What I Learned from My Summer in Italy

The nuts and bolts of Classical Culture in the Amtrak Train Station under Washington, D.C.

Lessons I learned from my summer in Italy in 2010:

• Upper-class Romans had a less firmly delineated concept of public vs. private spaces than we do. Business was transacted from the home quite often, with clients coming to the door at dawn. There were also no separate spaces for children, making Roman homes very different from our modern homes.
• Masters' spaces were  delineated from the slaves' spaces in the homes in a clear manner through the use of decoration, which also emphasized the importance and the tastes of the master and his family.
• Public spaces such as public buildings, public works, venues of entertainment, temples, and even tombs could be used to promote the needs of and to publicize the “private” family through inscriptions, sculpture, etc.
• There was more of a middle class and a working class in ancient Roman society than I realized. There was also more social mobility than I used to think, although most people probably were born poor and died poor.
• Archeologists like to find drains to find out what Romans ate and about their daily life from what they flushed down the drains. Eww, but true!
• Capri and Ischia are two of the most beautiful and pleasant places on earth. I would like to learn more about Axel Munthe.
• The war-like Samnites gave the Romans more of a problem in its Republican history than I ever realized. Samnite tomb paintings foreshadow the Romans' love of beast-hunts and bloody gladiatorial games.
• I am tougher than I and even other people think. Fellow participants expressed their doubts I would make it through the whole program with my injured knee. But I did, and I'm stronger for it. I even made it to the top of Mt. Vesuvius and into the substructure of the Amphitheater at Capua by the end of the trip, adventures I didn't dare attempt at the beginning.
• Italy seems less crime-prone than when I last stayed for an extended time in 1988. I heard fewer tales of members of the group being ripped off by taxi drivers or robbed by pickpockets. I saw NO bands of Gypsy children roaming in large groups with boxes or newspapers over their arms to pickpocket tourists, although I saw Gypsies in small “family” groups or older individuals begging. I'd love to know the reasons behind the change in tactics.
• I should have memorized the PIN numbers of ALL the credit and debit cards I carried with me, just in case I needed cash. Which I did.
• An unlocked Italian cell phone with a SIMS card is a nice thing to have. But don't activate it by sending in your passport information until right before the trip because the TIMS company will start charging you money before you even arrive in Italy, wasting money and losing out on service. Or just pay the minimum and rely on free incoming and emergency phone calls with no outgoing calls, like I eventually did.
• Don't put tildes in any of your passwords before you go to Europe. It's impossible to find them on the keyboards there, which I guess is why it's a good security feature in one's passwords at home.
• Others may be stronger at remembering names, dates, and historical details than I am, but I'm a strong Latinist. I liked having the opportunity to sight-read Latin this summer. I also got better at reading inscriptions and, to a lesser extent, graffiti.
• My son, Matthew, is growing up to be a fine young man and good company.
• A guest house or casa per ferie in Italy can be just as nice as a hotel, cost less, and support a cause. Some even have free internet connections.
• My favorite spot to stay in Rome is the Hotel Villa Rosa in Trastevere, although I'd like it even better if it had internet access, preferably included.
• I want to learn even more Italian if I ever have reason to come back here again.
• The Romans believed in peace, but they thought that peace could only come at the end of a sword. And that sword might as well be theirs.
• There are nice people everywhere, and most people are nice.
• Don Burke is the best friend I've ever had. (PS: He later became my husband!)
• I want to travel some more. But having said that:
• There's no place like Rome, but there's no place like home.

If you enjoy these adventures and would like updates on my other travels near and far from home, follow me at http://mlbstravels.blogspot.com/, If you would like to your Italy in July of 2018, click here for tour information.

The Pantheon at Last!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

A Latin water fountain  at the museum. "Drink, dog!"

Our group checked out of the Villa Vergiliana around 9 AM, stopped at a the Capodimonte Museum for about 90 minutes, and then headed to Rome. The Capodimonte mostly contains paintings, most of which are of a (Christian) religious theme. My favorite of these was by Caravaggio. There were also some nice mythological paintings. My favorite of these was one of Zeus about to make love to Danae in the form of golden rain. Unfortunately, this museum does not allow photos, so I cannot share.

