Ancient Civilizations and Bernini

Wednesday, May 7th

Today was long. We left our hotel/apartment at 8:00am and didn't get back in until around 8:15pm. Busy day!

We started our morning by going to Ostia Antica, an ancient city that has been excavated. It is about one hour away from Rome (taking the metro, train, and buses).

a bath in Ostia

Ostia was really amazing, just knowing that people lived there nearly two thousand years ago. It was interesting to see the ruins of their stores, apartments, gyms, etc. We saw several enormous baths with mosaic floors. (Fun fact: the baths were only a few feet deep because Romans never learned to swim; in general they were afraid of water.) We even saw the remnants of a restaurant in the city, complete with a bar to serve drinks and "fast food." There was also an ancient outdoor theater where elementary school kids were putting on a play and others were lining up to do musical numbers. I learned that the difference between an amphitheater and a theater is that "amphi" means "two," so an amphitheater is like two theaters put together, while a theater is just an open semi-circle with a stage at the bottom. Learning new things.

Our Ostia trip took about five hours, so by the end we were really tired and very hungry. Several people, after having heard about the amazing pizza at Luzzi, wanted to go there today, so a big group of us decided to go straight there. We got there around 2pm (I think...can't remember) and guess what? Closed on Wednesdays. Only on Wednesdays. So we had to go searching. Luckily we quickly found a restaurant whose prices looked pretty good, and we went there instead. It was really fun to go to a sit-down restaurant, order in Italian, and have a big group of us enjoy our pizzas together. (Same rules about the pizza: order your own, cut into slices, fold) Interesting note: no taxes or tips in Italy, but water is not free.


After lunch we had to rush back to make our meet-up time with Cinzia (our professor) and the rest of the group. We then were going together to the Galleria Borghese.

a bar in the restaurant in Ostia

The Galleria Borghese is a museum in the Villa Borghese. It has incredible collections of art, including some Raphaels, Caravaggios, and (most famously) Berninis. The Galleria is home to Bernini's David, Apollo and Daphne, and The Rape of Proserpina (Persephone). These sculptures are remarkable in every way. I don't have pictures because cameras, bags, purses, etc. are not allowed inside, but I stared long enough to have a good picture of them in my mind.

The Rape of Proserpina is my favorite, though it is a really tough call to make. The skill of Bernini is so palatable in this sculpture. It is truly unbelievable how Bernini managed to carve such dramatic, lifelike figures out of marble. You can see Pluto's (Hades') hands pressing into Persephone's body, and every tendon, vein, and muscle in both figures. It is absolutely one of the greatest, most impressive works of art I have ever seen. (*I haven't seen Michelangelo's David yet—just a note)

Bernini's David and Apollo and Daphne are equally as impressive and awe-inspiring. David's expression of concentration and intensity is remarkable, and Daphne's transformation into a tree—with leaves sprouting from her hands and legs—is so delicate and beautiful while also full of emotion. For me, seeing these works was incredible not only because of the history and exceptional skill they represent, but also because I have seen photographs of them and have studied them in my humanities classes, and there I was seeing the actual sculptures in person. I will never get over the fact that I am in Rome and am witnessing history.

After the Galleria we took the metro back and went straight to dinner, without stopping at our apartment. So by the time we got into our apartment again it had been over twelve hours. What a crazy, busy day! So many amazing things to see, things I hope to always remember.

That's all for today. We didn't even get gelato! There's time for that tomorrow. I am so in love with Italy! Can't wait for the days ahead.

Ciao!