Relaxing week in Rome

04/04/11, 04/05/11, 04/06/11, 04/07/11

     Luckily, I had a short week ahead of me before I could meet back up with my mom to head towards one of the destinations I’ve been looking most forward to traveling to, the Amalfi Coast. But first, a week of classes… Nothing all too exciting in the academic front this week. 

     We started filming for our end of the year video on Wednesday. We met at the restaurant Trattorria der Pallero at 8:45 am and began shooting, which lasted until noon. The majority of filming surrounded interviewing the owner about his restaurant, fresh markets, and his life story. He was a very precious older man, yet he spoke very little English, making it difficult to interview him. In order to do so, we had to have the people who help us film ask the question to the owner in Italian, then our host would ask it in English, and then he would answer in Italian. All the while, our host had to nod along as if she understood every word he was responding with. Later, when we go to edit the video, we will clip out the Italian asking the question in Italian and also we will insert English subtitles describing what the owner, Giovanni, is saying. 

     After filming, I had free time from noon to three in the afternoon and since it was gorgeous weather outside, I laid in the sun at Tiber Island. Around 3 in the afternoon, Kelly and I had to go meet our Italian student for our second gathering. We were meeting her at a metro stop and then she was going to show us a few more sights that we wouldn’t ordinarily know to see. First, we went to see the Santa Croce in Jerusalem Church. The inside was really neat and it is said that part of the cross that Jesus was crucified on remains in this church. Following the church, we went to the “Porta Magica” (Magic Door). Here legend has said that if you walked through it in the past, you disappeared. Last stop of the day was to G. Fassi, the oldest Italian gelato factory. I originally wasn’t going to get any gelato because I wasn’t hungry, but given the place we went to, I had to at least try it. I ordered strawberry, banana, and peach. While they all tasted delicious, I had yet to find peach gelato and it was by far my favorite flavor I have tried yet. It was so refreshing! 

Santa Croce in Jerusalem

Porta Magica

Gelato place!

     On Thursday, we had layers of Rome as a whole class rather than split into two groups as usual. We focused on the Baroque art period at its height by traveling to four different churches. Not thinking, when I woke up Thursday morning, I put on shorts given it was supposed to be 75 degrees and sunny. Little was I thinking that you technically are not supposed to wear shorts when going into a church, let alone four. The first church we went to, a nun pointed to me in disapproval so I was quick to take my jacket and tie it around my waist so that I wouldn’t get “yelled at” anymore! We started at Santa Susana where we discussed her story. The majority of the artwork within displayed her story and the arrival of the Prophet Daniel. The scene of the Prophet Daniel coming to the rescue of Susana after being arrested is a very famous one during the Baroque period. We then discussed the Catholic/Protestant clash in further detail that occurred when Frederick was elected against the wishes of the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire. The wars and clashes between the two were depicted in the next church we went to, La Madonna alla Vittorio. The third and fourth churches we went to were one church done by Borromini and one by Bernini. We started at San Carlo alle Quattro Fontona done by Borromini. Bothe of these artists focused on sacred geometry, using ellipses as the foundation, yet the outcomes of their two churches are very different. Borromini used equilateral triangles surrounded by circles to create this ellipse. This ellipse is the reference point for the rest of the proportions throughout the church. He made the church entrance from the longest access point making it appear larger than it truly was. Both churches were not meant for mass, but rather for people to walk around and see how the art moved, another focal point of Baroque art. Lastly, we traveled to Bernini’s Sant’ Andrea, the only church he built in its entirety. It was a chapel for the Jesuit Seminary and it depicted the story of St. Andrew. This church’s ellipse form faced the opposite direction of the other church, creating an entirely different feel. 

     Thursday night I went home from class and relaxed/packed. My roommates had left for Ireland that morning so I had the place to myself to get ready for my weekend in Amalfi!