One last post...

Ciao, America! It’s crazy to think how three weeks have already passed and that we are all now preparing for the upcoming spring semester. On the ride home from the airport, my family bombarded me with questions and as tired and jet lagged as I was, I was eager to answer them all. Italy was more fascinating than I had expected, and I am I anxious to watch all the movies that have been filmed around the country.

Below is a photo from our last night in our beloved Roma at the Trevi Fountain. As the story goes, you are supposed to throw a coin over your shoulder on your last day in the city to ensure that you return. So I suppose for all of us who did so, we can all look forward to another adventure in Rome someday.

First night home

It was a bittersweet return home to the U.S from Rome. I've already grown accustomed to using grazie and prego instead of thank you and you're welcome! I think its safe to say most everyone returned home with a heavier suitcase or two besides Greg. I hope everyone catches up on sleep and has a safe trip back to Elon! See you all soon!

Arriviamo presto!

We're at the airport ready to go. A warning to all those picking us up, there seems to be more luggage this go around. The students are armed with lots of new knowledge, experiences and friendships, and they're quick with a Grazie!
Lynn and I are looking forward to reading the reflection essays over the next few weeks. But not before we've had a really good night's sleep!!

Ciao, a presto!

Facist Rome

Today we took the metro to Eur which is just outside of Rome to experience facism in Rome. One of the buildings we saw was a square colisseum and many of the students took the long trek up the stairs to get a closer look. We also when to a museum which had a model of ancient Rome dating back to 100BC. We had the afternoon to ourselves so Hannah, Rhi and I went shopping around Trevi Fountain! On our walk back to the hotel we saw a Michael Jackson impersonator and he was actually very talented at the moon walk!

Bittersweet Last Day

What a bittersweet day it is. I cannot believe we are leaving Italy tomorrow! It seems like only yesterday that we were exploring the ruins of Ostia, climbing through the Colosseum, and seeing Saint Peters Basilica. We will end our course tonight with a final group dinner and tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain. This course was an amazing experience. Today our course ended with the Roman Civilization Museum that taught us about Mussolini and Fascism. Although I am going to miss Italy, especially the food, I am ready to go home and see my family.

Ciao Ciao Italia

Jaclyn

Rome Revisited

We've been back in Rome now for 5 days and it already feels like home again. We've surprised ourselves as a class at how well we feel we can navigate a foreign city after such a short amount of time spent here.

My research partner, Kassi, and I finally got to present on the Borghese family and Gianlorenzo Bernini's artwork on Thursday (see Lynn's photo upload below). The Galleria Borghese was (not surprisingly) my favorite Italian museum. The knowledge I gained during my research on the family and their patronage of artists and the familial connection with the church made touring the galleria more valuable because I comprehended much more of what I was looking at.

However, yesterday's Vatican Scavi, Saint Peter's Basilica and museum tour were a close second. Stepping into the Vatican City was a surreal experience, and I think I was the last person in the museum that day. Kyle, Alyssa and I particularly enjoyed the contemporary art exhibit- something I wasn't expecting from the Vatican Museum. I wrote down a bunch of the artists to look into when I get home because I liked the work so much. There were so many tour groups in walking around that I was able to eavesdrop and get some free information about some of the frescoes in the Hall of Constantine that made me appreciate the artwork even more. Stepping into the Sistine Chapel has probably been the highlight of the week so far. ( And I feel so lucky to be able to say that last week the highlight was touring Pompeii, another incredible experience) I studied Raphael's work in high school art history courses but it was still jarring to see them in person. I was taken aback by the size- in my mind it was this larger than life church but it was really just a quaint chapel that happened to be covered in some of the world's most iconic paintings.

Today we saw the Victor Emanuelle Monument and the Risorgimento Museum. Inside there was an exhibit of flags of Italy which was interesting to see the history of their flag- which was particularly relevant to the theme of the day " The emergence of Italy". I personally found this interesting to contrast to the United States especially because America's flag has been edited so many times to accommodate different states in our "emergence". You were able to take a walking tour around the terrace that had beautiful views of Rome and short explanations of it's architecture.

I can't believe tomorrow is our last full day in Rome! I'm excited to start getting into more contemporary history when we talk about fascist Rome. Will report back tomorrow! Ciao!

Moving into Modern Rome...

Today was another beautiful day in Rome! We have been so lucky with the weather and had the opportunity to venture through the city today while enjoying the sunshine and warm air. Can't beat 60 degrees!

