Italy 2012 - UD Study Abroad

Religion in Florence

We all took the rare opportunity to sleep in this morning before we set out on our adventures of exploring the religious history of Florence. We first visited Santa Croce, a Florentine gothic style church laid out as an Egyptian cross with an open timber roof. Santa Croce is also known as the Pantheon of Florence because so many great Italians (270 to be exact) such as Michelangelo Buonarroti (sculpture), Galileo Galilei (astronomer), Dante Alighieri (poet), Niccoló Machiavelli (philosopher), and Gioachino Rossini (composer) are buried there. In the cloister, there is a museum which contains stained glass windows originally from the church and Bronzino’s Christ Descending into Limbo (pictured below).

            After Santa Croce, we strolled over to Tempio Maggiore, The Great Synagogue of Florence. We had two excellent tour guides who shared information about the Jewish culture in Florence. For 300 years, the Florentine Jews were confined to the Jewish ghetto near the center of the city. At the time, Jews did not have the same rights as the other Florentines. It was not until the unification of Italy in 1861 that the emancipation of the Jews and the abolition of the ghetto occurred. With this emancipation, the Jewish community signified their presence by building Tempio Maggiore. Despite synagogues being near to the ground to signify being lower than the Lord, Tempio Maggiore is the second tallest domed building in Florence with the influence of Catholic and Moorish architecture (eclecticism). The kippah, better known as the yarmulke, which means dome, represents being under the hand of the Lord. Additionally, unlike the Christian traditions of writing, speaking, and drawing God, Jews do not refer to Him directly to show respect.

Tempio Maggiore

            The last church we visited was the Santa Maria Novella. There were four main works of art in the church, in addition to amazing stained glass windows. Of the four, here are two of my favorites: Masaccio’s “Holy Trinity” and Botticelli’s nativity scene.  Masaccio’s work is considered one of the very bests examples of early “perspective” in evolution of painting, and if you look closely you can see the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Also, Botticelli’s nativity scene uses the complimentary colors of orange and blue to keep your attention drawn to the Madonna and Son.

Something interesting that I did not know before arriving in Italy……

In all the cities we have visited has graffiti on buildings. Some of the graffiti is vandalism while other graffiti can be considered works of art. The amount and style of the graffiti varies from city to city. For example, in Rome most of the graffiti is considered vandalism and has very little significance, to the average person while in Naples graffiti ranged from things like “marry me” to murals of Donald Duck. Cities such as Naples have the most graffiti where cities like Sorrento and Florence have little graffiti. Judge for yourself, here are some pictures we took while walking through the various cities.

 - Hilary Kerchner

Il Porcellino

After a delicious breakfast of chocolate croissants, bacon paninis, and blood oranges, we started off our day with a discussion in POSC441.  Professor Magee asked our opinions to the question, how democratic is Italy?  As honor students, our class turned into a lively debate.  Here are some of our views:

 Italy’s system of proportional representation makes their government democratic.  Although proportional representation has led to some hardships in governing, it ensures that every voice is heard in Parliament.  In the United States’ two party system, minority parties are largely ignored.  Italy, however, guarantees that every party that receives votes is represented in the legislature.  This means that more people have a say in the government, making Italy’s government democratic in nature.

 Italy’s government is less democratic than the United States.  Instead of casting their vote for a specific candidate, Italian citizens pick a political party that they want to see in Parliament.  The majority in Parliament (usually made up of coalitions of two or more parties) then chooses the country’s chief executive, the Prime Minister.  As a result, political party leaders have most, if not all, of the power in government, and not the people.           

So now, if you ever see one of us around campus, ask anything about the Italian government.  We will be happy to take you out to a lunch of margherita pizza and frizzante water to tell you all we have learned!

After class, we took a short break before setting out to venture the city of Florence.  Our first stop…The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or more commonly known as The Duomo.  This basilica not only contains Brunelleschi’s incredible dome, the dominant highlight of the city’s skyline, but also has the largest all brick dome ever built.  Seeing so many cathedrals previously, we thought we were accustomed to their grand architecture, but as soon as we walked inside our jaws dropped onto the marble tiles.  It is a magnificent, yet, modest basilica with sunlight piercing through its gorgeous stain glass windows.   

Just like in St. Peter’s Basilica, we can climb up to the dome of The Duomo…stay tuned!

Walking down side street after side street, we decided to grab gelato, a staple in our newfound Italian diet.  This creamy, mouthwatering ice cream is always the perfect daily snack.  

After we got our gelato, we went to see the statue of Il Porcellino, or “The Piglet”.  This bronze boar is part of a fountain thats near a well known outdoor market in Florence. This fountain has two unique qualities.  First, it is said that if you rub the boar’s snout you will be sure to return to Florence.  Second, if you make a wish, slide a coin down the boar’s tongue, and let it fall through bottom gate of the statue, your wish will come true. We all rubbed the boar’s snout and tried our hand at making a wish.  Look’s like we are all coming back to Florence!

Ciao!

