Photo Comparison Essay: Through the Window

Rome

Istanbul

 

The cultural identity of a person's homeland is integral in defining their identity and views. However, the moment they step onto foreign land, they are no longer looking at another culture through a window of their preconceptions—they are able to experience it first-hand. The cultural identity of many cities is highly defined by religion, especially Rome and Istanbul, where the majority of the population follows one religion. Religion influences many aspects of a city’s culture—including art, architecture, and music; it even affects the society, people, and politics. Religion and identity are inexorably linked to one another.

Just by taking a glance out of the window at the city of Rome, we can see the influence of Catholicism on the area. Many churches can be seen studded among the red-brown roof-tiles and rooftop patios. They are highly visible due to the crosses on top. Even just taking a stroll around the block, we may turn the corner to find ourselves staring up a pair of church doors. Inside these churches are beautiful, elaborate, artworks depicting religious scenes and glorifying religious figures. The church ceilings are often lavishly decorated—sometimes coffered and gilded with gold. It is not uncommon to see statues of famous biblical characters carved out of marble and reenacting scenes from the bible. Through the art and architecture of the churches, it is plain to see that Rome is a city that is manifestly attached to its past. This attachment is even more apparent in the construction of the city. Buildings and roads are built on the ancient foundations of the city and most of the buildings are old buildings restored to their original splendor. Romans identify themselves with their past as part of an illustrious ancient city.

In Istanbul, a similar sight is beheld. However, when we look out over the city, instead of churches with the cross, we see huge domes dotting the scenery embellished with a crescent on top. Inside, each mosque is decorated with blue patterned tiles, often containing tulips. Every mosque also has a dome to signify the vaults of the heaven; however, there are no representations of human figures—no glorified depictions of God, because Muslims try to avoid idolatry. These mosques are also accompanied by one or two minarets that stand as tall pillars waiting for the call to prayer to be made. In the past, the muezzin would have to climb the minaret and give the call to prayer; however, nowadays, it is more commonly given over a loud speaker. Istanbul is more accepting of new technology and innovation, integrating it into the existing infrastructure. With its urbanized metropolitan areas, Istanbul is establishing its identity as a progressive city that is part of the modern world.

Despite the similarities in the proliferation of their respective religions in these two cities, Rome and Istanbul are very different in their cultural identities. Rome will live on as the quintessence of its past—the eternal city, while Istanbul will continue grow and expand as a new modernized city.

Giordano Bruno – Mathematician, Martyr, and Monument

The Campo de’ Fiori is home to a bustling marketplace during the day. In the middle of this lively piazza there stands a dark statue of a hooded Dominican friar, Giordano Bruno. During his lifetime, he was a philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer, known for his theory of the infinity of the universe and unorthodox religious views. After his execution, Giordano Bruno became a martyr for science and free thought. In 1889, despite the Catholic Church’s objection, the Rome Municipal was able to commission a monument to Giordano Bruno to be located at his place of death. The monument not only acts as a memorial to Bruno and other heretics but also serves as a symbol of the freedom of conscience, that any individual may hold any viewpoint independent of others’ viewpoints. Nowadays, the monument to Bruno serves as the rendezvous location of many events that concern freedom of thought.

Giordano Bruno was born as Fillipo Bruno in a small city, Nola, east of Naples. In his teen years, he was sent to the Neapolitan convent of San Domenico Maggiore to become a Dominican friar. Here, he was recognized for two things: (1) his prodigious memory and (2) his religious unorthodoxy. It was not long before Bruno was held under investigation by the local head of the Dominicans for his unconventional, outspoken views and was forced to flee the country. Bruno spent the next 15 years of his life wandering throughout Europe looking for patrons and professorships. Throughout his journey, Bruno became increasingly skeptical about Christianity and formulated his own ideas and theories. Today, he is generally regarded as being a Universalist, one who believes that all of creation (even heathens, unrepentant sinners, and demons) will ultimately be reconciled with and forgiven by God. As a scientist, he embraced the Copernican model of the solar system, in which the Earth revolves around the Sun; however he is best known as a proponent of the infinity of the universe. He was the first man to conceptualize the universe as a continuum where the sun is just another star in the universe.

