Monday, the 28th: The Vatican

For most of our group, the day began lazily. Art History class didn't start until 2:00 pm, so we could sleep in and finish a little backed-up work. But for those of us, including myself, that were volunteering at the refugee center, the day began before 9:30 am, when we met up outside of the Rome before catching the #40 bus. Thankfully, our group was fairly small, only 6 people, including Bryan, Brandon, Kate, Sarah, and Christine. The bus came after only a few minutes, and we made it to the center at around 9:50 am.

Almost immediately after we arrived, a man from the refugee center approached us about starting to help. He didn't speak English, so it was a good thing that Brandon and Sarah were able to struggle their way through a conversation with him in Italian. He took us downstairs to the main room, where the refugees pass most of their time, and we started passing out their breakfast: tea and biscuits. Once we ran out of tea, most of our group started helping out at the English school in the facility, while Brandon and I found a few random people to talk with in the main room. Most of the refugees that were not attending the English lesson didn't speak much English, so it was a little difficult to interact with them. But, in the blink of an eye, it was noon and we had to head back towards the Campo di Fiori for lunch.

We only had a few hours before our Art History class began, so the volunteer group headed over to a nearby pizza place to grab a few slices of pizza (3 euro each!). After spending the remaining time in our apartment, we headed down to the Rome center for class.

Today, we would be traveling internationally! To visit one of the most famous countries in the world: the Vatican. It was a short bus ride over to the district around the Vatican and it wasn't that hard to find the line to get into the Vatican. Of course, this was because the line was pretty long:

Fortunately, we were being guided by the famous Lisa Schultz, who had a plan to get us in faster! After quite a bit of maneuvering and a few discussions with the Vatican guards, we were in, in less than an hour. Go Lisa!

After setting us up to use a microphone headset (so Lisa could communicate with us while in the noisy hallways), we began our journey through the Vatican, starting with many famous paintings, passing through several rooms filled with sculptures, stopping briefly in the Sistine Chapel, and ending outside of the front door of the Vatican. What a spectacular display of art!

During the tour, Mauna and Erik both gave their presentations. Mauna discussed the Sistine Chapel, emphasizing renovation, and how people were concerned about renovating the chapel because they were worried about damaging the original paintings. Erik talked about the Swiss Guard and their history of defending the Vatican, despite their continued association with Switzerland. He also mentioned that they frequently refer to one of their uniforms as the "clown suites."

After touring the Vatican, our group split up for dinner. A small group of us decided to take route around one side of the Vatican wall and, just after leaving the main part of the Vatican, we noticed a small group of people hanging around the street. After a few minutes, we find out that the Pope would be passing by soon! We waited around the street for about half an hour and, sure enough, Pope Benedict drives by in his car, waving at us. Here's a photo as proof, courtesy of Daniel Chiang.

After heading back to the Campo di Fiori and grabbing a quick bite to eat (I promise we normally have more time for meals!), it was time for a movie. “L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio," directed by Agostino Ferrente, was a very pleasant documentary about a small group of individuals trying to start an orchestra using immigrant music styles, instruments, and players. According to the movie, the orchestra they formed is still around today, though many of the members has changed.

After the movie, we decided to grab some gelato at a nearby gelateria before heading to a local bridge to watch some fireworks. Tuesday was the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a Roman holiday, and in celebration, they were lighting fireworks off over the Castle Saint Angelo. So, we grabbed some gelato and headed to a bridge to get a better view of the show. We waited around half an hour before hearing the first crackle in the sky, and, to our utter disappointment, the fireworks were behind a row of trees. After a brief attempt to try and find another vantage point for the fireworks, most of us simple gave up and started heading back to our apartments. It was time to get some well-deserved rest after our long, action-packed day, and I was certainly ready for bed. Well, not before finishing a little homework first.

Saturday June 26, 2010

Saturday morning, the mark of the end of our first week in Rome. But it wasn’t quite time to rest just yet, because at 9:30 that morning, we were supposed to meet by the UW Rome Center to make a trip to Ostia Antica.