Kelly Kimpton

Finding the Famous in Firenze

This morning, our latest morning yet (9:45), we took the short walk over to the Accademia Delle Belle Arti, simply know as the Accademia to most. Within the walls of this museum lies what is arguably the most impressive sculpture of all time, Michelangelo’s David. I have posted a picture below, but unfortunately it does not do him justice. In person, he is beautiful. The David, unbeknownst to me, is the one from the story of David and Goliath. He holds the sling over his shoulder and grasps the end with his other hand. Michelangelo created this larger than life sculpture out of a single piece of marble at the age of 23, around the same time he sculpted the Pieta that sits in St. Peter’s. The David was the largest free-standing sculpture ever created meaning that there is no extra support given to him. David holds a relaxed position, casually leaning on his right leg. Although there is a small tree branch behind him, no support comes from it. Because of this, there is a monitoring system that measures movements so that the museum can detect any signs of possible breakage or worse, a potential crash. He is beautifully carved, and the only finished sculpture of Michelangelo’s you can find in the Accademia. Leading up to this magnificent piece of work are Michelangelo’s “prisoners”. These are his unfinished sculptures, who he was unable to “free” from the marble. He believed that inside every piece of marble, there was a masterpiece, something waiting to be revealed. You can begin to notice a trend to his technique in sculpting as you continue down the hallway, he always starts on the face and the front side, with little detail. The body is done more smoothly while the face is left a mere outline. Undeniably however, his finished work is as magnificent as they come and you could sit for hours in awe at its beauty. As with every piece of art, the David has criticism such that his hands are too big. Could this have been deliberate or did this so-called genius make a big mistake (no pun intended)? I would venture to say that this was an intention of Michelangelo because David is a symbol of strength. His detail is immaculate from the veins in his arms to the dirt on his toes and if all of this was so finely crafted, then I would doubt Michelangelo would have lazily carved these hands. After all, the death of Goliath was by the hands of David.

Around the corner is a slightly less impressive room, the room of sculptures. However, the Accademia does not hold any of the originals in this room. Everything from Juno to Machiavelli was a plaster cast. The pieces I found the most interesting were Juno, Orphan Praying and Narcissus. The story behind Juno and Narcissus is what drew me to them (greek mythology), but the Orphan Praying was such an awe-inspiring piece, that even as a plaster cast, you can feel what the sculptor intended - empathy.

Another interesting fact about this museum is that it holds some of the oldest paintings we have seen in Italy, most dating before artists learned the mathematics of three dimensional paintings. Virtually every painting seemed flat and unlike something we would consider a good piece of art today. However, these well-preserved paintings allow us to see the evolution of art in Italian history. Found just a few hundred meters away is the first painting of the Renaissance period in which we can see this new perspective painting, one with more depth. In the Santa Maria Novella, hangs the Holy Trinity by Masaccio which portrays the crucifixion of Christ in a novel way.

My favorite room, aside from the gallery of the David, was the Musical Instrument room. The Medici family, who was very prominent in the kingdom of Italy as rulers, popes, and cardinals, was a very musical family. Bartolomeo Cristofori designed and built many instruments for weddings, feasts and the quintet. It was amazing to listen to all the various types of instruments such as the decimer, the spinet, the harpsichord, the violin and the pianoforte. The latter instrument was an invention by Cristofori himself. The main difference between a harpsichord and the pianoforte is the way that the strings are hit. In a harpsichord, as well as a spinet, the strings are plucked which allows the sound to resonate more and have a higher pitch. The piano strings are hit with a hammer made of wood and leather. This muffles the sounds a bit but also creates an easier way to manage the volume of the notes.

Following our informational morning at the Accademia, we had our Fostering Global Citizenship class in which we discussed our service options in Firenze as well as our schedule for the next two weeks. After sorting out some of the necessities, we discussed regional diversity now that we have seen the political center of Italy and a southern region (although it was wealthy) and now we are in the Red Belt, or communist area which is one of the wealthiest in all of Italy. We are all excited to discover this “americanized” city to see what differences from the other regions are really apparent.

Fun fact: If Italy was cut in half at the knees, just below Rome, the bottom half would be the poorest country in the EU and the northern half would be the richest

Buona sera!

Chelsey Rodowicz

Traveling to Florence

Today we got up, had breakfast at the hotel, and left the Hotel Michelangelo at 9:00. After bidding Sorrento and the Gulf of Naples farewell, we settled in to watch movies, read our political science textbooks, and enjoy the scenery during our 7 hour bus ride to the city of Florence.

After settling in at the Hotel Cavour in Florence, we walked around the city and Professor Magee pointed out famous landmarks before our group dinner.

Since today was pretty uneventful, I’m going to reflect on our experience in Italy so far. As Allison mentioned, last week we talked about the diversity among Italy’s 20 regions. So far we have visited the regions of Lazio (whose capital city is Rome) and Campania (where Naples and Sorrento are located).

The first two weeks in Rome definitely dispelled the commonly held idea of “Italian food;” Italy offers much more than the standard lasagna, chicken parmigiana, and spaghetti and meatballs many of us thought of before experiencing the “real deal.” Even though pizza can be found at almost every Italian restaurant, it is very different from the American version we were accustomed to (and I would argue that Italian pizza is by far better!).

Our group dinner at the Donna Sofia on Friday night allowed us to contrast the regional culinary traditions of Campania with Lazio. Especially apparent is the use of regional ingredients: we were served fish in the coast town of Sorrento, while we were served beef in Rome. Another interesting difference was the choice of  dessert: tiramisu is more traditional in Rome, while a few of us enjoyed ice cream and a small taste of homemade limoncello in Sorrento. Both group meals were  delicious yet very different.

Tonight we enjoyed our first dinner in the region of Tuscany. We were served four different types of pasta, eggplant parmigiana or an assortment of different meats, fried artichokes and potatoes, and dessert. The regional “spin” on each course was interesting to experience and compare to the group dinners we ate in Rome and Sorrento. We look forward to our time in Florence and experiencing all that northern Italy has to offer. Evan, Kelly, and John at our “welcome to Florence” dinner

-Audrey Guyer

A Free Day to Explore!

Hooray for calf muscles! For our free day today, the group decided to split up (gasp!) with five of us venturing to the island of Capri and nine of us hiking up Mt. Vesuvius. Even though we were separated, we did share one thing in common- So. Much. Climbing.

