Two Teachers at the Vatican Museum

Saturday, 7/24/10

 My friend, Susan, and I spent most of the day at the Vatican Museum. Susan is an artist and art teacher from Chicago.What a fantastic day! We both like to move slowly through the galleries, taking in everything we can of the art. We both take time to read the placards and listen to the audio-guide, which we both rented. I got some great digital pictures of inscriptions and mythology-based art, particularly of statues from the Classical, Hellenistic, and Neo-Classical periods. I am sure these will make their way into the classroom. 

Laocoon

We were both pleasantly surprised to see what a fine collection the Vatican has of modern art. I only took a few photos of pictures I liked or found intriguing, but Susan could not get enough of the modern work, mostly paintings, once she noticed the quality of the collection. We had the contemporary art section and the lovely Etruscan section of the museum almost to ourselves toward the end of the day. We also enjoyed the gallery with the Greek vases, although I couldn't take many pictures due to problems with the reflections because the work was in cases. For more photographs, visit this set on Flickr.

"Crucifixion," by Salvador Dali, 1954

 The Sistine Chapel, once we got there in late afternoon, was crowded but not insufferably so. The audio-guides helped us remember important points about the paintings and focused our attention despite the crowds. I wish visitors were allowed to take pictures in the chapel, but sadly we were not. I had not been to the Sistine Chapel since Michelangelo's Last Judgment had been cleaned and restored, so I enjoyed getting a good look at these frescoes anew. Susan and I both said we much  preferred the audio-guides to paying for a guided tour. Seven Euros for the audio-guide vs. 45 Euros for a guided tour seems like a no-brainer, although we did have to stand in line for about an hour to get into the Vatican Museum. The guides do get you in faster. Susan and I said it was definitely worth the wait to take things at our own pace.

Since we enjoyed each others' company at the museum so much, we decided to head for the Capitoline Museum together tomorrow. But we will need to pack first. The group is moving to the Villa Rosa tomorrow afternoon, but we need to be checked out of our rooms by 10 AM. I think we will all miss the Casa la Salle. It has been a lovely stay here.

My enduring thanks go to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of our trip possible.

Rome At Last!

Monday, 7/19/10

View of the Colosseum from the Palatine Hill

 

 Well, our new digs at Casa La Salle are an improvement but not perfect. I all but had the date and time set up to Skype with my mom and my son, Matthew, who was visiting her, and also to make another call to my boyfriend, Don. But the internet service that worked perfectly yesterday is defunct all of today, so unless it magically reappears by 10 pm Italy time, Skype will have to wait. Blah!

 Some of my fellow participants have decided to drop off laundry at a nearby laundromat to get an actual load of clean clothes. I decided to continue to hand wash a few things and to hang them in the bathroom to dry. I wanted to hang them out the window, but my roommate was pestered by mosquitoes  last night and doesn't want the window open now that we have air conditioning. There are no window screens. 

Fair enough! But I was glad of my decision to hand launder when I found out people were paying 17 Euros per load. That's about $20 or so. That seems like a ridiculous amount to pay.

 Today our group took Rome's Metro, which is crowded but cheap and convenient, to the Roman Forum. There we met with a charismatic man named Darius Arya. He has been in documentaries on the History Channel on television, so some of our group gasped when they recognized him. He is actually a very nice, very energetic, and very intelligent guy with a beautiful smile. He took us all around the forum to tell us the latest discoveries about ancient houses in the area. He even got us special permission to visit the House of the Griffin, located in the substructure of a portion of Domitian's grandiose palace. Another highlight was visiting the House of Augustus and seeing some gorgeous colors preserved in the frescoes there. 

Darius is the head of the American Institute for Roman Culture. He said we can follow him on Twitter. He also is very interested in archeological conservation issues. His group will soon be releasing a free series about conservation efforts at ancient Ostia on Itunes U. When I have time I may check into both opportunities. I might come up with some ideas that would interest my classes.

Apollo in the House of Augustus

 Some of my classmates and I had a lovely lunch at a place just outside the forum area called Cavour. I had a fantastic spinach salad with ricotta cheese whipped with herbs and slivered almonds for 6 Euros. After our return, I did my PT exercises, again without any painkillers, and then we had an evening session. Ryan presented a little bit about ancient homelessness and exile. George presented about Cicero's house and offered some suggestions on how he would teach it to his classes. His idea of a monopoly-style game for the properties is adorable. “Clodius burned down your villa. Move back four spaces.” Hilarious! Then we had a reading and translation session regarding the expenses people went through to decorate these villas. After a snack of Wasa crispbreads, apricots, and almonds I bought earlier at a local grocery store, I am ready for bed. There is still no internet, so I guess I'll turn in. For more pictures of this day, visit Flickr.

My thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of the trip possible.

The Walters Art Museum

Dionysus and friends

Our group spent one day of our summer study program before our flight to Italy at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. It reminded me of our beloved Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, near our home.

The Walters is a small but surprisingly high-quality collection, the displays are well laid out, and the building is small enough to feel almost cozy. I highly recommend a visit. Highlights were a Roman lectus or dining-couch, a relief sculpture of a herdsman with his team of oxen, and a beautiful sarcophagus of Dionysus and Ariadne. This was just a little appetizer compared to what was coming in the following weeks, but a very palatable one.

The visit also gave me a chance to practice photography, especially indoors without a flash, before we visited the museums and monuments of Italy. My camera was a Nikon P60 digital camera, which was light enough to carry everywhere and inexpensive enough I didn't worry too much about it being stolen. It took some amazingly good pictures, too, especially as I got used to it.

Relief Sculpture of a Team of Oxen

Roman Dining-Couch

Upper-class Roman males generally reclined on their left elbows and ate with their right hands. Traditionally three diners reclined on a couch together, although they must have been much smaller than the average person today, because it's hard to imagine how they could all fit.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my trip possible.