Day 6- Pompeii

Today we took a 3 hour bus ride down the coast (past Naples) to Pompeii, by the way it was really cold!!! For those of you who do not know Pompeii is near the western coast of Italy and is at the base of Mount Vesuvius. The city itself dates back to the 700's B.C.E. and eventually became the "summer houses" for rich senators and also a retirement place.

However, in 62 C.E. Pompeii experienced an earthquake that demolished some of the city. After rebuilding, in 79 C.E. Mount Vesuvius erupted (blowing off over half of the mountain), entirely burying the city of Pompeii. The excavations for the site have been going on for over 200 years.

The city is practically X-Rated in the modern sense because there are lots of dirty pictures and inscriptions. There are also lots of frescos and most of the city is still somewhat intact. Some of the coolest things we saw were casts of humans that were killed by the volcano (the flesh deteriorated and left an empty hole which archeologists filled with plaster to create casts).


I hate to say that all archeological sites are the same but in Pompeii it is hard to explain what we saw except to say that after 4 hours we were really tired and cold and I have a lot of pictures to recreate the story for me. So that is really all I have to say about Pompeii. We got back on the bus, rode for 3 hours, and then had a group dinner. After that we grabbed some gelato and went to bed.

Day 5- The National Museum and More Churches

Today we went to some more churches. We started out at the Church of Santa Prassede, which is another Title church named after one of two sisters that was martyred (for what a title church is see blog from Day 1). The most important thing about this church was that it has the base of the column that Jesus was supposedly whipped on. It was brought to Rome from the holy land when St. Helen, Constantine's mother, travelled there (she brought back a lot of stuff!) Interestingly, the mosaic in the apse above the altar looks similar to the one of Saints Cosma and Damiano from the Roman Forum. The differences are that the Saints are women and the one who is presenting the church and the deacon are different (see blog from Day 2). Also in the mosaic has a phoenix in the same spot as the other church. The mosaic is dated back to the 6th century and could have been by the same artist.

From that church we went to the Church of Santa Suzanna which is the American Catholic Church. Here we met for our second ecumenical dialect with Father Greg. If I have not mentioned it before, the Vatican assigns certain catholic churches to different countries which then have to supply the priest to the parish. This church is also a title church. It was named after Suzanna, a martyr who chose a vow of chastity and was murdered for it. Father Greg was very funny and had a lot of great things to tell us about the society in Rome and how difficult it is to marry and divorce in this country. He also discussed some of his relations with the Vatican and other American and English speaking churches.

From there we made a short stop at the Church of Santa Maria della Vitoria and saw Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Funny story: the statue is not at eye level but placed up in order to sort of obscure St. Theresa's face because she is in the middle of a revelation and it looks as if she is in the middle of an orgasm (not my words…)

After that we went to Santa Maria degli Angeli which was built into the baths of Diocletian. This church was huge!!! The columns are from the original baths and go to the original floor so the "bases" of the column are fake because the column goes deep into the floor. This church was really cool because it had on display a pendulum based after Galileo and a lot of history on the subject (probably temporary). It also had a permanent meridian line that has a demonstration of a sun dial at noon everyday. We were there at the perfect timing. (A little old nun who did not speak any English dragged me over to show me the demonstration… I later found the information about it). Also right by the entrance there is a different kind of sun dial in a stained glass ceiling. Pretty cool!

From there we went to lunch and then headed to the National Museum. In the upper level there were a whole bunch of frescos and mosaics and in the basement there was a large exhibit of coins! So cool!! (Other than that I was kind of bored there…)

The second to last stop was Santa Prudenziana which is the sister church to Santa Prassede. This is also a title church. The only significant history about this church was that Peter and Paul may have stopped there and Peter may have administered the sacraments there. It also has some 4th century mosaics.

Then we headed back to Santa Maria Maggorie (from Day 1) and saw the manger piece which we did not see before. We also saw Bernini's tomb which was very humble (the Latin made it sound like that was the intention). We also walked around in the lower level museum but there was not much to see that was of any significance (Although the arm bones of 2 of the gospels writers were down there… or at least that is what they claim… I highly doubt it).

For dinner and fun me and a friend walked out the Piazza Navona, had some pizza and went on a search for a bar called La Botticella (recommended to me by a friend). We did find it and realized that it is on the International Steelers Bars Tour. This place is pretty famous for Steelers fans (too bad I had never heard of it… Go Favre!). It was an American-ish bar that is popular for American students studying abroad. We met the bartender Giovanni and had a wonderful time! Hopefully we will stop by Sunday evening so I can catch some of the Vikings game!

