On Thursday we had class and then we went to the Uffizi Art Gallery. To say the least it was a good time. The gallery is actually an office building that the Medici built once they took power and established a Duchy, that why no one else had a chance to gain power in the government without their approval. Anyhow it was one of the nicest office buildings that I have ever seen, taking up an entire block. Our tour guide was pretty good and she lead us to see things that were fitting to our class and our tastes. We started out in the Medieval times where she showed us the alter pieces and the difference over time of how man tries to express himself, beauty, and heaven. In the Medieval times faces are always flat, somewhat squarish, and always look bad. We tend to think of this that they just couldn't paint well, however as she explained to us that was not the case and in fact the idea was that because these scenes took place in Heaven they were supposed to be beautiful; so much so that we as humans could not comprehend it, hence why their paintings look funny to us. As time goes on however the point of paintings begin to shift to a more humanistic nature, which is central to the ideas of the Renaissance, placing humans as just as important as heavenly affairs. We noticed this as we continued as we saw paintings with mortals in them, more realistic saints and angles, and finally a painting that had no religious meaning to it, just a painting of people. It was all very interesting and we learned a lot. We also saw Botticelli's works like the Birth of Venus (which happens to be one of my favorites) as well as works by Raphael, and Michelangelo. Even though I like the works of Botticelli, my favorites of this trip so far are easily Bernini for sculpture and Raphael for painting. I feel both have no equal in the realism to their works, and that is what I like, and can relate to the best.
Friday, if i can remember we did not do that much as we were rather tired after a very busy week. Oh wait I remembered what we did, we went to Santa Croce which is the largest Franciscan church in the world. It also happens to hold the tombs of the most famous Florentiens in the world, such as Machiavelli, Dante, Michelangelo, and Galileo. It was amazing to see so many famous dead people all in one place and it made it well worth the 5 euro to get in, even though there was restoration being done on the alter. For Saturday we had planed to meet a friend the next day for lunch and go exploring, however I somehow slept for a straight 12 hours, while having taken a 3 hour nap earlier in the day, so we missed that. We felt very bad, but at least we were not tired anymore. lol That leads to things on Saturday when we an English Mass at the Duomo with our Professor. We liked the mass but were slightly disappointed that 1) there was no music, at all 2) they seemed to have a contempt for the English language, like "why do I have to do this? there are better things to do then say mass in English". That was the feeling we got from the priest the entire mass. Anyhow it was still nice to have a English mass. After that we had a nice dinner with our professor under the Duomo. It was another nice night.
Finally things come to today, Sunday. We were going to go to mass again, this time for high mass with Latin, signing, other cool things, however somehow Brandon managed to lock himself in our bedroom and we couldn't get him out.... yep this happened. So it took us about 30 mins to get him out, even calling the landlord to try and get help. In the end Dylan figured it out and saved our friend from being stuck in our room with nothing to do (and by nothing to do i mean his computer, wireless internet, and a bathroom). lol So after that event we meet up with our professor again after mass and climbed the large tower next to the Duomo, which is only slightly less taller then the dome itself, and got a good view of the entire city and the valley it sits in. And that was our day.
Also random, happenings that have been going on around town. I think they are to celebrate the feast of St. John, which is this Friday, and he is the patron saint of the city so there will be fireworks!!!!! Anyhow, the other day we saw a parade of men in Renaissance military apparel marching down the street. It was pretty cool and we got lots of pictures. And last night, i stress the night part, there was a marathon through the city. So its been rather exciting around here as of late.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Facts Don't Matter, Truth Does
First things first, yes that title makes sense. Ok now on to other things
Lets see....This week has been super busy, hence why i have not been keeping up with my posting. Just about every single day we have a class or lecture in the morning, then another class, lecture, or trip somewhere in the city in the afternoon. That coupled with the long walk to and from our apartment after every event keeps me pretty well beat. So what has happened since I have gotten here.
Well first of all, the weather is pretty much the same as in Rome. Instead of 75 and sunny everyday it is about 85 and sunny. There has been no rain as of yet, at least that i can remember, and the morning tend to be cooler then in Rome but it heats up later in the day.
On Tuesday we had our first class on Machiavelli in the morning, which was utterly amazing. We discussed his ideas of Virtue, a new style of Republic, and human nature, all of which I find fascinating. After class we headed back to our apartment and found our nearest supermarket so we could buy some food. After relaxing for the next 45mins we walked the 30mins back to the Accent building and had a lecture about the history of Florence. It turned more into a lecture about the art history of Florence, which was actually ok because i have gathered a growing interest in art because of the this trip, and I know next to nothing. Thanks to the lecture i learned a lot about the different styles of renaissance art, and also learned that almost all of Florence's famous landmarks are actually Medieval in nature instead of renaissance.