Matthew and I checked into the Villa Maria Guest House or Casa per Ferie in Trastevere in Rome. This hotel is owned and operated by the Sisters of the Divine Savior. It is clean and has hot showers, which Matthew and I were very happy to take advantage of. Wireless internet is available, but you have to pay for it by the hour, so we're skipping that.

 But the good news is that we got to Rome by early afternoon, so Matthew and I had time to make it over to the Pantheon, which was open today. We had a chance to take in the beauty of the space, admire the dome constructed under the Emperor Hadrian, and get pictures of the exterior and the plaza where it is located. 

The dome of the Pantheon

The inscription says that Agrippa, Augustus' general, built it. Hadrian preserved the original inscription when he rebuilt it. Work is being done on the exterior, but we can still read the inscription under the scaffolding that covers half the front of the building. The Pantheon is well preserved because it has long been a Catholic Church. It was stripped of the bronze from the interior of the dome, however. One of the popes reused some if it toward the Baldacchino in the dome of St. Peter's, and the rest to make some cannons. So sad!

The exterior of the Pantheon, undergoing restorations

For more pictures from our last day in Rome, visit this set on Flickr.


 Tomorrow we will head over to the airport quite early to help out a friend who wants to split the cost of a taxi to save some money.

Where Would Vampires Hide Out in Italy?

 

Thursday, August 12, 2010

 

 Today we went to Baia and to two villas in Stabia: San Marco and Ariana (Ariadne). My favorite part of the day, however, was a stop at Misenum at the “Piscina Mirabile.” 

The "Piscina Mirabile" in Italian; "Piscina Mirabilis" in Latin

This is the remains of a huge cistern that was at the end of the Aqua Augusta, an aqueduct used to supply water to the Roman fleet at Misenum. Branches of it also supplied water to Pompeii and Herculaneum, but its original purpose was a military one. This isn't surprising, considering that Roman roads were originally built for military purposes, too. 

The “Piscina Mirabilis” is hauntingly beautiful. I can't explain why. Hopefully my pictures will do it some justice. Our guide said it could hold over twelve million liters of water. That's a little more than three million gallons.

Wow! 

Piscina Mirabilis: pretty? creepy? pretty creepy? YOU decide!

Even the algae and vines growing in it were beautiful in a creepy, Ann Rice kind of way. There was something about the whole place that fired the imagination. For more pictures of this and our previous day, visit this set on Flickr.

 Our group is starting to wind up its stay. One more night here after tonight, and then we will be heading back to Rome. I am hoping I will find time to get to the Pantheon so Matthew can see it before we depart for the U.S.

Want to tour Italy in the summer of 2018? Click for details.

The Climb Up Mt. Vesuvius

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The ascent up Vesuvius from the bus parking area is arduous but not impossible

 We started our morning with a climb up Mt. Vesuvius. We were lucky that the morning was a little overcast, so the hike wasn't as hot as I'd anticipated. With Matthew's help, I made it to the top! Yee-hah!! Last month I took a pain pill and worked on my physical therapy exercises while the group made the ascent. Today I made it with very little trouble. I feel great!

Matthew and I both reached the summit. Gotta work off that gelato somehow!

 The visit to Herculaneum was very productive. We saw some houses I hadn't seen before, and I was very excited to get into the Suburban Baths, which were closed on our last visit. There is evidence that the windows were glassed in. The pyroclastic flow knocked a basin into more “lava” and fragments of the glass from the window can be seen in the impression in the cooled rock. I have digital pictures of this that I've posted below.

The basin where it stood under the window

The impression in the pyroclastic flow

Close-up showing evidence of broken glass

For more pictures from this day of our trip, visit this set on Flickr. For an account of my first visit to Mt. Vesuvius in 2010, visit "The Inferno."

Paestum, ancient Poseidonia

Monday, August 9, 2010

 

Matthew enjoying the Greek temples at Paestum

Today our group of teachers on a Vergilian Society tour spent the day in Paestum, ancient Poseidonia, originally a Greek colony. 