After spending much time abroad teaching his views on the cosmos, Bruno returned to Italy in 1951—a major mistake. He was invited to teach the art of memory to Giovanni Mocenigo, the doge of Venice. Bruno moved into the family’s palazzo on the Grand Canal; however, after half a year passed, relations started to get shaky and Mocenigo denounced Bruno and accused him of saying that “Christ was a wretch and a magician.” Later, Bruno was also denounced by one of his old cellmates from Venice and sent to jail. It took the Roman Inquisition seven years to bring Bruno’s case to a conclusion because the Church was having difficulties finding legitimate reasons to convict him. Ultimately, based on eyewitness accounts and Bruno’s written works, Giordano Bruno was charged with many heresies including: holding opinions contrary to the Catholic faith; holding erroneous opinions on the Trinity, Incarnation, Christ, and transubstantiation; dealing in magic and divination (i.e. his amazing memory tactics); and denying the virginity of Mary.

Bruno’s trial was overseen by Cardinal Bellarmine who demanded a full recantation. Bruno refused and asked to appeal to the Pope; however, Pope Clement VIII was also in favor of a guilty verdict. This was a difficult decision for the church, who did not want to martyr Bruno, especially because many of his convictions were not very serious and many other people had the same beliefs. However, they decided to charge Bruno for refusing to admit to his charges of heresy.

To prevent a huge public scene, Bruno was executed in the early morning. His tongue was nailed down to prevent him from speaking, because he was known to be a great orator who could move people with just his words. The Church was afraid that he would be able to rally supporters on his side. On February 17, 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in the execution grounds of the city, located in modern day Campo de’ Fiori. His ashes were dumped in the Tiber River so that nothing remained of his body. Therefore, there was no part of him to collect—nothing to be made a relic. The Catholic Church hoped getting rid of all evidence of Bruno would prevent him from reaching the status of a martyr.

Since 1870, the capture of Rome by the new Kingdom of Italy ended the Church’s power over the city. This allowed a monument of Giordano Bruno to be commissioned without being overruled by the Church. In 1885, an international committee was formed to organize the erection of this monument. The project was commission by students who supported the unification of Italy as a secular state. In 1889, the monument of Giordano Bruno, designed by the sculptor and philosopher, Ettore Ferrari, was erected by the Italian monarchy-- not without objection from the clerical party.

When this project was commissioned by the first student generation of the new Italian state, Italy had just seized political control of Rome from the governmental dominion of the papacy. This was one of the first times that a statue could be erected despite opposition from the Church. In a way, the monument to Bruno stuck its nose at the Church by paying tribute to “one of the Inquisition’s most illustrious victims”(Rowland) serving as a reminder to the Vatican of why the new Italy had chosen to become a secular state.

Monument of Giordano Bruno.

On the monument, Giordano Bruno is portrayed as a hooded friar clutching a book in his manacled hands as he glowers over the open-air marketplace in Campo de’ Fiori, formerly the city’s execution grounds. The statue was originally supposed to be erected facing the sun, with Bruno’s back facing the Vatican, as if he stands in defiance of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. However, at the last minute, the City Council of Rome turned the statue around to face the Vatican because the Catholic Church complained that the original placement was disrespectful. Originally, Bruno’s face would have had the sun shining upon it, illuminating his facial features; however, since the monument is not being viewed in its intended orientation, Bruno’s face is in the shadows and appears melancholy, rather than defiant. Although this is not the anticipated effect, considering Bruno’s fate, he has every reason to be melancholy.

This statue is a unique, but unrealistic, representation of Bruno. He had not worn the Dominican Friar garb for the last 24 years of his life when much of his written works, one of which is depicted on the statue, were composed. Also, the robust image portrayed in the statue reflects Bruno’s spirit, but not his physical body. When Bruno died, he was a gaunt, little man, having spent the last years of his life imprisoned. The somber look accurately captures the sheer challenge that Bruno faced for having his unique beliefs that contradicted the Church and his refusal to succumb to the pressure the Church placed on him to recant his beliefs.

