Fountains in Peaceful places

We visited San Clemente which gives tourists an opportunity to travel through three layers of history. "At street level, there is a 12th-century church; underneath this lies a 4th-century church; and below that are ancient Roman buildings." (DK Eyewitness Travel Guide) What I found most interesting about this place, was the courtyard on the right hand side of the building. The cobble stone that made up the floor of the outside area was overgrown, and the roof around the edges was full of weeds. I actually liked this effect because it made it seem like it was lost in time. I prefer to look at old historical buildings when they aren't cleaned up for the public because it gives me a better perspective of how time has worn down the site. In the center of the courtyard there was a pigeon bathing in a fountain. The fountain was so quant, but the way the water trickled down the sides of the round bowl, it made it so soothing. The area around the fountain echoed the sound of the water. I was informed that concerts had previously been held here, and I couldn't think of a more peaceful or beautiful place to see a show. The pigeon was definitely enjoying himself!

The Looming Colosseum

One thing that I have noticed while walking around Rome, is how often the Colosseum shows up in the distance. I love walking down the street and seeing the Colosseum at the end of my line of sight. It is so massive and dominant that when I watch traffic flow down the street, it almost looks like the traffic is going to smack right into it. The buildings in Rome are all built so close together, so the perception of the Colosseum from far away looks like it is right in the middle of the street. We have been doing a lot of sightseeing over by the Colosseum, and I've been using it as a marker to tell where I am. I think it would be amazing to stand on the top tier of the third outer wall. I am sure the view from up there would be absolutely amazing. Whenever I get on top of a hill, or am at a place that has a view, the first thing I always do is look for the Colosseum to tell where I am in reference to it. When you look at it from far away, it seems dreary and dilapidated. In the middle of a sunny day the middle of the outer wall looks black and worn. I like this look because I think it really helps show it's extremely old age. If it was all scrubbed and polished I think the Colosseum would look silly because it is cracked and falling apart. When looking at the Colosseum from far away the buildings closer to you are nicely painted with solid bright colors. Comparing this to the Colosseum makes the Colosseum look like it's lost in time. It is really an awesome effect, that is completely natural. As you can see by the pictures, the Colosseum somberly sits among a fast paced city. It has been relatively unchanged for 1000s of years, while the city around it grows with the times.

The Facchino Drinking Fountain

One of the fountains that I have used almost every day of class to fill my water bottle is the Fontanella del Facchino. The statue is of a chubby man holding onto a wine barrel. The Barrel has a gash in it and that is where the water flows out of. According to the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide,  the statue is one of Rome's talking statues like that of the Pasquino. The fountain was created around 1590 and was moved from the Corso, to where it is located now along the wall of Banco Di Roma. The statue most likely represents a member of the Universita Degli Acquaroli, which was a fraternity of water carriers. It is also thought that the statue could represent Martin Luther, or the porter Abbondio Rizzio, who died carrying a barrel. I cannot count the number of times I've visited this statue to get a drink. It is conveniently located about 20 feet from the door to our classroom, so every break we get my fellow classmates and I all run to fill up. I've nicknamed him the Buddha because of his round figure and wise face. A couple of my friends have actually started calling him that too, so when thirsty, refer to Buddha!

The Colosseum; Day VS Night

I have been to the Colosseum many times since I have been in Rome. The differences between the Colosseum at night and in the day are very abundant. During the day the Colosseum is a tourist hot spot, with thousands of people scurrying all around you. There are people dressed up as gladiators, and vendors everywhere you look. There isn't much shade around the Colosseum, so if you go during the day and it's sunny out, be prepared for it to be hot! Nighttime at the Colosseum is a completely different story. The night I visited, the temperature was cool and the air felt damp. There weren't many people around, and most of them seemed to be out on dates. I've been learning during my time here in Rome that the Colosseum is a very popular place to take your significant other. There isn't as much traffic at night so the whole setting is quieter and less frantic.  The constant chatter of tourists is absent, and you aren't constantly bothered by vendors and tour guides. Personally, I could take in the Colosseum better at night because you were able to concentrate on your surroundings more thoroughly. It is very dark around the Colosseum at night, even though the Colosseum itself is very well lit. It's an all around different experience to visit the Colosseum at night than it is in the day time. As you can see in one of my earlier posts, you never know what you might see. I strongly suggest checking it out after dark, I promise it will be an experience to remember!

