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.