I finish washing up and putting on my contacts. I still need to get dressed and buy four bus tickets at the local Tabbachi store.

I look at my watch… 9:20. Crap.

I quickly stuff some extra clothes and towels in my bag, remembering that we were planning on visiting the beach after our tour around Ostia Antica. I grab my camera and head downstairs.

I rush to the nearest Tabbachi store. “No biglietti!” Great, though I should have known earlier since apparently it is common for a Tabbachi store to run out of bus tickets. I see a few others caught in the same dilemma and we head over to the other Tabacchi store across the Campo dei Fiori. Finally, we rush back to the UW Rome Center, luckily finding Lisa and the others still waiting for the last few stragglers.

We walk to the bus stop and hitch a Route 23 bus down along the Tiber River. A ten minute ride quickly takes us to the train station. There, we catch a train that zooms us away to Ostia Antica. Peering out the window, we watch Rome as it disappears into the thick countryside grass. In 30 minutes, we find ourselves stepping out of the train and into an entirely new place.

Carmen waiting patiently on the train to Ostica Antica.

Ostia Antica used to be a major seaport and marketplace for ancient Rome. “Ostia” is Latin for “mouth,” which makes sense since Ostia Antica marks the joint between the Tiber River and the sea. Found in 335 B.C., Ostia may have been the first colony of Rome. Aside from being a great seaport, Ostia was also a large extraction zone for salt. However, around the time of Constantine, the city of Ostia began to decline. Today, we may only see the remains of what is left of the city, though most of the city is still extremely well preserved.

The statues are "extremely well preserved."

As we enter the gates of Ostia Antica, we are surprised to notice that the sea is nowhere in sight. However, we quickly learn that due to ecological changes, Ostia Antica now sits more than a mile away from the sea. Judging from all the walls in the area, we could see that Ostia Antica used to be a highly fortified city.

Melise and her family came along too!

After walking ahead a little, we stop by a large bath complex. We climb up the stairs, finding ourselves standing above the entire complex. To the East, we see rooms that used to be occupied with thermal rooms, both cold and hot. The floors are still intricately decorated with beautiful mosaics of Roman and Greek gods such as Amphitrite and Neptune. However, the basins and marble originally equipped in each room have long disappeared.

The bath complex.

Mosaics cover most of the floors in the bath complex.

We continue our trek ahead and spot something monumental ahead of us. Peering into the distance, we identify a huge amphitheater. Excitedly, we hurry to the amphitheater, yet only to find that it is closed off due to a concert set up. Luckily, however, one of us spots some stairs towards the back of the amphitheater, and we were able to enter through there.

The amphitheater is enormous, allowing more than 2,000 people to sit at once! We take a short break there and take a few interesting pictures.

The huge amphitheater!

After exploring the outdoors, we begin to head into the rooms. The rooms are spacious and intelligently designed. Depending on the material used and the angle that the sun shines through the windows, the rooms were either hot or cold.

As we pass by the rooms, we notice a peculiar room that is different from the rest of the rooms. The room is mostly empty, except for long slabs of stones protruding from the walls. The holes in the stone, however, give it away: the room, it turns out, is a “latrinae,” or a bathroom!

Guys posing at the "latrinae."

Finally, we stop by an open field to eat our packed lunch. But wait! Guess what I forgot to bring? So, several others and I head over to the nearby cafeteria to pick up some food.

Next stop… the beach!

The train takes us to the beach in just a few minutes since it is so close to Ostia Antica. At the beach, we find a nice spot to lay down our towels. Most of us quickly change, run across the burning sand and splash into the cool Mediterranean Sea. There was nothing better than to cool off from a long, hot day.

Christine showing everyone how to float.

The beach was very popular that day.

Perfect weather.

Tanning away!

The beach made everyone look good!

