Enough reminiscing, I should fill you all in on my week, well what I can remember ;). Monday was lecture, like always, but I can't seem to remember if I did anything in the afternoon- apparently not. I think I may have just studied. Tuesday, we went to the sites of Gabii and Praeneste. Gabii is a pretty small site that until Tuesday, I had never heard of. It was quite intriguing with several Greek elements. Though I love the Romans, I'm a bit of a Hellenist. This city was influenced by the Greek colonies that had been established in Southern Italy. It has a temple/theatre complex in which performances could be viewed by the gods. The temple was preserved quite well- complete with standing walls. Unfortunately my camera was being dumb and I wasn't able to take pictures. I will steal someone else's and post them later. After 
this site, we got back on the bus and went to modern Palestrina (ancient Praeneste). This site was impressive! It is another hill town, so we walked up what seemed like a million stairs to the top of a grand temple complex. This place was enormous and absolutely beautiful! What was quite fascinating about this site is the fact that it was not even known about archaeologically until WWII when it was bombed by the allies. The bombing blew off a portion of the hill revealing the site! So cool! Beginning at the bottom you walk up a ramp that leads you to an arched open space. In antiquity this ramp would have been covered so you would not be able to see out of it. There was a reason for this- the open space at the end of the ramp is supposed to illicit a sort of religious experience once you get to it. The view is phenomenal! From this point the purpose of the temple can really be grasped- this temple was dedicated to Fortuna Primagenia and was used in large part for oracular divining. It was the job of the augurs to read the signs- whether they were birds flying, lightening, thunder, or other anomolies in nature- to figure out the answers to things. For example Joe Roman would make his way to this temple as it was a pilgrimage site with a question for the augurs- should I marry so and so- the augur would then look to the sky and rea
d the signs to find an answer. Another example of this that is actually quite sad involved the use of sacred chickens. They would keep chickens caged up and would bring them in. They would feed them and based on how much they ate, the augur would determine the outcome of something. The chickens were often starved so that they ate a lot, thus providing a good omen. Anyway, Joe Roman would continue up to the next terrace of the temple complex (because it was on the side of the hill, there were terrace layers of the complex made). The forum was located on the next level complete with theatre. Another amazing view! At the very top of the hill was the temple itself dedicated to Fortune. Unfortunately this no longer remains; in its place we have a museum. It was quite impressive though. It had tons of remains from Palestrina and elsewhere and an extensive collection of bronzework. I am a huge fan of bronze work- most of it got melted down after antiquity because it was worth so much. We had back toward the bus after this, admiring ruins on the way down. We saw what were left of the ancient propylaea (monumental entrances to the temple). That was so cool! Another interesting note about this town is its role during the late Republic. So
just before Caesar there was a "battle" for power between two guys named Marius and Sulla. Praeneste took the side of Marius which was a huge mistake because Sulla gained power. Once he did, he proscribed a huge portion of the male elite of the city. Rome had proscription lists on which someone's name could be legally put for execution. If your name was on the list, you got executed. So Sulla killed like 40 of the town's leaders of the city and took over puting new people in charge. It took over a generation for any of the original townspeople to gain prominent roles in the city again- fascinating! Tuesday was a relatively short field trip day. On Wednesday I got to visit my first Pyramid. R
ome has been home to 3 pyramids in total, but this is the only surviving one. This pyramid was the tomb of a Caius Cestius, consul during the imperial period (I think). I had never seen a pyramid before and was really excited. We were even allowed to go in (one of the perks of being in my program). We crouched down and walked through a narrow passageway into the main tomb room. The frescoed walls are still intact! I really want to go to Egypt, haha! After this we visited the Montemartini Museum which is fascinating in and of itself. It used to be a power plant, and has since been converted to a museum, but it still has its machinery on display. So it is a mix of ancient and modern. This museum is home to mostly Roman copies of Greek originals. The Romans loved the Greeks' art so much that rich patrons would commission artists to recreate them so that they could put them in their villas or gardens. This museum made me super excited to visit the Louvre again as it had a copy of my favorite statue (the Louvre has the original!). Wednesday night after dinner a group of us made our way to this gelateria that is off the beaten path of tourists. My friend Jenna had been talking about this place for a while and was excited to take us there.
