Week's review; Hadrian's Villa

We've seen so much since my last post, I don't even know where to begin. All of it has been incredible. I can't possibly recall the order in which we've experienced everything. We've descended into all of the imperial fora (which are off-limits to the public; I wish I could convey how cool it was to walk around in them), we've crawled through  the Catacombs of St. Sebastian (the original "catacombs," from which the word itself is derived) and the Necropolis under the Vatican, where we saw St. Peter's supposed grave and bones. We've been in St. Peter's and to the top of it, and through all the Vatican museums; we've walked through the Campus Martius and wandered the sprawling Palace ruins above the palatine; we've been to two massive bath complexes and tons of churches - and on and and and on. All of it has been unbelievable, and I feel like I've learned so much. Roman culture seems almost familiar to me now.

But this trip is about more than academics, and the things we have done outside of our classwork have been just as cool. For one example: originally unbeknownst to us, Saturday happened to be the EuroPride festival, the yearly gay pride celebration for all of Europe, which, serendipitously, was being held in Rome this year. Even more unbelievably, Lady Gaga had accepted an invitation to speak and perform there. So, when we were done with our classwork that morning, we convened at the Circus Maximus, where the concert was to be held, and staked out a great seat as people began to stream in to the ancient racetrack (which has now been reduced to a long grassy strip, sort of like the mall in DC). It was hours until the performance so Jacque and I went over to the Colosseum and watched the parade wend its way around the stadium and down towards the Circus Maximus. There were thousands and thousands of people there, so much so that the floats were almost at a standstill due to the sea of people in the street. When we returned to the rest of the girls at the Circus Maximus, people had started to stream in from the end of the parade, though it would be another two hours before the performance began and the crowd would reach its estimated size of 1,000,000. The show started at 9:15 and Gaga came out at 9:30 to give an impassioned speech on civil rights. She then played her songs "Born This Way" and "Edge of Glory" on the piano. We were really excited and fortunate to have been there for all of that.

As far as the modern city goes...
I love it here. I love every aspect of it. I'm confident finding my way around, on foot or by bus; my mental map of the city has become very clear, so I don't think I could ever really manage to get lost. I've had fun meeting people and talking with shopkeepers and waiters and friendly-looking strangers. The city is incredibly beautiful, whether you're looking at ancient ruins or modern monumnets or churches or even apartment buildings - or a blend of all of them in one place. The weather has been perfect - hot with puffy clouds surfing overhead and an occassional breeze. I would live here in a second - I really do feel at home.

Today we went to the villa of the emperor Hadrian, some miles outside of the city. The estate was sprawling and must have been stunning in its prime. It has experienced 1800 years of looting, so the majority of what's left is brick walls and terraces, but even these humble remains beg one's wonder. Each building, each stairway, each arch or broken column hints at the majesty that once was, setting one's mind to reconstructing the ruined buildings. But even if one were devoid of imagination, just the location of the villa is worth a visit: it is situated on a plateau overlookig the countryside and beneath a tall green mountain to the slope of which several towns cling.

We leave Rome tomorrow, and I'll be very sad to leave it behind. I wish I could stay here forever. There's so much more to explore, so much culture to delve into, so many people to meet, so much fun still to be had. But we will be heading to the Naples area, with at least two very cool sites left to explore (Herculaneum and Pompeii), which will doubtless present their own incredible wonders.

Jun 2: Our first explorations

Is this really our third day? It feels like we've been here a week!

Yesterday, the 2nd, was a special day for Italy. It was the celebration of the republic, akin to our 4th of July. This year they are also celebrating 150 years since the unification of Italy, so we were expecting big things. Well... we were disappointed. There was a parade, but it was strictly military  - not much more than a procession of units and marching bands and some antique military vehicles. The coolest part was that some planes flew overhead three or four times at low altitude streaming green, red, and white smoke (the colors of the flag). Other than that, there didn't seem to be any celebration at all. Very strange!

The Italian Colors fly over the Monumento Nazionale

We started off the day by descending to the banks of the Tiber, which has been enclosed in very steep walled embankments to prevent its flooding of the city (a frequent historical occurrence). We stood beside a 2000 year old bridge leading to the Tiber island before crossing it. The island is home to a functioning (religious?) hospital and a gorgeous Catholic cathedral. (You may remember the island from its appearance at the end of Angels & Demons.) Then we visited a round temple just beside the Tiber, supposedly one of the oldest Roman temples to use marble. You can't enter and it's looking pretty beat, but it was cool. We surveyed a small old arch with curious history, and a really beat up four-sided arch beside it.

Looking down the Tiber. The island is the land on the left.

Then we headed over to the Theater of Marcellus, which looks very much like a mini-Colosseum, except for the very noticeable exception that an apartment building has been placed on the third story. Evidently, building housing complexes on top of ancient Roman ruins is something the Italians don't think twice about. Across from the theater were some cool old temple ruins, with a few freestanding tall pillars.

We stayed and watched the parade awhile before heading up the road, up the ancient Capitoline hill. At the top of the hill, today, is the Monumento Nazionale, which is a HUGE marble monument (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_Vittorio_Emanuele_II). We picnicked in its shadow while the parade ended and watched Italians and tourists go about their day. Then we ascended the Capitoline in earnest, up to the piazza constructed by Michelangelo, centering on a statue of Marcus Aurelius on a horse. We visited the Aracoeli, a bizarre and beautiful cathedral at a very high point on the hill, just behind the Monumento Nazionale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_in_Aracoeli).

Then we went into one of the national museums in the plaza, where we saw a lot of really cool original sculptures and busts. In that museum are the only existing foundations of the Temple to Jupiter which once occupied the hill. The Temple was absolutely massive, and was built in 500 BC, so it's really a shame that so little/nothing is left of it except for a few drawings and descriptions and a few foundations of one corner.

At the top of the museum we got an incredible view of Rome. Before leaving, we stopped by the ruins of an ancient shopping center/apartment complex that is literally leaning against the monumento nazionale and the stairs to the Aracoeli. Finally, beat, we headed back home, showered, and ate dinner. After dinner, just at sunset, we walked past the American Academy to an awesome park on the Janiculum hill overlooking Rome.