of the ancient world's temples that were built here are buried beneath the current city streets. 

We spent the afternoon out of the hot sun (thankfully - it was a scorcher today) in the Centrale Montemartini. The Centrale Montemartini is a museum inside of an old power plant. Sounds weird, right? Well, here's the back story: in 1995 the Capitoline Museum had to be renovated. Rather than close down the museum to the public, because it was so popular they decided to move some of their sculptures and artifacts to this power plant that had been out of use since the 60's. It was so popular that they decided to leave them there, and the Centrale Montemartini is now an extension of the Capitoline Museum. What this phenomenon of mashing together histories and putting places where they don't seem to belong has done is create an incredible juxtaposition of Roman history. In the same moment, you can look at a statue built in 220 BC and a piston made for the power plant in 1920. It is an incredible reminder of the way Rome's history spans time, and that it is continually being added to every day. I was reminded the other day that, now that I am experiencing these things and writing about them, even I am becoming a small piece of Rome's history.

A statue from the Centrale Montemartini placed in front of heavy power equipment. It's incredibly strange to see Ancient Roman art fixed between pieces of heavy machinery. 

Today was an absolutely exhausting day. With the insane heat and the amount of walking we did, I was beat coming back from dinner. As we walked over the bridge back to our apartment, you could look out over the river and see the sun setting behind Vatican City. Rome's beauty - in the most unexpected times and places - never ceases to amaze me.

View from the bridge over the river on our walk home from dinner tonight.
Love all the beautiful colors in the sky