They make gelatto in the shape of food. For example you can get pistachhio gelatto in the shape of asparagus. Or you can get vanilla in the shape of pasta- kind of funny. I just got a cone because the food gelatto was huge, but it was fun. Thursday was interesting. We went to the Largo Argentina, a site that I saw the last time I came to Rome and had no idea what it was. It is actually a really cool excavation. There are four late Repubblican temples in a row, on what would have been the triumphal route through the city. It was a very manly thing to get a triumph and generals strove for this in their careers. Side note- the word virtue actually comes from the word virtus which means manliness! It was kind of funny to see this site because it is a modern day cat sanctuary. There must have been a hundred cats (no exaggeration) roaming around the temples. From here we went on a walking tour to see the influence of the Theatre of Pompey. This was the first stone theatre built in Rome and it is also the place that Caesar was assasinated in :(. Though the theatre is not preserved, the space in which it was built is. The theatre complex was a huge semi-circle in the city, and what is really cool is that this semi-circle is still visible. Generation after generation have built on top of the foundations for this theatre so that we know exactly where it would have been. Very neat! In the midst of our discussion about this, we visited a restaurant. In the basement of this restaurant the foundations of the theatre are visible. So, if you're willing to pay enough you can dine in the Theatre of Pompey (I'm sure I will be doing that this semester!). We the
n walked to the Crypta Balbi Museum. I felt like this was such a waste of time. We were able to go through a "tour" of ancient ruins beneath the museum, but noone really had any idea of what they were. We then had to fill out an extensive museum sheet that gave us no remaining time at the museum to look at the stuff we were interested in. I usually love museum visits, but this one was a waste of time. That afternoon after Latin, Jenna and I went for a walk through Trastevere. I love this neighborhood. It is so authentic Italian- no tourist shops, no tourist groups, nearly no English spoken. So cute! Example of authentic Italian- we saw a woman holding a duck while talking to her friends. She was petting it, but I'm pretty sure that he was dinner for that night :/. Friday was devoted to Art History. We visited the Castel San' Angelo (aka- Mausoleum of Augustus). I think we might be back to examine it
as the Mausoleum of Hadrian with my other class, but my Art History class focuses on the Renaissance and later periods. Because of this we only visited the rooms that were frescoed in Mannerist art. It was amazing! We then went to the Capitoline Museum and looked at a few Caravaggio's. After class Rachel and I wandered around for a bit, but had to leave to get to Centro in time for an important meeting. At about 3 we had to go as a group to the American Academy in Rome. This a research facility for graduate students, and we are the only undergraduates allowed to use their library. We received a tour and our passes. The library was beautiful, straight out of a movie. I plan on spending hours there studying... exciting! Last night we all just hung out and watched a movie. Fun, fun, fun! Pictures- view from Praeneste, divining spot, recreation of Praeneste temple complex, pyramid, Rachel and I in front of the pyramid, restaurant in Theatre of Pompey, and Trastevere. That's it for now, ciao!
this site, we got back on the bus and went to modern Palestrina (ancient Praeneste). This site was impressive! It is another hill town, so we walked up what seemed like a million stairs to the top of a grand temple complex. This place was enormous and absolutely beautiful! What was quite fascinating about this site is the fact that it was not even known about archaeologically until WWII when it was bombed by the allies. The bombing blew off a portion of the hill revealing the site! So cool! Beginning at the bottom you walk up a ramp that leads you to an arched open space. In antiquity this ramp would have been covered so you would not be able to see out of it. There was a reason for this- the open space at the end of the ramp is supposed to illicit a sort of religious experience once you get to it. The view is phenomenal! From this point the purpose of the temple can really be grasped- this temple was dedicated to Fortuna Primagenia and was used in large part for oracular divining. It was the job of the augurs to read the signs- whether they were birds flying, lightening, thunder, or other anomolies in nature- to figure out the answers to things. For example Joe Roman would make his way to this temple as it was a pilgrimage site with a question for the augurs- should I marry so and so- the augur would then look to the sky and rea
d the signs to find an answer. Another example of this that is actually quite sad involved the use of sacred chickens. They would keep chickens caged up and would bring them in. They would feed them and based on how much they ate, the augur would determine the outcome of something. The chickens were often starved so that they ate a lot, thus providing a good omen. Anyway, Joe Roman would continue up to the next terrace of the temple complex (because it was on the side of the hill, there were terrace layers of the complex made). The forum was located on the next level complete with theatre. Another amazing view! At the very top of the hill was the temple itself dedicated to Fortune. Unfortunately this no longer remains; in its place we have a museum. It was quite impressive though. It had tons of remains from Palestrina and elsewhere and an extensive collection of bronzework. I am a huge fan of bronze work- most of it got melted down after antiquity because it was worth so much. We had back toward the bus after this, admiring ruins on the way down. We saw what were left of the ancient propylaea (monumental entrances to the temple). That was so cool! Another interesting note about this town is its role during the late Republic. So