Day 4- Museum, Piazza Navona, and The Pantheon

Today we hit a lot of cool places!! Sadly though it was drizzling most of the day so we cut some of our free time short in order to avoid the cold. It has been cold the last few days but good news is that the weather man said the temperatures should be rising tomorrow!

After breakfast we made our way down towards the Roman Forum and stopped by the Nerva Forum for some pictures (Nerva was an emperor), then to the Imperial Forum (of Caesar Augustus, which was created around the time of Jesus' birth). From there we walked over the Forum of Trajan and saw the remains of a temple and the column of Trajan which has a gigantic frieze going spirally up the entire length of the column. Inside is a spiral staircase which goes to the top. The base of the column was once called a church because the remains of Trajan are in the base (however, it is the size of a closet and the title was later removed).

Across the street from Trajan's forum was a museum that has the original markets of Trajan which was a 6 story shopping complex. (Not as big as the Mall of America but taller at least!) This place was incredibly preserved! I could just imagine walking down the hallway and seeing the shops in the rooms. The markets were later converted into a convent.

From there we walked by a prison that most likely held Peter and Paul when they were incarcerated. (Not at the same time of course… and Paul's second incarceration, not the first when he was under house arrest). Sadly it was closed so we were unable to go inside.

So we walked up a long flight of stairs to the Capitoline Hill Museum. Inside the museum we saw the original statue of the She-Wolf. The story goes that the original inhabitants of Rome (before it was a city) Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves. The statue at the museum (and lots of other paintings there) depicts the babies nursing on the she-wolf. We also saw the Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, some walls from the Temple of Jupiter, lots of ancient jewlery, and a view of the Roman Forum (see Day 2's blog) from the Tabularium.

After the museum we walked to the base of the Capitoline Hill and saw the remains of an ancient Roman apartment building. From there we walked by the Largo Argentina. This archeological site has the remains of 4 pagan temples; although no one knows to which god they were dedicated (therefore someone creatively re-named them "A", "B", "C", and "D"). Behind one of the 4 temples (most likely the one called "B") Julius Caesar was assassinated.

After the Largo Argentina we walked towards Piazza Navona, which is one of the more popular places to film movie scenes in Rome. The Piazza Navona was originally the Circus of Domitian. It is shaped like a horse race track and was the site of many Christian martyrdoms. Today most of the original circus is gone, however, the base of the stands at the north end of the circus are visible underneath an office building. The Piazza houses the Fountain of Four Rivers which is a Michelangelo statue.

Since it was rainy we did not spend much time walking around (plus we had passed the area before). However, lunch was "on Papa" (for those of you who understand the reference it was funny) at a place that supposedly has the "Best Lasagna in the World." I did taste a bite, which was good, but I went for Rigatoni with Cheese, Tomato Sauce and Bacon (aka Prosciutto). It was delicious!!

After lunch we walked to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was originally built by Agrippa as a temple to all of the gods. It is a large cement building that had a domed roof (with a 9 meter hole in the top that acts as a calendar and a sun dial). The building burnt twice and so the current building was rebuilt in 126 C.E. by Hadrien (who was the emperor after Trajan). Some of the columns in front of the Pantheon were taken from Nero's baths. Inside the Pantheon are the tombs of some of the first kings of Italy. In 609 C.E. the statues to the gods were removed and it was converted into a Roman Catholic church. (Upon personal reflection I realized that it did not feel like a holy site or sacred place, nor did it feel like a church. It was just a mad house!)

After exploring the Pantheon and taking some cool pictures we were able to wander around the piazza. We stopped at the Tozza D'oro (spelling?) or the "Golden Cup" and had the proclaimed "Best Coffee in Rome." Ironically it is Brazilian coffee and it was still delicious!

After the wandering around we walked to the Church of Saint Augustine. Inside was the tomb of Saint Monica (Augustine's mother) who is the patron saint of motherhood (and mothers who pray for their children). We also saw our first Caravaggio painting which was "Mary and the Pilgrims". Above the alar of this church is an icon that was stolen/smuggled/removed (no one knows which) from Haggia Sophia in Constantinople before it was taken over by the Turks and turned into a Mosque.

Our last stop on the way back was to Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This church (which was originally not on our agenda) has the Bernini (I think) elephant statue out front. The name means the Chruch of Saint Mary over Minera and was named because the church was built over a temple that was probably to Minerva. Inside the church is a Michelangelo statue of Jesus. Funny story: Jesus was originally nude, but that was found offensive so someone placed a gold loincloth over his genitalia. Below the altar of the church is also the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena and around the church were a lot of Bernini pieces of art.