The next day was tons of fun. We went to the Medici chapel in the morning which is the private chapel that the family built on the back of the church that they had built with their own money. The church is called San Lorenzo which is a patron saint of the family. We had the same guy who gave us the lecture the day before give us a tour and he was great and knew so much! The biggest thing that we learned is about a stone called Porphyry. It almost like a purple marble, except its much harder and very rare. (how rare and hard is it?) well its so hard that if you try to chisel it, the chisel will break. Its so rare that it doesnt exist anymore in nature, so its worth more than gold. Almost all of it was mined in Egypt under the Romans, and all of it now is recycled from Roman ruins. Because of the rarity it was known as the Imperial stone and related to royalty, and the Medici tombs where covered in it. It was all over the place! so that just speaks to how much wealth that they had. There was also another room and tomb designed by Michelangelo. And we learned the story of how the Medici rose to power and its a very godfather-esq story, which made it even better! After that we had class later in the day, after which the day got even better. After class it was 5 and me and my friends were hungry as was our professor, however a place that was recommended to us was not open till 7 so instead we bought some drinks and went back to our professor's apartment and talked in his garden (yes his apartment has a garden! its really nice!!). So we talked for about 2 hours and then went to eat. The place was very Italian and fancy and we had to ask what everything on the menu was. Brandon ended up getting ravioli with octopus with it. FANCY! We talked about our majors, things that interested us, and other random things. We stayed there till 11. yep we spent 6 hours with our professor and had a blast.
Ugh I cant blog anymore right now. I'll post the rest tomorrow.
Lets see....This week has been super busy, hence why i have not been keeping up with my posting. Just about every single day we have a class or lecture in the morning, then another class, lecture, or trip somewhere in the city in the afternoon. That coupled with the long walk to and from our apartment after every event keeps me pretty well beat. So what has happened since I have gotten here.
Well first of all, the weather is pretty much the same as in Rome. Instead of 75 and sunny everyday it is about 85 and sunny. There has been no rain as of yet, at least that i can remember, and the morning tend to be cooler then in Rome but it heats up later in the day.
On Tuesday we had our first class on Machiavelli in the morning, which was utterly amazing. We discussed his ideas of Virtue, a new style of Republic, and human nature, all of which I find fascinating. After class we headed back to our apartment and found our nearest supermarket so we could buy some food. After relaxing for the next 45mins we walked the 30mins back to the Accent building and had a lecture about the history of Florence. It turned more into a lecture about the art history of Florence, which was actually ok because i have gathered a growing interest in art because of the this trip, and I know next to nothing. Thanks to the lecture i learned a lot about the different styles of renaissance art, and also learned that almost all of Florence's famous landmarks are actually Medieval in nature instead of renaissance.
The next day was tons of fun. We went to the Medici chapel in the morning which is the private chapel that the family built on the back of the church that they had built with their own money. The church is called San Lorenzo which is a patron saint of the family. We had the same guy who gave us the lecture the day before give us a tour and he was great and knew so much! The biggest thing that we learned is about a stone called Porphyry. It almost like a purple marble, except its much harder and very rare. (how rare and hard is it?) well its so hard that if you try to chisel it, the chisel will break. Its so rare that it doesnt exist anymore in nature, so its worth more than gold. Almost all of it was mined in Egypt under the Romans, and all of it now is recycled from Roman ruins. Because of the rarity it was known as the Imperial stone and related to royalty, and the Medici tombs where covered in it. It was all over the place! so that just speaks to how much wealth that they had. There was also another room and tomb designed by Michelangelo. And we learned the story of how the Medici rose to power and its a very godfather-esq story, which made it even better! After that we had class later in the day, after which the day got even better. After class it was 5 and me and my friends were hungry as was our professor, however a place that was recommended to us was not open till 7 so instead we bought some drinks and went back to our professor's apartment and talked in his garden (yes his apartment has a garden! its really nice!!). So we talked for about 2 hours and then went to eat. The place was very Italian and fancy and we had to ask what everything on the menu was. Brandon ended up getting ravioli with octopus with it. FANCY! We talked about our majors, things that interested us, and other random things. We stayed there till 11. yep we spent 6 hours with our professor and had a blast.
Ugh I cant blog anymore right now. I'll post the rest tomorrow.