Friday June 25, 2010

The day started with a visit to Trajan’s Column and Forum, a massive complex constructed by the Emperor Trajan in the early second century in celebration of his victory in the Dacian Wars. The column is a truly impressive monument – its stacked marble blocks are decorated by beautifully detailed carvings depicting Trajan’s feats on the campaign, forming one running tale that spirals skywards as one circles the column. It is also hollow inside, containing an immensely tall spiral staircase lit by tiny slits in the marble shaft, leading to a small observation platform at its summit, which was in more modern times topped with a statue of St. Peter with a halo and the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. At the column’s base there is a small chamber in which the ashes of Trajan and his wife were placed.

Catherine told us about the history behind the column, and about what the forum would have looked like and how it would have functioned when it was first built. The forum was once a massive complex, containing shops and government institutions housed in massive multi-story buildings. Its ruins now lie adjacent to those of the first Roman Forum, and its few scattered columns and shells of once-grand buildings must only hint at its ancient splendor.

From the forum of Trajan, we proceeded to the Arch of Constantine, constructed in celebration of Constantine’s victory over Maxentius. I have found when examining the few triumphal arches we have seen so far that (to me at least) they all look somewhat “samey” – that is, until one looks at the details. We learned from Yuting that the arch was actually constructed largely from spolia, or reused parts, from earlier such monuments. In this case, elements from monuments built to earlier emperors such as Trajan were used, likely to place Constantine in their company as one of the greatest of the Roman emperors. We also talked about the way some of the original carvings on it were carved in a style recalling Christian art of the time, although I was most surprised by the complete lack of Christian imagery on the monument, given that the battle it commemorates marked Constantine’s storied conversion – this drives home that while Constantine may have been the first Christian emperor and legalized the religion throughout the Empire, he did not force the conversion of his subjects to this new faith.

Walking back from the Arch for lunch, we ran into a massive march of some sort through the streets of the city. It appeared to be a protest of some sort, although I was unable to ascertain exactly what was being protested. A significant police presence was to be seen along the route of the march, which as it turned out followed us all the way back to the Campo de’ Fiori, impeding my access to my favorite little sandwich window – I was forced to visit a nearby pizza place, which although it was cheaper and offered more variety, did not quite measure up to my usual spot, at least in my eyes.

After lunch (and a quick nap for me) we met again outside the Rome Center, this time for a long walk to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) to visit Michelangelo’s Moses. Before making the trek, we stopped on the Ponte Sisto, a footbridge over the Tiber near our apartment, where myself, Mauna, and Katie gave our presentation on the Della Rovere family, and where Katie also told us about Pope Sixtus IV (who, as we learned, had built the bridge itself, not to mention other familiar sites). The church of San Pietro in Vincoli, as well as housing the Moses, is also home to what are held to be the chains that held St. Peter – one half was taken to Jerusalem and then returned, and upon being placed back together, the two halves are said to have miraculously reunited into one chain, which is now centrally displayed in the church.

I was most impressed by Moses’ face – the statue was certainly stunning in its other details, such as the realism with which muscles and physical tension were portrayed, and the intensity of the face completed this sense of tension. We discussed Freud’s take on the statue, in which he argues that this Moses is not about to break the tablets he holds under his right arm – either way, whether he is getting up to break the tablets, or sitting down again with the utmost restraint, the sense of tension was for me what made this sculpture great.

We then walked to another church – Santa Maria sopra Minerva, near the Pantheon – stopping off at Giolitti for a gelato break on the way. This church houses Michelangelo’s Risen Christ. Approaching the church, the facade is somewhat underwhelming – pleasing to the eye, it nonetheless somewhat blends in with the surrounding architecture. Walking into the building was an impressive experience. The rather humble facade is contrasted by a stunningly beautiful interior space, dimly lit through stained glass windows, with a gorgeously rich blue ceiling with a border of colored patterns, and decorated with paintings and small golden stars. The statue itself was discussed, specifically in the light of historical criticisms of it. Viewing it from the right of the altar, I could see where some of the critics were coming from, but viewing it as it was apparently intended to be viewed, from the left-hand side of the church, I almost felt as though I was looking at a different statue – from here, the form was graceful and elegantly proportioned, and the face, turned to the side, gave a sense of tranquil reflection that I had not noticed at first.

