Tag: rome

Guest Post: The Pallottine Nuns

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While in Rome, Heather and I decided to visit the convent of the Pallottine nuns. Heather was able to contact Sister Patrice, a friend of her family, who kindly showed us around. We couldn’t stay for very long, but the time we had there was unforgettable. She first took us to two different chapels in the convent that were small but so beautiful. The first was very simple but it had vibrant marble floors and housed a kneeler that had been used by Pope John Paul II (I knelt on it!). They have mass here every morning at 6:45 am. The second was a lot more modern, covered in white marble with abstract stained glass on the windows. She also showed us some of the living spaces, such as the kitchen where we were able to see some of the nuns cooking. Finally, she led us into a room where she had tea, cookies, and fruit prepared for us. We were not expecting this at all! We were able to sit and hear some of her life story (which was incredible!), more about daily life in the convent, and ask any questions we had. It was such a great experience and definitely improved my understanding of this unique lifestyle.

– Brittany Mathews
Italy 2012

Guest Post: Piazza del Popolo

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Of all the places we have stayed in Italy, Rome was our longest stay (two weeks). You would think, in two weeks, we would see all that there is to see. Unfortunately, we weren’t even close. We did get to see all the big, renowned monuments and museums but, as a group, we missed one of the things that I was most looking forward to in Rome: two of Caravaggio’s famous paintings in the Santa Maria del Popolo church. Before leaving for Italy, while we were still back on campus, I had done a presentation in Dr. Letteri’s Communication Studies class on Italian public spaces. My presentation was an introduction to Baroque art, with a focus on architecture by Bernini and painting by Caravaggio. This presentation introduced me to Baroque art as well and after doing the research, I became extremely interested and amazed by Caravaggio’s paintings.

Santa Maria del Popolo was on our itinerary for our tour with our guide multiple times. Every time we tried to visit it, however, it was closed. On our last day in Rome, we got done touring pretty early so we had some free time on our own before dinner. Fortunately, our hotel in Rome was only about a 10-minute walk from the Piazza del Popolo, where the church was located. I decided that I would be very disappointed if I had come all the way to Rome, stayed in a hotel less than 10 minutes from the paintings, and still didn’t see them. So Brett and I went to visit Santa Maria del Popolo, one of Rome’s first Renaissance churches. That extra trip down there was definitely worth it. The two unbelievably realistic paintings (The Conversion of St. Paul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter) looked even more real and intense in person. It also was very meaningful to see the paintings that I had read all about in our texts and informed the class about just one month earlier back at Furman. I am very disappointed that they did not allow photography in the church, but I think that makes it even more worth it since I got to see it in person. I love that we have been able to learn about specific places or subjects, develop a genuine interest for them, and then actually get to visit and enjoy them over here in Italy. It makes everything we learned back at Furman so much more relevant and fascinating.

-Kacie Schoen
Italy 2012

Arrivederci, Roma!

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Our two weeks in Rome were wonderful. After constantly moving around for the first few weeks of the trip, it was nice to get to settle in and stay in one place for a while. We’ve been busy, though. We spent most of our days touring, exploring the city’s 2700-year-old history first-hand. We’ve seen everything from the crumbling ruins of the Roman Empire to the impossibly beautiful churches of the Renaissance to the simpler (and hideously boring) architecture of Fascist Italy. We’ve toured churches and museums, seen some of the most significant art and architecture of the last few thousand years, and learned so much about the culture and history of this city.

Interspersed with all this touring are free afternoons and entire free days, and we’ve used this time to rest and to experience and explore the city. Between the 23 of us, we’ve spent countless hours (and countless euros) shopping, gone to mass at the Vatican, visited jazz clubs, gone dancing, strolled through open-air markets, gone on picnics in the city’s sprawling gardens, and gone running along the banks of the Tiber River. We’ve even gone to a professional soccer match and were amazed and overwhelmed by the sounds of cannon-fire and fight songs, the sight of massive red and yellow flags waving all around us …and the smell of cigarettes.

It’s surreal and wonderful just being here in this country, and being here with such incredible people has made this trip all the more amazing! In case you can’t tell, I’m more than a little excited about this adventure and the people with whom I’m sharing it. Everything about this trip has been wonderful! We’re almost four weeks into this Italian adventure, and I’m honestly still loving every moment. I still wake up every morning just as excited, just as amazed that I’m actually here.  It’s actually really sad to think that our trip is over halfway over; I don’t want it to end!

You should be hearing from us a lot in the next few weeks, not only from the official blog writers but from our classmates as well, writing about their own experiences in Rome and the cities to come. Stay tuned! We’re heading to Florence next—the city of Dante and Petrarch, Michelangelo and da Vinci, the birthplace of the Renaissance. I honestly can’t wait! There’s so much to see and do and experience in this country, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead!

– Brian
Blog Team
Italy 2012

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Sorry the blog has been a little quiet lately- we’ve been awfully busy running around Rome seeing as much as possible. We should have a new post up for you sometime in the next couple of days, but until then, have some pictures! -SH

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St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

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The Colosseum

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The “Wedding Cake” monument to Victor Emanuel

When in Rome

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Ciao from Roma! We arrived in Rome four days ago and have since been enjoying the sights, sounds, and tastes of our first big Italian city! Our hotel is located near Vatican City, just a 15 minute walk across the Tiber River to the heart of the capitol city! Our motto for this leg of travel has been: “When in Rome!”

We began our Roman adventures with a bus tour to acquaint ourselves with the main sights of the city. Before lunch we stopped by the Trevi Fountain to toss in a few coins in hopes of returning to Rome someday. A select few of us actually fulfilled this prediction from previous trips to Italy! The combination of fond memories and new experiences within our group was exciting to see.

As a group we have toured the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the famous Ara Pacis altar, to name a few. But beyond the tours, many of us have explored the city on our own to experience the shopping, urbanization, and nightlife typical of Rome. We have mastered navigation of the city by public transportation and on foot. And so far no one has been hit by the crazy Italian drivers who “sporadically follow traffic laws,” according to our guide book. At this point we’ve all had more than our share of cappuccinos and gelato too!

Long story short, we’re not homesick quite yet. But I think it’s safe to say we are all glad to be in one place for a while! Getting comfortable in Rome hasn’t been difficult, and the whole group is getting to know each other better as well! We are all learning a lot about the history and traditions of Italy, but there are lessons to learn about ourselves in the mix too! A general consensus has been to experience as much of the city as possible while we’re here. This is a once in a life time chance, and we all plan to spend it well. You know what they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do!”

~Rachel
Blog Team
Italy 2012

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