Monday, June 13, 2011
GTL
ok so its been awhile i know and im sorry. So lots to go over. Ok not too much happened in the last few days of Rome, at least worth writing whole paragraphs about. On thrusday we went back to the forum and went to the Palatine Hill which has a bunch of ruins on it. We actually got to explore a descent amount of everything this time around instead of being driven around by a tour guide. This time we also knew what we wanted to see so it was a lot easier to go see everything. On friday we had planned to go to some cool churches however we were all rather beat so we siestaed instead.
The fun part of friday was our end of Rome dinner and party. We planned a dinner for the entire group at a very nice restaurant downtown, with a 3 course meal, wine, and the works. I had probably the best lasagna that I have ever laid eyes upon, and had a couple of glasses of the house wine, which was also excellent. After we ate we went for a group picture in front of the Vatican at night. Always fun to have a bunch of political theory majors in such a spiritual place. Oh, our other professor for the trip had just arrived that morning in Rome, and met us for dinner and then joined us for our picture, which added to the fun, as he is one of the most colorful teachers i have had in my career as a student. After the picture, we did some things, at a bar....you get the picture, but it was aptly named the drunken scholar (also fitting because professor petrie joined us for drinks there).
Saturday was amazing as well, as a couple of my friends and I went to the Vatican Museums with Professor Petrie to give him the grand tour. I must say, it is hard to come up with a better time than that. Professor Petrie hates crowds, and he mostly just wanted to see the Sistine chapel, so accordingly he blasted through most of the rooms, stopping occasionally if we mentioned a piece, or to look at a nice window view. Yes he stopped for the window views in the Vatican Museums and not most of the art. It made our day, as his remarks are also incredibly witty, much to our enjoyment. Afterwards we had lunch and chatted about the upcoming class, the parts of the program he missed, and philosophy. It was a great time.
On Sunday we didnt do much, but pack, and clean the room to get ready to leave for Florence, which we were all pumped for. We got up at 630, and where at the train station at 715 ready to go on Monday, which is today. AHHHH!!!!! So, train ride, it was really fast and took only about 1 hour and 30 mins, I thought that was pretty good time. We got to the place, met the Accent people who got us Taxis to our apartments. We quickly learned a few things. 1)We were in Florence! 2)our apartments are very nice, and bigger then in Rome (or at least look bigger) and 3)We have internet!
We dropped our stuff explored our apartments for a bit and then went to meet up for a tour of the city, which started at the steps of the Duomo, which you may say where is that, but in Florence all you have to do is look up and you found it, that's how big it is. Spending about 15 mins walking in the city I have basically decided that I love this place! Its SOOO amazing!!! Its smaller then Rome, and more compact, there are less people, it is quieter, its cleaner, and its just so nice to explore. After our little walk we took another walk to show us around the major points of the city, including the accent center where we will be having class. AHHH just so much over load and its almost time to go eat, so i shall blog more later.
One last thing though, on our way back from the tour, we saw Pauly D from Jersey Shore. I could not stop laughing. I think im going to like this place....
The fun part of friday was our end of Rome dinner and party. We planned a dinner for the entire group at a very nice restaurant downtown, with a 3 course meal, wine, and the works. I had probably the best lasagna that I have ever laid eyes upon, and had a couple of glasses of the house wine, which was also excellent. After we ate we went for a group picture in front of the Vatican at night. Always fun to have a bunch of political theory majors in such a spiritual place. Oh, our other professor for the trip had just arrived that morning in Rome, and met us for dinner and then joined us for our picture, which added to the fun, as he is one of the most colorful teachers i have had in my career as a student. After the picture, we did some things, at a bar....you get the picture, but it was aptly named the drunken scholar (also fitting because professor petrie joined us for drinks there).
Saturday was amazing as well, as a couple of my friends and I went to the Vatican Museums with Professor Petrie to give him the grand tour. I must say, it is hard to come up with a better time than that. Professor Petrie hates crowds, and he mostly just wanted to see the Sistine chapel, so accordingly he blasted through most of the rooms, stopping occasionally if we mentioned a piece, or to look at a nice window view. Yes he stopped for the window views in the Vatican Museums and not most of the art. It made our day, as his remarks are also incredibly witty, much to our enjoyment. Afterwards we had lunch and chatted about the upcoming class, the parts of the program he missed, and philosophy. It was a great time.
On Sunday we didnt do much, but pack, and clean the room to get ready to leave for Florence, which we were all pumped for. We got up at 630, and where at the train station at 715 ready to go on Monday, which is today. AHHHH!!!!! So, train ride, it was really fast and took only about 1 hour and 30 mins, I thought that was pretty good time. We got to the place, met the Accent people who got us Taxis to our apartments. We quickly learned a few things. 1)We were in Florence! 2)our apartments are very nice, and bigger then in Rome (or at least look bigger) and 3)We have internet!
