Today’s Rome Walk began at the Basilica of San Giovanni, a pretty fantastic church that is actually the ecumenical church (mother church) for the Roman Catholics. The front façade is huge and a little imposing, and even though it is massive, the detail on it is unbelievable. It sits in front of a great public space and has a good view out into the city. The interior is, as usual, stunning; although it was pretty different than many others we have seen. There are five aisles running through it (one nave, and two smaller aisles on either side), which is cool. There are also twelve smaller niches designed by Borromini that contain statues of the apostles done by the most famous sculptors of the time. The ceiling here was also great, it had a thickness to it that we haven’t seen much of, as the coffering extends out a ways.
After a good bit of exploring here and much more architectural stuff, we wandered towards the Basilica of San Clemente. The entry of the Basilica still sits at the level of the old city, so the layering of this site was apparent immediately (more on that later). The entry was really great, there was a large open space dedicated to water and cleansing before entering the space, and of the 14 or so columns on either side, no two were alike. The interior was also quite impressive for the tiny church, specifically the floors, which was made up of a series of highly detailed marble mosaics. On to the layering, this space is actually the third building to have existed on this site, and the other two are accessible below. The second level is an old church that was transformed into the crypt for the new Basilica. The space was quite spooky due to the lighting (or lack thereof) and there were some amazing relics down there. The deepest level held the remains (amazingly preserved) of a first century Roman house. There was not much there aside from the walls, but even this was amazing. There was also a natural spring running through one part of it.
After we finished seeing the spaces and sketching, we left for San Teodoro, one of the only round-plan churches in Rome. We learned a little bit about the area, and one fact I found interesting was how the oldest churches in Rome besides the main ones are actually out away from the historical center. This is because Christianity was originally practiced illegally, so they built their churches in the undeveloped area outside the city. Then as Rome grew and enveloped the land, these churches were interwoven into newer areas. Anyway, after talking for a while, we went inside and talked. This church, while similar to the circular church in Perugia, is actually more reminiscent of the Latin cross due to its four entries, giving it the look of a Greek cross church. The interior was highlighted by a second circle of columns surrounding the altar, with seating in the in-between space. My other favorite part was the series of paintings that depicted various ways to torture/martyr someone…pretty neat!
Our last stop as a group for the day was the Palatine Hill. Using Beatrice’s Italian magic, we bypassed the tourist mosh-pit outside and got in almost immediately. The “Hill” is a gigantic complex filled with various ruins in varying scales of completeness, highlighted by the Roman Forum (adjoined to but very separate from the Imperial Fora) and some great spaces. We wandered around for a few hours and saw, along with great ruins of a stadium, some houses, and other public buildings, unbelievable views of the city. The most impressive was that of the Coliseum, which allowed us to see the back end, which is lower than the front, therefore giving us a view in. There was also a view into the excavation site of a giant complex that dug into the hill. They are investigating some of the mechanics of the space, and believe that one area was a gigantic rotating dining hall! As we worked our way down, the heat and fatigue really set in, which helped us decide on our next course of action: gelato.
We returned to Il Gelati, the place Lisa showed us, and couldn’t have timed it better. As soon as we got our ticket to order, a group of at least 50 school kids wandered in, which essentially shut the place down (the line was out the door and down the block by the time we finished eating). Today I had the best mixture ever: dark chocolate (the new bestest), white chocolate, and Oreo…OMG!!!! We ate and walked over to the Spanish Steps where we sat on a nearby fountain to study some Italian to prepare for class.
Today we worked on numbers and ordering at a restaurant, before going to a nearby bar and ordering something (I got a hard-boiled egg, or uovo sodo!!). We did some more activities (my group had the most points again, lowest common denominator…) before saying goodbye. Joe and I left to stop at an art store for pens before riding the train back. Still pretty exhausted from the day, I went back to salad and pasta, the old standby, for dinner. After some work on the blog and some reading for our theory class, I went to bed!
uovo sodo!
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