While the statue of Giordano Bruno is the main focus of the monument, there are other notable features. On the sides of the platform that the statue stands on are three, bronze reliefs depicting important events in Giordano’s life: (1) By the Chair of Oxford, (2) Before the Court’s Inquisition, (3) Being burned at the stake. These reliefs serve as another reminder of the adversity that Bruno had to endure for having his own beliefs.

Bronze relief of Bruno in front of the Court’s Inquisition.

Although Giordano Bruno is the primarily concentration of the monument, there are portrayals of other important figures who were also chastised for their unorthodox views. Each face of the platform has two bronze relief medallions with a face of one of Bruno’s contemporaries who was also regarded as heretics: Sarpi, Tommaso, Erasmus, Vanini, Paleario, Servetus, Wycliffe, and Huss. Many of these men were burned alive or severely punished for having their own unique beliefs that contradicted the Church. This statue also serves as a memorial to other philosophers persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. Each one of these bronze relief medallions is surrounded by a festoon in relief from marble, showing respect for the many heretics who also suffered similar fates to Giordano Bruno.

Bronze reliefs of the faces of two heretics surrounded by festoons of marble.

The monument is also accompanied by a bronze pedestal with the words: “To Bruno, from the generation he foresaw, here, where the pyre burned”(Rowland). While the inscription says that Bruno was burned ‘here’ at the location of the monument, Bruno’s actually location of death was in the southwest corner of the piazza, not at the center, where the monument is placed. The location of the statue obeys the laws of urban design but not historical accuracy.

Bronze pedestal with the inscription: “To Bruno, from the generation he foresaw, here, where the pyre burned.”

Bruno was chosen as the “patron martyr” and main focus of the monument not only because of his bravery but also for his bold ideas that were more innovative than anyone else of his time, even Galileo. For example, he announced that the universe was infinite and made completely of very small atoms. Also, the cruel and violent manner of Bruno’s death portrayed the church in a very dark, repressive way. Bruno not only was persecuted by the Church for doing nothing wrong except for speaking his mind, but he also is one of the only people that the Church has not fully apologized for. The Church refuses to grant him a Christian pardon because his unorthodox views “went too far”. However, this statue serves as a means to prove that ideas can prevail, even over the attempts by the Church, a powerful influential organization, to stifle them.

The monument of Giordano Bruno is meant to serve as a place of remembrance for Bruno and his bravery in sticking to his beliefs despite all the attempts to extinguish them. Each year, the anniversary celebration is held by the Italian Association for Freethinking to commemorate Giordano Bruno’s death and the principles he died for. Usually, the mayor is invited to give a speech; however, due to fear of displeasing the Catholic hierarchy and political tension, he generally sends a representative to give a speech for him. This speech is so carefully worded and ambiguous that anyone who listens with no prior knowledge will have no idea how Giordano Bruno had died. However, during this commemoration, masons, atheists, pantheists all file into the piazza, claiming that Bruno is their spiritual leader. Although there is still much political tension surrounding the statue, it serves as a place for many unorthodox religious communities to pay tribute to a man who fought for their beliefs—for freedom of thought. Today, the monument is used as a meeting place for rallies for non-religious and religious minority protests. Many people of different religions and beliefs gather in one area to celebrate a man who was committed to his ideas despite the objection of one of the most powerful organizations, the Catholic Church.

Giordano Bruno has been such an influential character in the preservation of freedom of thought that another statue of him has been erected recently in 2008 at Potsdamer Platz station in Berlin, Germany. While this statue, designed by Alexander Polzin, is more abstract and depicts the stretched figure of Bruno standing on his head during his death at the stake, it still serves a similar purpose to the monument in Rome—to honor Bruno and to remind future generations that freedom of thought should not and cannot be buried.