We dropped our stuff explored our apartments for a bit and then went to meet up for a tour of the city, which started at the steps of the Duomo, which you may say where is that, but in Florence all you have to do is look up and you found it, that's how big it is. Spending about 15 mins walking in the city I have basically decided that I love this place! Its SOOO amazing!!! Its smaller then Rome, and more compact, there are less people, it is quieter, its cleaner, and its just so nice to explore. After our little walk we took another walk to show us around the major points of the city, including the accent center where we will be having class. AHHH just so much over load and its almost time to go eat, so i shall blog more later.
One last thing though, on our way back from the tour, we saw Pauly D from Jersey Shore. I could not stop laughing. I think im going to like this place....
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Pigeon Lord
The days are starting to blur together as we move close to the end of our time in Rome. It is hard to imagine that after all of this amazing time, it has only been 3 weeks, and we still have another 3 weeks to go and then a week in France. If the next 3 weeks are the same as the past 3 weeks, I'm not sure if my senses can take it. This has very easily been one of the best times in my life, and to say that it is yet to be doubled is beyond comprehension. Lets hope my poor mind can handle it!
Anyhow since the last time that I blogged, we have done a few things. On Monday a couple of my friends and I went to the Castle Sant' Angelo, and a couple other spots we wanted to see before we left Rome. The Castle is actually built on top of what was Hadrian's tomb from Ancient Rome. The Pope's during the Middle Ages decided that they needed to build a fortress to defend against their enemies (how many religions have to build fortresses to defend against their temporal enemies?). Since it was also made for the popes to live in, it is rather lavish on the inside and they also have a rather large collection of art and military pieces because of the fortress's ability to store things. The view was also very nice from the top of the castle however it was no Vatican or Victor Emmanuel. All things consider it was nice and worth it to go to, allowing to see how Rome has history on top of history.
After that stop we found a pretty cool outdoor market where we did a bit of shopping for friends, family, and even ourselves. After looking through all the cool things we moved on past the Supreme Court of Italy which we took plenty of pictures of. We really couldn't go in or anything, so we just took pictures of the front of it. On our way we then crossed back over the Tiber and went to Mausoleum of Augustus. This was built to house the remains of the first emperor of Rome, who was also the most successful politician in history. While this was really cool to see, it was rather run down, and it is closed to the public because so many people try taking things from it. It was still very cool to see something that has stood as long as Christianity, and something so important. After we took some quick pictures of the Mausoleum, we went to the Alter of Augustan Peace which was right next to the mausoleum. It cost money, which it really wasnt worth that much to go see, but again it was cool to see something that old, important, and relatively in good shape. Oh yes it slipped my mind but the alter was made by the Senate to commemorate the peace that came after the civil wars that was won by Augustus.
After the Alter we went to the Piazza del Popolo, which was really nice, and very large. It was also very nice because the church that is on the Piazza was in Angels and Demons as one of the Alters of Science. So that was very cool. It was a very nice small church, with some very nice art, including lots of skeletons. It even had some Bernini works, and had two of the most famous Caravaggio paintings in existence; The Conversion of Saul, and the Crucifiction of Peter. Those were worth the trip to see. That was it for that day.
Today we went to the Ancient port city of Rome, Ostia Antica. This was a lot like going to Pompeii except it was slightly smaller, had less tourists, and was more well preserved due to not being under a volcano. We went to see pretty much all of the important places in the city, as our tour guide was an amazingly intelligent human being (he got his PhD from Stanford in Classics) who knew just about everything there was to know. He took us to the burial tombs of the city, the fireman's barracks, the city gym, the forum, a bar, and the public baths, all were very cool to see in such a preserved state. After climbing around the ruins for a couple hours with him most of the group went off to go to the beach, however myself and some others went back to siesta and get food. It was a good day all told, and I got my first sunburn on this trip. Yet I'm already tan enough where i cant even really feel it, and I have no idea how I lasted 2 weeks without burning here, its a miracle you ask me. Anyhow have to get off to class so I will post later today after we tromp around the forum again.
Anyhow since the last time that I blogged, we have done a few things. On Monday a couple of my friends and I went to the Castle Sant' Angelo, and a couple other spots we wanted to see before we left Rome. The Castle is actually built on top of what was Hadrian's tomb from Ancient Rome. The Pope's during the Middle Ages decided that they needed to build a fortress to defend against their enemies (how many religions have to build fortresses to defend against their temporal enemies?). Since it was also made for the popes to live in, it is rather lavish on the inside and they also have a rather large collection of art and military pieces because of the fortress's ability to store things. The view was also very nice from the top of the castle however it was no Vatican or Victor Emmanuel. All things consider it was nice and worth it to go to, allowing to see how Rome has history on top of history.
