San Clemente

San Clemente, on Via San Giovanni in Laterano, is both religious and historical. It looks like a small church from the street. The church's structure as well as the majority of the interior was built in 1908 (except for the choir enclosure from the 6th century). A 4th century church lies below this structure and underneath this are ancient buildings from the 2nd century, now completely underground. It feels as if you are stepping down through time as you descent to the dimly lit ancient stone buildings from the much more ornate church above. In comparison to the ancient rooms and temples, the 12th century church seems almost modern. It is amazing that this same site was used and built over for ten centuries, and that the current structure has stood for another nine.

Al Forno di Travestere

Grocery shopping here is a different experience than at home. The stores are organized differently and there are only a few chain "supermarkets". The other day at Standa, one of the larger chain markets, the cashier got angry with me when I asked about a price. Then, she accidently rang up an item that did not belong to the person behind me. Instead of simply taking the item off, she grabbed the plastic conveyer belt separater and waved it in the person's face with exasperation.

The small market down the street from our apartment is a much more enjoyable and convenient place to shop. It is called Al Forno di Travestere, located on Via dei Genovesi. One older man at the counter rang up my groceries, another helped me bag, and a third stood chatting with the other two. Having interactions, like buying things in a store, with non-English speaking Italians is often frustrating. These older men spoke no English at all and could tell I was American, but instead of getting frustrated, they smiled and gave me a friendly "grazie, ciao!"

(Via dei Genovesi, where the market is located)

Galleria Doria Pamphilj

Courtney, Ilana, Hilary, Carley, Nicole D, and I went to the Galleria Doria Pamphilj on Wednesday after class. This is the gallery that is directly next to our classroom, but the front door is around the block off the Via del Corso.
Some quick background on the gallery: The Pamphilj family are descendants from Pope Innocent X, whose famous portrait by Velasquez hangs in the gallery. Members of the family still live in the building, just across the interior courtyard. The hallways and rooms in the gallery used to be their day to day living space. It is a beautiful palace and hundreds of paintings are displayed on the walls. The architecture and decoration of the interior is a work of art in itself. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed, it just has to be committed to memory.


It was amazing that the family used to live in the rooms that you walk through on the tour. Some of the smaller living rooms are roped off. They are still set up with the original furniture, but in one room, the "yellow room", I noticed elements of modern-day life among the 18th century decor. A cordless phone sat on one of the sidetables, a few small bookcases were filled with relatively new looking art books and encyclopedias, and framed family photographs (both black and white and color) sit on the mantle piece. No information is available as to whether or not the family uses this room and its modern conveniences, but the everyday modern things that decorate our houses today stood out in the lavish, palatial room.

Tickets are only 5,60 euros for students, and I definitely recommend using the audio guide, narrated by the prince himself.

Giolitti's

I finally made it to Giolitti's to taste the best gelato in Rome. I don't know how I have been here for 10 days and have not gone! As expected, it was the best gelato, but the actual place was not what I expected. Other gelato places I have been to or seen are small and many serve only gelato. Giolitti's looks like an enormous bar with coffee, drinks and sandwiches to the right, a case of sweets to the left, the gelato counter toward the back, and a beautiful room of tables beyond that.

Hilary told me that you have to order and pay first at the register, then show your receipt to get gelato. No one working speaks English, and I would have had no idea about the ordering system if she hadn't told me. There were more gelato flavors than I have ever seen, and the cones were stacked on the counter all the way up to the ceiling. Apparently, you are not allowed to sit down in the fancy room...maybe you have to order a whole meal to do that... so we sat outside at a table. Not only was this the best gelato, but it was also the nicest bar, or caffe, I have been to.

At Home

Nicole and I went out to do a few errands in our neighborhood the other night. There are stores scattered all along the streets, so we just walked around, looking for a Tobacci shop and a place to get a snack. I like wandering around the neighborhood and discovering new places, and even entirely new streets, that I haven't noticed yet. The neighborhood is one of the few places here where I can walk without a map and know that I can find my way back. Most of the time, you can walk in the general direction of our apartment, recognize the streets, and then spot our church-like doorway from down the road. We found what we needed, a phone card and some chocolate (of course) and in the process, found a new snack bar with sandwiches, pastries, and wine. Being able to leave the apartment and feel familiar with the neigborhood makes me feel at home here.