Wanting to see more of the beautiful Mediterranean, Paige, Kelly, Johnny, Brian, and I hopped on a jet boat and took a fifteen-minute, sun-soaked ride to Capri. After landing on the island, we took a quick walk on the rocky beach of the Mediterranean and (accidentally) dipped our feet in the surprisingly warm water! We then began our nearly vertical trek up to the town center. Thank goodness the countless stairs and inclines were broken up by amazing views of brightly colored summer homes on the sea or I don’t think we could’ve made it up!

After arriving at the town center with our calves burning and our hearts pumping hard, we stopped to enjoy the view. The Mediterranean is the clearest body of water I have ever seen, so combined with the houses on cliffs the view was breathtaking. From the town center, we could travel down quaint alleys lined with stores. Because Capri is mostly a summer destination, many stores were closed, but it was very nice to be in a beautiful place that wasn’t overflowing with people.

Of course our hunger started to get the best of us, so we headed back down to the harbor to find a nice place to eat. If you thought going up stairs was bad, you’ve never walked down the infamous “Italian slanted steps”. I guess someone thought it would be a good idea to add steep steps and harsh inclines together, but as a frequent pedestrian of Italian streets, I must disagree! Your legs burn, toes smash together, and life flashes before your eyes as you see yourself tumble down hundreds of stairs.

However, we made it down without too much injury and found a Café di Capri to eat! Our American taste buds got the best of us and three of us had cheeseburgers—mmmm! We then climbed onto rocks to bask in the sun and enjoy each other’s company until the boat came to take us back to Sorrento. It was a successful day filled with amazing views that were totally worth all the climbing!

The rest of the group (Grace, Chelsey, Audrey, Allison, Hilary, Ben, Evan, Mark, and Max) chose to spend their free day climbing the most dangerous volcano in the world, Mt. Vesuvius! The last eruption occurred in 1944 and scientists believe the next eruption is going to be the biggest yet. Also, the volcano’s vicinity to so many towns and people adds to the danger of the pending eruption. Johnny’s previous blog goes into much detail about the history of Mt. Vesuvius, but another interesting fact is that Mt. Vesuvius has two peaks – the taller one being called Vesuvius and the shorter named Mt. Somo.

After a half hour drive with a cute Italian driver, Rafaelo, the nine group members stepped out onto the extremely windy path to make their way up to the crater. Once again, legs were hurting and the trip was exhausting, but the view was fantastic! (Kind of becoming a theme of the trip, I’d say!) Please enjoy the following pictures of the fantastic view and beautiful group members:

Following much-deserved naps, we all came together to go out to a group dinner to discuss our day. Although we all wished we could have done both excursions, everyone had a fantastic day and we can’t wait to go on more adventures!

Ciao!

Brooke Petruzzelli

Do You Have The Time?

Today was not, in any way, a rushed, hurried, or incredibly busy day. However, I thought it would be interesting to give you, our readers, a taste of what one of our days is like minute-by-minute. That is, if you have the time…

7:00 – Rise and shine! It’s another gorgeous day here in Sorrento: a bit chilly and a bit windy, but still a beautiful day.

7:30 – All showered and ready for the day, my roommate Max plays the song “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” from one of his favorite musicals, Hello Dolly. This is becoming a tradition in our room; Max plays this song every Sunday in anticipation of another great day. Today is no exception with our planned trip to Naples and to the Naples National Archeological Museum.

8:00 – Breakfast: bread, orange juice, fruit, yogurt with granola, and your choice of caffeinated beverages. Mmmmmmm.

8:26 – The 14 of us with Professor Magee board the Circumvesuviana: an above-ground train/metro that travels from Sorrento to Naples and back in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius. “Circumvesuviana” literally means around (Circum) Mt. Vesuvius (vesuviana).

9:20 – We arrive at the train station in Naples and hop on a city bus to travel to the old section of Naples. At first look, this city is much different than Sorrento and even Rome. A few of us discuss this difference on the bus ride, comparing Naples to cities such as Philadelphia or New York City (though without the giant skyscrapers). There is a significantly greater amount of trash in the streets and graffiti on the walls. We all agree, however, to keep an open mind about this city and the Neapolitan people that Professor Magee seems to love.

10:10 – Professor Magee takes us down the Spaccanapoli, the central street in “old” Naples that stretches for a great distance and divides in half the oldest part of the city of Naples. The Spaccanapoli actually dates back to the time of the Greeks – even before the Romans. It was a decumanus, a word our first tour guide, Mr. Richard Bowen, defined for us as simply a main road in ancient times. (We saw another decumanus in Ostia Antica.) Parts of the ancient Greek city can be seen throughout Naples in excavated areas as the actual modern city is actually built on top of the ancient Greek and then Roman city.

10:30 – Professor Magee takes us into two historical churches located no more than forty meters across from each other: the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, on one side of the Spaccanapoli, and the Basilica di Santa Chiara on the other side. There is a drastic difference between the interiors of the two churches. The Chiesa del Gesù, built by the Jesuits, was decorated inside in the Rococo and Baroque styles with grand arches, detailed and vibrant paintings, and an altar elaborately adorned with gold. The Basilia di Santa Chiara, on the other hand, is grandiose in its simplicity. Built by the Franciscans and re-built after being bombed during WWII, the basilica is cavernous and modest. The drastic difference between these two churches built so close to each other just goes to show 1) how the Spaccanapoli truly divides various sections of Naples, and 2) how, like Rome, Naples is home to so many different eras of history.

