Wow, a month in Rome already. It hasn't seemed like that long, but when every day brings something new things can go by pretty quickly. Last week the Vatican class took its first trip to St. Peters to tour the Vatican Necropolis, located underneath Bernini's Baldacchino. We caught our first glimpse of the fabled Swiss Guards, whose Rainbow Brite uniforms only add to their sheer awesomeness (they are actually very cordial with everyone who passes by, and both guards gave us a one armed salute as we entered the grounds). From the entrance, the class descended past the throngs of gawking tourists (only we get the special tour, Ha-Ha!) and made our way into the extremely humid necropolis (for fear of peeling and degradation, the necropolis is kept at a very high temperature at all times). Originally used as a pagan cemetery, early Christians recycled several of the mausoleums and graves within the complex to house their own dead. We entered several family tombs, which were decorated with spectacularly stuccoed walls and mosaics (one tomb had an extremely rare image of the deified Christ ascending to the heavens, the first Christian symbol found within Rome). The group passed through the immaculate chapel of St. Clement, containing a ceiling made entirely of gilded gold taken from the Americas. However, the Vatican necropolis is most famous for holding the supposed bones of the Apostle Peter. Interred within small boxes barely viewable from the pathway, the site of their burial is located directly underneath the transept of the Basicila of St. Peter's. Quite a holy site, indeed.
Later during the week, the whole Kenyon group trekked to the Roman Forum for a primer on the formation of the famous public center. Lacking any real cohesion or organization (simply because emperors built their monuments wherever there was space), the Forum lies between the Capitoline Hill and the Palatine Hill. Although the Forum has been largely reduced to one large quarry, there are still several sights to behold: the triumphal arches of Septimus Severus, Titus, and Augustus; the Basilica of Maxentius; and the Roman Curia, which housed the Roman Senate. We finished our tour at the site of everyone's favorite postcard, the Coliseum. Begun under Vespasian and completed under Titus, the Flavian Ampitheatre is still the preeminent example of Roman engineering. But for all of its architectural importance, the Coliseum was a site of extreme cruelty and gruesomeness, as around 500,000 humans and over a million wild animals died within its walls.
Having had our fill of early Christianity and Roman construction, we walked to the foot of the Janiculum Hill to eat at Da i 2 Ciccioni (literally, Two Fat Guys). Truly a hole-in-the-wall spot, the owner and chef Gianni cooks whatever he feels like making that night and serves it to whoever happens by his kitchen. We started with bruschetta, spicy mashed potatoes, and beans before moving to heaping plates of pasta. Carbonara with pancetta, tortiglioni smothered in Pecorino Romano, and rigatoni alla' amatriciana (spicy tomato sauce with guanciale, pig's cheek) were all shared amongst the group. The secondi plates consisted of wonderfully moist and flavorful chicken sauteed in white wine, garlic, and rosemary, along with a thick seafood stew full of calamari. After downing a few glasses of limoncello for dessert, we left knowing that we had all found our new favorite restaurant. For me, it was easily one of my favorite dining experiences ever, and a wonderful end to a wonderful month.
Later during the week, the whole Kenyon group trekked to the Roman Forum for a primer on the formation of the famous public center. Lacking any real cohesion or organization (simply because emperors built their monuments wherever there was space), the Forum lies between the Capitoline Hill and the Palatine Hill. Although the Forum has been largely reduced to one large quarry, there are still several sights to behold: the triumphal arches of Septimus Severus, Titus, and Augustus; the Basilica of Maxentius; and the Roman Curia, which housed the Roman Senate. We finished our tour at the site of everyone's favorite postcard, the Coliseum. Begun under Vespasian and completed under Titus, the Flavian Ampitheatre is still the preeminent example of Roman engineering. But for all of its architectural importance, the Coliseum was a site of extreme cruelty and gruesomeness, as around 500,000 humans and over a million wild animals died within its walls.
Having had our fill of early Christianity and Roman construction, we walked to the foot of the Janiculum Hill to eat at Da i 2 Ciccioni (literally, Two Fat Guys). Truly a hole-in-the-wall spot, the owner and chef Gianni cooks whatever he feels like making that night and serves it to whoever happens by his kitchen. We started with bruschetta, spicy mashed potatoes, and beans before moving to heaping plates of pasta. Carbonara with pancetta, tortiglioni smothered in Pecorino Romano, and rigatoni alla' amatriciana (spicy tomato sauce with guanciale, pig's cheek) were all shared amongst the group. The secondi plates consisted of wonderfully moist and flavorful chicken sauteed in white wine, garlic, and rosemary, along with a thick seafood stew full of calamari. After downing a few glasses of limoncello for dessert, we left knowing that we had all found our new favorite restaurant. For me, it was easily one of my favorite dining experiences ever, and a wonderful end to a wonderful month.