Our main attractions of the day was the Victor Emmanuelle Monument and the Risorgimento Museum. This is a huge, and relatively new building, that sits right in the middle of the city. Known as the "typewriter" or the "wedding cake" to many people, both Italians and locals, the building is massive and towers over all of the other buildings in the area, especially the well-known attractions with ancient significance, like the Forum, the Colosseum, and Trajan's Markets - all things we have seen and learned about during our time in Rome! The building was created in dedication to the first king of the united Italy, Victor Emmanuelle. The kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861. The white marble building is quite the site to see, with huge columns, tons of steps, and beautiful statues.

Tomorrow, we have another busy day - our last full day... can you believe it? We do not know where the time has gone, but in a couple days, we will be homeward bound with our brains filled with new information and our lives filled with new and wonderful experiences. A presto - see you soon!

Today was Vatican Friday!! First we went to the scavi which are the excavations of the necropolis underneath the St. Peter Basilica. Next we went up to the basilica which was gorgeous! Rhi, Hannah and I learned what the four pillars of the rellics where all about next we went to the Vatican museum is in with the Sistine Chapel which was breath taking. The school of Athens was one of the most beautiful and intricate paintings we saw today. It was painted by Raphael during the Renaissance. We only have two more days in Rome! It is hard to believe that the three weeks have gone by so fast! See all of you soon!

Crossing the Street on Study Abroad

Baroque Rome

Buena sera! Today our focus was on Baroque Rome. We first went to the Galleria Borghese where we saw several works of art by the famous Bernini. His famous sculptures include Apollo and Daphne and David, among many others with unique vulgarity and expressions. Then we visited many churches that reflected Baroque Roman architecture and art. Baroque art focuses a lot on fooling the eye to believe realistic images. We saw examples of this in the beautiful artwork on the ceiling of Santa Maria della Vittoria and Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola. We have been keeping very busy and tomorrow should be an exciting day when we visit Saint Peter’s and the Vatican Museums.

Ciao,

Jaclyn

ROMEin' Around

Salve! We have been very busy since our return to Rome on Tuesday, savoring every last minute that we have in this beautiful country we have come to call home over the past several weeks. We have learned about the Renaissance in Rome, as well as Baroque Rome since returning to the city, visiting several churches and viewing many art forms. Another exciting highlight we had was a story session with Vernon Silver, a reporter for Bloomberg News and the author of The Lost Chalice. Our bellies are filled with magnificent pasta, cheeses, and pizza and we are fueled up for our last three days (only three... wow) in Rome. In the meantime, here are a few fun things we have done and sights we have seen.

Castel of Sant Angelo

San Pietro in Montorio

St. Peter's Basilica... we will be visiting here tomorrow, so check back for more!

A presto!

Caitlin

Fontana di Trevi!

We know it's not our last night (thank goodness!) but we took the class to the Trevi Fountain today and it seems most of them like it here as many have thrown Euro over their shoulder, making a promise to come back! More from the students about what we really did on Baroque Thursday later...

A photo below of the Trevi promise and a little teaser from our walking tour of Baroque architecture, San Carlo alla Quattro Fontana.

Presentation at the Villa Borghese: Baroque Thursday

Renaissance Wednesday

Among today's sites . . . Bramante's Tempietto.

Rome-ward bound!

Today we return to Rome - and we enter Rome at the same point in history where Rome was "reborn". As someone who studies the Middle Ages I like to think of Rome as alive and kicking this whole time but our course experienced the Middle Ages in Salerno, Spoleto, Assisi, and Siena. Not bad! Stay tuned as our students learn how Rome was reshaped in the Renaissance, Baroque and Modern periods! And yep, there will be a new timeline.

Andiamo!

Evan Gatti

The photo below shows our students snoozing as we make our way go Rome. They are going to need the rest. We'll do the rest of the course a piedi! (on foot!)

Buon giorno! Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the beautiful city of Firenze (Florence), which many students took. We were able to experience the sites, culture and shopping! We were advised to visit and climb to the top of the duomo... All 463 steps to the top! At the top is a rewarding 360 degree view of the entire city! The leather markets were a great adventure for many. We learned to bargain Italian shop owners to really great deals! After an amazing day in Firenze, we are off to Rome once again!

Assissi

Today we had a long day traveling around Assisi, but we learned a ton. We had a local and knowledgeable guide, Guisseppe, show us around and teach us about the area.

Assisi, and Spoleto where we have been staying, are part of Umbrian Italy. This area is very mountainous and was once completely water and swamp land. Long ago, people would build on top of the mountains and be overlooking valleys that were filled with water. Then, the Romans figured out that they could use technology to rid the area of the water and they built canals to get the water out. Now, the beautiful land is very fertile and used to grow many things, including the olives that are used to make olive oil. They are also completely built on without any water in sight.. it's incredible!