 The Chiesa del Gesù

The Basilia di Santa Chiara

11:00 – We enter the cloister that is behind the Basilica di Santa Chiara. This is an open square with various walkways; the square is enclosed by the buildings the nuns of the Basilica lived in starting in the 14^th century. It is a truly beautiful and peaceful area, with orange trees, a garden, and benches and columns decorated with elaborately painted ceramic tiles. With a choir singing in one of the rooms off of the square, we all could stay for hours.

12:05 – 15 Neapolitan pizzas for lunch! Naples, rightfully so as we all find out, is famous for its thin, Margherita pizza. Luisa, our tour guide of yesterday at Pompei and of later today at the National Archeological Museum, provided us with a bit of history regarding the famous Pizza Margherita. It was invented in Naples after and in celebration of the unification of Italy. Named after Queen Margherita, the queen of the new Kingdom of Italy following Italy’s unification, its white mozzarella, red sauce, and green basil represent the three colors of the Italian flag. 

13:20 (European time!) – Our tour guide Luisa, who is from Naples herself, takes us into the National Archaeological Museum. This is one of the most famous museums in Italy (and the world) due to the fact that it houses hundreds of well-preserved artifacts uncovered during the excavation of cities such as Pompei and Herculaneum. This visit is especially relevant in that we visited the excavated city of Pompei yesterday, seeing what the volcanic ash of Vesuvius’ explosion in 79 A.D. had preserved. 

Our first stop is to the Gabinetto Segreto (The Secret Cabinet) where statues and paintings depict the third of the three Roman loves Max described in his post only a few days ago. It seems the Romans of these ancient cities were not as, say, conservative, as we are today.

Interesting fact #1: the word hermaphrodite stems from the child of Hermes and Aphrodite who had the body of a female and the reproductive organs of a male.

Interesting fact #2: the cornucopia used as a centerpiece for many Thanksgiving dinners is actually a phallic symbol dating back to Roman times—a symbol of abundance.

13:35 – Bathroom break! 

13:40 – Luisa takes us to see some fresco paintings that are over 2000 years old. Because they have been so well preserved, these paintings give us a unique glimpse into what life was like in ancient Rome. In addition, something Luisa told us that I thought was very interesting was that since Romans very often had few windows in their homes, they attempted (and succeeded amazingly) at making their fresco paintings on walls three-dimensional. 

13:55 – We now go to see excavated artifacts. We are all astonished first by how well-preserved these artifacts are, but second by how similar these objects are to the ones we use today: weighing and measuring tools, musical instruments, keys, playing dice, pots, pans, and colanders are among what we see. What are the two most impressive items, though? 1) One of the oldest collections of silver cutlery in the world and 2) a vase made of elaborately carved coral. 

14:10 – This next section of ancient mosaics that Luisa shows us is, in my opinion, the most impressive simply because of the detail and sheer beauty of each mosaic. While many of the mosaics are truly incredible works of art and time, the most impressive is one depicting Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. This mosaic, unlike most other mosaics found, took up the whole floor in someone’s Roman home. However, while it is indeed incredibly large, it is also incredibly detailed: there are over 2,000,000 tiles in this mosaic, with 20 to 30 tiles per square centimeter! Amazing. 

What remains of the Alexander Mosaic

14:30 – The last section of the museum on our tour is the Farnese Gallery, one of the most important collections of Roman sculptures. Within the Gallery, we see statues of famous and infamous rulers. One, in particular, is Vespasian who is famous for going so far as to tax urine (used to clean clothes) during his reign. In addition, we also see the Hercules at Rest sculpture which depicts Hercules uncharacteristically, well, at rest!

14:50 – Our wonderful tour with Luisa comes to an end and we are off to the edge of Naples (via bus as the taxi drivers are on strike) to see the waterfront. As we reach a lookout point, the beauty of the newer part of Naples begins to reveal itself. Beyond the trash in the streets and the graffiti on the buildings is another beautiful section of Napoli right on the water, the Gulf of Naples, across the way from Mt. Vesuvius. Both this view and the polite and helpful nature the Neapolitan people shown to us throughout the day made us reconsider our initial thoughts about this sprawling and amazing city.

The 14 of us by the water with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

17:09 – After walking around near the water’s edge, we boarded a tram back to the Circumvesuviana station for our hour-long “return to Sorrento.” We cap the night off with a dinner from the market and an exploration of the town of Sorrento.

“Put on your Sunday clothes, there’s lots of world out there!”

Mark Wisniewski

Pompeii and Circumstance

Today we adventured to the ancient city of Pompeii.  Waiting for us at the metro station was our new wonderful tour guide Luisa and a group of wild dogs who accompanied us through the ruins.  Pompeii is one of those places that everyone knows about, but you have to see in person to truly appreciate.  On the 24th of August, 79 AD, the nearby volcano, Vesuvius, erupted, wiping out the 20,000 inhabitants of this bustling Roman port town.  The city lay preserved in Volcanic ash for centuries, remaining undiscovered until 1748.  This find was so remarkable because Pompeii was frozen in time, giving us a snapshot of their ancient world, including frescoes and architecture.  

An unfortunate Pompeii citizen in his final resting position.

Pompeii was fascinating because the ancient Pompeiians lived so similarly to us today.  They loved eating pizza and drinking wine, cuisine which we ourselves also enjoyed later that night!  The ancient Romans also took pleasure in other vices by frequenting the 28 brothels in Pompeii.  The lupinare, which comes from the latin for “she-wolf” was a Pompeiian brothel which even included a “menu”  on the walls, depicting the various services that eager men could purchase.  In addition, ancient Pompeii has a wonderfully preserved bath house where people exercised, bathed, and received massages. In fact, the modern word spa comes from the latin phrase salus per aquam, which translates to “health through water”.  Romans even kept pet dogs, as evidenced by a beautiful mosaic warning cave canem; “beware of the dog”.  