After that stop we found a pretty cool outdoor market where we did a bit of shopping for friends, family, and even ourselves. After looking through all the cool things we moved on past the Supreme Court of Italy which we took plenty of pictures of. We really couldn't go in or anything, so we just took pictures of the front of it. On our way we then crossed back over the Tiber and went to Mausoleum of Augustus. This was built to house the remains of the first emperor of Rome, who was also the most successful politician in history. While this was really cool to see, it was rather run down, and it is closed to the public because so many people try taking things from it. It was still very cool to see something that has stood as long as Christianity, and something so important. After we took some quick pictures of the Mausoleum, we went to the Alter of Augustan Peace which was right next to the mausoleum. It cost money, which it really wasnt worth that much to go see, but again it was cool to see something that old, important, and relatively in good shape. Oh yes it slipped my mind but the alter was made by the Senate to commemorate the peace that came after the civil wars that was won by Augustus.
After the Alter we went to the Piazza del Popolo, which was really nice, and very large. It was also very nice because the church that is on the Piazza was in Angels and Demons as one of the Alters of Science. So that was very cool. It was a very nice small church, with some very nice art, including lots of skeletons. It even had some Bernini works, and had two of the most famous Caravaggio paintings in existence; The Conversion of Saul, and the Crucifiction of Peter. Those were worth the trip to see. That was it for that day.
Today we went to the Ancient port city of Rome, Ostia Antica. This was a lot like going to Pompeii except it was slightly smaller, had less tourists, and was more well preserved due to not being under a volcano. We went to see pretty much all of the important places in the city, as our tour guide was an amazingly intelligent human being (he got his PhD from Stanford in Classics) who knew just about everything there was to know. He took us to the burial tombs of the city, the fireman's barracks, the city gym, the forum, a bar, and the public baths, all were very cool to see in such a preserved state. After climbing around the ruins for a couple hours with him most of the group went off to go to the beach, however myself and some others went back to siesta and get food. It was a good day all told, and I got my first sunburn on this trip. Yet I'm already tan enough where i cant even really feel it, and I have no idea how I lasted 2 weeks without burning here, its a miracle you ask me. Anyhow have to get off to class so I will post later today after we tromp around the forum again.
Monday, June 6, 2011
This Place about to Blow
So a long time has pasted since my last post, mostly because i have been elsewhere and not around my computer to blog, so i apologize. Anyhow lets see where i left off.
We went to the Vatican again on friday after our class. We had all pretty much been there at least once before but this time i was ready to take soooo many pictures it wasnt even funny. We got there and it was just as magical and awe inspiring as the first time. This time though i was ready with my camera taking pictures of just about every piece of art (which is pretty much every inch) in the Basilica. after having sat through mass, i was able to take in most of the wonders of the place, so this time around i went straight to the things i wanted to see better. For example i got pictures of most of the Pope's tombs, so of Bernini's works, the alters, and got to rub St. Peter's feet for good luck! A interesting fact that i had not known before was most of the huge "paintings" in the basilica are actually all mosaics. This realization was huge, because just the amount of effort and detail that needed to go into that whole place to make that much art is just mind boggling. The entire dome is all mosaic as well, every singe piece, all about the size of a small pebble.
So after taking gratuitous amounts of pictures, we decided to climb the stairs of the dome and go to the top of the Basilica. It was 5 euro to walk, so we decided to go with it. We made it to the inner top portion of the dome, so we could see everything from above on the inside. It was EPIC! The middle alter, which is made of bronze and is also a work by Bernini, is 7 stories high, yes 7 STORIES HIGH, and it doesn't even come close to the same level as the dome we were at. The lettering around the inside of the Basilica that is the dedication of the church, once you get up that high, you realized every single letter is about the same size as you, thats how big this place is.
After marveling about the inside we decided to go to the very top and see the city from there. This was a very interesting trip. at this point the dome is beginning to slope up very rapidly, so you are walking between the inside mosaics, and the exterior dome. At some points we were walking up stairs that where bending around the dome, with the outer wall basicly at a 45 degree angle with us, so we had to lean against the inner wall just to walk up. It was also very hot, and muggy, and smelled of thousands of other peoples sweat from the last few years. It was fun to say the least. Once we got to the top though it was all so worth it! The Vatican we soon found out is the highest point in the city; there is no higher building, not even the Victor Emmanuel monument. we looked down on everything in the city, and we could see everything. It was the best view i have every seen. worth every stair and every last penny of that 5 euros. After the Vatican we went home, packed, and then got ready to head to Naples in the morning.
