Wednesday February 17th

Happy Birthday Bruno! You are remembered


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

Tuesday February 16th

Our second day of week seven began with a relaxing start. One o’clock, we all filled the first floor seminar room. Yes, we had a guest speaker! Her name is Mirela Pribac and she is a Romanian artist who studied in Rome and made a photo documentary on “Campo Nomadi.”

Her discussions were focused on the plight of “Gypsies” or the more appropriate and politically correct term, ROMA. We have been discussing the “Gypsies,” their lives, jobs, and perceptions since week one. However, none of us knew much about their history or background. Mirela was able to provide insights in to their lives as she spent time getting to know the people in Campo Nomadi while making her documentary. She talked about the discrimination they faced and how such prejudices and stereotyping could be stopped. Throughout her presentation, she explained of the discrimination they endured not only from people all across Europe, but also from the governments of the respective countries they live in. The pictures revealed a people so pure and loving, the children playing together and mothers caring for their children. Her photos lent familiarity or even sympathy to such a misunderstood people. She talked of how while she was rummaging through the images, she would match their faces with dolls that she found depicting “Gypsies.” The resemblance led her to combine the faces of real people to the dolls. This act made her realize that she was actually guilty of form of stereotyping the “Gypsies.” In the end, she concluded that the way to stop this derogatory stereotyping and discrimination is to first recognize when you are committing these prejudiced acts. They are ROMA not “Gypsy.”

After a fifteen minute break, we headed to the Accademia di Romania (this place we learned does not offer courses; rather, it is more of a place that houses Romanian scholars who do research in Italy). Trekking ten minutes in the rain after a fifteen minute ride, I welcomed the accademia that rose like a white palace against the bleak sky. We ran in, glad of a temporary relief from further soggy shoes and less than pleasant smelling clothes.

Immediately, we were greeted by the accademia’s art director. He was the epitome of a jolly old man! Nice and funny. He showed us around the extensive complex. One area was a huge room that displayed framed paintings along the walls. Right above that room was Mirela’s showroom for contemporary art. The artist who drew the picture at the end of the narrow corridor sells his work at auction for two to four million Euros!

One of my favorite rooms though was the library, famous for being the largest state library out of Romania.

The library contained around 34,500 books. It had an old world charm of tattered classic novels, antique ceiling lamps, and wooden railing balconies. Perfection. This is where our day ended. Sadly, partially dried shoes and clothes did not last long as we ventured out into the cold, rainy world (walking to Piazza del Popolo and “home”—Campo de Fiori).

Until tomorrow ciao!

Alexis and Teo

Monday February 15th

Already week seven! These past six weeks have absolutely flown by. Every day has been a new adventure and a new lesson. In fact, almost every day so far has been packed with activities –class, visiting Rome, various projects, writing assignments, readings, eating, exploring, and planning presentations. It’s been fantastic but I also think that I speak for all of us when I say that a slower, more relaxed day like today was welcome.

Only two classes today: Introduction to Baroque Art in the Conference room (one of very few in-house lectures given by Lisa) and Italian language class. In Italian, we learned some grammar, hotel vocabulary, how to book rooms, and how to make the receptionist aware of problems. For example, “l’acqua calda non funziona” and “posso avere ancora una coperta.” Both of these would have been useful in the past, especially when dealing with the jolly man who fixed our heat every other day but couldn’t understand a word we said! In the future, I’m sure he will appreciate our new Italian phrases.

In Lisa’s class, we learned about Baroque Art. Since today was less strenuous and eventful than most, here is a quick review on the major tenets of Baroque Art with fun pictures from past adventures in Italy to help you remember

1. New Subject Matter: landscape, portraiture, still life, scenes of every-day life
(below is a picture of Carisa, Steph, and Lauren doing arts and crafts (in a scene of every-day life) in honor of the olympics. Picture of the finished product to be expected later in the week)


2. Deep Interest in Psychology: Passions of the heart
(below is a picture, a still-life, of our Valentines Day treat made by Erika. Thanks Erika!)


3. Concerns with Space
(below is a picture of Sijia, staring off into space. Actually, she is looking up at a Baroque style ceiling that is painted to look like it goes higher than it actually does)


4. Preoccupations with Time
(below is a picture of an hourglass taken in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, indicative of time)


5. Expressive use of Light
(below is a picture of Florence at night. lots of light. beautiful)



Of course, there was cooking and eating delicious treats before, after, and in between the classes! Mostly, we just took it slow. Different sets of people went on walks, explored their rione, worked on their projects, and quite a few of us grabbed gelato for an evening dessert. I don’t think we could ever grow tired of gelato! The day ended with everybody watching the Olympics and working on upcoming projects.

Ciao!
Alexis and Teo

Thursday, February 11th

This week independent Research check-in meetings were moved to Thursday, mine being at 10:30, so each group met separately with Lisa and Julie in Julie’s apartment. We had great Italian doughnut holes and cappuccinos from our wonderful and generous teachers, and then discussed our independent research topics, and the progress made on our research. The presentations are only a few weeks away!