There was not a large, united group dinner – rather, individuals or small groupings fended for themselves, eating out or cooking in their apartments. Later in the evening, many of the group members met at the guys apartment for a small get-together before going their separate ways – some to the bars, some back to their apartments. This evening was also my first opportunity to visit the night market along the Tiber River, which proved to be a pleasant and colorful place for an evening stroll. While I was not overwhelmed by any of the items I saw for sale or their prices, I certainly have not ruled out a return visit.

Day Thursday

Today marked the second Thursday of the entire program. We had two classes scheduled today, Resat's class bright early and Kathie's class in the afternoon. This would also be the very first day that we did not have a trip planned somewhere. Today, the second Thursday, would be studious.

But I know it would still be interesting. For goodness's sake, we're in Rome!

The weather is very hot today, but in all honestly it doesn't matter for the guys since we live so close. Many of the girls tell us (the guys) that they have to wake up 30 minutes early just to have enough time for walking to class. This is nonsense, as most of the guys wake up 15 minutes before class starts, rushes breakfast, and then scramble downstairs just in time.

That is exactly what I (we) did, and we all did show up to Resat's class on time.

In class, the first thing we hear is a terrifying story about how the Italian police can and will make random checks for our documents. He handed us individual letters showing that we are legally here. The group was also warned to keep our passports at all times.

During class, we discussed 1500 hundred years of Italian history – no small feat!

It began with the decline at fall of the Roman Empire. We discussed how Italy, once at the top of the world, began to decay. The capitol of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople and Rome was sacked in 476 BC.

When the empire fell, communes and city states began to take control of Italy. What was once a unified Italy became separate provinces. Particular provinces became rich through trade (as Italy is perfectly situated between Asia and the rest of Europe). Various families took control of particularly successful city states such as Florence and Naples. The Renaissance was born from the patronage of these families, as each family wanted to use art in order to show their power.

All in all, this period (1000-1300 AD) was a very violent period, full of strive and corruption. Eventually, even the city states became weak and entered a period of decline from 1450 to 1650 AD.

Italy was again unified in 1860 by Risorgimento, with war playing a major factor.

Entering the 20th century, fascism and Mussolini came into prominence. We discussed how Mussolini rebuilt the city (watching a short clip near the end of class) and the fruitless African campaigns in Libya.

After class, half of us decided to get salad at the insulate place, and the other half chose to come back to the apartment and cook. Erik and I cooked packaged ravioli. He had half of his left and I had half of mine. Both packages contained what looked to be identical ravioli, but they definitely were not.

Looks good right? But it turns out that it turns out mine

were far undercooked in comparison to his, leading to what was

possibly the worst ravioli I’ve ever had.

Kathie’s class is a lot different in comparison to Resat’s. At first, we talked about what we needed to do for our project. There’s a lot more volunteers for the Joe Nafuma center than I thought. It’s tempting me to do a mixture of both. The photo essay sounds kind of boring in comparison to interacting with real people!

The rest of the class became a long discussion about migration and Italy. We discussed a long time talking about whether or not immigrants would become coequal citizens in a multicultural society or integrated as minority groups in Italy.

One interesting fact that we learned is that refugees can only legally stay in the first “safe” country that they travel to. Known as the country of first migrants, immigrants are often sent back to the first safe country that they pass though, should they try to leave their first country.

We talked about Father Michael’s speech. A lot of good points were brought up. Brandon’s accent is especially funny.

Bennett speaks up.

We began to discuss what the immigrants actually do in Rome. Many come here to Italy due to the underground economy. We got off to an interesting tangent about Moldovan/Filipino nannies that are everywhere. Sarah, Yuting, and Mauna all brought up really interesting, firsthand accounts about Filipino nannies especially.