From there we went back to the hotel, picked up some Panini for dinner and relaxed for the evening.

Day 3- The Catacombs

Today we went to some of the catacombs. I figured I would start by explaining the history of the catacombs so you can understand the full beauty of them. The catacombs are basically underground cemeteries used by early Christians. In the Roman world before Christianity the pagans (non-Christians) would cremate their dead and place the ashes in urns (or possibly scatter them somewhere). However, early Christians believed in the imminent return of Christ to the earth. When Christ returned the dead would rise again (this is called bodily resurrection). Therefore, the Christians would not cremate their dead in order to preserve the body for Christ's return.

The catacombs were called dormitories (vs. crematories) because Christians used the euphemism "sleep" to talk about death. The higher levels are actually the oldest levels because at they filled up the space, they had to move lower in order to create more space. It is an urban legend that Christians hid out/lived down there. They also probably did not worship down there. This is because the Roman government knew about the catacombs, therefore, there was no place to hide. Most of the catacombs were only rediscovered a few hundred years ago. (This is because Constantine had churches built over the catacombs).

The catacombs were a popular place to bury martyrs. From there, Christians would want to have their families and themselves buried near these martyrs. Early Christians would celebrate the death day of martyrs (but they called it their birth day and would have a feast (more like a picnic) over the catacombs. This is the beginning of feast days for martyrs.

There were 3 different types of "graves", the first being a long thin hole that is closed off by tile, bricks, or marble. These holes are close together like bunks in a submarine. The second type is a family tomb which has an arch on the top and either sarcophagi or holes within the tomb. Then there were sarcophagi that were placed in larger rooms for the more wealthy. These tomb rooms there are some of the earliest depictions of Christian symbols and Biblical artwork. Some of these symbols are the fish, the olive branch, the peacock (a symbol of life), the good shepherd (Jesus with a sheep on his shoulder), and the Iota Xi Theta Upsilon Sigma. There are also biblical depictions of Madonna and Child, the raising of Lazarus, the fiery furnace, Jonah and the whale, etc.

The first catacomb we saw was the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla on the northern side of Rome. In this catacomb was the first painting of Madonna and Child. Also it was the only other place in Rome to have a phoenix as a Christian symbol.

The second catacomb we saw was the Catacomb of Saint Callisto which was the largest of all of the catacombs with about half a million people buried there. Also, there are 13 miles of tunnels in that catacomb. There is a hall of bishops which had 9 bishops buried there.

The last catacomb we saw was the Catacomb of Saint Sebastian. This catacomb was most likely the original burial place of Peter and Paul. The catacomb had 3 room-like areas that show the transition from crematoriums to cemeteries; there were urns filled with ashes that were buried in the catacombs. Above this catacomb is the church of Saint Sebastian which has probably the last Bernini sculpture (the Bust of Jesus). It also has the original stone believed to have the footprints of Jesus. These footprints were from when Jesus appeared to Peter on the Appian Way heading outside of Rome. Peter saw Jesus and asked "Quo Vadis?" or Where are you going? And Jesus told Peter that he was going to Rome to be crucified again. Then Peter went into the city because he understood that it was his time to die. Peter was then crucified upside down. The Quo Vadis church (which we visited later and which is on the site of this revelation) has a replica of this stone in the floor of the church.

From the Quo Vadis church we went to the English speaking Methodist church and discussed their ministry and the Catholic and Methodist relations in Rome. The Reverend Dr. Trevor (last name being withheld) has a very interesting story that I wish I had more time to go into but I do not… sorry! From there we made our way back to the hotel after stopping for a snack/dinner by the Pantheon.

Day 2- The Roman Forum and Colosseum

Sleep came easy to most of us last night and the jet lag is finally dwindling away! This morning we had breakfast in the hotel (with no nutella… it was a little sad). After breakfast we met up in the lounge to discuss the day's itinerary.

One of our group members asked how the priests are decided for the church and where all the funding comes from for upkeep. The churches are actually the property of Italy (not the Vatican) who pays for the upkeep. The churches are also assigned to a country (by the Vatican) which supplies the priest. The priest is also a liaison to the pilgrims from their country who come to visit.

Then we had a moment of prayer and a reading from Acts 12 which talked about Peter's release from captivity in Jerusalem. Most of the notes I have for each of the places on the itinerary I will include as I go through the day's activities.