Renoir in Rome

When I think about my topic of old and new aspects of Rome and how they combine with each other, I never considered that museums could fall into this category. Going to the Renoir exhibit made me realize that gathering artwork and placing it in a museum is placing the old in a new context. A large amount, but not all of Renoir's paintings were gathered together for this exhibit, held at the Complesso del Vittoriano (next to the Forum). The paintings were displayed in a two story gallery. The second story consisted of a balcony-like area that could be reached from steps on the first level, so the space had high ceilings and was very open. I took a picture from the second story before I realized pictures weren't allowed.

The works exhibited were completed over the course of Renoir's lifetime and are usually dispersed among museums and other collections. Bringing them together in one exhibit brings the past into the present for museum-goers to experience all at once.

I definitely recommend stopping in to see this exhibit. It takes only about an hour and is a nice break from the hot sun. It costs 7,50 euros for a student admission and the exhibit is showing until june 29.

The Closest Thing to Maggiano's

Just as there are different types of places at home to grab a drink and something for lunch, the bars around the city also vary in price and selection. The smaller, table-less bars are ideal for quickly getting a coffee on the way to class or work. When you're in the mood to sit and have lunch in the middle of the day while you are out walking, a larger establishment can give you the perfect lunchtime atmosphere. Sit-down bars line the roads, sometimes fice in a row, and the host stands outside and beckons people (especially American tourists) to come in and have "pizza, soda, or cappucino." The more tourist-geared bars have English speaking hosts to draw you in. Today I noticed the "Bar Pantheon" directly across the piazza from the Pantheon, which looks more like a restuarant with its large awning and sign. It is directly directly at tourists, visiting the Pantheon and looking for a place to eat. Logically, the Bar Pantheon would be the best place to go. It is like the Maggiano's of bars - fancier, bigger, and more expensive than some others of its kind, bringing in groups of people looking for a good, convenient meal. The first time I visited the Pantheon, we had lunch at the Di Rienzo caffe, directly down the street to the right. It was the most delicious pasta I have had yet in Rome. There were much fewer tourists dining there and it was much less expensive than the Bar Pantheon, and had a view of the Pantheon to the left. If I were Rick Steves, this would be the spot I would pick to have lunch after visiting the Pantheon.

Local Color

I am starting to get more of a feel for how our neighborhood changes throughout the day. On Saturday evening we went to get dinner again, stopping in a restaurant to get a panini to-go rather than looking for a market. We took a different way back home and found many streets where local people gather to have a drink and a bite to eat at this time of the evening. Instead of sitting and having dinner like the tourists I saw the other day, they stand outside and talk with each other. I was so envious, and wished I spoke the language so I could use the neighborhood in the way that they do. I also noticed more types of shops, like an antique furniture store, a book shop, and a wedding dress shop. It is hard to tell where some doors lead without going in because not every store has a sign outside. The tiny doors and windows only let passers-by on the street get a quick glimpse inside. Residences are also very private. I can tell that this neighborhood houses a lot of people, but the narrow streets and private doors to shops and homes create a quiet, calm atmosphere.

Coffee or Wine?

I went to a few bars over the course of the week and still have not found one that is my favorite. Every coffee I drink is better than the last, and I am still exploring different spots.

Standing is a must when you are just stopping in to get coffee or breakfast because you will be charged extra for sitting. In the mornings it is usually too busy to sit anyway. People on their way to work simply stop in, order at the counter, and stand and sip their coffee. Some drink quickly and leave, while others chat with their neighbor.
In the afternoon, sitting outside at a bar and having a flass of wine is well worth the extra time and money. I love the atmosphere of a bar, especially in the afternoon. I know I am in the right place when I can choose to have either coffee or wine at almost any time of day.

The Roman Forum in a Modern World

On Thursday we visited the Roman Forum. Though we didn't tour the inside, it was easy to see all of the ancient monuments that make up this site of ruins. As we walked around the perimeter of the ruins it was interesting to see the sharp contrast of the many groups of tourists and modern life that bustled around the area. I didn't realize that most of the ruins, architecture, and art of Rome would be in such close proximity to everyday activity of the city. Cars and tour buses roar down the street on one side of you, while on your other side, the ancient Roman Forum stands quietly.