TV Commercials on Italian Television

After playing around with the TV in our apartment we finally got it to work. In order to turn on our TV, you have to hit the power and channel up button at the same time, imagine that! Anyways, after watching very little Italian television the one thing that I am really getting a lot of enjoyment out of is the commercials. The similarities between Italian commercials and American commercials is very interesting. One of the first commercials I saw was a commercial for Dove shampoo. The commercials shows a woman in the shower, and a sensual Italian voice comes on telling you about the product. I got a kick out of the sexy Italian voice. Even though I couldn't understand what he was saying, I could relate to the commercial because of the tone of his voice. I had seen similar commercials back home so I didn't really need a dialogue to follow the commercial. I actually wanted to try the product out after viewing the commercial because the beautiful woman seemed to love the product. Even though I had no specifics about the product, the mix of the sexy voice, and the beautiful woman made me a fan!

Inside the Colosseum

I finally got the opportunity to go inside of the Colosseum, and let me just say the whole experience was overwhelming. I was definitely taken aback the first time I walked through the portal and viewed the interior of the oval shaped stadium. The history that surrounded me was felt in the air by everyone. You could just tell that you were standing in something that was larger than life. I could honestly feel the amount of casualties that took place at the Colosseum around me. There is something very eerie about the massive structure. The ragged edges are dilapidated and noticeably ravaged by weather and time. Across from where I was standing was the side of the Colosseum where the outer ring was still standing. I thought it was amazing to look up at the interior of the third ring of the stadium and see the remains of the stairwells. I imagined thousands of Ancient Romans scurrying to the cheap seats 2000 years ago, and it gave me goose bumps. After this visualization, I gazed down at the remains of what use to be the playing space of the Colosseum. I peered into the ruins of the floor at the system of trap doors, and elevators that formerly released ancient beasts at the fighters. The mental image in my head was quite elaborate, and I knew that I could only imagine a miniscule of what actually use to take place here. I was completely blown away by what I saw that day. I definitely want to make another trip back to the interior of the Roman Colosseum, so cool!

Piazza Belli Fountain

One of the first fountains that I saw coming into Rome, on the way to my apartment in Trastevere, is named the Piazza Belli. It was actually one of the first pictures that I took when touring the city. I had no idea that there was a write up about it in my eyewitness guide until today. "The Piazza Belli is named after Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli who wrote satirical sonnets in Roman dialect rather than academic Italian. At the center of the Piazza stands a statue of the poet (1913)." (Eyewitness Travel) Although I thought the statue of the poet was really cool, the neatest part of the monument that I noticed was the demon looking faces that spit water at the base of the statue. Every day on my way to class I pass by this monument and today after being in Rome for two weeks was the first day I actually stopped and looked at the details of this statue. The one thing that I've noticed about many statues in Rome, is that quite often they have flowers or wreaths placed on them. This statue seems to always have flowers draped over it. As you can see in the picture, today Belli's monument had a wreath on the upper part of the statue. I think its really awesome how romans decorate the statues around their city. After grabbing a drink from the statue, I realized that this is just another example of what the ancient aqueducts supply water too. 

Roma Wins the Italian Cup

Saturday night as I was sitting over at the girl's apartment, car horns started blaring out on the street. It began with just a couple honks, and within 20 minutes, the horns made one continuous sound. Not knowing what was taking place, I began my walk home. Half of the vespas and cars that I saw driving by had Roma soccer flags waving out the windows. It became apparent that Roma had won the Italian cup, and the city was in the midst of a major celebration. I thought it was really interesting how Roma's symbol for the soccer team was the statue of the "She-Wolf." The Etruscan bronze of the wolf dates from the early 5th century BC. "The legendary twins Romulus and Remus are the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war, Mars. According to the tradition recorded as history by Plutarch and Livy, Romulus served as the first King of Rome." (Wikipedia.com) I thought the icon Roma chose for their soccer team was very fitting. After seeing this statue in person, and understanding its meaning to Roma soccer fans, it has become one of my favorite statues i've seen thus far. The "She-Wolf" is located in the Capitoline Museum, and I strongly suggest checking it out if you ever come to Rome!

Dinner for Two

After settling in, and getting to know our area of the city, my roommates and I have started to make some delicious meals for dinner. The Restaurants in Trastevere are very expensive, so we learned rather quickly that eating out every night was not going to be an option. Luckily, our neighborhood is filled with delicious fresh markets that have the most splendid fruits and vegetables that you could ever imagine. The tomatoes in Italy are fantastic, actually, they don't even taste like tomatoes. The tomatoes have a distinct sweet flavor to them that is not like any tomato I have ever tasted at home. I am definitely not looking forward to going back to the states and back to the vegetables I'm accustomed to at home. Anyways, tonight my roommate Shane and I made the most delicious meal. Fresh pork chops and sausage. Homemade bruschetta, with fresh tomatoes and olive oil, and penne pasta tossed in a light marinara. As you can see, it was the perfect Italian meal! 