We got up early. Too early for my taste, but we went to Naples so its ok i guess. We took the train which was very easy. It took about 2 hours to get there and we got to see some very nice mountains and parts of the sea when we got closer to Naples. the only problem we had on the train was we picked seats early, but somehow we found the one first class car in the middle of about 5 2nd class cars, and we had 2nd class tickets. So we had to move and find seats again in a 2nd class car, which wasnt too hard. we had fun on the way, mostly we slept and just kinda chilled. Anyhow we got to Naples. WE WERE IN NAPLES! actually i felt it was kind of a huge let down. While the city was much more lived in then Rome, which is mostly a tourist city, Naples was.....well more lived in. The only real way I can describe it as, and some of my friends came to the same conclusion, was that it reminded us a lot of Detroit. It was dirty, lots of graffiti everywhere. Things looked like they had been grand at one point, but it all looked like it had moved past its heyday. But i still did enjoy the city very much. Anyhow we went to our hostel checked in, had a good 30 mins discussion with the guy at the desk about American politics, and then we got on a train for Pompeii.
Pompeii. We quickly decided that the appropriate theme song for the city is "Blow" by Ke$ha, as it was stuck in Brandon's head and was very fitting for the city we felt. The only thing was is that he kept singing it and we felt that was temping the mountain which was looming in the background. Anyhow, the great thing about pompeii is that it is a fully preserved Roman city. the key word there being CITY. when you think of pompeii i always thought of just a city square that somehow withstood time, however instead the entire city is still pretty much preserved just the way it was. it was a good mile by mile and it even had a whole preserved ampatheater and theater. It was just so amazing and so very BIG!
after that adventure we found our way to our hostel and then slept like the dead. the next morning it was the first rainy day that we have had since we got to Italy. but it wasnt bad. we ate some Naples pizza, the best pizza i have ever had, untill the rain was just a drizzle. we then saw the Royal palace of the Naples Kings, and saw some of the nice courtyards and castles of the city, but because it was sunday and we were in Italy, nothing was open. :( We however got lucky with the Doumu in Naples which was open. While it was no Vatican, it is not a second rate church, it was just as nice and almost nicer in the aspect that it actually felt like it was supposed to be used as a church instead of as a showpiece. While there I donated some money to the patron saint of the city, whose bones where buried there, St. Januarius. While there in the very nice sactuary that they had i light a prayer candle for my grandfather, who i am very sure is happy with being remember in that place. :)
After that we found an earlier train back to Rome which took about 3 hours, and was much more crowded. we were lucky to find seat when we did, because there where people that stood for the entire 3 hours. Anyhow im sure i have forgot things, but there was so much to get out ill edit things tomorrow. bye for now
We went to the Vatican again on friday after our class. We had all pretty much been there at least once before but this time i was ready to take soooo many pictures it wasnt even funny. We got there and it was just as magical and awe inspiring as the first time. This time though i was ready with my camera taking pictures of just about every piece of art (which is pretty much every inch) in the Basilica. after having sat through mass, i was able to take in most of the wonders of the place, so this time around i went straight to the things i wanted to see better. For example i got pictures of most of the Pope's tombs, so of Bernini's works, the alters, and got to rub St. Peter's feet for good luck! A interesting fact that i had not known before was most of the huge "paintings" in the basilica are actually all mosaics. This realization was huge, because just the amount of effort and detail that needed to go into that whole place to make that much art is just mind boggling. The entire dome is all mosaic as well, every singe piece, all about the size of a small pebble.
So after taking gratuitous amounts of pictures, we decided to climb the stairs of the dome and go to the top of the Basilica. It was 5 euro to walk, so we decided to go with it. We made it to the inner top portion of the dome, so we could see everything from above on the inside. It was EPIC! The middle alter, which is made of bronze and is also a work by Bernini, is 7 stories high, yes 7 STORIES HIGH, and it doesn't even come close to the same level as the dome we were at. The lettering around the inside of the Basilica that is the dedication of the church, once you get up that high, you realized every single letter is about the same size as you, thats how big this place is.
After marveling about the inside we decided to go to the very top and see the city from there. This was a very interesting trip. at this point the dome is beginning to slope up very rapidly, so you are walking between the inside mosaics, and the exterior dome. At some points we were walking up stairs that where bending around the dome, with the outer wall basicly at a 45 degree angle with us, so we had to lean against the inner wall just to walk up. It was also very hot, and muggy, and smelled of thousands of other peoples sweat from the last few years. It was fun to say the least. Once we got to the top though it was all so worth it! The Vatican we soon found out is the highest point in the city; there is no higher building, not even the Victor Emmanuel monument. we looked down on everything in the city, and we could see everything. It was the best view i have every seen. worth every stair and every last penny of that 5 euros. After the Vatican we went home, packed, and then got ready to head to Naples in the morning.
