Voyeur (Piazza Navona)

I noticed her out of all the other tourists in the piazza because she lightly tripped while taking out here camera, and covered that up by gracefully twirling around to snap a photo of the fountain, her long, but light, dress swirling around her. Her long auburn hair compliments the hues of her yellow and brown patterned dress. She walked over with her companion, who was dressed in a royal purple jumpsuit to one of the stone benches surrounding the edge of the square. Sitting down, she took off her sunglasses, and then her white shoes. The woman then sat cross-legged on the stone bench, facing the second woman. I saw that she had a light blue rectangle hung on a similarly colored lanyard around her neck. Having seen the same sort of lanyard on other people who belonged to a Russian tourist crowd, I assume that she was part of that group.

I wondered where she lived in Russia, guessing that she probably came from one of the cities: either Moscow or St. Petersburg. Part of me also wondered why she was here instead of going to a dacha (summer house in the country,) but I, of course, completely understand the whole idea of traveling to another country, particularly to Rome.

The woman took out a cigarette and quickly smoked it while talking and laughing with her friend. They then took pictures of each other sitting on the bench, and then, upon some signal that I couldn’t see, stood up to meet up with their tour. I could also easily see the woman coming back to her hometown and showing the pictures from this trip to her family and friends, possibly during some dinner in a small apartment, or while having tea and pastries in the afternoon.

Castel Sant'Angelo (Giornale 2)

We've finally gotten to go to the Castel Sant'Angelo! Huzzah! It has been on my list of places to visit for a while. A group of my classmates and I have been trying to get to it for a few days now. Having most of the day off, we've been able to go to it since we were sure that we would have enough time to fully explore the place.

Getting off of the crowded bus, we push our way through the crowd of tourists and vendors towards the entrance of the Castel. While the line is not at all that long, we still need to wait a few minutes until a group of tourists exit and we are let in. At the ticket office, I panic a little as the first ticket seller tells me that she does not have a change for a twenty (which, alas, is the only money I have on me, having spent all my change elsewhere, for fear of incurring the wrath of Italian cashiers who hate giving out change.) Thankfully, I find that the second ticker seller not only is able to break my twenty, but also does not comment on it. After I fumble with my wallet, dropping a few euros onto the ground making me awkwardly scramble around for them, I join the rest of the group and we head into the Castel. As soon as we take only a few steps down, the temperature drops to a deliciously cool temperature and I smile in relief.

While these medieval castles must have been utterly awful to live in, in the winter, and excluding the fact that they did not have modern toilets and other "luxuries" (that we now see as necessities,) I cannot help but think that it must have been awesome to live in one during the summer since it would be, quite literally, cool.

 Heading up the spiral walkway, I feel excited, but not entirely sure of what I’ll find inside. As we continued, I began to feel a little bored, as stone walls are not particularly fascinating things (the Fora Romanum is an exception, of course.) Wandering still further, I wondered why I felt bored. After all, I was so excited about this, not five minutes ago! Then a realization hit me. I had been thinking about this from the mindset of a tourist who had no previous knowledge of the fortress, and who was there solely to see the monument as something that they knew that they "should" see. I stood still for a brief moment in a room where there was a large circular window set high in the wall, and began to reflect upon the history of the monument. I set in mind who would be walking around the part of the building that had been built around the tomb, and began to imagine the pope and other church officials, and servants, walking throughout the building. Imagining the rustle of velvet, silk, and other fabrics in the stairwell and the conversations held in the doorways (however serious or mundane,) reinvigorated my excitement, and I went up the stairs to the courtyard. I whip out my camera and take a few obligatory pictures, and then spot a sign for the art exhibit and head in.

  Retrospectively,  I didn’t like the exhibit very much. There were wonderful things, and it was lovely to see, (and a little ridiculous to imagine living with such beautiful things every day,) but I didn’t feel that the exhibit was organized well. Every exhibit should have a good flow, allowing the viewer to walk comfortable around, and to properly enjoy the pieces. This had awkward corners and spaces, because of the small size of the room, which also meant that you couldn’t stand back to take in large pieces as a whole, and that you constantly had to be aware of other tourists walking behind you.  I enjoyed walking on the battlements and the rooftop, and through the corridors, because of the view of the city, and, once again, because I was imagining living there, and of the past that must have occured in all those places.

Madonna col Bambino ~ Pompeo Batini (Ekphrasis 2)

The infant in the woman’s arms looks up at her face, craning his neck only a little. However, instead of gazing back at her child, she looks down, past the child, almost ignoring him. And yet, the way that she holds her left hand against the child’s back, and the way that her mouth curves up ever so slightly in a gentle smile creates an idea that she is, perhaps, thinking about the child. These things, in addition to the left hand of the child, which caringly touches the woman’s right cheek, generate a feeling of tenderness. The soft colors of the painting, from the dusky pink of her dress (which is echoed by the dusky pinkish red on the apple,) to the strong, but dull, blue of the cloth around her arm and shoulder, and the off-white cloth and moss green pillow on which the child sits emphasize this gentle emotion.