After a long break during the afternoon, the whole group met up to go to Villa Borghese, and the museum there. We left at around 2:15, and took a bus ride to the beautiful gardens and property of the Villa Borghese. After a short introduction in the front yard, we went inside. The Villa was a “pleasure palace” built by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who was the nephew of Pope Paul V.

Inside the museum there are currently hundreds of paintings and sculptures. We saw many paintings by the infamous artist, Caravaggio, whose paintings were great, but controversial with the church at the time. This did not stop Scipione Borghese from snatching up a lot of his famous works. My favorite was the Madonna with the child. The painting is very different from most depictions of the Madonna with the baby Jesus because it is very dark. The child is in the forefront, standing, but stepping on a snake with his feet. This is a very unusual pose and depiction of one of the most painted religious subjects.

The statues by Gian Lorenzo Bernini were my favorite part of the Villa Borghese. His ability to carve these statues out of marble was unreal to me. The details are amazing and in some cases the marble looks like it is actual skin because of the techniques he used. Also, the drapery on the statues almost looked like paper or cloth it was so realistic. Very amazing works of art to see so close and in person.Too bad we couldn’t take pictures of our own!

We left the museum around 5 in order to get back, because Natalia, Mick, and I (Conner) had to pack for our flight to Barcelona later that night!

Wednesday, February 10th

Today was a great day for a short walking tour. We were lucky to have Teo present to us about street shrines: their history and purpose in Rome. The street shrines are mainly of the Virgin Mary, and are paintings on buildings above eye level (about 10 to 15 feet above street level.) They can be seen all around Rome, and could be on any building or wall, on any road. The street shrines are religious art that everyone can participate in at any time of day or night, because they are right on the street, and in all parts of the city. These street shrines represent the religious influence in the city of Rome, but also let every citizen have their own personal religious connection and interaction with the Virgin Mary.

When Teo was taking us to look at these shrines, we saw the offerings of candles, flowers, and other items as a sign of people’s dedication to these religious figures. I actually had the pleasure of lighting a candle for one of the shrines that Teo brought, and we left the candle there on the mantle.

Later in the afternoon after our short walking tour, we had another Italian class (two days in a row!) with Fede from 3 to 5. We learned more about how to express what we liked to do in our spare time. We also ended the class with a much-needed question and answer period with Fede that usually involves us asking “how to say this” and “how to say that,” usually only discussing how to order food and coffee!

After Italian class I went on a run, therefore missing the optional excursion to a Liberi Nantes soccer practice, however I later found out that the excursion got cancelled for lack of interest. Maybe we were all too tired!

SNOW DAY

The girls of the interno 8 apartment were giddy today. Lauren played "Let it Snow" on her computer while we watched the Campo de' Fiori become the Campo de' SNOW. There was a blizzard outside of our windows for a few hours this morning, apparently the first real snow that Rome has seen in 24 years.

Our excursion with Julie was rescheduled for next week, so we have the glorious gift of a three-day weekend... again!
We all had a slow, relaxing start to a very lethargic day. There was a lot of facebooking, photo uploading, and eating going on until a few of us stirred up enough energy to venture out into the sno...sun? Sometime around noon the snow came to a sunny halt. It was fun while it lasted though.
I decided to make the most of the day. After waking up after 10, spending a good four or five hours browsing the internet I descended the five flights of spiral stairs and walked the 50 feet to the Rome Center. I have been sitting here in one of the empty classrooms working on my art history project for a couple of hours now. I'm not gonna lie, I'm feeling good.
As Carisa would say, today has been a "killer day".

Tuesday, February 9th

Today was a different sort of day than yesterday. It began with Italian language class from 9-11 am. We had a little lunch break, and then met again at 1 o’clock for our Roman Borders “Graffiti excursion”. After a short bus ride, a few wrong turns, and another bus ride, we began our tour of the outskirts of Rome. Maria Teresa Natale, a graffiti artist and the creator of a graffiti website, showed us another side to Rome. We walked through dirty, impoverished, immigrant neighborhoods, full of low rise apartments and: graffiti! The graffiti art was fascinating, and some of the artists are really impressive. My favorite part of the tour was the hidden... for lack of a better word “lot”… that we walked through. The place was completely covered in graffiti art from the past 30 years. It was fascinating, and great for photos.


After almost three hours of walking, we were given the option of being done for the day or continuing with the tour to go see Richard Meier’s Jubilee Church. I went to see the church, despite the fact that I was freezing cold in my thin North Face fleece. The church turned out to be well worth the extra hour and a half of shivering- it was amazing! So modern, totally different than anything we’ve seen here in Rome.

It took an hour and a half to get back to the Campo de’ Fiori. After a six and a half hour excursion, I finally collapsed on my bed at 7:30. It was a long day, but a stimulating and refreshing one as well.