Throughout my research, the element that interested me the most was the extent of the impact that Giordano Bruno’s death had on the freedom of thought. Despite the Church’s attempts to stop Bruno from becoming a martyr, including dumping his body in the Tiber River, he was still remembered and revered for his fight for the freedom to hold one’s own opinion. Even today, atheists and pantheists alike visit his monument and look up to him for making the greatest sacrifice of all for their rights. During our short stay in Rome, we were even able to witness one of these religious minority protests that held their event right in front of the monument. It is no wonder why many still flock to this monument to honor the man who fought to defend the rights of those non-Catholics who couldn’t speak for themselves.

References

Bozzetti del monumento di Ettore Ferrari. (n.d.). Giordano Bruno. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from

http://www.giordanobruno.info/bozzetti.htm

Giordano Bruno (1548 – 1600). (n.d.). Arlindo Correia's Home Page. Retrieved July 9, 2010,

from http://www.arlindo-correia.com/060109.html

Giordano Bruno. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 29, 2010, from

Encyclopædia Britannica, from

"Great Theosophists--Giordano Bruno." Blavatsky Net Theosophy. N.p., n.d. Web.

4 Aug. 2010.

Ingersoll, Robert. "Emperor Julian & Giordano Bruno." Racial Nationalist

Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug. 2010.

Kessler, John J. “Giordano Bruno: The Forgotten Philosopher” Unknown Date

"Piazza Di Campo De Fiori." A RomeArtLover's Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug. 2010.

Rowland, I. D. (2008). Giordano Bruno: Philosopher/Heretic. New York: Farrar, Straus and

Giroux.

Schniedermann, Christine . "Giordano Bruno." Aktuelle Meldungen aus der Wissenschaft.

Humbolt University of Berlin, 21 Feb. 2008. Web. 4 Aug. 2010.

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Stanley, Alessandra. “Honoring a Heretic Whom Vatican ‘Regrets’ Burning.” New York Times. 18 Feb \

2000.

Stargazer, Karry. “Giordano Bruno, Martyr to Astronomy.” IFAS. 2006

"The Roasting of Giordano Bruno." Slate 28 Feb. 2000: n. pag. Slate. Web. 3 Aug. 2010.

I need to do a massive blog post on the last two weeks.

I just spent 2 hours writing Daily Diary Blog for Monday, June 19th...

This might take a while...

Here's my Daily Diary Post!

http://dailydiarys10.blogspot.com/2010/07/second-to-last-day.html

I love the simple things in life.

First off, I just realized how tan I look in the picture below.

Anyways, today, Daniel and I finally had dinner at the fish place, Filleti di Baccala, and this cute Italian couple next to us taught us how to eat bread when we awkwardly tried to ask them for the olive oil (Daniel: ehh...Scuza.. uhh... oil?). Apparently, first you put your bread on the plate, then drizzle olive oil on top, then top it off with some salt. =) I wonder what you'd do if you wanted vinegar. Maybe drizzle that too. Oh, the fish here was so good! I wish it wasn't 5 euros a fillet. But the 1 euro bread was definately worth it! Afterwards, I got froyo. ♥. I love that everywhere I go, I can still get froyo. =D

Oh, I bought 2 skirts today! And Daniel came with me and held my stuff while I tried things on and actually gave me an opinion! Yay! I want to go back there tomorrow and try their dresses. =D

I love how everyone here is so friendly, especially the shop owners. And sometimes they give you free things. =). So nice. They like.. want to be your friends. Ahh ♥. I love the guy at the gelato place near Despar. He always says Ciao Bella as we leave. =)

So, I realized that I always notice the awkwardest things about people. Like today, on our walk home, there was this old lady with a really low cut shirt. I mean, A REALLY LOW CUT SHIRT. You could see half of her breasts. And she was leaning forward. AwKwArD. Also, one other time at the Campo, this girl was falling out of her dress. You could definately see her nipple. I always point out to Daniel all these things. He thinks I'm strange.

Oh, so one time, I was walking with Daniel. I think we were looking for souveniers or something to eat? But this lady like comes up and is like "your underwear is showing, your skirt is riding up. I came all the way from my seat at the restaurant to tell you." And I was like.. "errr, thanks soo much" **awkwarddddd**. Daniel laughed at me for a long time T_T.