Santa Maria in Trastevere (Giornale 1)

I slowly ambled into the courtyard of the Santa Maria in Trastevere, behind some other tourist, and was immediately struck by the fragments mounted on the walls of the church’s courtyard. I examined them for a while, finding them fascinating since they stand as mementos of some of the many people that had lived here in older times. Many of these fragments had lovely carvings, either intricate patterns or animals, such as a lion, or small carvings whose lines seemed almost sketch-like in quality. I found that both types had their own sort of beauty.

Passing through the courtyard and entrance passage into the actual church, I was struck by the gorgeous artwork inside, from the stained glass windows to the mosaics to the paintings hidden in the side chapels. It was quite unexpected because, although there is a mosaic depicting the Madonna and her child surrounded by ten women who are, for the most part, dressed very elegantly on the outside of the church, the rest of the exterior of the church is very drab, and almost disappears into the surrounding buildings. (Thinking back on it, I am very surprised that the mosaics on the outside of the church are still so vibrant! I would have thought that time, and weather, would have tarnished and dimmed the colors of the mosaic.) I headed straight towards the altar in the front, almost bumping into people as I examined the mosaic swirls on the floor. Green and red mosaics created lines with geometric patterns within them, lines which twisted around each other down the aisles, leaving room for mosaic circles in between them. The dark green and reds contrasted beatifully with the rest of the mosaic floor, which was a off-white color.

Arriving at the front altar, I sat at a pew in the front, and spent a few moments just gazing at the wonderful artwork in the apse. I liked the sheep that represented the followers of Christ, since the artistans who decorated the apse had made the patterns that represented the wool of the sheep different for every other sheep. I was suddenly startled when the lights illuminating the apse dimmed, leaving only the meager light from the candles, and the stained-glass windows. I then realized that to turn on the lights you had to pay, which disappointed me. (Not for the fact that one had to pay to see the artwork, but that the church used it to make money. Neither am I upset that the church is making money from this, as I know that the money will go to the upkeep of the church. I’m more disappointed that something that many find holy was used to generate money. It seems to take the mosaics out of the realm of the sacred to a level that seems a little cheap, even though the artwork is still as lovely as ever, and most certainly not cheap.)

Sighing, I stood up from the pew and continued to walk around the church, exiting the church after peering into all the side chapels and admiring the art in them.

Q and A

I was confused by a few things on the Palatine hill. One of these things was the remains of a giant marble foot that we found among the ruins of the Domus Flavia. Since it was a fairly big foot, the rest of the statue must have also been magnificent and awe-inspiring. And yet, I could find no mention in either the Blue Guide or the internet of who that foot belonged to, whether it had been a statue of a god or an emperor.  I find it odd that there would have existed such a large statue without any mention of it in any ancient writings.

                In addition to the foot, I was struck by the wall painting hanging in the Domus Augustiana. What surprised me, and confused me a little, about that wall painting was how modern it seemed. While it seemed classical in the fact that it used geometric shapes, the lines and colors seemed to come straight from modern times, and seemed out of place in my idea of ancient Rome.  The Blue Guide does mention these wall paintings, but I still cannot fathom that these paintings existed in those times, and that the rooms would have been full of them .

Head of An Amazon (Ekphrasis)

A short stub of marble neck, cut at an angle a few inches down from the chin, sits on a beautiful pedestal. The whole head tilts at a slight angle to the left, giving The intricately carved hair is parted at the middle, and sweeps back in a simple hairdo over the ears, almost completely obscuring them. At the back, a few short tendrils of hair escape onto her neck.  She has large eyes, and a long, slim nose, directing the eye down to the lightly downturned mouth.  Altogether, her face, and the angle of her head convey a sense of a little wistfulness, or, perhaps, sadness. And while her features seem delicate, and might portray sadness, this woman is by no means weak. There is strength in the line of her neck, which is echoed in the lines of her firmly set mouth and eyes, and, even, the careful hairstyle (even with the few tendrils escaping in the back.) The lighting throws her left side into shadow, and highlights her right side, and emphasizes the sense of strength emerging from the Amazon.

Space and Place

Honestly, walking through the Fora Romanum made me a little bit sad, because of all that was not there. When reading about the Fora Romanum, even though I knew it did not exist anymore, I still pictured a bustling area, filled with many buildings. In a way, it was, except all the people around me were tourists, and, unlike our group and the ancient romans, I’m sure that at least some did not know the history of all the buildings and ruins, and thus could not appreciate them as much. (I feel that knowledge of the history, of the events that occurred there make the place have more significance.  Seeing the floor of the house where the Vestal Virgins existed was really cool because I knew who these women were, and their duties. Instead of being just another ruin, it connected with the soft, ancient city that I had in my head, and gained meaning.) After going through the forum, I was left with a feeling of regret, that I was not able to see the forum in it’s full glory, with all the temples and buildings still standing. Considering that just half of a Basilica filled me with awe, I can’t imagine what it must have been like to walk through the streets surrounded by more amazing buildings.