Assissi is a medieval town and is incredibly old, but very quaint. One of my favorites so far. It is nestled in the mountains and is full of history. While we were there, we saw the old amphitheater, which is now used as apartments (really cool), and we also saw several important churches. First, we learned about St. Claire and her importance during the time. The remains of St. Claire's body are still on display in the church. We also learned about St. Francis today and visited the Basilica di San Francesco. The Basilica of St. Francis is absolutely incredible... it is a HUGE church that sits on a mountaintop in Assissi. The inside is completely painted with frescoes depicting scenes from St. Francis's life and stories from the Bible. Fun facts - Assissi is a sister city if San Francisco because of St. Francis, also called San Francesco. Get it? Also, St. Francis was the creator of nativity scenes. Before him, we did not have mangers on display. There are tons of them in Assissi that are still up from Christmas time.

Tomorrow, we will travel to Siena. Our journey is shockingly nearing its end, but we have so many things to do and learn before then. Above are pictures from today - all of us in front of the Basilica di San Francesco and a picture of the Basilica from afar.

Snapshots

Buena sera! The countryside (though a little chilly with snow capped mountains) here in Umbria is absolutely beautiful. Today we visited a monastery where we talked with a monk who had an excellent sense of humor - who knew! After, we explored the town of Spoleto and for lunch, some of us braved wild boar. We finally ended the evening by touring a wine brewery and dining at Sasso Rosso... delicious is an understatement for how amazing the meal was.

Here are a few snapshots from the past few days. Hope you enjoy!

Cooking class at our hotel in Spoleto.

By the water in Salerno.

At Pinocchio's, a class favorite restaurant in Salerno.

A group presenting their on-site play in Pompei.

Out for cappuccinos and pastries in Naples!

Learning en route.

Tonight we are going to a wine and food tasting at an agritourismo, Sasso Rosso, in Assisi. Priyanka and Lauren will be presenting on agritouismos tomorrow, so Priyanka is getting some info on them from the owner, Pierre-Francesco.

If you are interested in Sasso Rosso (maybe to book a visit), check out their web page: http://www.sassorosso.it/

Spoleto.

The pictures speak for themselves!

Actually we're waiting for a cooking demonstration. We'll learn how to make a local pasta and sauce.

Naples!

Today we had a great experience while in Naples. We first went to a 4th century Duomo and saw an early Christian Baptistery. Then we walked to an Archeological Museum. In the museum we first got to see the "Secret Cabinet". This included many pieces of "erotic" art from Pompeii. We then toured the rest of the site getting to see many different mosaics and carved statues. On our way home from the museum we got to stop and see an amazing view which Professor Gatti shows a picture of below. Words cannot describe the beauty of this coastal city. From the view we could see the city Naples itself, Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, and Capri. The weather has been great and the hotel is very nice. We are all having a great time! We will continue our course with an evening session tonight and head to Spoleto tomorrow morning.

Buona sera,

Jaclyn

Napoli!

Our driver stopped for a photo opportunity! Bellisima!

Pompeii

Today, we visited Pompeii and had the chance to explore the city ruins. We had a great time learning on-site about the many people who lived there when Mount Vesuvius erupted with volcanic ash, pumice stone, and deadly gases over 2000 years ago. Although the natural disaster killed a majority of the people who decided not to leave Pompeii, the town itself is still standing without a ton of damage, which is absolutely amazing considering the circumstances. We made the most of our experience, exploring the city and imagining it as though it were so many years ago, and even taking the chance to put ourselves in the shoes of many Pompeiians. At the end of the day, our classmates had the opportunity to make their own decisions about whether or not we would stay or go when the volcano overtook the city. How did we express this, you may ask? In mini performances at the Little Theater... it was so much fun (and quite funny)! I think it is safe to say that most of us decided we would rather flee the city if it were possible. And that is exactly what we did! After a great day, we are back in Salerno for our last night. Tomorrow, we head to Naples for another adventure.

Waiting for the train to Pompeii!

Today we're headed for Pompeii. We'll be spending the entire day exploring the ruins!

Salerno

We arrived in Salerno yesterday afternoon. We were pleased to find that the city was still celebrating the holidays with an amazing light festival. Most of the streets were lined with elaborate and colorful displays. Today we visited Paestum, a city with amazingly intact Greek temples, and tomorrow we visit Pompeii. We're definitely keeping folks busy!

When in Rome...

I am sure many of my classmates will agree with me when I say Rome is quickly becoming one of my favorite cities. I could very much get used to the constant aroma of fresh gourmet pizza and palm tree lined coblestone streets showcasing rich ancient sites. My roommate Kassi and I joked how Rome reminds us of a combination of NYC (with its fun, lively atmosphere) and Ellicott City (a historical city in Maryland set on a hillside). Of course, neither those cities include vespa drivers shouting out "amore" and "ciao, bella" as they zip by, or scruffy gladiators parading around the Colosseum.

