A little history on the statue of Giordano Bruno:
Bruno was killed for "speaking out against the church." Eight charges were brought against him, among which were included: denying the virginity of Mary, denying the existence of the holy trinity, denying the right of the persecutors to prosecute him, and participating in divinations. The last was a reference to his amazing ability to memorize long texts. He used the very effective "Memory Place" technique to recite large texts in public, for which the Church accused him of using magic.
Years later, to honor his life and his death, a statue of him was commissioned to be placed in the Campo di Fiori. Initially, this statue was to face away from the Vatican, as if in defiance. However, the church "strongly suggested" it be pointed towards the Vatican instead. His statue is currently visible outside of our apartment window. It is dark, cloaked, and mysterious.
Giordano Bruno stands for free thinkers and called himself a philosopher. He was a very religious man but some of his beliefs contradicted the Catholic Church. For example, he believed that everyone will be saved once they die. Wouldn't that be great if he were right? He also believed in a heliocentric world. Unfortunately, he was ahead of his time.
Art History:
We visited two beautiful churches today with the intention of comparing their ceilings and learning about the rivalry between the two cardinal-nephews, Aldobrandini (ex cardinal at the time he comissioned his ceiling) and Borghese (current cardinal). First we saw the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. This ceiling cost 7,000 scupi and was commissioned by Pietro Aldobrandini. The second ceiling we saw was nearby in the Church of San Crisogono. This one cost 11,000 scudi and was commissioned by Scipione Borghese. Borghese intentionally commissioned his ceiling to outdo Aldobrandini and assert his new position of power as papal nephew. Silly cardinals!
Other things we discussed about the churches included the columns within them, the paintings, statues of St. Christopher, the intricate marble floors, architecture, mosaics, wall paintings, and much more!
Afterwards, Lisa rewarded us with coffee and cornetti. The cornetti were heavenly (almost as good as the guilding in the churches) and the coffee was so good that even those that don't normally drink coffee thoroughly enjoyed it!
Lunch Break meant different things for different people:
1. For most, it meant food
2. For Erika, master runner, and for the poor soul that chose to join her, it meant running to the other side of the universe.
3. For Giulia, a walk to esquilino.
4. For the rest, blogging!
5. Special mention for Carissa who updated the Olympics Tribute --the promised picture posted right below.
Italian Class:
This was the scariest Italian class we've had so far! At the start of class, Fede handed out a worksheet and told us with a straight face that it was review for our exam. As soon as we looked at our worksheets, the room went silent. Everyone was shocked. Nobody knew what to do. Eventually, Fede told us it was a joke. Much funnier in retrospect ! Oh Fede...
The most exciting part of Italian class, and possibly of the entire day, was ballare!! Singing! Fede played a youtube video for the class to sing and dance along with. It was absolutely hilarious. We also learned a lot of new vocabulary. Some people, like Tim, Connor, Derek, Giulia, and Erika got really into it (not to name any names)! I think we should perform our new song and dance at the Last Supper. Also, stay tuned to see parts of the performance in the weekly VLOG!
Ending the Night:
Unfortunately, Julie's soccer exhibition was canceled due to weather conditions.
Fortunately, this gave everyone time to catch up on some work and cooking.
Off to eat crepes!
Alexis and Teo
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