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.