The water fountain in the Forum

Today we walked around the forum, and right when I thought I was going to faint because of a lack of water, my prayers were answered and one of Rome's trusty aqueduct fountains stood before me. As I knelt down and took a sip of the pure cool water, I took a step back and really took notice of my surroundings. Was it possible that the aqueduct that was helping to quench my thirst was used by ancient Romans 2500 years ago? Contemplating that idea brought me back to the realization of how amazing it is that I'm actually fortunate enough to have the experience to view the ruins of the infamous ancient Roman civilization. I ended up filling my water bottle three times, I still can't get over how delicious the water is that flows out of these fountains!

Ceiling Mosaics in St. Peters

The ceilings of St. Peters Cathedral absolutely blew my mind. The main dome of the church reaches 448 feet. It was hard to imagine that the dome was actually that high standing directly below it. It was almost as if it were an optical illusion. I kept thinking to myself that a rollercoaster that I had previously been on at Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio had a rollercoaster that was 420 feet tall. I can distinctly remember gazing up at the peak of this extreme thrill ride, being amazed at how incredibly high it was. It just didn’t seem possible to me that the dome of the world-renowned St. Peter’s cathedral surpassed that height. When we first entered the church, the main interior lighting had no yet been turned on. The interior of the cathedral was dim, and not easy to see its true beauty. Luckily, we visited the Vatican on a day when a mass was taking place to after about 20 minutes after we had arrived, the main organ began to sing, and the interior lighting came on with a radiant glow. Immediately the gold platelets on the interior of the dome shined a jeweler’s delight. It was absolutely breathtaking, and goose bumps immediately began to well on my arms. I am not Catholic, and I don’t consider myself a spiritual person, but at the moment I definitely saw god. I had never seen anything that was made by man look so beautiful. It was definitely an awe-inspiring moment.

Stained Glass

Inside of the Santa Maria sopra Minerva I thought the stained glass windows were exquisite that lined the ceilings of the church. They were all very much the same, but at the same time completely different. The amount of time and effort put into these windows completely blows my mind. Even on a rainy day the light that shined in from the outside made them absolutely gorgeous. I use to think that the stained glass windows at my church at home were remarkable but what I witnessed today was at a completely different level. As you can see they all have pretty much the same shape, but their color and the way they were put together are completely different. I am sure that I am going to see an abundance more of stained glass during my stay in Rome, but to date, the windows I saw today took the cake.

Losing Yourself in the Streets of Rome

One of the main characteristics of the city of Rome, are the extremely narrow streets. I have found in the first week that it is very easy to get lost while walking down the back alleys of each neighborhood. Normally getting lost would be a pain, but in Rome getting lost is one of my favorite things to do. You never know what is going to be around the next corner, and although much of the city looks the same, each neighborhood and piazza has its own distinctive character. When I say getting lost is a fun thing to you do, you might think I'm crazy, but actually getting lost isn't the correct term to use. There have been many times when I've been out in the city and I wouldn't say that I was lost, I just had no idea where I was. Every time that I have wondered without a distinct destination, it's always easy to find yourself right back where you started again. The streets of Rome aren't straight, they wind and curl. I think its absolutely beautiful how the city is set up because the buildings wind and curl along with the streets. I am starting to feel at home in Rome, and i've gotten accustomed to my daily routine of walking to class. Just today I actually stopped in mid stride, and just looked at my surroundings. I've only been here a week and I already caught myself taking the city for granted and ignoring its historic architectural beauty. It dawned on me, my god, this is Rome and just look how beautiful it is. If I taught myself anything today, it's be more aware of what is around you, because when in Rome, you just never know what might be located around the next corner. 

McDonalds Ads in Rome

The first thing that I noticed when I first moved to Rome, is that the only fast food chain i've seen has been McDonalds. McDonalds restaurants are located all over the city and surprisingly they are very expensive. I think its funny how McDonalds arrows are located on the same signs that point you in the direction of famous land marks. For instance near Piazza Del Collegio Romano is a red McDonalds sign pointing you in the way of the Pantheon. Interestingly enough, the signs that lead tourists to the Pantheon come far and between the signs that lead you to both McDonalds and the historic landmark. I think its interesting how much McDonalds is a world power through their marketing. The first thing in people's minds when they show up at the Pantheon is they arrived their by following the sign, is McDonalds. I find it kind of sad that the Golden Arches of the McDonalds chain are one of the most recognized symbols in the world. 