 Cave Canem: Beware of the Dog

Pompeii’s culture is matched only by its incredible technological feats.  The city is  dotted with drainage systems and stepping stones to deal with large amounts of rainwater.  In addition, we visited a fantastic house, the second largest in the city, which contained an impluvium for collecting drinking water as well as some beautiful mosaics and wall frescoes.  The ancient Romans seem to have thought of everything; they even had small pieces of white marble built into the roads which served as reflectors for people traveling in the dark!  We were all impressed by the extent of the Roman’s knowledge of technology, even in the art of keeping wine at the proper temperature by burying their wine jugs in the ground.  

Detail of the beautifully preserved Pompeii bath house.

The scenery of southern Italy is beautiful, especially Mount Vesuvius towering over the city.  The now-dormant volcano stands at 4000 ft, but it would have been even more impressive in Roman times, when it was 10000 ft.  The eruption of 79 AD blew the top off of the volcano, sending ash and debris 34 km into the air!  Everyone in our group had a great time and learned a lot.  

All 14 of us and our beautiful guide Luisa in the Pompeii forum with Vesuvius in the background.

This evening we returned to Sorrento to get better acquainted with the Hotel Michelangelo and our new surroundings.  That’s all for now. Ciao!

- John Klodnicki

Travel Day: This and That

Today was our last morning in the beautiful city of Rome (for now), before boarding a bus and heading south for our long weekend in Sorrento. I think I can speak for the whole group when I say that these first 10 days in Rome have absolutely flown by and that the city has already begun to feel like a second home. However, we were all really eager to move on and see a new city.

After some hasty last minute packing and some breakfast, we made our way to the refugee center (which Mark described so eloquently) for our second day of service. As an Italian minor, I was very excited to utilize my Italian skills yesterday to communicate with some refugees who spoke Italian rather than English and their stories were incredibly eye opening and sobering to hear. Today, however, I had a very different experience.           

Ever have to buy enough supplies to clothe 50 refugees in one day? Well, that’s what Mark, Ben, Johnny, and I did with the guidance of Vanessa, one of the STAND members from John Cabot University, who volunteers regularly at the center. In fact, we bought 75 pairs of socks, 50 pairs of underwear, 15 hats, 12 scarves, 22 undershirts, 10 pairs of gloves, 22 packs of tissues, 48 bars of soap, and 47 toothbrushes, all for 317.53 euros donated by our group. Now that’s what I call bargain hunting! 

Display of items at Mas, the store we went to in search of a good deal.

Mark and Johnny admiring our shopping prowess as we bag our items.

Me organizing our purchases at the center in preparation to hand them out to the refugees.

After our morning at the refugee center, we made one last visit to the nearby church, Santa Maria Delgi Angeli e Dei Martiri, my personal favorite of all the churches I’ve seen in Rome. The main reason this church is my favorite (and I think this is true of a lot of the others in the group as well) is that on the floor of the church is a huge prime meridian line. Every day at solar noon the sun comes through the window of the church and strikes the prime meridian line on the floor at a precise location, which indicates the date. It turns out we had excellent timing; we arrived at the church around 5 minutes before solar noon! We watched awestruck as the beam of sunlight slowly moved across the floor and aligned itself exactly at the prime meridian line. As a science major, it was definitely a cool phenomenon for me to witness.

The prime meridian line at Santa Maria Degli Angeli e Dei Martiri.          

 After grabbing our last lunch in Rome at a delectable sandwich shop, we boarded a bus and departed for Sorrento. The bus ride was approximately 4 hours long and was a nice peaceful ride (we read, napped, and played games to pass the time)…until the end. As we approached Sorrento, we traveled down a narrow road that hugged the coast. The sights were beautiful, but traveling in a large coach bus made it an interesting and perilous last leg of the trip to say the least. But, our skilled driver got us to Sorrento safe and sound. Little did I know that our bus driver was merely the first daring driver we would encounter this evening.

 To celebrate our arrival in Sorrento, we had dinner as a group at a delicious restaurant named after the famous Italian actress Sofia Loren, who has apparently frequented it many times. As it turned out, our driver to and from the restaurant happened to also be the cook! As we all know, time is money, so the drive to and from the restaurant was more like a rollercoaster ride than a car ride. Our group rode in the back feeling a mixture of terror, amazement, and thrill as he weaved through tiny alleyways with an incredible amount of speed and precision. One piece of advice I can give to anyone traveling to Italy: don’t EVER attempt to drive! The roads are so narrow and convoluted and the drivers so bold and speedy that it would throw even the most experienced of drivers off their guard. Don’t take my word for it though - see for yourself!

Although crazy drivers seem to be one thing that is pretty universal in Italy, we are currently learning in class that there are a lot of other things that are not so uniform. Things like food, spoken dialect, and demographics vary greatly from region to region. There is an especially stark divide between the richer industrialized north and the poorer agrarian south. To put this in perspective, Rome (the city we just left) is contained in the region of Lazio, which has an unemployment rate of 8.71% (very close to the national average). Sorrento (where we have just arrived), however, is in the region of Campania, which has an unemployment rate of 20.20%, more than twice that of Lazio. We also observed that there is a positive correlation between higher unemployment rate and higher rate of church attendance; in Lazio only 28% of individuals age 6 and older attend church at least once per week, while that figure rises to 42.2% in Campania. Thus, one is able to infer a connection between and industrialized and wealthy society and a secularized society. I have already noticed some glaring differences between Rome and Sorrento, such as a change in dialect (I understand a lot less of the spoken Italian I hear in this city because it is almost all southern dialect), more signs of poverty, a quieter atmosphere, and different kinds of food and drink (Limoncello is a specialty here in Sorrento). As we continue to explore Sorrento and make a day trip to the city of Naples (considered to be the principal city of southern Italy) over this long weekend, I look forward to learning more about regional diversity in Italy and experience the unique culture the south has to offer before heading back up north to Florence.