Anne Haeckl lectures as part of our tour

 New for me this time was the Ekklesiasterion, a public assembly space for Greek-style elections and political meetings. The Romans covered it over when they took over, probably because they wanted to set up a space for more Roman-style systems of government. 

The Ekklesiasterion

Model of the Greek ekklesiasterion

It is the only Ekklesiasterion in Italy. We don't know if there were more, destroyed by the Romans or otherwise. This is the only one that has been found. It looks like a rounded amphitheater. 

Christopher Gregg, our other guide and lecturer

We also spent some time examining the tomb paintings of the Lucanians, an Italic people. There are definite interests there in blood sports and chariot racing, perhaps foreshadowing the rise in interest in arenas and circuses in Rome and the prevalence of gladiatorial training schools in Southern Italy. I purchased a small model of the lid of the Tomb of the Diver at the gift shops here for use in my classroom. 

Tomb of the Diver

 
For more pictures of Paestum, visit this set on Flickr.

Tomorrow we go to Herculaneum and climb Mt. Vesuvius. I am hoping my knee will feel good enough to allow me to reach the summit this time.

Pompeii Revisited

Saturday, August 7, 2010

 

The goddess Venus with attendants. Her presence would have been felt in the Lupinarium!

 I was back at Pompeii for the third time this summer. This was the best visit of all. We got to see the Lupinarium, a brothel. Chris wrote his dissertation on Pompeii's prostitution, so he was very knowledgeable about the site and about the topic. The Lupinarium was well lit, and we didn't have to bribe a guard to get in. Things have certainly changed since I first visited the site in 1988. I bought a cute reproduction black-figure Greek vase to use for a classroom project. It shows a centaur dancing with a deer. It was fun to take Matthew around and share a little about what I'd learned this summer. For more pictures from this day, visit this set on Flickr.  Tomorrow we go to Naples for the Naples' Museum and to Boscoreale for a look at a villa rustica.

A wine press at the Villa of the Mysteries

Volcanic Southern Italy and the Temples of the Gods

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

 

Here I am with my "Fund for Teachers" bag in front of the entrance to "Sibyl's Cave" in Cumae

  

Today the group spent time in Cumae (modern Cuma) itself. It was originally a Greek colony that was later taken over by the Romans as they expanded through Italy. We took a good look at the remains of two temples there, one allegedly built by the mythical character Daedalus, Icarus' father and the inventor of the Labyrinth on Crete and of human-powered flight. This was a temple to Apollo. We also visited Sibyl's Cave, the place of Apollo's Oracle at Cumae. We had a rare opportunity to visit its forum and spend some time in its bath complex. After lunch the group traveled to see the Macellum at Pozzuoli, modern-day Puteoli, and then went on to Solfatara. The day was great fun. 

Matthew in front of one of the volcanic vents at Solfatara

Tomorrow we will visit the Villa at Oplontis in the morning and then head to the island of Capri for two days. Capri is beautiful, and I've never spent the night there, so I am looking forward to the night in the hotel. 

The accommodations at the Villa Vergiliana are very basic. There is no air conditioning, although the evening breezes are pleasant, and the group of 30 must share showers. My room is the smallest I have had so far. I like my new roommate, though, and am quickly adjusting to the changes. At least there are some lines outside for the laundry I do in the sink in our small room, so I have a place for my things to dry.

An Emperor's Outdoor Dining Cave: Sperlonga, Italy

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Cave at Sperlonga. The fish pond and remains of the imperial dining room in the foreground

 

Matthew and I successfully met up with the group from the Vergilian Society program at 9 AM. The group made stops at Terracina and at Sperlonga on the way to Cumae. I especially liked the museum at Sperlonga, which is suspected to be the site of one of the Emperor Tiberius' villas. There are some Hellenistic-style statures there on the theme of Odysseus, including a nice reproduction of a statue group of Odysseus and his men blinding the Cyclops, Polyphemus. The statues were originally in a triclinium set in a cave, or spelunca in Latin. The name, Sperlonga, might actually be a corruption of the Latin word for cave. Sperlonga has a beautiful beach within sight of the museum and cave, but we didn't have time to go there. Sigh!