Today, I bought 2 twenty euro wines for my dad. The wine guy was the nicest. He like picked out our wine specially for us based on whether we wanted to drink it or to keep it, our price range, Dry or Aromatic, Red or white etc. Then, we didn't have cash to pay him, so he let us take the wines with us, then come back later with money for him. Now that's trust.

We talked about Istanbul today. SO ESCITED. You have no idea. SO EXCITED THAT I SPELLED IT WRONG THE FIRST TIME. =D

Love you guys!! ♥

=)

Right now I'm having a glass of wine and working on my papers for class. =)

(Ahaha. Emily)

Chillin'

Before I forget...

Monday, July 5th, I went adventuring with Shurui. We went to the Spanish Steps, A Happy Fountain, and got lost in Villa Borghese. Then later, we went to Kathie and Resat's for a 4th of July party. Yay lasagna. I ate wayyyy too much. Oh! My! G! Fanta here is so amazing. None of that silly high fructose corn syrup stuff. I normally don't like soda in the US, but it's so good here! I had soo much.

Tuesday, July 6th, we went to the Jewish museum and the Jewish Ghetto. I wish I wasn't so sleepy that day...

Oh, I think I also went to a cute little opera today. It was in a courtyard and we sat in lawn chairs! =P. The opera was called the Elixir of Love....

[I swear I already made a post about this... but I don't see it anywhere... did I dream this? I'm highly confused... =/]

It's a small world, after all

It still amazes me that you can travel super long distances and you'll still find people that you know.

Today, I was at Magnolia watching the Spain vs. Germany game, when someone who looks a lot like a friend I knew back in high school who I haven't seen for a year came in. We both ended up staring at each other before I realized that it was indeed who I thought it was! OMG. Chelsea Nehler! At this point, I was already up, out of my seat giving her a huge hug. I'm still super amazed that I can travel to a different CONTINENT and see familiar faces. WHAT?

On a less exciting note, the tiramisu at Magnolia is really good. And super beautiful. I'm sad I didn't bring my camera. The Caribbean I got there was pretty good too, although the orange slice they put in was not so good...

This morning we visited one out of the only two mosques in Italy. The train ride over was interesting... we missed our stop twice and had to get off and go back and forth. At the mosque, all the girls had to wear scarves to cover heads. Mosques are strangely different and very... clean... looking, because they don't have any depictions of God, so there's like no artwork inside, but it's still super beautiful. Today, I learned that Islam is more accepting of other religions than I thought. I also kind of want to fast for Ramadan after our tour guy was talking about how it represented using your mind to overcome the body. It's like... a challenge =D.

For art history, we visited these two churches. Holy crap, the ceilings were amazing and like.. completely gilded with gold. So Gorgeous. We also saw Aqua Paolo. I really want to go 'swim' in it sometime.

I miss everyone back at home! ♥

Florence!

A lot has happened this weekend, although I'm sure I've forgotten like half of what's happened already because my brain is like the size of a pea, or something, and I have the worst memory ever. More of a reason to blog?

• Saturday, we got up super bright and early, like 5 am, to catch the fast train to Florence. I was so tired. I swear I almost fell asleep standing. The train ride WAS really fast though, probably cuz I slept through all of it.

• We got to Florence, aka Firenze (without the è). Florence seems so much cleaner than Rome. No graffiti. No silly cobblestones. Whiter buildings. I like it.

• First thing: see the David. We wait in line for like two hours. Sydney got an amazing leather jacket. Daniel thinks she looks like a Russian Spy because of her hair... and the jacket. Seeing the David was pretty cool. He's set up at the end of the hall, so you walk in and he's just standing there, all perfect and stuff. According to Lisa, the way you're supposed to view the statue is from the side, so you're looking into his face and not straight on at his PERFECT body. He looks scared to me. Also, I've never noticed that he's holding a slingshot. I also just learned pretty recently that this was David-and-Goliath David, and not ... Random-person-who's-nice-looking David.

