Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Rome-ing Around


Hi! I just wanted to give some brief updates on things I have been doing in Rome.

While in Rome, I have visited quite a few museums, such as Galleria Doria Pamphilj and the Vatican Museums, where I saw famous works, including the Sistine Chapel and The School of Athens. Other museums include:
  • Capitoline- I was really excited to see the giant foot of Constantine, since I had seen the sketch below over and over in class. Of course, I jumped on the opportunity to recreate it.

The Artist Moved by the Grandeur of Ancient Ruins


  • Centrale Montemartini- An old power station which was turned into a museum to store antiquities. Conceptually, I really like the idea of the juxtaposition between industrial machinery and ancient art. However, I was not a fan of the actual execution. At some points in the museum, I felt as if the exhibit was covering its industrial background, rather than working with it.
  • Hendrik Christian Andersen Museum-  This house museum stores exaggerated statues, which the artist planned to use to decorate his imagined world city. I think I would have enjoyed this museum more if there had not been the temporary exhibit of a more modern artist. With this combination, some of the newer masks obscured the original statues. I  hope to return to the museum once the exhibit has ended.
  • Galleria Borghese- I was not particularly excited about this famous museum. When I went, I was at the point where I thought if I saw another marble statue, I might go mad (there are so many in Rome)! However, the collection was simply amazing. Ironically, I liked Bernini’s statues in particular. The  detail he was able to create using such a medium was breathtaking. I was particularly impressed with the seemingly simple, but incredibly detailed grip of Pluto’s hand on Persephone's thigh in the Rape of Persephone. 
Photo taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Rape_of_Proserpina_1_-_Bernini_-_1622_-_Galleria_Borghese,_Rome.jpg

I was really excited to see the Roman Forum and Coliseum! I won’t bore you all with a history lesson that you could find a better version of on Wikipedia, but I will share a few photos.There was also a cat hanging out in the Coliseum which was quite adorable!





Coliseum Cat!
I also made a stop by the mouth of truth, which I am sure many of you have seen in Roman Holiday. For any of you wondering, I still have both hands!

Throughout Rome there are fountains constantly running. The water is safe for drinking, but birds have found another, rather charming, use for them. They use them as bird showers! (I suppose there aren’t enough bird baths in Rome.) I have even seen to birds fight over the spout!
I took this photo in Venice, where I first noticed the showering birds. 

For research for my political science class, I have attended a few of political rallies. I found it very interesting to note the types of people who went to each rally and how they reflected the ideals of the party whose rally they were attending. Berlusconi’s party, which is center- right, drew crowds who dressed and acted in a business casual way. On the other hand, Grillo's movement, a populist party which claims to be neither left nor right, shows the party’s foundation as a social as well as political movement. Heineken seemed to be the drink of choice for most ralliers, while others  donned V for Vendetta masks. Overall, being in Rome for the elections was a great experience, and I learned a lot about the political system in Rome.
Berlusconi rally in Piazza del Popolo
I was also lucky enough to be in Rome during the papal elections. One rainy day, I ran out of the cookies that I am currently addicted to (chocolate and hazelnut), and I had to run to the grocery store to get some more. I went in with no cookies, and when I came out with the cookies, bells began to ring through Rome. I thought this must be God’s way of telling me he approved of the cookies ;) As it turns out, it was actually a signal that the new pope was elected. I walked back to my apartment, and on my way there, I saw about 10 of my classmates running to the Vatican. After I put my groceries away, I decided to join in. It was packed! It was nearly impossible to hear or see what was going on. Still, we heard people say “Argentinean” in Italian and we knew who had been elected. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Florence and Venice

Better late than never! About a month ago, I went on a trip to Florence and Venice. Unfortunately, I had midterms and then spring break right after, so I never got around to posting.

I had a fantastic time during the weekend trip! Florence is a beautiful city that is so rich in art and history. Of course, we did the normal tour around, exploring some of the major sites.
Make a wish!








While I was there, I visited the Uffici and the Accademia. Both house some of the most famous pieces of art in the world, and I managed to take some sneaky shots of a couple I am sure you all will recognize. 



Leaving high culture all together, we also made a stop at the pizza shop where the cast of Jersey Shore worked. Even though none of us are fans of the show, someone who lived in Florence said it was the best pizza he had ever had, so we decided to give it a try. In my opinion, it was nothing special. 


The markets of Florence are rich with Italian leather. I was in search of a nice messenger bag, but I did not find one that really loved. There is also a jewelry market where the shops are built into an old bridge called Ponte Vecchio. Moving into the jewelry market was a big step up for this bridge, as it used to be occupied by butchers. There is a historical rumor that this bridge was saved from WWII bombings due to explicit orders from Hitler who was supposedly quite fond of the bridge and Florence in general. While this would be an interesting story, it seems to untrue. Hours of painstaking research on Wikipedia suggest that the bridge was spared simply because access to the bridge was obstructed at the time. 



Much to my excitement, we were in town during a 10 day chocolate festival. This was actually one of the best parts of the trips. The chocolate was not only delicious (they were not stingy with samples), but also presented very nicely! My favorite stand was Cioccolateria Marino. Their display contained random chocolate flavors, including everything from rice to cannabis! They also had some more traditional pairings like melon and other fruits. However, what made it so distinct was that the each thing tasted like its flavor with a hint of chocolate, rather than chocolate with a hint of the flavor.


I was craving fruit, so I went for chocolate covered strawberries. Delicious!

Ever since I discovered the floating city of Venice in 2nd grade, I have wanted to visit. It was just as beautiful as 2nd grade Marlena thought! Sadly, there did not seem to be much else beyond beauty. Unlike other cities which have monument after monument to visit, Venice was not as site oriented. When we researched what things to do while there, everyone told us “just get lost and explore.” For the most part that is exactly what we did. The gondola ride was also a lot of fun, although it felt somewhat unfulfilling without someone playing the accordion haha.








We went to Venice during Carnival festivities. I thought this would make the trip even more fun, but honestly, it was more of a hassle. While I loved admiring the beautiful costumes and masks, The streets were packed! Some smaller main streets were so trafficked that it took abut 5 minutes to walk down them and police had to patrol the sides and keep order.


I hope all is well in the US! I have so much more to post (including political rallies, the Colosseum and Forum, and spring break). I will try my hardest to catch up on these posts!