David is not happy.

After class, most of us chose to watch the Italy game at Magnolia. Slovakia played very well, and Italy made a poor decision in underestimating its basically unknown opponent. Pirlo and Camoranesi weren’t even subbed in till there was like 15 minutes left!

For dinner, we decided to go to a random pizzeria across the Tiber. The pizza, which was really cheap, was very good!

Emilio digging into his pie.

Thus Thursday ends! Tune in next week.

Ara Pacis and the Pantheon

Wednesday June 23, 2010

Although we only had an afternoon class, for some students the day started early at Joel Nafuma Refugee Center. Several students bussed to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church to volunteer and teach English to refugees living in Rome.

The rest of our class was able to explore until 3 pm when our art history class was scheduled to convene. However, it turned out we were able to start an hour early so that we could return in time to watch the US play against Algeria in the World Cup. A perfect example of how we’ve adapted to the Italian culture, where time is flexible and life works at a slower pace. After all, who wouldn’t like a mid day 2-hour siesta break before heading back to work?

Our first historical piece of art we visited was the Ara Pacis, an alter to Peace. In 2006 there was a new museum built to surround the Ara Pacis, designed by an American architect Richard Meier.

My first impression was, “Wow, it actually looks modern.” Since we have arrived to Rome, we’ve all noticed that there is a lack of large corporations and companies, and a lack of new modern buildings. This pristine white, angular and edgy building seemed so futuristic juxtaposed to the colorfully painted, quaint Italian buildings nearby with their decorative moldings and potted flowers hanging over the many balconies.

Apparently this is the only new building built within Rome in the last 50 years, and highly controversial because it did not fit in with the rest of Roman buildings. Although I didn’t like the outside very much because of the sharp edges and its very rectangular shape, the inside was beautiful; clean, spacious, and had plenty of sunlight. It made me a little nostalgic of Seattle, with their comparatively newer buildings.

Along the outside of the actual Ara Pacis there were friezes which depicted a procession where even children were included; a rare sight in a processional frieze. The idea behind this is that in times of peace their society would be prosperous and fertile; hence the children.

The Ara Pacis was interesting because it was found broken in pieces. The alter has since been restored, and I thought it was cool to see where the authentic ancient marble, with the beautiful swirls of color, was differentiated from the pieces of marble used to restore the alter. There were large panels of the friezes missing, so it was cool how people were able restore it based on other paintings and artwork that documented this alter.

Also interesting were the openings along the base of the Ara Pacis. For every procession there would have been an animal sacrifice. These holes were designed so that the blood would be able to drain out. Those Romans really planned ahead.

After the Ara Pacis we trekked to the Pantheon. It was gigantic, with plenty of tourists around. Kristin delivered an excellent presentation on the Pantheon, and how no one really knows to this day how the massive dome was built, or how it is able to stay standing. There were many theories, including one where the Pantheon had been filled with dirt mixed with gold. This way the builders could more easily finish the domed high ceiling. Once it was completed, all the people quickly excavated the dirt in hopes of hitting it rich. Although this story is completely false, it’s still a fun story that tries to explain the construction of the Pantheon

The inside of the Pantheon was gorgeous with colorful paintings and marble. The first thing I looked to was the oculus though, the only light source inside the Pantheon. It was definitely bigger than I thought it is, almost 9 meters in diameter. The second thing that I noticed was that the sunlight was so intense at that moment that it created a spotlight onto the side of the building. I could imagine how the Pantheon would have been placed astrologically aligned in its specific location, with certain paintings placed so that throughout the day the sunlight would illuminate them.

Once we finished our tour of the Pantheon, we rushed back to Campo de Fiori, to head to our usual tables at Magnolia to watch the World Cup game. Amazingly the US scored a goal in the 90^th minute of the game! Go USA!