In the words of Forrest Gump, “And that’s all I have to say about that.” Ciao a tutti!

- Allison McCague

An Eye-Opening Day

In the basement of St. Paul’s Within the Walls, a church only a short walk from the busy, touristy area surrounding the Colosseum, lies the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center: a daytime haven for refugees from Africa, Asia, and South America who are currently living in Italy. It is at this Center that these refugees who have very little to call their own can obtain a free breakfast and free toiletries, play ping pong, foosball, checkers, chess, and cards with each other, watch TV, take English and computer classes, and/or simply receive shelter from the weather. While this description may seem positive, the Center and the life stories of the refugees who go there each day are eye-opening and enlightening. This is especially true given the Arab Spring that has been occurring over the past year or so. A great number of people have fled their countries, many to Italy and many to this shelter. (As an illustration, last spring and summer, the Center gave refuge to over 300 people a day. Today there were approximately 50 people there.)

The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center

To rewind, as part of one of our courses while abroad here in Italy, our group is to complete a certain amount of service in the local community. Before we left the U.S., Professor Magee arranged for us to partner with students from John Cabot University (JCU), specifically the student group S.T.A.N.D. (Students Taking Action Now, Darfur). Every Friday while school is in session, JCU students volunteer at this Joel Nafuma Refugee Center helping to serve breakfast, distribute toiletries and clothing they buy with money they raise each month, teach English, interact with the refugees, and listen to the refugees’ stories. The JCU students have made a tremendous difference and impact at the Center. Last year they even compiled a collection of stories called “Travelling Feet: The Journey of a Political Refugee” that profiles the poignant accounts of a few refugees the JCU students interviewed and came to know at the Center.

Today, at our first full day at the Center, we heard many similar stories. Below are three (but for reasons of protection, I will not list names.)

1) At the Center today, a few of us met two men from Afghanistan: one is 20 while the other is 25. Both fled Afghanistan seven months ago due to violence in their cities as a result of the War in Afghanistan. The 25-year-old, who speaks English very well, described bombs falling and guns being fired near his home. Leaving his wife and two children (5 and 9 years of age) in Afghanistan, he is hoping to get to the UK where he believes life will be better. But for now he lives in Italy, sleeping outside on the banks of the rail-line as many of the other refugees do. Despite his situation, the 25-year-old was more than willing to speak with us and even teach us a few phrases in one of the eight – yes, eight – languages he speaks. (Many of the refugees, as you will see in the next story as well, are very intelligent and skilled. However, due to various reasons, they are fixed here in Italy without a job.) Below are two pages of my notebook in which he wrote basic Pashto phrases such as “How are you?” and “My name is Mark.” The last phrase (not pictured) that he wrote was “When will the Americans leave Afghanistan?” Speaking with him was emotionally moving and eye-opening.

2) Two men some of us talked to were Coptic Christians from Cairo, Egypt. They recently fled their country due to the ongoing violence and, specifically, the persecution of Christians. Leaving their families behind, they fled here to Rome and are currently in search of work. While both are skilled and trained in their professions (one a carpenter and bus driver, the other a welder), it is difficult for them, like many of the refugees at the Center, to find employment. While games of ping pong and chess go on around them at the Center, they feel they must still protect their identity as Christians, as some of the refugees may not look favorably upon them simply because of their religion.

3) The final story I will tell here is of a young man from Ghana whom we met today. Unlike many of the refugees, this young man did not flee Ghana but rather left voluntarily to pursue his ambitions of becoming a musician. He stated that, in Ghana, it was very difficult for him to establish himself as a musician. But in New York City or Hollywood, where he hopes to go eventually, he believes it will be easier. Living for a while in Libya (where he claims, unlike many news stories we hear today, there were few problems), this young man has made his way to Rome. His ambition is inspiring, and his seemingly-constant smile is encouraging. As we were finishing talking with him, he described his favorite artists: Bob Marley (of whom he has a picture on his phone), Nelly, and 50 Cent.

While some of us listened to these stirring stories, others aided by teaching English in a small classroom the JCU students set up, or by helping to distribute breakfast, toiletries, and clothing. Still others played chess, ping pong, and card games with the refugees. All 14 of us seemed to have a similar, poignant reaction in interacting with the refugees.

Chelsey playing ping-pong with one of the refugees.

Max and Kelly teaching English.

In discussing our experiences with each other on the walk back to the hotel, we all realized how fortunate we are; we all have a home, clothes, food, and family, among many other things. Because of this realization, and because the JCU students are not able to make their monthly donation to the Center as they are not back from their winter break yet, we have decided as a group to donate some of our money to buy toiletries and clothing for the Center. We plan on doing this tomorrow.

At the end of the day we had a class session in which we took a quiz and discussed the diversity among and between the different regions of Italy. This was an especially relevant discussion in that tomorrow we are travelling to Sorrento in the region of Campania and leaving Rome and the region of Lazio behind.

 The 14 of us taking our quiz.

Manana (“Thank you” in Pashto),

 Mark Wisniewski

Viva il Papa!