• Next, we walk through this market place with all these stands set up with leather bags, belts, scarves etc. All pretty cheap, but I wasn't really in a shopping mood.

• Later, we keep walked and find this amazing church. It's so beautiful and huge... I think it's called St. Maria... something? maybe? I'm probably really wrong, but we climb up the Duomo, which is this huge dome ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. It's like 414 steps or something. The view up there is amazing. You can see all of Florence. I really wanted to parachute down from there. Also, I almost forgot. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Michelangelo's painting on the inside of the dome. The bottom is Hell and there's guys (and girls) being eaten by demons and raped by flaming rods. The next layer is like Heaven. And then on top there's a bunch of important looking guys. I was a bad person and jumped and touched the fresco.

• So, we accidentally ended up leasing a penthouse apartment for a day, instead of the 'hotel' we expected. After a huge, long, confusing, stressful conversation with the apartment people... we got to our apartment. It was AMAZING. There was a HUGE TERRACE. HUGE! And we could see the amazing church from it. It was also in the middle of the city. We also had the COMFIEST bed and a really nice bathroom.

• Emilio, Molly, Mauna, David, Sydney and Erik stayed the night with me. We walked around and had interesting, deep conversations about politics and later, immigration and whether or not the USA was really a melting pot society... etc.. Oh, honors kids. The view from the bridge is amazing.

• Emilio, Sydney and I try to go out later and look for the night life. Too bad Florence doesn't have one, at all. Everything is deserted by 12am.

• Next day, Sunday was pretty chill. Mauna, Sydney, and I go shopping. I bought a dress and a skirt from H&M, 2 scarves, and 2 banners.

• We had amazing Indian food. I love Indian food so much. heart!

• More shopping.

• We go to Trattoria Zaza (or something like that for dinner). We went here yesterday and I got a cappucino and had free bread with vinegar and evoo. Today, I had spaghetti carbonara. It was sooo good. The plates here are so cute and have leopard print, zebra stripes or tiger stripes. cute.

• Now, it's time to head out and take the slow train back. This was possibly the slowest train ever. We stopped at EVERY SINGLE dinky little run-down train station. I read some Trickster's Travels and slept alot. I think this was the first time I'd felt cold because of the AC.

• Today, Monday, we visited the Jewish ghetto and the Jewish Museum. When we went in the mosque, all the guys had to wear yamacas(sp?). I think it's hilarious when poofy-haired people wear them, cuz it just kinda floats on top of their head.

• There were menorahs on everything.

• I saw an opera today! The Elixir of Love. It was cute and in a courtyard with lawnchairs! =D>

• Joanna, I'm afraid of birds now... or atleast the ones that fly over me. I'm afraid I'm gonna be pooped on AGAIN. (oh, and I'm also afraid of those crows that kind of stare and walk towards you at UW. =[ )

• Julia, the coffee here is SOOO AMAZING. I don't know if I can ever have coffee again back in the US. =O

• Other Julia, who isn't going to read this, I bought you a scarf!

• I miss and love youuu (and by you, I mean everyone who's reading this! Heart!)

(also, Brian Chou is super cool! ;] )

THE BLOG BELOW IS A LIE.

Shurui is stupid and a poop and spent only 1 day in Florence. The end.

Firenz(e)

Zinnia is Zinnia.

This is a guest blog post by Shurui about the creation of this blog post.

At first, Zinnia had extreme difficulty with the letter "é". She thought that the Italian version of Florence, or Firenze, had the letter "é".

This is in fact, not true. Zinnia, what is your problem?

Shurui also thought there was an e'. He tried to help me find it.

Only because Zinnia was almost in tears. I was being a good samaritan and wasn't thinking properly.

For the Florence post-briefing, please read my blog, which is significantly superior and better in every single way possible.

Zinnia however, was the stupid one here.

She spent a night in Florence. The end. Enjoy this blog post, Zinnia-blog readers.

For a complete run-down on what happened in Florence. Please read my blog, which is significantly better than this one.