Overall, this was pretty much an awesome day. The end.

Joel Nafuma Refugee Center

After a long first day of class, I thought we would all be too tired for our next day of adventures. Little did I know, I had enough excitement in my system to fuel me for another eventful day. My roommates and I left our apartment 40 minutes early in order to fit in time for a nice cup of espresso in Piazza Trastevere before class. I have decided that Magnolia is still my favorite place to go in terms of the company of the baristas and the delicious, thicker foam that you get compared to ones from other coffee shops I have visited so far. The weather made it easy for most of us to dress conservatively for our trip to the refugee center. It was warm with a little sun, but enough breeze to keep me from sweating in my clothes.

We finally made it to the classroom with 5 minutes to spare. Kathie introduced what we were going to be doing at St. Paul's church and led a discussion on the lives of refugees. Sitting in my seat, I was already anxious to see the place because I will be volunteering there along with 10 other students from our program. One interesting thing that stood out to me was our topic of the difference between immigrants and refugees because Eric added a great comment, "It's the difference between running to something rather than running away from something."

All of us crowded at the bus stop as we waited for bus 60 or 40 to arrive. The sun was blaring at this time and it felt great on my face. I was hoping to get a tan, but when I turned around people were filing into bus 60 so I got in line to enter. As I was standing at the bottom stair of the bus, with still 5 or more students behind me, the door surprised me as it hit me from the side and shut in Shurui's face. I guess he's taking the next bus. Riding down Nazionale, I noticed the stores became much larger and resembled more of the ones from downtown Seattle. Torino was our stop so we all made our way to exit the door, but there were so many people pushing their way in that I thought I was going to get trapped on the bus. Thankfully, with the help of some friends, we all pulled through and began to head toward the church.

Father Michael gave the class an orientation in the church that was informative, inspiring, and humorous. I noticed he was very enthusiastic during his talk about the refugees and knew how to appeal to his audience. He talked about how the refugees are all males that may look much older than they really are because of stress. Some in their early 20s may even have gray hair.

After his talk, we went down into the basement, where the refugee camp was located.
Most of the refugees are in there 20s, with some younger and some in their late 40s. I walk around and see some watching an old film playing at the end of the room, some playing ping pong, and some sleeping on benches. I can only imagine how stressful life must be as a refugee. Just being able to sleep in a safe place and on a dry surface must be a huge pleasure after having spent the night either wandering in the streets, or finding a place beneath a bridge to sleep.




The important thing that Father Michael mentioned was that they value anybody's help there. It would be enough as a volunteer to just play a little ping pong with them. Simply listening to their stories will give them a way to express their feelings and possibly provide some sort of relief for them. I know that many of them have had traumatic experiences that will make it difficult for them to share their thoughts. But, I will be thankful for their stories if I get the chance to hear them because I know that they will also teach me something important in life.

After returning to the UW Rome Center, everyone had just enough time to get some lunch and head over to Resat's class. There was an interesting discussion about what is appropriate for the economy in the 21st century. There was a question that Resat asked to the class: "Is what we see in Italy going to be maintained or will it diminish over time?" Unfortunately, there was no real answer to the question, making the class even more curious. Overall, it was an interesting class consisting of debates and comments that added deeper thought into the topic of how Italy survives.

It was Emily's 20th birthday and we all decided to get gelato near the Pantheon. We sang her "Happy Birthday"and someone standing near us even joined in! Afterwards, we had a small celebration at our apartment. We led everyone to Via Dandolo and all had a festive night of excited conversations and laughs.

Il Primo Giorno

Although many of us thought it would never come, today was our actual first day of class. The main points on the agenda for today were an introduction to the Roman Imperial families, a visit to the Roman Forum, and presentations of the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum, but before we could get to any of that, our first stop was at the courtyard of an academic center for Italians studying English. The courtyard, although relatively small, was filled to the brim with statues and sculptures attached to the walls of the surrounding buildings. Lisa pointed out to us not only the heads of emperors and Roman officials that were attached to idealized athletic bodies (apparently Roman officials could only work out in the afterlife), but also examples of freedmen's tombs. A freedman was someone who had once been a slave, but then was freed from servitude and allowed to become a Roman citizen.