(To our dismay,) today was the third early morning in a row. We left the Grand Hotel Palatino this morning at 7:15 to make our way to Vatican City for today’s Papal Audience. For those of you who don’t know, a Papal Audience is given every Wednesday morning, provided that the Pope is in Vatican City. Since it’s winter, the Audience was held inside the Hall of Pope Paul VI, located next to St. Peter’s Basilica.

Luckily, our early departure paid off, as we were able to get seats close to the front of the auditorium. While we were waiting for the Papal Audience to begin, some circo (circus) performers put on a show to help pass the time. There were clowns, acrobats, jugglers, and even a contortionist who performed for us. While we were waiting, we also wrote a short note to the Pope and had it sent to the Papal office along with a University of Delaware pin that Paige brought over from the United States.

Paige, Brooke, Kelly, Allison, and Evan waiting for the Audience to begin.

At 10:30, the Audience commenced with a Scripture reading in Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Polish. Pope Benedict XVI then taught in Italian. After his teaching, the different groups of people attending the Audience were introduced and greeted by the Pope in their native languages; we were recognized as a group of students from the University of Delaware. We stood up and yelled, and Pope Benedict turned and waved at us. Some groups even prepared a short song to sing to the Pope when they were recognized, including the seminarians from Minnesota who sat next to our group. Hearing all the different languages and seeing the diverse groups of people who came to the Audience was a cultural experience that put Catholicism and diversity in perspective.

At the end of the Audience, the Pope prayed the Our Father prayer in Latin along with the attendees. He also extended his Apostolic Blessing to the crowd, which applies to us as well as everyone we know- including you, our readers.

Pope Benedict XVI at the Papal Audience

This afternoon, we discussed our Roman experience thus far. We reflected on a great first week and our favorite aspects of Roman history.

Ciao for now!

-Audrey Guyer

Another Long (But Fun!) Day

Today was yet another day of getting up bright and early so we could visit the once bustling ancient Roman port of Ostia Antica with our amazing guide, Richard Bowen. Here’s a bit of history for you, the readers:

Ostium in Latin means “mouth,” since Ostia was once located at the mouth of the Tiber river, but because of the buildup of silt from the river, it’s now located 3 miles from the coast. Once Rome’s main port, Ostia was then eclipsed by a new port built by Emperor Trajan (now the location of Rome’s main airport), and slowly declined in importance until the Roman Empire fell in the 6th century AD. The ruins of the city are incredibly well preserved and rival those of Pompeii.

Fun fact: Ostia was said to have the best bread in the Roman Empire!

After we arrived by metro, Richard led us through the ancient streets of Ostia, showing us Roman apartment complexes and markets, telling us about the city’s plumbing and sewage systems, giving us a tour of roman baths, Christian basilicas, synagogues, taverns, and shops. We even saw a number of public toilets and learned quite a bit about Roman hygiene (Quote of the Day: “Baths, wine, and sex ruin our bodies. But what makes life worth living except baths, wine, and sex?” - a Roman epitaph). Not only was it amazing to see the ancient city, but one of the most fascinating parts was seeing the evolution of the city within the ruins themselves, as the (relatively) newer parts of Ostia were built on top of the older parts. There were some medieval wells dug in the middle of the Roman streets (which meant things weren’t going so well for the city at the time!), and Richard showed us both terra cotta and lead pipes from different periods of Roman history (pun #2: it was said that the metal pipes could have been one of the factors that led to the decline of Rome!).

After a fascinating tour in the bright morning sun, we said goodbye to Richard and headed home tired and hungry and ready to sit down for a fascinating class discussion of the Italian parliamentary system with Professor Magee. We learned all about the difference between a parliamentary system vs. a presidential system and about how Italians participate in their own political system.

It was another long and tiring day, but, as usual, it was incredibly enjoyable! There’s still a lot to look forward to during our last few days in Rome, so it’s time for a delicious Italian dinner and some well-deserved rest!

- Max Levites

Ancient Art and Modern Politics!

It was 5:45 in the morning when the phone rang. No, Mom, don’t worry. I wasn’t racking up a huge international calling bill. Instead, I was angrily disconnecting the annoying wake-up call that disturbed me from my beautiful slumber. My feet hit the ground, still sore from our miles of walking and stepping this past weekend, and I prepared for our long day packed full of excursions- yes we still have so much more to see in Rome, even after being here for a full week!

After breakfast, we met Richard in the lobby of the Palatino Hotel and hopped on the metro en route to the Vatican Museum. I’m not really sure how to begin to describe what we experienced there today. The museum itself is so vast you could literally spend an entire day there and still not see everything it has to offer. Luckily, we had our amazing guide to make the little time we had (three hours) worth-while. We saw countless exhibits, including maps, paintings, sculptures, and architecture. Regardless of where we stepped however, there seemed to always be a beautifully formed mosaic floor.

Some of our group’s favorite sections were Raphael’s Rooms, specifically the Room of the Segnatura. This room features frescoes of the three greatest categories of the human spirit: Truth, Good and Beauty. One of our group’s favorite paintings of the entire trip was the School of Athens, which illustrates rational truth. With depictions of law, philosophy, literature, and religion, it only makes sense that the Room of Segnatura was used as the Pope’s personal office and library.

The School of Athens

We went through the first section of the museum rather quickly because today the Sistine Chapel closed early and Richard wanted us to have ample time to experience it. Notice that I said experience rather than see. We arrived in the chapel probably an hour before it closed. At first, I didn’t think that we needed to rush so much to get there; would we really spend an hour in the chapel? The answer is yes, and I would still be standing in there if we hadn’t been kicked out. We weren’t allowed to take pictures and we weren’t supposed to even speak while in the chapel. The work of Michelangelo did all the talking that was necessary. Not only did his paintings tell a story of the New and Old Testament, but they also shared with us a story of his life as an artist working to please the Pope. Richard shared with us that Michelangelo did not like painting and much preferred sculpture. What is funny is that before I was told differently, I perceived his work in the Sistine Chapel to be carvings when actually they were flat frescoes: that’s how amazingly talented he was as an artist.

