Well, loyal readers, the journey continues in the latest edition of “When in Orvieto.” I have now spent two consecutive weekends in the metropolis known as Roma. An historical architecture field day, this city is. Around every corner appears yet another jewel that this magnificent country has to offer. Our first weekend in the city was just a brief introduction to the area including an eventful journey in the realm of public transportation. For those of you who know me, you know that I don’t fancy the public transit, as I am far above that. [insert laughter here] However, I mustn’t digress, as the first day in Rome was quite eventful. Our first stop was the beautiful and world-renown St. Peter’s and the Vatican City. As the International head of the Catholic church, St. Peter’s is quite possibly the grandest piece of architecture I have viewed with my own eyes. Words and pictures cannot begin to describe the magnitude of this building. More on this later, as my fellow travel companions, Ryan and Lindsay and I spent the next Saturday wandering the grounds, only to scratch the surface of this magnificent complex.
After a couple more stops on the tourist express, we stopped by The Piazza del Popolo and The Spanish Steps, both inviting spaces, but not quite as spectacular. Therefore, I will only show you a few pictures.
Next on the list was the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it that throwing a coin over your shoulder into the fountain will bring you good fortune and promise that you will once again visit the city of Rome. Seeing as they collect 3000 Euro per day with this scam, I’m guessing the legend was developed by Rome’s finest in the Tourism Department.
Unfortunately, our first day in Rome did not allow us to see every work the city has to offer. Therefore, we migrated back to Termini Train Station and headed back to our hilltop town of Orvieto. Another week of studio, Italian and gelato later, brings us to the second weekend in Rome.
Now, being pros at the Roma Public Transit System, we migrate back to the metropolis and meet up with our professor, Marco Ceccarani, who with microphone in hand, winds us in and out of the city streets, as we listen intently with our headphones nestled in our ear canals. Our first stop on the list is, The Colosseum. Home to ancient Roman games, [rent The Gladiator for more details] this building has seen a miraculous amount of events since its creation. Blood, sweat and tears from all walks of life have entered through the colosseum’s ovular collonade; some never to exit alive. This was one of the places I had been waiting years to see and also proved to be everything I imagined it would be. Time did not allow for us to take the tour inside, but just standing at the gates brought me back to the days when I wore my gold plated chest guard and Trojan man Mohawk hat to school. [that didn’t actually happen, but maybe someday I’ll do it.]
One thing that we are having to become accustomed to is constant change. Italians are the type of people who don’t believe in making plans. We have been here just over two weeks and twice now we have been effected by their local labor strikes. First, the postal service in Orvieto were on strike and second, the workers at the Roman Forum. Due to this slight inconvenience, we were not able to make it to the Forum, but instead had to peak in from the outside. Shortly after, we made our way to the Michelangelo’s Campadoglio on Capitol Hill.
The next major stop on our tour di Roma brought us to the church of all gods, commonly known as The Pantheon. As my uncle Larry always says, it stood as the largest unsupported dome for hundreds of years until the Super Dome in New Orleans. If he reads this then he’ll know that I wasn’t lying when I said I listen when he tells me things. Nonetheless, this too was everything and more that I thought it would be. The occulus [the circular hole in the top] stretches 60 feet across and is open to nature’s elements. Let’s just say when it rains, you’re screwed. This building is a place for all religions to come together and worship however they like. Pretty awesome, I think. As, to me, no religion is better than another. To each his own is my motto. Anywho, the place was a tad dark and full of people, so the photos weren’t as great as I’d hope, but you get the picture.
After another long day of walking [in my very uncomfortable, but super sexy pointy shoes, courtesy of steve madden] Lindsay, Ryan and myself make our way to Hostel Pink Floyd. We found it online and thought the name was priceless. Upon arrival a nice Italian woman informed us that they had overbooked and didn’t have a private three-bed room anymore. Well shit, I thought. Milliseconds later, her voice was like music to my ears. “Upgrade!” she said. No matter what language, I can comprehend what that means! Apparently, the host company also owns the ridiculously named “Hotel Hollywood.” That would be the place where we would lay our heads for the evening. It was actually a pretty nice place considering it was only 20 Euro a piece for the night. Three beds, a private bath and a rooftop terrace made for beautiful sunset amongst the sea of TV antennas.
This nice littel bench on our rooftop terrace was short a leg...but that didn't stop it from doing its job!
After a delicious dinner at a local restaurant and a trip to Santa Maria Maggiore, the three of us headed by a local wine store and each accompanied a bottle of vino back to the hotel where we proceeded to each finish our bottle and pass out before we ever had a chance experience Rome’s nightlife. On the bright side, we weren’t too hungover for another day of sightseeing.
Back to the Vatican City we went and headed into St. Peter’s Basilica to see the magnificent space; dead Popes and all. Five Euro and 500 steps later, we were at the crest of the massive Dome. Hovering over the golden Baldechino, three Americans peered over the edge, blown away that a building of this scale was built in a time prior to operating craines, computer drafting technology and calculators. That, on the other hand, did not calm my fears as I ascended to the top with nothing but hundreds of feet of air below me to catch my fall. The second I could see the views of the city, my fears were wiped away and all I could think about was how lucky we were to be standing at that very spot. I also couldn’t help but wonder how many Popes had been there and if they got special treatment and got to use some secret elevator to the top. [Probably…lucky bastards.] Either way, the time up there was well worth the money and something I still can’t believe I actually did.
Once down on Earth again, we walked the 4.5 miles of artwork in the Vatican Museums. The most famous stop, of course, was Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. This project, taking over four years for Michelangelo to complete, was unbelievable. Capturing God’s creation of the world in 7 days, Michelangelo proves that he was a mastermind of his time. Photos, unfortunately, were not allowed. Being the rebel that I am, I did manage to snap a couple shots; one being of God’s creation of Adam and the other being his version of the last judgement.
As we meandered through the city back to the Termini, we did manage to capture a few glimpses of some Baroque churches that Ryan had really wanted to see. His favorite sculpture of all time, the Exstacy or Santa Teresa by Bernini,at the cathedral of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Very racy for it’s time, the sculpture tells the story of Santa Teresa having a dream that an angel came to her with a searing hot spear and repeatedly penetrated her bringing her excruciating pain while at the same time bringing her great pleasure. I’ll let your imaginations finish the rest of that story.
Upon arrival at the Termini, we climbed aboard the TrenItalia Regionale, and arrived back in Orvieto just in time to ride the Funiculare up the hillside and back to our cozy apartments for another week of learning. Next week, our travels will bring us to the town of Florence, home to Brunelleschi’s Dome at the Duomo of Florence, as well as many exciting adventures, I’m certain.
Ciao!