just before Caesar there was a "battle" for power between two guys named Marius and Sulla. Praeneste took the side of Marius which was a huge mistake because Sulla gained power. Once he did, he proscribed a huge portion of the male elite of the city. Rome had proscription lists on which someone's name could be legally put for execution. If your name was on the list, you got executed. So Sulla killed like 40 of the town's leaders of the city and took over puting new people in charge. It took over a generation for any of the original townspeople to gain prominent roles in the city again- fascinating! Tuesday was a relatively short field trip day. On Wednesday I got to visit my first Pyramid. R
ome has been home to 3 pyramids in total, but this is the only surviving one. This pyramid was the tomb of a Caius Cestius, consul during the imperial period (I think). I had never seen a pyramid before and was really excited. We were even allowed to go in (one of the perks of being in my program). We crouched down and walked through a narrow passageway into the main tomb room. The frescoed walls are still intact! I really want to go to Egypt, haha! After this we visited the Montemartini Museum which is fascinating in and of itself. It used to be a power plant, and has since been converted to a museum, but it still has its machinery on display. So it is a mix of ancient and modern. This museum is home to mostly Roman copies of Greek originals. The Romans loved the Greeks' art so much that rich patrons would commission artists to recreate them so that they could put them in their villas or gardens. This museum made me super excited to visit the Louvre again as it had a copy of my favorite statue (the Louvre has the original!). Wednesday night after dinner a group of us made our way to this gelateria that is off the beaten path of tourists. My friend Jenna had been talking about this place for a while and was excited to take us there.
They make gelatto in the shape of food. For example you can get pistachhio gelatto in the shape of asparagus. Or you can get vanilla in the shape of pasta- kind of funny. I just got a cone because the food gelatto was huge, but it was fun. Thursday was interesting. We went to the Largo Argentina, a site that I saw the last time I came to Rome and had no idea what it was. It is actually a really cool excavation. There are four late Repubblican temples in a row, on what would have been the triumphal route through the city. It was a very manly thing to get a triumph and generals strove for this in their careers. Side note- the word virtue actually comes from the word virtus which means manliness! It was kind of funny to see this site because it is a modern day cat sanctuary. There must have been a hundred cats (no exaggeration) roaming around the temples. From here we went on a walking tour to see the influence of the Theatre of Pompey. This was the first stone theatre built in Rome and it is also the place that Caesar was assasinated in :(. Though the theatre is not preserved, the space in which it was built is. The theatre complex was a huge semi-circle in the city, and what is really cool is that this semi-circle is still visible. Generation after generation have built on top of the foundations for this theatre so that we know exactly where it would have been. Very neat! In the midst of our discussion about this, we visited a restaurant. In the basement of this restaurant the foundations of the theatre are visible. So, if you're willing to pay enough you can dine in the Theatre of Pompey (I'm sure I will be doing that this semester!). We the
n walked to the Crypta Balbi Museum. I felt like this was such a waste of time. We were able to go through a "tour" of ancient ruins beneath the museum, but noone really had any idea of what they were. We then had to fill out an extensive museum sheet that gave us no remaining time at the museum to look at the stuff we were interested in. I usually love museum visits, but this one was a waste of time. That afternoon after Latin, Jenna and I went for a walk through Trastevere. I love this neighborhood. It is so authentic Italian- no tourist shops, no tourist groups, nearly no English spoken. So cute! Example of authentic Italian- we saw a woman holding a duck while talking to her friends. She was petting it, but I'm pretty sure that he was dinner for that night :/. Friday was devoted to Art History. We visited the Castel San' Angelo (aka- Mausoleum of Augustus). I think we might be back to examine it
as the Mausoleum of Hadrian with my other class, but my Art History class focuses on the Renaissance and later periods. Because of this we only visited the rooms that were frescoed in Mannerist art. It was amazing! We then went to the Capitoline Museum and looked at a few Caravaggio's. After class Rachel and I wandered around for a bit, but had to leave to get to Centro in time for an important meeting. At about 3 we had to go as a group to the American Academy in Rome. This a research facility for graduate students, and we are the only undergraduates allowed to use their library. We received a tour and our passes. The library was beautiful, straight out of a movie. I plan on spending hours there studying... exciting! Last night we all just hung out and watched a movie. Fun, fun, fun! Pictures- view from Praeneste, divining spot, recreation of Praeneste temple complex, pyramid, Rachel and I in front of the pyramid, restaurant in Theatre of Pompey, and Trastevere. That's it for now, ciao! -XOXO
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