Friday - Villa Borghese

This morning, the author of our book, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, came to talk to us about it. I actually really like this book because it gives an account of each person's perspective on the others who live in the same apartment, and since they all are from different areas, either different countries or different parts of Italy, they all misunderstand or have stereotypical views of the others. Like the professor from Italy is snobby and thinks Southerners are civilized. The cleaning lady hates immigrants and thinks that Parviz is cussing at her when he says merci. The dog lady is super obsessed and i hate her. I feel really sorry for the fat girl who has to take care of the super old lady and just watches tons of TV thinking that someday, she will lose the weight.

Lakhous, the author, came from Algiers because of the political arrest in the area and now after getting his degree in philosophy and cultural anthropology, he writes book in Arabic AND Italian. This book is being made into a movie! I really want to see it. I feel like this is possibly one of the first boks that i've been assigned to read that I've actually enjoyed (and read.. heh heh heh).

I forgot to bring my book to get it autographed, though. Noooooooo =(

Later for Art History class, we hiked all the way to Villa Borghese. It was really far, but the outside was beautiful.

However, the walk to the Villa Borghese was very much less then beautiful. I was walking along peacefully, enjoying the scenery in the new area of the city where I had never been when I felt a warm splat on my arm. I look and there's this huge splat of slightly gooey bird poop with some white speckles in it. A pigeon decided to leave me a present. D=.

The sad thing is, this is not the first time on this trip that I've been pooped on =(. Daniel had to use half his water bottle to wash it off. I felt very dirty the rest of the day and avoided using that arm.

Back to the Villa Borghese. So apparently, Scipione Borghese, the guy who used to own the Villa was a huge collector and patron of art. So he has a ton of art. He especially like Bernini, who is an AMAZING sculptor. I definately put him up there with Michelangelo for my favorite/most amazing artist.

I really like the sculptures that he was commisioned to do. Like Pluto and Persephone, because they tell a story as you walk around the sculptor. For this sculpture, you start by coming around the back and all you see is Pluto's back and a girl in the background and it looks as if they could just be frolicking together or something, but as you "circumambulate" the sculpture, it's slowly revealed that Pluto is happy, but the girl has tears on her face. Pluto is grabbing her and is about to drag down into the underworld.

I also really like Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, where Daphne is turning into a tree just as Apollo catches her.

Later, for Molly's birthday, we went out to the best gelato place, Gelateria del Teatro. Afterwards, we came back to the Campo and sang happy birthday and gave her a big group hug. And then some of us went to the bar to have a drink and celebrate.

Pluto and Persephone

Apollo and Daphne

Crunch time.

Yesterday, I presented. I talk to fast when I present and semi-stutter. Damn, I wish I were a good orator... XD

We went to the BESTEST gelato place ever. They make all their own flavors. I had pistachio, lemon cheesecake, and coconut. SOO GOOD. SO INCREDIBLY GOOD.

Today, I have a hella long paper to write and now it's 2 am and I'm tired and blogging instead of working on it... =/

It's about a third done, and it's due Sunday, but I'm going out tomorrow for Molly's bday and then to Florence on Saturday and Sunday, so it pretty much needs to be done TONIGHT.

Also, some people went to a bar, and I had to find a way back to my apartment not alone, so I went with them. With my laptop. And my tunic top. And my basketball shorts. =P Emilio said I looked "ravishing" XD. Ha!

I had a sip of Emily's mojito. It was so stiff. =O No drinking tonight. I got me a paper to write... right now. Bye! Paper time. Giordano, baby, let's rock.

Week One.

