Italy Diary Part One - Rome

Part Two - Part Three

When my father approached me last year and asked me where I would like to go for our trip this summer, I immediately knew that I would choose Italy. My desire to go to Italy stemmed from senior year of high school in my AP Euro class, where I learned extensively about the Italian Renaissance and the art and discoveries it brought. Since I am a self-professed art history nerd, I knew that I would be centering our trip around art and architecture.

When we finally stepped off our red eye on June 20th and into all of the heat and hurry of our first destination, Rome, Italy already felt closer to home.

When we arrived it was already well into the afternoon and pouring rain-- what a welcome. After the rain stopped we ventured out into the narrow cobblestone streets. The first stop was Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, which houses a painting I studied extensively in my Introductory Art History course: 'The Conversion of St. Paul' by Caravaggio. I'm sure I'll mention this many times over, but to see a painting that you personally have written about is almost like meeting a celebrity. The feeling is quite unlike any other, I'd say. (Unfortunately I have no good photograph of it, but you can take a look at it here.)

And day two was Colosseum day, where we spent over 6 hours wandering around the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. 

At the end of our long walk, we finally made up to the top of the Palatine Hill. There was incredible view of the Forum and, in the distance, Rome's mountainous skyline.

Sore, tired, and hungry we finally made our way to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. This is where I had my first experience of excellent Italian food and wine. I swear every plate was perfect, the wine so sweet and bubbly it tasted like fruit juice, and to top it off there was a man singing Italian ballads with his guitar to each table (I still can't believe that happened). Everything was lovely. We ended the night by sitting on the Spanish steps at dusk, watching the sun set and the streetlights turn on.

The next day our destination was Vatican City. This place was like art heaven for me, my family had to drag me away from several rooms just so we could move along. The first stop was the Vatican Museums, a collection of works built by the popes throughout the centuries.

Highlights of the first gallery we went to included Raphael's final altarpiece painting and a beautiful Caravaggio piece. Then we passed through a gallery of maps and into the Raphael rooms. We did almost all of our trip without tour guides and the museum was so large, I had no idea what to expect. Therefore, when I walked through a doorway and saw the School of Athens painting I was shocked (and very, very excited). It's so strange seeing famous works of art in person because they're usually a lot less grandiose. School of Athens was painting on one of the walls of the room and was flanked by other magnificent pieces that nearly overwhelmed it. But of course everyone knows the significance of this piece and I could go on for ages about the symbolism of humanism and use of Albertian perspective...but I think I'll just leave it here.

Of course, I knew that one of the most exciting pieces of our entire trip was coming up. After all, the Sistine Chapel frescoes are possibly one of the most widely known artworks. You're not allowed to take photos, but of course I snuck a couple of horrific-quality iPhone pictures. I'm not religious, but the entire experience was very profound. The chapel is much smaller than expected and, with so many people crammed in there and demanded not to talk, there was a murmuring hush that echoed along the walls. I made a bee-line straight to the center of the room and stared up at the ceiling fresco for as long as my neck could take it. And then I stood there even longer, absorbing the other works and just thinking about what I was seeing. The works of art in that room have surpassed nearly 500 years of history. How many people have walked through this exact room, stood at this exact spot, and thought these exact thoughts?

The next two photos are of very highly esteemed sculptures with important historical backgrounds and honestly this entire section is just me being very excited about art, isn't it?

The final part of Vatican City was St. Peter's Basilica. I supposed this was the most overwhelming part of the city-- the ceilings went up impossibly high and they were gilded with a ridiculous amount of gold. Everything was decorated with magnificent, larger-than-life sculptures. It all seemed so resplendent and grandiose to me, especially considering how this behemoth of a structure was constructed hundreds of centuries ago.

We decided to go to the top of St. Peter's dome, which involved a lot of stairs. Up at the top was an incredible view of St. Peter's Square and Rome.

When we got down from the top of the dome and back into the basilica, there was some sort of ceremony being held. When it was finished, the procession passed right in front of us.

I think that one of the most unique parts of my experience in the basilica was the way the light streamed through the windows. Of course as a photographer who is very much so obsessed with the way light hits things, I had a bit of a moment.

The last day in Rome was spent going to places we hadn't made it to yet. In the morning we went to Castel Sant'Angelo and walked along the bridge with its statues. Along the river I found a cute little "Biblio Bar" that I know I would spend a lot of time at if I lived in Rome (one day..)

Next was Campo Dei Fiori, or Field of Flowers Square. It was a beautiful bustling market with the most colorful fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, spices, and all sorts of Italian fare for sale. We bought strawberries and peaches and washed them in the little fountain right in the market to eat. I think that the food experience in Italy is completely different from America's because of the quality of the ingredients. Everything on your plate is fresh and most likely locally-grown. The tomato sauce on your pasta isn't a concerning dark rotten red color, but instead bright red. The way Italians eat food is no way like American's do-- instead of getting one large portioned entree to stuff down, each plate of your three course meal has a small amount of food which is eaten slowly and enjoyed with good conversation and wine. Eating isn't fulfilling a duty to your body, but instead an entirely enjoyable experience. Not to mention, Italians don't start eating until after 8 or 9 pm and dinner continues until midnight sometimes. What a life.

We then walked to Piazza Navona with its gorgeous fountains. The middle was full of artists and their work, and I observed some of them in the middle of painting parts of the piazza.

The final destination was the Pantheon. I did a research project on skylights for my design architecture class this spring, and it was really quite amazing to see the first real skylight (or the oculus) in person. The Pantheon is also said to be the place where Rome's mythical founder, Romulus, ascended to heaven. Although it has been reconstructed due to fires, the building there now is nearly 2000 years old.

What really astonished me about Rome was how old everything is. While walking through the city, it's easy to forget about the number of centuries each cobblestone has seen, or the hundreds of hands that have touched each column. Everything is like a work of art-- not only in the mastery of its aesthetic beauty, but also in its age. I think age lends itself a bit to the experience of anything, and Rome is possibly the oldest place I've been to. Sometimes it's hard to see it among the throngs of tourists, but the city is really quite charming in some places. With its beautiful red, orange, yellow building facades and flowers growing all over the balconies and wonderful arrays of colors everywhere, it's quite crazy to think beyond the quaintness and of the amount of history that the city has gone through.
However, it was time to leave and go off to our next destination in Italy. Until I return, Rome! (I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, after all.)

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