Livin' the Life.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Little pizzeria we stopped at in Trastevere.

            It was a great weekend in Rome (Friday through Sunday, since there is no class on Friday).  We all went to visit two orders of nuns with whom we will be able to do our community outreach.  The first, the Missionaries of Charity, was very humbling, especially since that is the one that Blessed Mother Theresa started.  We sat in the chapel, listening to how the order began, and we learned what they do within the community, as well as their daily regimen, which, as one nun admitted, becomes a “daily grind”.  After listening to her, we were able to see the cell where Mother Theresa would stay most of the time when she was in Rome.  This room, as you may imagine, is very small, no bigger than 10’x10’ at the very most (although it might actually be bigger than the room in which I am staying at Bernardi).  The Missionaries of Charity, however, do great work in the community, from taking in people from the streets for even a day or two to providing a hot meal at their men’s shelter, and we would be helping with tasks at the shelter, which is kitty-corner to the main house in Rome.

            Our second stop was at the Little Sisters of the Lamb, who are more of a cloistered order.  What we would get to do (and what I have chosen to do) with them would range from gardening to assembling furniture, and everything in between.  After these two visits and taking the Metro home, Kelsey led the charge in making parmesan eggplant, which turned out to be really, really good (much better than I expected, especially since I had never had eggplant, or at least not for a long time).  Later that night, a group of us went to the Spanish Steps, spending about an hour or so there before going home.

Ceiling of St. Maria in Trastevere.

Baldacchino of St. Cecilia in Trastevere.

Byzantine mosaic in the apse of St. Maria in Trastevere

            On Saturday, a lot of us went to Trastevere, a section of the city that is at least an hour’s walk away.  A side note—if you ever plan on visiting Rome, be prepared to walk, as public transportation can be unreliable, and you will not want to sit in a cab trying to bob and weave through traffic.  Good shoes are the key, since the cobblestone roads (narrow sidewalks get crowded) are generally uneven and hurt your feet and lower leg after awhile.  Anyway, our goal was to get to Santa Maria in Trastevere in order to view and take notes on the intricate mosaics of the apse.  I was blown away by both the Byzantine and Romanesque mosaics, as the former showed more of a portrait of Christ, Mary, Peter, and several popes; whereas the latter showed more of the humanity of Mary, as well as of Christ.  The Romanesque mosaics also told six stories of Mary, or of which she was a part, including the Immaculate Conception, Nativity scene, and Assumption.  Both side chapels were amazing, and the one, to the left, that was open was simply stunning, as every square inch was ornately covered.  Afterward, we went to lunch at Dar Poeta, a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves.  The food was alright, but it was still fun, just wandering around the city, and a little off the beaten path.  After lunch, some of us kept wandering, and we made our way to St. Cecelia’s, which is a beautiful church in its own right, but we had to get going and were there for maybe five minutes.  Then we hurried back, and, after walking around for about 6 1/2 hours, we finally made it back to Bernardi.  For dinner we went to a Pizzeria fondly referred to as Tuborg, because of its Tuborg beer sign in the front window.  This was my second time here, and again I got the calzone, which was probably at least the size of a rabbit.  To cap it all off, we ventured to GP2 (or JP2 in English), a bar—right under the Church of Sts. Ambrose and Charles Boromeo—dedicated to John Paul II.  It was almost ridiculous, with an amateur “band” on stage; they mostly played songs in English, ranging from Led Zeppelin to Disney, and even Nolan got up on stage and played a few tunes, and that was just awesome!

The biggest calzone you'll ever see. Big as a newborn baby.

Interior of Santissima Trinita dei Pelegrini.

            Today, Matt Slattery, Tim, Minh, and I went to Mass at Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrinini (Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims).  This was an especially neat experience, since the entire Mass was in Latin (except for the homily), and I had never been to anything as solemn aside from Triduum Masses.  Also, I was actually able to follow along somewhat (perhaps I’ll buy a Latin missal) and read the Gospel and psalms and Pauline Epistle (I forget which one exactly), which were printed in Latin—finally, after 6 ½ years of it I can put it to use!  Not much else to report, as I crashed and took a 4 ½ hour nap.  ‘Til next time, ciao da Roma!

More adventures in Urbs Aeterna

Wednesday, February 16


Although i haven't written anything within the past few days, several important (and not so important things) have been going on.  To back up a bit though, I'm living with a great group of guys and gals, all with their own personalities and quirks, adding to the melting pot that is the Bernardi house.  This has been great since I haven't had this kind of college community life before, and it is just awesome.  Whether it's Nolan, Peter, and John B. making us all pasta, all of us going out to Pastarito and having a Nepoletana pizza (with anchovies) with the group, or walking by the Trevi Fountain every day to class with everyone here, the community here is absolutely awesome!