Since I didn't really blog about Tues-Fri of week one... here's a list of things we did or what I thought:

Tuesday:

• We visited the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center at St. Paul's Church.
• First time riding a bus in Italy. I'm always a good person and good my bus ticket stamped even though it seems like no one ever checks... beats a 100 euro fine.
• Father Michael gave us an orientation on what the refugee center does and the types of people that end up there. He does funny impressions. So does Brandon. XD
• Emily's Birthday!
• Gelato at Giolitti's! We sang her happy birthday and a random guy near us started singing too.
• Back to our apartment for drinks!
• Capaccino shot glasses
• I learned a lot of new, iiiiiiiiinteresting things about people. And vice versa. =O

Wednesday:

Visit to the Ara Pacis and the Pantheon

• Shurui and Kristen present
• I liked the Ara Pacis. It seems so white and pure. A lot of it is missing though, which is sad.
• The pantheon looks like this big, crumbly dome from the outside, but the inside is amazingly beautiful and perfect.
• There's a huge round oculus at the top that's the only light source. Apparently it's 9 meters in diameter.
• When it rains through the oculus the water leaves through drains in the floor. I want to come here next time it rains.
• Also, there were seagulls flying in circles in the pantheon because they came in through the oculus and got stuck?

Thursday:

• Resat's class - 1500 years of Italian history. 2 hours. intense.
• Pretty much: Roman Empire, Communes & City States, Renaissance, Unification, Fascism, Now.
• Went to the Insalate (salad) place for lunch. Most amazing, huge salads ever. ( I just got really hungry writing this) I want t try as many of their salads as possible.
• Kathie's class - talked about different kinds of refugees
• Dinner - random pizzeria for a huge 3 euro pizza, all to myself =O

Friday:

• Saw Trajan's Column and Forum
• Saw Michelangelo's 'Moses'. I like this one alot. The statues seem so... perfect. Talked about the emotions in his face and the way he was pulling his beard was as if he was about to get up and break the tablets.
• Saw Michelangelo's 'Risen Christ'. Lots of art historians think this is michelangelo's worst work because christ has a huge badonkadonk. But that's cuz people tend to view him from the right because that's where his face is. If you view him how he was meant to be viewed, he's looking away and his figure looks very slim. It almost seems like a different statue. I like this one alot too. But the Pieta is still my favorite Michelangelo's work... although I miiiiight get to see the David this weekend, when we go to Florence.

That's all folks! *I always think of the really old bugs bunny episodes when I say this*

Italian Doors

So, I'm pretty sure that all Italian doors open inwards. I've spent plenty of time looking stupid pulling on doors, wondering why they're jammed...

Tuesday.

Today was a pretty quiet uneventful day.

In class we discussed two paintings, The Ambassadors and St. Mark Preaching, and talked

about the Islamic and Eastern influences.

Afterward, I had lunch with Daniel and then went home to work on my presentations for tomorrow. I spent all day reading about Pope Paul III and Giordano Bruno. They are my homies now. Although they would have hated each other. XD.

Ooh, I made dinner with the girls in my apartment plus Molly. We made veggies (eggplant, onions, potatoes, asparagus) and chicken. It was delicious. It makes me want to actually cook next year at Stevens Court. =D

Afterwards... more Pope Paul and Brunooo.

I'm going to be up for a while. I want to finish my paper by Friday, so I can go to Florence this weekend!

Ostia Antica and Plinius Beach!

On Saturday (yes, I realize that my posts are way out of chronological order), we all went to Ostia Antica. This was one of the coolest trips, i thought (or atleast, it was until we went to the vatican today). We basically got to see and walk around in the ruins of the city. The bath houses and toilets were the coolest part. They had a hot room, a warm room, a cold room, a sauna etc. Just looking at the ruins, I can't imagine how they would heat the place or cool it down using technology from back then--especially cuz it didn't seem like they had any windows, so I have no idea how they kept any of the heat in? wahhh?

Oh! The toilet room was my favorite. It's just a bench with a bunch of holes to poop in about two feet or less apart from one another. Haha! It's like a pooping party--everyone's so close. XD.

After Ostia Antica, we all went to the beach! AMAZING. The beach was so blue and it was so sunny outside. I felt like I was in Hawaii or something. The water was suuuuper nice although a bit salty. And the sand burned my feet. But it was soo fun.

It's so easy to float in the Mediterranean Sea because its so salty. =D Lots of us swam in the water while Daniel and Shurui took creepy stalker photos.

Later, I dragged Daniel into the water with me, Bwahaha >:D.>

David is standing on my legs. =O

Oh, Engineers.