So already a week has breezed by, and during that time I feel that I've been doing nothing but learning. Every minute of every day is a lesson. Which is exhausting, but fascinating. Italian culture and even the Italian's basic approach to life are completely different from the U.S. (much more so than I had feigned to imagine, anyway). So whether it's in class, on the street, in a café, or in some Mannerist cathedral, I'm breathing all things new. I'm seeing everything like a child sees it, for the first time: Monuments, ruins, cobblestone walkways, traffic signs and the sharp, blue sky.
And yet, on top of that lies an astounding fact that one of my professors pointed out: Rome's present is entirely built from bits of its past. Each part of the city is an amalgam of the ancient, the baroque, the fascist, the now. All things are jumbled and piled -- one on top of the other in this stew of buzzing energy and life. And to think at first that I resented Roma for its confused, crumbling quality! Now I see that therein lies it's true charm.
Rome is a city in which I can look from my present view at a 2500-year-old triumphal arch or at the remains of a bridge built in the 3rd Century BC and because it is new to me, it comes to life again. Ah, the wonder and magic of it all... Oh man, I really am turning into a Roman(tic)!
This week was the first of classes and let me tell you, they're going to be a handful. I'm taking Italian 101, Splendors in Early Christian and Medieval Art, Reading Ancient Rome, Art Conservation, and a seminar on Bernini. The way it's set up is that we have most classes only twice each week: one class as an hour-long lecture/discussion and the other as a four-hour excursion to various sites around the city. This basically means that I am either vigorously taking notes in a classroom or running to keep up with the vigorous strides of Professor Pestilli. It's quite the challenge... but definitely the best way to learn about our subjects and the city hands-on.
Already I've discovered how pollution affects Travertine (the porous white stone that half the city's buildings and monuments are made of), how Emperor Constantine replaced all the statue heads (of leaders such as Marcus Aurelius and Trajan) on his Triumphal Arch with images of his own, how Bernini carved his first commissioned sculpture at age 15, and how to order an espresso with brandy when I have a sore throat. Fun facts seems to be abound, so I nab them where and when I can.
Goodness, how quickly the weekend went by, too, swallowed up by homework and walking and meeting up with friends. I met up with i miei amice Courtney and Joli who are also studying in Rome but through different college programs. It's so interesting to hear and see how utterly different their experiences thus far have been from mine!
For example, while I was beginning to get annoyed with our 15-minute walk to the Campo de Fiori, Courtney has to take a 20-minute bus ride to get anywhere near it! Her apartment is in a more residential area north of the Vatican, so while she gets a kitchen and lots of closet space, she doesn't have the convenience of being just a hop, skip, and jump from the heart of the city.
Needless to say, I've come to appreciate my situation on the Aventine much more over the past 24 hours. Plus I'm getting settled in, so the city is really beginning to feel like a home. While exploring I found a café on Via Marmorata that serves great tea where I can sit and study for hours. I also found this tiny deli where I plan to go for dinner daily for a fresh Rosetta with mozzarella, salami and pesto. Benissimo! And thanks to some printouts from home, sticky tac, and a fabulous room mate, I should say this place is shaping up to be molto bene! A presto!