Unfortunately, today was the first day of early classes--and it happened to rain, and mostly everyone was soaked to the bone.  Fortunately, Dr. Lev (I love her conservative, Catholic ideology, comparing Nancy Pelosi to sketchy folks of the Renaissance) woke everyone up.  Classes are going to be absolutely awesome--Dr. Lev, Fr. Murray, Fr. Giertych (the pope's personal theologian), and Dr. Coulter alone make this trip worthwhile, and I am (for perhaps the first time ever) looking forward whole-heartedly to classes this semester.  Also, we get to pick the clementines and blood oranges off the trees in the courtyard and gardens of the Angelicum (something the rent a cops at UST would yell at you for), and I am having a blast, as my history, Latin, and Catholic Studies majors collide in a place in which all three matter immensely.  Anyway, tonight was our first official community night, started off by Holy Hour and Mass, followed by a discussion on some pertinent topic and a house dinner; and I cannot say enough great things about the people I live with--I keep saying this, but it is going to be an awesome semester!

Until next time, keep on travelling. Ciao!

First week

 Welcome to Rome, so make yourself at home, as I take you around the city and Europe!

The gang with St. Peter's Square in the background.

View of St. Peter's from our rooftop terrace.

From L to R: Matt, Peter, John, Tim, Nolan, Minh, Greg

Colosseum at night.

I realize that many of these posts will get out of hand, as I tend to ramble, but if you want, follow along and have a good time. Sorry, but since this is my first post, it is pretty extensive.  Regardless, benvenuti a Roma!

February 5, 2011

            Got into Fiumicino Airport on Delta at about 7:30 and went to pick up my luggage with no problem.  An absolutely beautiful, sunny day as we came in from the north over the Alps.  We flew down the western coast, looking down upon various Italian towns as they dotted the countryside.  Matt Slattery was the first one at the airport, as I joined him soon after, as did Maddie Coulter and Naomi Boclaire.  Thanos Zyngas, the director of the Bernardi Campus, had sent someone to pick us up, and we arrived at the Bernardi Campus, Lungotevere Delli Armi, 16, after about an hour, at 10 a.m. local time.  After we early birds got unpacked, we went back downstairs, and we went to a supermarket a block away with Mary and Sarah, who are staying the entire academic year.  We got some stuff for a midday meal of pasta, the ingredients of which were paid for in meal tickets.  Italians do not use preservatives, so whatever we buy will go bad if it is not consumed within a week at the very most.  Others trickled in, and the main group arrived at Bernardi shortly before 2, at which time Matt and I just got back from walking to the Vatican, which was simply astounding—and that was just St. Peter’s Square! The giant, ringing colonnades encircling you are very imposing, not to mention the giant sculptures adorning the top.  We probably took the long way there, but on the way back headed straight for the Tiber then took a left, following it until we reached Bernardi. On the way, we passed St. Michael’s Castle, and there were some sketchy street vendors (probably Arabs by the look of it) pawning off fake merchandise as real.  It is very illegal, however, to buy counterfeit items, as it is a 1000 euro fine; also, they take off d own the street, with merchandise in hand, and they often outrace the cops (something tells me that they may have spotters).  Anyway, we had a brief orientation session, but I missed it because I had been locked out on the rooftop terrace by someone thinking that he didn’t need to leave it unlocked when he went down.  So I was up there for 1 ½ hours pounding on the door (not the best start), though to no avail, when part of the group (which numbers thirty-two) came upstairs to look at the terrace, which possesses many inspiring views, not least of which is the dome of St. Peter’s.  At night, after Mass, Matt and I again ventured out, as this time we went over the Ponte Matteotti in the direction of the Angelicum, although we didn’t see it.  We did, however, visit the Piazza del Popolo, over which the Borghese Gardens look, and which contains the obelisk that once stood in the Spina of the Circus Maximus, complete with Egyptian inscriptions.  So, we moved on, looking for the Trevi Fountain (never finding it), seeing the Spanish Steps and Piazza, and we got lost, going in and out of the walls of the city as we tried to find our way back.  We did, fortunately, make it back by about 10:45 p.m.

Sunday, February 6/morning of 7^th, 2011

            Today we had more intensive orientation sessions, but were served some Italian snacks.  We had a midday break, and most of us got out of the house and explored the city a bit.  Some went to the Spanish Steps, but I went down the street toward the Villa Borghese, and Peter D., Nolan, Peter “the Lesser”, Tim, John Baumgardner, Dan, and I threw around a couple Frisbees in the park.  We all met Fr. Carola, who is a very intelligent and great priest. He led us to the Vatican, and we got to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, which is the absolute largest and most beautiful structure, internally and externally, that I have ever seen.  With so many varieties of marble, forming the columns and statues, I was truly left in awe.  We had an official “Benvenuti a Roma” dinner and Mass and Vespers later that night, after which Mary, Jodi, Tim, Maria, Dan, John, Peter D., Nolan, and I left at about 11:30 p.m. to go to the Abbey Theater, a fun but cramped foreign-catering bar, to watch the Super Bowl, which needless to say, did not go well, as the Steelers fell to the Packers, 25-31.  Nothing else to say on that, but we meandered home at about 4:10 a.m., getting to Bernardi at 4:45, allowing me perhaps two hours of sleep.