The weather today was cool and overcast, but thankfully not cold, and after our visit to the courtyard we walked up a set of very long, low steps to find a giant bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on a horse. Although there are more than enough giant statues of important people in Rome, this statue is particularly important because it has been preserved in its original bronze format. Most bronze statues from ancient Rome were copied into marble and then melted down so that the valuable metal could be used for something else, but this one has managed to stay completely intact. Lisa pointed out the interesting fact that because bronze is much stronger that marble, many statues that have been copied from marble to bronze need added marble supports, in the form of a tree stump for example. A bronze statue such as that Marcus Aurelius on a horse though, is made of such a strong material that the horse can stand with only one of its hooves fully touching the ground, and the statue is still completely stable.

After our visit with Marcus Aurelius and

a quick stop by one of the only ancient Roman apartment buildings left, we proceeded to the outskirts of the Roman Forum for a brief discussion about early Roman myths, including the one concerning the brothers Romulus and Remus, Romulus being the ultimate founder of Rome after killing his brother. The ancient Romans used these myths as justification for creating an empire that deserved respect and was worthy of conquering others. This discussion was then followed by an introduction to the Imperial Roman families given by Shurui, Christine, Catherine, David, Kristin, and Yuting. We then went through the actual entrance of the Forum and began to explore several of the sites present. The first thing Lisa taught us was how the center of the forum was also the lowest relative point in terms of ground level, and therefore was a place of gathering for events such as gladiator matches. We took a look at the Basilica Aemilia and the Basilica Julia, basilica in this case referring to a law court rather than a church as the term is commonly connected to now, as well as the place of meeting for the Senate. The remains of the temple and palace of the vestal virgins was our next stop, and we learned that the vestal virgins were the ones responsible for keeping the flame of the city alive at all times. Our last brief stop as we walked through the forum was a basilica built by Constantine. Of all the basilica's we saw, this one was by the far the largest and most well intact. While looking at the massive archways of the basilica I couldn't help but imagine how much work went into building such a structure, and how amazing it must have looked in its prime.

Of all the structures present in the Roman Forum,

I was most impressed with and drawn to the columns.

Once we had taken at a look at the majority of the lower part of the Roman Forum, we had a seat on some rocks next to the Arch of Titus as David gave us his presentation on the arch. David gave a very well rounded and interesting presentation, and informed us that, among other things, the arch was built to commemorate Titus' victory in the Jewish War, but unfortunately Titus died before the arch was ever complete. He also discussed the sculpted panels within the arch, including the one which depicts the Romans coming back from the war with Jewish spoils such as a menorah. After David's presentation, we climbed to the top of Palatine Hill and found a place to sit down and have lunch, which we had all packed so that our visit the Forum would be as smooth as possible.

After lunch we looked down upon

the Circus Maximus from the top of Palatine Hill and then headed over to the Colosseum, outside of which Christine gave us her presentation. Christine also gave a very well informed and interesting presentation, and among the many facts she told us, I thought the most interesting was that even though the Colosseum could hold many thousands of people, it was built in such an efficient manner that after an event it could be cleared out of people in five minutes flat. Once Christine had finished, we took a tour through the Colosseum and finished our first day of class with a brief open discussion about the reality of the Colosseum, what it stood for in ancient times, and what it stands for today. In particular, Lisa asked us how we can reconcile the beauty of the Colosseum with the ugliness of the activities that once filled it, such as feeding people to lions.

The rest of the day and night were filled with casual activities, as the majority of the group either went back to their apartments to rest and study, or went out to buy groceries so they could make dinner later on. All in all, I would say that today was a very fun and informative first day of class, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the art history project presentations from everyone else in future days to come.