Our class trip to Rome was an incredible three days. This trip, I got
the chance to experience different aspects of Rome while having lots of fun with friends. It was a full and fast-paced trip; once we got on the train early Monday morning there was never a dull moment. We
arrived in Rome at around 10:30, navigated the metro, and arrived at our hotel.
The accommodations were quite Spartan which was fine because we didn’t spend much time in the
hotel. After unpacking, we got on the metro again, grabbed a quick
lunch, and headed to the Vatican Museums. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a
guide, but the two teachers on the trip (our Italian and Psychology teachers)
knew a lot about the artwork in the museum. The museum houses a huge collection
of art gathered by the Catholic Church over the years and is home to some of
the most important pieces of Renaissance art in the world. The layout of the
museum is such that you work your way through a lot of smaller rooms sprinkled
with works by artists such as Giotto, Ciccarello, Caravaggio, Da Vinci, and
Raphael.
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| Raphael's Transfiguration |
The highlight of this section of the museum was without doubt
Raphael’s Transfiguration. It is a
huge painting depicting the transformation of Jesus Christ and is considered to
be Raphael’s culminating work. He worked on it until the day of his death, and
some of the background figures had to be finished by his pupils.
After the
paintings, we travelled through The Gallery of Maps, a long hallway decorated
by huge maps of regions of Italy painted in 1580.
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| Ceiling of the Hall of Maps |
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| Fresco in one of the Raphael Rooms |
We then arrived at the famous Raphael Rooms.
They are four rooms in total, completely covered in frescoes painted by Raphael
with the help of some of his pupils. The rooms are beautiful and the frescoes
themselves depict mainly Popes and important moments for Christianity. After
the Raphael Rooms we arrived in the Sistine Chapel. It is absolutely
breathtaking, but a shame that there is always so much commotion within. The
frescoes that cover the wall were painted by an “All-Star team” of Renaissance
painters that included Botticelli, but the chapel is most famous for the
ceiling painted by Michelangelo. It is considered one of the greatest artistic
accomplishments of all time and features The
Creation of Adam at the center.
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| Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel |
The Sistine Chapel was the conclusion of
our wonderful visit that ended with an unexpected twist. One of the girls in
our class got lost in the museum and we spent over a half hour trying to locate
her. We then concluded our day with a nice dinner near the city center and a
walk by the Altare della Patria and the Coliseum by night. Just like many parts
of Rome, they are lit up brilliantly and are truly a sight to see.
The next morning, we were up bright
and early to begin the day’s adventures. We started off at the Coliseum and Arch
of Constantine, both of which we studied in our Art History class. Once again
it was nice to bring some practicality and realism to our studies and also feel
more educated than your average tourist. We then continued our exploration of
Ancient Rome by walking around the Palatine Hill. It is the most central of the
“7 Hills of Rome” and is flanked by the Roman Senate and Circus Maximus.
Scattered across the hill are tons of excavations dating from over 2000 years
ago that include: public paths, houses of emperors, and even part of a large
aqueduct. One of the nicest parts about the area was that there were very few
other tourists. It was one of the only parts of Rome that we were able to enjoy
with tranquility.
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| The Coliseum |
After taking the metro to the Spanish Steps, we got the chance to grab some lunch and relax for an hour and a half. Having regained our energy, we then made our way to Villa Borghese. The residence turned museum was amazing, and was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. Compared to the Vatican Museums, it felt more concentrated and less hectic; there were fewer pieces of art, but they were all quite amazing. The museum is headlined by names such as Bernini, Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian, and Rubens, but what stood out to me the most was no doubt Bernini’s sculptures. Some of his most famous sculptures such as Apollo and Daphne, David, and my personal favorite, Rape of Proserpina are all located in the museum. What struck me the most about his work was his attention to detail and absolute perfection. Every aspect of the marble figures was realistic in regards to the movements of a person and he was able to find a way to make marble seem like it was soft and pliable like play-doh.
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| Rape of Proserpina |
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| Rape of Proserpina (Look at the indents!) |
By the time our visit was over, it
was early evening and we made a quick stop back at the hotel before heading
back out to dinner. We ate pasta “All’Amatriciana,” a traditional Roman
dish that consists of chunky tomato sauce, pecorino cheese, and guanciale (similar to spec but technically Italian salt-cured pork jowl!). We then made our way to the Trevi Fountain. It is incredibly beautiful by
night and we all of course made a wish and threw a coin over our shoulder. But
by this point of the night, we were all exhausted and suffering from sore legs
and feet. It was a great feeling to get back to the hotel and put our feet up.
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| St Peter's Square |
Wednesday
morning, we were up early again, and off to see the Pope in St Peter’s Square.
He didn’t give a speech, but we saw him making a loop of the square in his
Pope-mobile. You definitely get the sense that he is a popular Pope because of
how many people come to the square to get a glimpse of him and how vocal they
are.
From Saint Peter’s Square, we then followed the Tiber River to Castel
Sant’Angelo. Castel Sant'Angelo was originally built as a Mausoleum for the Roman
Emperor Hadrian and his family, but it has also been used as a Papal fortress
and more recently a museum.
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| Castel Sant'Angelo |
Next, we made our way to the center of the city to
visit some of the more touristy sites. We saw Piazza Navona, the Pantheon,
Piazza del Popolo, and took a stroll down Via del Corso. The highlight for me
was definitely the Pantheon because we just finished studying it in Art History
class. Sandwiched between all of this, we had a great class lunch. We found a
nice trattoria near Piazza Navona, and ate classic Roman fare (bruschetta with big red juicy tomatoes and pasta alla carbonara). After another
very full morning and afternoon, we took the metro back to our hotel, packed-up
and prepared to catch the train back to Modena.
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| Twin libraries in the Piazza del Popolo |
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| Pantheon |
It was
definitely disappointing to have to leave Rome again - everyone in the class was
yearning to stay for a little bit longer. For me, it was an unforgettable three
days. Our trip was full of great moments and lots of fun. In the end, it was another incredible highlight of my experience in Italy.