February 7th, 2011

            First day of class--holy buckets.  Dead tired, but it was a great walk to class, with all the different sights on the way.  With the Trevi Fountain, many churches (not least of which is the Church of St. Ambrose and St. Charles Borromeo), Piazza del Popolo (with the Villa Borghese and its gardens on the left) on the way, and I'm glad that I don't have a 45 minute walk back at UST, or that would get very, very boring.  Dr. Elizabeth Lev talks very quickly, but is very fun, and it should be a great semester.  Got some gelato, and some American tourist in a big Hawaiian shirt asks, in a Southern accent, for "dos gelato". Later that night, I got a great lesson in Italian voltage, when I shorted the circuit in my room, sending off a big spark, and killing my surge protector for my computer—oh well, easy come, easy go.

February 8th, 2011

Front of the Pantheon

             We went on a field trip to the catacombs of Priscilla, taking a couple buses from the Roman bus system, which is untimely at best (we actually took one on the way there since the connecting bus didn’t show).  The catacombs were awe-inspiring, to say the least.  Just to be in the same place that the ancients walked and buried their dead—up to 40,000 graves in this catacomb (1 of 60 in Rome) alone.  Unfortunately, picture taking was forbidden, but in there is the earliest known depiction of the Madonna and Child, as well as many frescos depicting all sorts of scenes, many of which contained Christian symbols of death and resurrection.  The volcanic tufa rock into which these tombs were cut is apparently soft, but when exposed to the air, hardens, making for the ideal place to bury the dead.  Underground burial was increasingly necessary, especially as the population of the city exploded and there was little room left for buildings, much less cemeteries.  One funny story on this is that the Italian tour guide told us that there were “13 km, or 8 miles, of tunnels to go.  Ready?”  We laughed, but he just told us straight-faced, “Is no joke.”  Of course we didn’t end up walking that much down there, but in just one catacomb, there were eight MILES worth of tunnels.  NB: Early Christians did not use these catacombs for hiding places during persecution times, since every catacomb was catalogued, and, therefore, not a good hiding spot—not to mention the decaying flesh all around.

            After the catacombs we went to the Pontifical Gregorian University where we’ll be able to use, but not check out, books from a selection of over either two or three hundred thousand.  Later, some of us went to the Pantheon, which is extremely incredible, and was the first pagan Roman temple to be turned into a Christian church.  Anyway, this post has been long enough, but as Rick Steves (who has become a demigod) would say, “Until next time, keep on travelling. Ciao!”

February 9, 2011

"Papa Bene" delivers his blessing on us at his weekly audience.

            Wednesday we saw Pope Benedict in an audience with thousands of others, but we were relatively close (plenty of pics/video).  That was impressive, and he waved and spoke to many people in several different languages from many different institutions.  The energy in that room was absolutely awesome, and could probably only be rivaled by that shown by people for John Paul II.  Later was Italian class, which was kinda fun (especially considering that I found out that we can have wine in class).

February 10, 2011

Madonna and Child, as depicted on a triptych at
                     the Vatican Museum

Tomb of Pope Pius XII

Today, we went to the Vatican Museums for the first time, and there were many, many pieces of ancient and Medieval and Renaissance art that we saw, including sarcophagi, tapestries, wood panel paintings, mosaics, and oil paintings.  They were all very impressive and apparently very expensive and time consuming to make (go figure).  I took pictures of a lot of those, and also of the long corridor that one of the popes commissioned, which is simply stunning.  Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, but maybe one of these days I'll sneak one in.  The scavi tour was really fascinating, as we walked in a necropolis, filled with many mausolea, which lined the streets of the ancient mini-city, which lied right outside the city walls, underneath the present day basilica.  We saw the bones of St. Peter, went in an underground chapel (got some shaky video), and saw the tombs of Pius XII (got a pic) and JPII (couldn't take a pic).  Apparently, however, JPII may be moved to the main level to the left of the pieta (as you look at it) after either his beatification or impending canonization.

February 13, 2011

Statue of Constantine outside St. John Lateran

View of Colosseum from Via dei Fori Imperiali.

            Went to St. John Lateran for Mass at 6 tonight, which ended up being about an hour and a half long walk from Bernardi, but that was because there was a women’s rights demonstration going on in Piazza del Popolo, so rather than being clawed at by a bunch of angry feminists, we decided to walk along the river on the opposite side (where more happened to be walking down the street).  It was amazing as we walked into the old city, seeing the Flavian Amphitheater (or Colosseum) right down the street, with the forum on our right, and Trajan’s Market on our left.  One can only imagine the sight that a traveler or foreign dignitary must have seen as he came down the  main street, seeing some of Rome's greatest architectural and cultural achievements, although with no car pollution to mar the stone.  To hear the roar of the crowd from the stadium, or the roar of people in the Forum Romanum or the marketplace, with all its shops and stalls.  Anyway, I'm rambling again, so until next time, ciao da Roma!