The first place we went today was the Church of Santi Cosma and Damiano. This church is significant because it is built into a 3rd century pagan temple (possibly to Romulus). The saints were surgeons and legend has it that people would sleep in the church and be miraculously healed in the morning. This is part of the Roman Forum which was the marketplace, social area, and political center in the time of the Roman republic (before the emperors came in and started creating their own forums). The forum held many pagan temples, and so it common for the early church to build into or on top of the remaining temple.

Above the altar is a large arch that is a mock of a triumphal arch to signify the triumph of the church over the empire. There is an image of Peter and Paul above the altar as well as a depictions of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Above the arch is the Lamb of God as portrayed in the Apocalypse of John (aka Revelation) . This church is the first time that Jesus is portrayed as a "hippie" with long hair and a long beard, in earlier depictions he is much younger looking. Also in the mosaic there is a flamingo looking figure. This is actually a phoenix (a fictitious bird which is supposed to have burned to death and been reborn of it's ashes) and it represents resurrection. This is one of only 2 places where the phoenix is present in Rome.

Then from there we walked into the Roman Forum which was built/renovated mostly by Julius Caesar. First we went to the Arch of Septimius Severus. This was built in 208 C.E. Arches were built originally in times of triumph and the emperor would parade through them on the Via Sacra (Holy Way or Holy Road). The Via Sacra is the main road that runs through the forum and some of the original paving stones still remain. Also, in the forum we saw the remains of pillars from the Temple of Saturn. We also went into a recreation of the Curia (senate house).

As we were walking towards the other side of the forum we saw the remains of the Temple of Vesta, which was round. In this temple there were 6 keepers of the hearth fire of Rome (which was never to go out under penalty of death). These keepers were young women called the Vestal virgins. The were hand picked by the emperor around their 10th birthday and were to remain virgins for 30 years. They were said to have veto power over the emperor in the Colosseum. If a Vestal virgin was caught with a lover they were buried alive.

The largest forum building was the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. The building was started by Maxentius and (after the Milvian Bridge incident) was completed by Constantine.

The Arch of Titus is one of the more famous arches in Rome because it depicts the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. with a frieze of Titus carrying the Menorah from the temple into Rome.

From there we went onto the Palatine Hill which was where all of the palaces and rich homes were built. This is one of the 7 famous hills of Rome (which is symbolic of 7 in some apocalyptic literature). We found quite a few fleur-de-lis on this hill including some around a sun dial. We visited the palace gardens and saw the holes for ancient huts believed to be the from some of the first civilizations in Rome.

We also visited the House of Livia (and Augustus?). This home still has frescos on the walls dating back over 2000 years. This was Livia's family's home and Augustus could have possibly lived there before he was emperor. We then went down the Crypto Porticus, which is the place where an emperor (forgot who) was killed.

From the forum, we stopped for a quick lunch and made our way to the Colosseum for a guided tour. The Colosseum, which is officially called the Flavian Amphitheater after the emperor Flavian who commissioned it, gets it nickname from the large bronze statue of Nero that used to be next to it. However, no one really knows what happened to that statue. The Colosseum in Nero's time was a manmade lake (made by Nero). When the Colosseum first opened there were 100 days (straight, 24 hours a day) of games.

Some of these games included gladiator battles, hunting games, etc. After the 100 days, politicians would then throw their own games in order to gain favor with the people. The Colosseum was one place in which the people of Rome could voice their opinions (they could even boo the emperor and not get killed!).

The gladiators that fought in the Colosseum were the best of the best. If one made it to the big stage
(like Broadway in a sense) then there was not a "fight to the death" battle. Gladiators were usually condemned criminals, slaves, or thrill seekers (and possibly a lifestyle to avoid debt/death). And while they may not have been "noble" they were similar to the professional athletes of our time.

After the Colosseum we saw the Arch of Constantine, which depicts a final battle of the Milvian bridge on the side, and the Ludus Magnus, which was the barracks for the gladiators. Then we went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

For dinner a bunch of us went to a "bar" which is not like a typical American bar but is more like a fast food pizza/Panini place. Then some of made our way to an Irish Pub (free internet! Yay!) and then made a gelato run to finish off the night!

Day 1- Arriving in Rome

Well we made it Rome okay! Quite a few "jet-lagged" people in our group (myself included) but we are here!

Our trip is a spiritual pilgrimage/cross-cultural experience/history course. Before we left we were asked to watch Gladiator (which is NOT historically accurate, or even close to it), Roman Holiday, Quo Vadis (a 1951 Technicolor movie about Nero's fire, which is also NOT historically accurate, but is very good anyways!), and Hudson Hawk (which is up there in the horribly stupid, but entirely hilarious 1category). Each of these movies is a must see! We were also asked to read some books (depending on where your credit was going to depended on what books you should read).