Exploring the interior of the cave, the original location of the museum's statues

Upper-class Romans liked to grow fish in ponds on their estates

A view of the dining area from inside the cave. Tourists on the right give an idea of the scale.

We can tell from these holes on the dining platform that the Romans raised lampreys, a delicacy, here

Another exterior view of the cave at Sperlonga

Rome: the Colosseum, Palatine, and Capitoline Hills

Sunday, August 1, 2010

 

At the Colosseum

 I let my son, Matthew, sleep in until about 9 this morning. After breakfast we headed out to the Colosseum. First we saw the Ludus Magnus, the barracks outside the Colosseum where the gladiators trained while waiting for their turn at the fights. They didn't live there long term, however, because the Romans were leery of having armed slaves trained to fight hanging around the city. 

Then we splurged on a tour guide to beat some of the lines heading into the Colosseum. The guide was actually pretty good and had some good illustrations and explanations. Then we headed to the special exhibit on gladiators, which had some good reproductions of gladiatorial costumes that can give my students a better idea of the different types of gladiators.

A type of gladiator: murmillo

Included in our Colosseum tour was entry to the Palatine Hill and Forum, so we spent some time there. Our tour guide was so bad and rude that we left him and finished looking around the area on our own, which was more satisfactory. 

We saw the Palatine Museum. The House of Augustus and the House of Livia were closed to the public, unfortunately. But we got to see “Romulus' Hut” where evidence of the first huts on the Palatine Hill, the first settlements in Rome, are to be seen. It's basically just some holes for supports of these huts in the ground, but it's still neat to see. In the forum there was a special exhibit on the family of the Aemilii,  which had some beautiful relief sculptures in it. Matthew also liked looking for the remains of coins on the floor of the Basilica Aemilia in the forum. There had been a massive fire there, so hot that coins left behind by the bankers actually fused to the marble floors.

 Our original plan had been to make our way from the Capitoline Museum to the Pantheon before it closed, but we had trouble finding the right bus and couldn't make it there on time, so we made it back to Trastevere to pack and take it easy before our trip to Campania, modern-day Campagna, tomorrow. Seeing the inside of the Pantheon again was one of my big goals for my stay in Rome, so I was sad not to have made it. Hopefully it will be incentive for Matthew to come back and see it someday. It is my favorite spot in the city.

Reunion in Rome!

Saturday, 7/31/10

Matthew and I at the Baths of Caracalla, waiting for Rigoletto to start

 The trip to Fiumicino Airport to pick up my son, Matthew, was fairly uneventful. His plane was delayed about an hour and a half because of mechanical trouble. The plane he was supposed to fly in on needed its engines replaced, something discovered during routine maintenance checks. So the flight could have been much later. But Continental Airlines found another plane ready to cross the Atlantic. It was a smaller plane, so some passengers were rerouted and others got bumped. But Matthew got here OK.

 After getting his things situated back at our hotel, including presenting his passport at the desk, which all of the hotels require  now due to a government regulation, we headed to the Vatican. We took a quick tour of the museums, visited St. Peter's Basilica, found a quick bite to eat, and headed back to the hotel so Matthew could nap for a couple of hours. His favorite snack so far is gelato. The chocolate was especially good. My favorite snack yesterday was a chocolate-filled cornetto, a type of pastry, and a cappuccino I grabbed on the way to the train for less than 2 Euros. It tasted too good to be true.

 In the evening we headed to the Baths of Caracalla for Verdi's opera, Rigoletto. It was fun together, and the baths are a fantastic setting for an opera. And the singing was fantastic. I like Aida better, however. That's playing tomorrow night but I didn't want to be up late on Sunday if I can help it, since we have a bus to meet on Monday morning. 

After the opera was an adventure! The late night transportation in Rome is rather spotty. We assumed, wrongly, that there would be some extra buses heading to Trastevere after the opera. There were not. According to a sign, a night tram runs from 11:30 PM to 3 AM but we waited a long time and saw no sign of it. Finally the group of us, about 10 in all, hailed a cab, who called two more cabs on the radio, and we got back to the hotel by 1 AM. 

Not too bad. 

Matthew must have been particularly happy to see the hotel room since he had slept only about 4 hours including his nap.