Three espresso to go

I absolutely love coffee and have been looking forward to tasting Roman coffee and familiarizing myself with the routine of going to a bar, or Roman cafe. After my first experience going into a bar, I decided it would be a good choice for a theme. Bars serve coffee, food, wine, and other drinks. I first went to a bar on the way to orientation on Monday. I was exhausted and jet lagged and thought it would be a good idea to order "three espresso to go". Picturing a grande Starbucks espresso, I was not expecting to be handed three, tiny styrofoam cups of espresso shots. I had to drink one quickly and carry the other two, managing to spill everywhere. Now I know to only order one espresso, no matter how tired I am!

Santa Maria in Cappella

Our apartment in the old monastery of Santa Maria in Cappella is a beautiful neighborhood in Travestere. One night this week a few of us went to get something for dinner in the many small shops near S. Maria. We went around 7 o'clock, only to discover that most stores were closed and the neighborhood was quiet. Most people walking around and eating at the restaurants were tourists. I'm not sure yet if our neighborhood is geared toward tourism or the local residents. I decided that our neighborhood will be the place I will continually observe throughout the semester.

Small Town, Big City

The city is organized in a way that is completely different from what I am used to. The blocks of city streets are not numbered and roads are not laid out in a parallel or perpendicular structure. Instead, roads twist and turn and every “city block” created within them is different from the next. Some roads surround shops that line the sidewalk. Others filter into enclosed spaces, such as piazzas where restaurants, markets, and famous sights stand. These places are enclosed spaces in themselves. For example, restaurants are normally small with tables outdoors that are surrounded by plants or a fence. This creates the feeling of intimate space in the midst of the city around it. Sometimes it seems like you are in a smaller town rather than one of the major cities in the world. In contrast, walking down a narrow street can often lead you to an enormous area that could not be seen just around the corner.

Visiting the Trevi Fountain the other day, we found our way through the streets, turned the corner and were be finally confronted with a huge piazza and an incredibly enormous structure. Streets meet at the sight of the fountain from multiple directions, so the fountain cannot be spotted until you are actually in the piazza. When we had almost found it, we heard the roar of the water before we could actually spot the fountain. Though the piazza is an enormous space, the monumentality of the fountain is enhanced by the surrounding buildings, which seem to close off the rest of the city to the site. It seems like this fountain has been standing here forever, and the city built up around it over time, crowding it from all sides. Everything around the structure is centered around it, and the piazza is its own separate place, devoted to the fountain it holds. Places in the city are designed in a way that focuses your attention on that specific space, whether the area is as large as a piazza or as small as restaurant or bar.

The Combination of Old and New in Rome

Welcome to my Rome blog!

For those of you reading from outside of the CAS program, I will be posting over the next seven weeks about my travels, things I have discovered, and themes that I continually notice as I study and live in Rome. This is a beautiful and ancient city that is unlike any city in the U.S.

Everyday experiences that we take for granted at home are appreciated differently here. As you walk from place to place in the city there are ancient monuments, ruins, amazing architecture, and the frenzy of Italian life all around. One of the first things I noticed was how apparent it is that the city has been in a continual state of change for thousands of years. At the same time, though, new, modern aspects of life are incorporated into the culture in a way that accommodates the past and what already exists. The first example that I noticed was the transportation system, specifically the vehicles, traffic patterns, and extremely narrow streets. The buildings and many of the roads were in place before cars were one of the primary modes of transportation. Instead of rebuilding roads and constructing buildings to accommodate travel as we do in the U.S., cars were made small to fit in narrow streets and many people drive vespas.
Aspects of modern life seem to be almost out of place here because the majority of the city has existed for hundreds or thousands of years, and functioned without the influence of what we consider modern life. I am sure that I will continue to notice the combination of old and new over the next few weeks.

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures in my first few blogs. My computer adapter blew out so I am unable to upload my pictures and will be posting from other computers. As soon as it is fixed I will put up pictures!