I agree with what many people mentioned about how they felt in the forum. I did feel very guided through the forum, with the railings and pathways dictating where I should go (as well as the fact that there are only a few places through which you can enter and exit.) I really wish that I could walk through the forum as the ancient romans would have, to enter the buildings, and to not only keep to the paths set out for tourists.

All in all, I definitely felt like an outsider, although I did not feel entirely like a tourists, since i had spent the whole semester learning about Rome, and so felt a little connected to the monuments.  And, unless I went back in time to Ancient Rome, I don't think I will ever not feel like and outsider in the forum.

Prediction

Blearily rubbing my eyes as I headed into the lobby to join the rest of the group, I rued the fact that I had been unable to sleep on the plane. I had been excited and, to be honest, a little terrified during the flight, because I simply couldn't believe that it was actually happening. I was going abroad! And to ROME! Not to mention the fact that I was on a large plane for the first time in my life. All of these did not help me sleep on the trip over to here.

As I stood among my classmates, I sympathized with those who looked just as weary as I felt, and envied those who seemed refreshed. I resolved to buy some espresso as soon as I could, in the hopes of waking myself up. I didn't want to miss a single second of my being here, least of all for a silly (to my mind) reason such as lack of sleep. As we headed out for our first walk to the Campo di Fiori, I felt the warm sun on my back and shoulders, and relaxed a little. As we walked, I heard Dan and Jackie argueing over which cafe had better coffee, and what restaurant we should all go to. A group of young men on motorcycles passed us by, a few of them giving our little group a second glance. "PAULO!" someone shouted, and the the whole group burst out laughing.

I looked around as we kept walking, constantly spotting little details in the buildings, and interesting people that the artist in me wanted to stop and sketch. Seeing as I couldn't do so at this very moment, I began to keep mental tabs of the buildings that I wanted to draw, of the intersections of the lines from various buildings, and of the various colorful shapes that I saw around me. The lines and shapes I would probably end up doodling somewhere over and over, as soon as I found some particular arrangement that really struck me, until they ended up in one of my final pieces of artwork. And, oh! All the lovely combinations of colors that I kept seeing everywhere. I mentally kicked myself for not bring my colored pencils and wondered if I should buy some while I was here.

             As we kept walking, I began to wonder about our free time, and how much I would actually be able to do during it. I had wanted to try and search, at least a little, for the grave of my grandfather, who died while leaving the Soviet Union and coming to America. Unfortunately, I didn't know how feasible that was, particularly with all the other sights that I wanted to see. Setting aside this thought for a later time when I was more wide awake, I tuned into the group discussing things that we absolutely had to do tonight, including get our very first Italian coffees, and our first real gelato! I grinned at the thought of gelato, remembering the delicious gelato that I could find in Boston's North End, and wondering if this gelato would or, even, could be better.

            We reached the Campo di Fiori right as my stomach gave out a huge grumble. I looked at all the people passing by, and wondered where they all came from. I gave a start as I realized that Dan and Jackie had reached an agreement, and were leading us to the restaurant. I followed the group, and smiled, excited that I had a whole two weeks to spend in this fantastic and inspiring city.

Reflections

When I first applied to Reading Rome/Writing Rome, I was merely doing it because I wanted to travel, and because it seemed like something that I normally would not have done. However, over the course of the semester, I've become very interested in the eternal city. I entered Reading Rome without prior knowledge about Rome, besides from the very basic facts of its mythological foundation, as well as a few bits and pieces of the lives of various emperors. I was a little taken aback by how much of Ancient Rome we studied, and how in depth we went. I had expected more tales and accounts of travels to Rome, and more discussions of how these accounts differed, and what varied perspectives they offered on the eternal city.

In truth, we did do this towards the end, and I'm very glad that we did learn about the foundation of Rome.  It has given me another reason to desire to visit Rome, as I know want to see the structures that we learned about. Seeing these old ruins and monuments will have a lot more meaning, since I know the history behind them. Otherwise, I think I would have normally viewed them as almost any other tourist would: ruins that I was supposed to go to, and supposed to find cool and interesting, when, in fact, they would have probably held my attention for, at most, five minutes, before I would want to go look at something else. Learning the history and the events that have happened makes the fact that people have walked on that ground thousands of years ago, and built those wonderful things more real (versus a vague thought in the back of my mind.)

I also think that it will be interesting to compare the Rome that I created in my head from all the readings and pictures that we used in this course, with the real Rome. The other desire that I originally wrote about in my essay, (aside from my desire to travel) to see the art in Rome and to see how Rome itself inspires me is still one of my main reasons for wanting to go. In fact, I think it has intensified as I have learned more about Rome, and about the intricate monuments. I've become fascinated by the details that these possess, such as the thirty plant species depicted in the Trevi Fountain, and the various pieces that create the Arch of Constantine. (Alright, I'll admit it; the thirty plant species may have become a slight obsession with me.)

The accounts made by various travelers also helped to prepare me for the idea that Rome may well be very jarring at first, merely because it will be a different country with a different culture. I'm hoping that I will either not be affected by that, or will adjust quickly to being in a different place.