After the Sistine Chapel, we gazed at some Roman sculptures. I will include pictures of these, which I’m sure you will enjoy more than lengthy descriptions of them.

When we were finished in the museum, we went once again to Saint Peter’s Basilica. Even though this was some of the group members’ third time visiting, our trusty guide, Richard, managed to drop even more knowledge on us. One of the facts I found most interesting was that the sculpture of Mary holding her son Jesus after his crucifixion was actually vandalized in the 1970’s. A man walked into Saint Peter’s with his hammer and chisel and started showing Michelangelo how he really felt about his work… Luckily, the sculpture was able to be restored, but if you look closely you can see some discoloration of the restored marble on her nose.

After lunch and a nice rest, we made our way to the Parliament Building. On the way, we stopped by the Pantheon. We weren’t there long, but the stop was well worth it. While words can’t truly describe it, and pictures don’t truly do it justice, I can tell you that Victor Emmanuel II was buried there! Who is that you may ask? Enroll in Professor Magee’s POSC441 class and you will find out!

Around 3:30pm we arrived at the National Parliament Building. After being cleared by metal detectors, we met our guide, who was modest about his English-speaking abilities, and began a tour. He told us that originally, the building was to be a wedding gift from the Pope to his niece. But after he died, there was no more interest in funding the project. His successor finished the structure and it was then put to use as a government building. Since it was first constructed, there have been additions made. One way to distinguish the original parts of the building from the newer is that older ceilings are arches while newer ones are flat. The most impressive part of the Parliament was the Debate Room, which is where the members of parliament discuss and vote on different issues. While sitting in this vast room, our guide went on to explain the way the Italian Parliamentary System works. The layout of the room really aided his explanation and supplemented what we talked about in our last class lecture.  

Our group in front of the Parliament Building, along with our tour guide

We accomplished so much today and still have so much more to do with our time in this great city. While my feet hurt from all the walking, I won’t complain. If Michelangelo can paint the entire Sistine Chapel while lying on his back with paint dripping in his eyes, then I can march on!

-Paige Valeski

P.S. Michelangelo did not actually paint the Sistine Chapel on his back, it’s a common misconception!

Free Day: Take Two

Walking seven miles during our adventures yesterday left us all feeling pretty tired. Ok I admit it. It left us more than just “pretty tired.” I think that I can speak for all of us when I say that we were sore. But after a hearty breakfast, and a mid-morning nap, we were back on our feet and ready for today’s activities. We stopped quickly at our favorite market to grab some sandwiches for a picnic, and then we started our mile long walk to the Baths of Caracalla.

All Of The Steps!

Well, we definitely learned one Italian word today, scalino (stair).  Today was one of our ‘free days,’ so we took a break from studying about the Italian government for our political science course.  As a class, we decided to go “Rome” around the city!  After breakfast, we went to a nearby market to get sandwiches, fruit, and drinks for our picnic lunch.  We then went to the Spanish Steps, which has 124 stairs, with an enormous Egyptian Obelisk.  I can’t believe that its hieroglyphics have lasted thousands and thousands of years!

 Our group in front of the Spanish Steps.

Countless pictures later, we set off to the park, Villa Borghese, to eat our lunch. The park sat on top of a hill (so great, more stairs!) that overlooked the Piazza del Popolo.  Lunching at this spot was absolutely gorgeous. The park was full of trees, fountains, statues, and the inevitable pigeons.  Our sandwiches were filled with slices of fresh mozzarella, turkey, prosciutto, mortadella (bologna), and salami.  I only have one word for them…delicious!

 Brian, Max, Johnny, and Allison lunching at the Villa Borghese. 

With our bellies full, we walked to Vatican City, which is actually its own independent country inside Italy.  Grace really wanted to walk up to the top of the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica, and we all decided to go with her.  Though the line to get into the church wrapped around St. Peter’s Square, we decided to stick it out.  Now, any of us will say we would never ever regret the wait.  We occupied ourselves with games of Ghost and I Spy.  Once we got through the entrance of the Basilica, we became poor victims to countless spiral staircases.  Who would have thought eight inches of incline could be so cruel?  We bought our tickets and began the long journey.  Revealing his love for math, Johnny was determined to count every single stair.  Now, I want you to Google St. Peter’s Basilica, and take a guess of how many stairs you think it took to get to the top.  Do you have a number?  It took a total of 551 stairs!  In the beginning, we didn’t think it would be bad, I mean, we are all healthy, fit college students, right?  Well, at stair number 150, most of us had our coats off, our faces gleaming in sweat, and our hearts thumping out of our chests.  Only another 401 steps to go!  As we ascended, the stairs got more narrow.  At one point, the walls were even slanted.  I think we all experienced a “Willy Wonka” moment. 

We finally made it to stair number 551, and the view was AMAZING.  We got to see the whole city of Rome, from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum to the Pantheon.  Snow-capped mountains stood as far as the eye could see.  But instead of me describing the view, take a look for yourself.  But to get the full effect, run five miles on your treadmill before looking at the picture.   Feel free to comment on how that goes for you.

 The view from the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Enjoy the pictures.  We are having so much fun in Rome, learning about the Italian government, taking academic excursions, and immersing ourselves in the culture!    

Ciao! Kelly Kimpton