From all of these things I realized how little I really knew about Rome! I had forgotten much of my "Roman Empire" history lessons from grade-school. So I started watching the HBO series "Rome". Coolest thing about the DVD Box set is that there is an option to have a commentary that is called "All Roads Lead to Rome" that is similar to VH1's Pop-Up Video. Love it! I have learned so much from that! Amazingly it is only the first day I am already overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have seen. So onto the itinerary…

After leaving the airport, we went straight to the MVSEO DELLA CIVILTA ROMANA or "The Museum of Roman Civilization" (forgive my Latin and Italian in the time here… it may not be entirely accurate, I only speak Koine Greek, Hebrew, and English). In this museum we saw a lot of replicas of ancient buildings and graffiti, etc. Two of the coolest things we saw (other and an entire room dedicated to Julius Caesar and another one dedicated to Augustus) were:

1) a 4th Century Model of Rome (Constantine's era; gave us a good idea of what Rome looked like around the time of the first churches)

2) a replica of a household shrine to a family's gods (at least I think it was a replica… We found it on the way to the restroom and the area was under construction so there was no sign on it.)

After leaving the museum we drove by the Square Colosseum (used as the Mayflower building in the movie Hudson Hawk). The area where this and the museum are located is called the EUR. It was Mussolini's attempt to create his own political forum outside of the actual city of Rome. The bus then took us to our hotel so we were able to check into our rooms. We all dropped our

things off and went next doors for our first meal of real Italian pizza. YUM!!

Then, after some freshening up/nap time (because we all needed it) we walked over to the church San Pietro in Vincoli or Saint Peter in Chains. It is called thus because the altar

has chains that are supposedly from Peter's imprisonment in Rome and/or Jerusalem (there is a debate over which and legend says that it is both and that the chains were miraculously fused together… take it as you will). This church is called a "Title Church" and is one of 25 in Rome. These churches are supposed to be built on top of 1st-3rd century house churches (before Constantine made Christianity legal per se). These churches are typically named after the owners of the house or after a patron or after a martyr.

Inside of this church is the famous Michelangelo's Moses. Fascinatingly, this depiction of Moses has horns. I know right!? According to some Dan Brown book (I think The Lost Symbol) this is because of a Hebrew mistranslation… I am not positive because my Hebrew is not up to par yet, but that is one theory as to this mystery. Another cool thing I noticed in this church was a depiction of skeletons along the left wall. I was told this is a Medieval and is meant to remind people of their mortality as they walk by. Cool stuff!

The next church we went to was San Vitale which is another Title Church. This church was dedicated to Saint Vitalis' family. The story goes that he was tortured on a rack and then buried alive. The is a 5th Century church (around 400). Entering this church we had to walk down a large flight of stairs which illustrated the rising street levels throughout time. The church is known for having very elaborate nativity scenes.

The next church we went to was the Basilica Papate Di Santa Maria Maggiore or the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major. This church has the tallest bell tower in Rome. It is one of 4 places that the pope will celebrate Mass. The parts of the ceiling of the Basilica were made from the first shipment of gold sent to Spain from the "New World" (from Christopher Columbus). This church also has a statue called the Ave Regina Pacis or the Queen of Peace. This is a statue of the baby Jesus and Mary, who is holding up her hand for peace. It is interesting to point out that Jesus is holding up an olive branch. This statue was created at the end of WWI.

In the front of the church there is a 5th century mosaic depicting the nativity scene. Along the sides of the church there are also mosaics of different Old Testament stories. In the altar itself there is a piece of wood that is supposedly from Jesus' manger in Bethlehem.

We were unable to see Bernini's tomb (sad day) which is somewhere in the church because it was closed

off. However, I ventured into a baptismal area (by the entrance to the museum) and found a very cool fountain thing and behind it was the all seeing eye (a pagan-ish symbol, it is on the

top of the pyramid on the back of a U.S. $1 bill). Dan Brown relates this symbol to masonry and creates or feeds into the lore.

Outside of the church, we discussed the differences between Basilicas and Cathedrals (Basilica is named after the shape which is rectangular and is Roman in origin vs. Cathedrals which house bishops). We also saw a column in front of the church which is from the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine.

From there we headed back to the hotel (and took a short detour for gelato… of course!)

Across the Sea!

I apologize for the lack of posting in the past few weeks. I have been taking some time away from academic work in order to relax and enjoy my break. On Saturday I will be boarding a plane to Rome and I will resume blogging. I pray that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! That is all!