We got up early. Too early for my taste, but we went to Naples so its ok i guess. We took the train which was very easy. It took about 2 hours to get there and we got to see some very nice mountains and parts of the sea when we got closer to Naples. the only problem we had on the train was we picked seats early, but somehow we found the one first class car in the middle of about 5 2nd class cars, and we had 2nd class tickets. So we had to move and find seats again in a 2nd class car, which wasnt too hard. we had fun on the way, mostly we slept and just kinda chilled. Anyhow we got to Naples. WE WERE IN NAPLES! actually i felt it was kind of a huge let down. While the city was much more lived in then Rome, which is mostly a tourist city, Naples was.....well more lived in. The only real way I can describe it as, and some of my friends came to the same conclusion, was that it reminded us a lot of Detroit. It was dirty, lots of graffiti everywhere. Things looked like they had been grand at one point, but it all looked like it had moved past its heyday. But i still did enjoy the city very much. Anyhow we went to our hostel checked in, had a good 30 mins discussion with the guy at the desk about American politics, and then we got on a train for Pompeii.
Pompeii. We quickly decided that the appropriate theme song for the city is "Blow" by Ke$ha, as it was stuck in Brandon's head and was very fitting for the city we felt. The only thing was is that he kept singing it and we felt that was temping the mountain which was looming in the background. Anyhow, the great thing about pompeii is that it is a fully preserved Roman city. the key word there being CITY. when you think of pompeii i always thought of just a city square that somehow withstood time, however instead the entire city is still pretty much preserved just the way it was. it was a good mile by mile and it even had a whole preserved ampatheater and theater. It was just so amazing and so very BIG!
after that adventure we found our way to our hostel and then slept like the dead. the next morning it was the first rainy day that we have had since we got to Italy. but it wasnt bad. we ate some Naples pizza, the best pizza i have ever had, untill the rain was just a drizzle. we then saw the Royal palace of the Naples Kings, and saw some of the nice courtyards and castles of the city, but because it was sunday and we were in Italy, nothing was open. :( We however got lucky with the Doumu in Naples which was open. While it was no Vatican, it is not a second rate church, it was just as nice and almost nicer in the aspect that it actually felt like it was supposed to be used as a church instead of as a showpiece. While there I donated some money to the patron saint of the city, whose bones where buried there, St. Januarius. While there in the very nice sactuary that they had i light a prayer candle for my grandfather, who i am very sure is happy with being remember in that place. :)
After that we found an earlier train back to Rome which took about 3 hours, and was much more crowded. we were lucky to find seat when we did, because there where people that stood for the entire 3 hours. Anyhow im sure i have forgot things, but there was so much to get out ill edit things tomorrow. bye for now
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Happy Republic Day!
So today is Republic Day here in Italy, or the day that Italy decided to become a Republic instead of a Monarchy by a referendum vote. To say the least it was a pretty big deal. Normally the streets are busy and shops are bustling as we head to class at 8:30 in the morning. Today there were only a handful of cars on the streets and most of the public transportation was not running at full force. We were not able to go out and enjoy any of the parades or anything despite being let out of class an hour early because most of the festivities had actually ended by that time, but we were able to find a small cafe where they were showing a replay of the events. It was pretty much a full blown military parade, with just about every imaginable branch of the Italian military present. I'm not kidding either, they had their k9 units in the parade, boats from their coast guard on the back of trucks, and even some of their missiles and robotic drones. It was pretty cool, and the event ended with a flyover of 9 planes trailing smoke in the tricolors of the flag. Yay republicanism!
Anyhow the past couple days have been fun. 2 days ago now, we decided to go for a night trip just around the city to see what we could find. What we did find was a very cool little plaza tucked away in a neighborhood somewhere off the beaten path. We didn't stick around long as we wanted to head toward the Vatican and see it at night so we wondered back until we found the Tiber. The Tiber was beautiful that night for whatever reason, it was smooth enough to basically be a mirror of all the lights along its length which led to some cool pictures. We followed this wonderful mirror almost all the way across the city to the Vatican where we cut inland to find a wonderful view of the Basilica. We took loads and loads of pictures and went down into the plaza of st. peter with almost no one else there, so we had the place to ourselves. Actually thats not entirely true, we actually saw a limo on the way there just outside the Vatican that looked straight out of a Sweet 16 show on MTV. And lo and behold out jumped a bunch of teenage girls taking pictures and being stupid outside the Vatican. One was even wearing a tiara. *huge eye roll* After we had recovered from the stupidity of such an action we strolled around the square looking for things for Angles and Demons and taking pictures of the Basilica. Lastly on our way back we walked over to the Castle Sant Angelo where we crossed the bridge that is talked about in the Angles and Demons book again. It was really cool and had a bunch of statues of angles on it, making again for lots of cool pictures. After that we made our way home and slept forever.