Last night a group of us ventured to Piazza Navona to explore the annual Epiphany Market. We had fun testing our Italian (all locals have been extremely patient and encouring as far as learning their language), endulging in warm donutes drizzled in Nutella (an Italian staple), and simply wandering the square filled with carnival games, Christmas shops, street performers and the Ephiphany witch herself. Be sure to look up the story for details about this popular Italian event!

A presto for now!

*Photo: me and Kassi being the dancers we are in front of the Pantheon

Yep, we had class at night, after being on site all day...

Our first evening session was dedicated to developing a timeline of where we have been. It's no easy task, which is the point of course, but we want to be sure that we have a sense of the complexity of the periods we have studied as well as how they overlap, influence one another, etc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tIXj9FY6msPiQtx9MUeBnLyJh5YeOhqovm-AOCYeMTY/edit?hl=en_US

Religious Pluralism in the Ancient World

Salve! Today, we learned about several of the religions in Italy, both past and present. We went on a great tour given by three women who are part of the Jewish community in Rome to learn about the Jewish Ghetto and the Jewish community in Italy. There are currently 16,000 Jews living in Rome, and several of them still live near the Synagogue that still remains today... what an amazing experience! Several of us even had the opportunity to have a kosher lunch in the community. Here is a picture of our group near the Ghetto.

We also visited several other sites today, including San Clemente and Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Cello, to learn about other religions in Italy. We are all having a great time and learning a ton!

Talk soon!

Caitlin and Jaclyn

First post in Rome!

Salve!

It has been hard to find the time to post because we've been going

since we landed and went straight to the ruins of Ostia Antica on Tuesday! On Wednesday we started at 8:30am with Republican Rome in the Forum. We saw the Palatine, the Forum Borium and the Largo Argentina as well.

Yesterday we saw the Ara Pacis of Augustus, which was beautiful. It is amazing to me how the stone can be carved into something like that. After the Ara Pacis we went to the Pantheon and I couldn't believe I was standing under the occulus. Then we went to the COLOSSEUM. There really aren't words to describe it. It was spectacular...also a little horrifying. I still can't believe I was there. We finished the day at the markets of Trajan.

Today was more serious as we discussed religious pluralism in the ancient world. We started in the Jewish ghetto and had an excellent tour guide. Hannah, Billy, Alyssa and I had lunch at an outdoor cafe afterwards and met up with the group at the Arch of Constantine. The next part of our day was Santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio. Underneath the church they have excavated an ancient Roman house church. At San Clemente there was a ruin related to the Cult of Mithras.

Difficult to post on an iPhone! more soon!

Helen

On the run!

Salve! We haven't posted much because we've been on the run. Yesterday we visited the Ara Pacis, the Pantheon, the Forum (for a second time), the Colosseum, the Markets of Trajan. Wow. Everyone is doing well and still excited.

Arriviamo!

We're here and have had a great first day. A really nice presentation in Ostia to start us off, an amazing view of the Colosseum from our bus, and (for me at least) a great first dinner in Rome. More soon! Ciao.

Evan Gatti

Salve! My name is Sybille Moesta and I am a biochemistry major at Elon. I will also be keeping everyone updated on the blog about our trip and all the amazing things we will be doing over the course of the next three weeks! Everyone says that Italy is an amazing place to travel to and now we all get to see what the hype is all about! I hope everyones ready because these next few weeks are going to be so exciting! Can't wait to see all of you in a few hours!

Salve! I’m Helen Phelan, a junior Dance Performance/Choreography and Psychology double major at Elon. I'll be posting about my experiences throughout our tour of Italy. I couldn't be more excited, as I am incredibly passionate about traveling. I'm most excited to see the art I've heard about and studied in various classes for so many years in person! It is going to be a surreal experience to see Bernini's sculptures in person! As a vegan I'm a little worried about how I'm going to survive in a country built on creamy pasta...but I will make it work! Can't wait to step off that plane! Ci vediamo dopo!

Suitcase zipped and ready to fly

Hello, or as they say in Italy, salve! I’m Lauren Sharp, a senior Strategic Communications major at Elon and like Caitlin and Jaclyn, I too will be sharing stories on this blog throughout our course abroad. I am absolutely thrilled for the opportunity to experience Italy, a country I have always dreamed of exploring. My personal goals are to soak up as much history and culture as possible, as well as to discover the country’s best pasta. I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the new year and will enjoy following our journey.

Italy Tomorrow!

Ciao! Mi chiamo Jaclyn Wood and I am a junior Physical Education and Health major at Elon. I am very excited to start our course in Italy tomorrow! I wanted to introduce myself as I will be one of the students sharing our experiences throughout our course on this blog. I hope you all have a great new year and continue to follow our class blog throughout January.