Land of the Etruscans

Thursday 7/29/10

Etruscan Tumulus Tomb

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the official “last day” of the program, although most of the participants will be staying through the weekend. We have formed close bonds and will really miss each other. Today we took a hired coach to Etruria, specifically Cerveteri and Tarquinia, to look at Etruscan tombs. The Etruscans were an ancient civilization that died out around the 6th Century B.C., about the same time the Romans came to power. Like the Egyptians, they tried to set up their burial sites with everything the deceased would need in the afterlife, so their artwork is valuable to modern historians. According to Roman historical legend, the Etruscans ruled Rome for a period ending in 510/509 B.C., so Etruscan civilization and culture had a strong influence on Rome in its formative years.

Let's have a look inside this Etruscan tomb!

 I was glad to see that the Italian government is now taking steps to protect the precious frescoes in Tarquinia. In the late 80s I could stand inside the tombs and look at the frescoes up close, even though the guides admitted the presence of visitors was bad for the paintings. Now the most important tombs have little buildings over them to protect them from rain and moisture seeping through. Inside the tombs is a plexiglass door so visitors can see the frescoes and take pictures of them—with no flash. Glad as I was to see them protected, I missed the experience of seeing them up close and personal. I have fond memories and am glad I could do that in my lifetime.

Some Etruscan Tombs in Tarquinia Contain Frescoes

While I was there I bought two more reproductions for my classroom: a terracotta oil lamp with Cupid on it and a bucchero vase with some figures incised on it. Bucchero was a type of black Etuscan pottery that was fired very hot. It has a shiny look so that you can almost mistake it for metal. The effect is deliberate: those who could not afford metal used pottery that looked like metal. I got a good buy: both small pieces for 17 Euros. The woman who sold them to me told me in Italian that she had some background in the Classics. I could understand some of what she was saying in Italian. We both agreed that Greek is difficult. She seemed to have a real respect for Etruscan culture and products and not just be at her stand to make a buck (although I'm sure that doesn't hurt). For more pictures from this trip, visit this set on Flickr.

 Don called tonight with the news that a very good friend of mine and her husband just split up. It was a complete shock to me. I had no idea it was coming. How sad! When I get back I'll have to get in touch with her. I was glad to have a chance to tell Don how much I miss him. It sounds like he is conscientiously working his tail off taking care of the dogs, our properties, and my bills while I'm gone. I owe him big time.

The National Endowment for the Humanities has earned my public appreciation for providing funding for this portion of my summer travels.

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Wednesday, 7/28/10

Fontes Bandusiae at Horace's Villa

  This morning a bus came, a private coach, to take our group to the outskirts of Rome. We visited Horace's Sabine Farm in the morning, made famous by his “O Fontes Bandusiae” poem. He said it was simple, and it was, compared to his rich patrons'. But it was pretty fancy. It had a bath complex with a hypocaust system, a swimming pool, and even an aquarium you could walk into to see watch fish behind resin panels.

 

 Hadrian's villa, on the other hand, was extremely impressive, the size of a town, covering 70 acres or two miles in length. Artwork: statues, frescoes, and mosaics, have been removed from the villa and now adorns museums all over the world. The museum at the site had an exhibition of some of this art, but no pictures were allowed. The statues seen around the main piscina and nymphaeum/triclinium complex are reproductions. The originals are inside the museum.

Hadrian's Villa

 After Hadrian's Villa we stopped at Villa d'Este, which is a palace that belonged to the rich and influential Este family. Hadrian's villa inspired the design, layout, and decoration of the Villa d'Este. During the Renaissance this family even “mined” Hadrian's villa for statues, marble, etc., with which to decorate their villa. Archeologists look at this approach as plundering, but at the time nobles thought of it more as antiquing or reusing of materials, which has gone on for centuries. For more pictures and video from this day, visit this set on Flickr.

Villa d'Este

 All in all it was a full day. After a quick, light supper, I got my PT stretches done but skipped the strength exercises and called it a day. Tomorrow we visit Etruscan tombs, for which I have a fondness... not quite the fondness I've redeveloped for Italian ice cream (gelato), but close.

My thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this experience possible.