After forever we got up and went on our class trip to the Gallery Borghese which is in the equivalent to the central park of Rome, which happened to be full of wonderful tidbits of art. I also learned that my favorite sculptor of all time is Bernini. They had some of his early work there and it utterly blew me away with the amount of emotion and detail he was able to put into his art. Just look at the face on his take of David.
The emotion there just blew me away. Anyhow they had some other really cool painting on the second floor, including one with a unicorn, but after this everything i felt was a little underwhelming. Overall I have gained new respect for art through this trip, which I am very happy about, so it was a good day.
Anyhow the past couple days have been fun. 2 days ago now, we decided to go for a night trip just around the city to see what we could find. What we did find was a very cool little plaza tucked away in a neighborhood somewhere off the beaten path. We didn't stick around long as we wanted to head toward the Vatican and see it at night so we wondered back until we found the Tiber. The Tiber was beautiful that night for whatever reason, it was smooth enough to basically be a mirror of all the lights along its length which led to some cool pictures. We followed this wonderful mirror almost all the way across the city to the Vatican where we cut inland to find a wonderful view of the Basilica. We took loads and loads of pictures and went down into the plaza of st. peter with almost no one else there, so we had the place to ourselves. Actually thats not entirely true, we actually saw a limo on the way there just outside the Vatican that looked straight out of a Sweet 16 show on MTV. And lo and behold out jumped a bunch of teenage girls taking pictures and being stupid outside the Vatican. One was even wearing a tiara. *huge eye roll* After we had recovered from the stupidity of such an action we strolled around the square looking for things for Angles and Demons and taking pictures of the Basilica. Lastly on our way back we walked over to the Castle Sant Angelo where we crossed the bridge that is talked about in the Angles and Demons book again. It was really cool and had a bunch of statues of angles on it, making again for lots of cool pictures. After that we made our way home and slept forever.
After forever we got up and went on our class trip to the Gallery Borghese which is in the equivalent to the central park of Rome, which happened to be full of wonderful tidbits of art. I also learned that my favorite sculptor of all time is Bernini. They had some of his early work there and it utterly blew me away with the amount of emotion and detail he was able to put into his art. Just look at the face on his take of David.
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| Bernini's David |
Oh! I also saw my first car accident, and it took 1 1/2 weeks. I'm actually surprised that it took that long seeing how crazy all Italians are while driving, but hey it was a cool cultural thing. And with that I must now finish my paper.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Jupiter Wants you!
To fight in the Roman army!........
but only kind of. I mean you can choose not to, and yell at the consuls when they call a levy and just don't answer when your name when it's called. You can get the tribunes to rouse the plebs so that way they dont want to fight. Even if you are in the army you could just loose on purpose if you dont like your leaders. So in other words, kinda do what you want.
That would be a Roman Republic war poster to enlist. Its amazing just how little cohesion there was in the Roman state at this point in time because its mind boggling that a state in such poor domestic shape can conquer the region and hold it. Anyhow this was more of a funny for my friends also reading livy.
Anyhow, IM GOING TO NAPOLI!!!!!!
we got tickets today, its going to be a blast!!
Besides that we havent been up to much. have a paper to write, and lots to read for class, and sleep to catch up on. It takes a lot out of you being in a foreign country. Anyhow there will be more about tomorrow for sure as we have another trip. Untill then.
but only kind of. I mean you can choose not to, and yell at the consuls when they call a levy and just don't answer when your name when it's called. You can get the tribunes to rouse the plebs so that way they dont want to fight. Even if you are in the army you could just loose on purpose if you dont like your leaders. So in other words, kinda do what you want.
That would be a Roman Republic war poster to enlist. Its amazing just how little cohesion there was in the Roman state at this point in time because its mind boggling that a state in such poor domestic shape can conquer the region and hold it. Anyhow this was more of a funny for my friends also reading livy.
Anyhow, IM GOING TO NAPOLI!!!!!!
we got tickets today, its going to be a blast!!
Besides that we havent been up to much. have a paper to write, and lots to read for class, and sleep to catch up on. It takes a lot out of you being in a foreign country. Anyhow there will be more about tomorrow for sure as we have another trip. Untill then.
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