Dinner with the Whole Crew

One of my favorite  nights so far, was when a large group of us went to Campe Di Fiori and had dinner. It took everyone a couple days to get settled in, but finally we were all ready to take on the city at night and find some delicious Italian cuisine. All together there was over 15 of us so it was definitely going to be a challenge to find a place where we could all sit down together. We realized that our best bet would probably be to hit a Piazza so the Campe Di Fiori was where we set off to. Unaware that we were heading into a tourist hotspot, we ended up waiting an extremely long time for food that was to say the least sub par.  I thought it was reasonably priced actually, considering we all drank wine. It costed me about 12 Euro, which isn't too bad considering we had such a large group. Although the food was sub par and the wait was long, I was glad to finally get the whole group together. It was fun getting to know each other outside of the school setting, and I have to say that it really laid the ground for some great new friendships. I have always found that first impressions when meeting new people never really hold true for me. Some of the people that I met right off the bat I didn't think that I would get along with, a week later they have become my best friends on this trip. I couldn't be happier with my decision to come to Rome. I've been told that the friendships one makes while studying abroad last a lifetime because you become friends in a setting that is new and exciting. When you meet people under these circumstances you are all experiencing something together, that in turn ends up changing your life. I cannot believe that I have been in Rome for over a week now, although I feel like I've done so much the time is flying. In a flash i'll be back in the states wondering where all my time in Europe went. I'll be sure to toss more coins into The Trevi Fountain, because this experience is something that I don't want to see end! The first week has been so amazing, I can only imagine what I am about to discover in the 6 weeks!

Italian Ads Recognizable Faces

Although many of the advertisements throughout the city have English as well as Italian on them, there are many that only have only Italian written on them. Obviously, I am in Italy so it doesn't surprise me that there would be ads with strictly Italian written on them, but I found it interesting that Italians use the same cartoon characters that we use. While I was walking down Viale Di Trastevere I was delightfully surprised to see one of my favorite cartoon characters looking back at me posted on a billboard. I couldn't tell what the advertisement was for, but the character used to sell the product certainly stood out to me!

When it Rains it Pours

One thing that I have noticed during my first week in Rome, is that when they call for rain showers all day, it is not a continuous rain. Typically it rains hard for about 20 minutes and then the sun will come out. It is almost as if we are in a tropical climate. I have visited Florida many times and the weather is a lot like it is there. It has been raining off and on over the last couple of days and the fountains that I've seen are all over flowing with water. The Tiber river is also gushing and moving at a very fast pace. Luckily, the weather is suppose to clear up in the next couple days so it will give the water a chance to recede. The humidity is also very high. Every morning when I wake up I always feel sticky and it's a must to shower. In my mind the weather has been perfect. It hasn't gotten much hotter than 75 degrees. At night it is cool, but unfortunately the humidity remains high. I'm dreading the coming month of June when the weather typically spikes up into the high 80's. At least I am getting the majority of my sight seeing done while its cool!

The Moon and the Colosseum

Wherever I am in the world I have always taken notice of the moon. My surroundings may be very different and I could be half way around the world, but one thing that always remains constant is the moon. No matter where you are it looks the same, although it may be located in different parts of the sky or the horizon, it still glows its same ominous shine. hen I was visiting the colosseum I did the stereotypical raise your hand over your head, close one eye and cover the moon with your thumb. For some reason doing this standing next to the Colosseum was a very cool moment for me. Notice the moon shining through the upper part of the Colosseum, the way the clouds were scurrying past the moon is made the area I was standing in dim, then get bright again. It was so awesome peering up at the moon through the openings in the outer ring of the Colosseum. Words can't describe what this was like for me. I wish you all could have been there! I guess the point of this post is to acknowledge that no matter where I'm at in the world i've always got our moon.

The Fuze is out!

So we were hanging out at our apartment and our fuze blew. After playing with the electrical box for an hour we still couldn't figure out how to fix the problem. Dusk turned to night, and the five of us were sitting in the dark with candles. To get away from the problem me and two of my other roommates went out into the city at night just because we didn't want to stay in the dark. It actually turned out to be an amazing time, we we visited the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon at night. All three of these places had very a very different feel at night and it was a very unique experience visiting all three places. After returning home at 2:00 AM we went immediately to bed. For some reason the next morning I woke up wide awake at 5:45 AM. Don't ask me why, but something told me to check downstairs in the lobby for a fuze box because I was not about to take another cold shower. The stairs that lead to our apartment also lead to the basement so I ventured down there. It was very dark, very smelly, and very creepy... Using nothing but the light from a lighter I found a fuze box. After opening sure enough there were 15 separate apartments in the box and only on of them had a fuze that was turned down. How simple, how normal, a fuze box in the basement. uhhg... 

Advertisements for American Bands in Venice

The advertisement for a music festival in Rome shown here, i've noticed all over the city. That is one of the main themes that I've found with American advertisements in Rome. There are very few different ones, but there are an abundant of the same advertisements all over the city. Let me just say, the advertisement shown here definitely did the trick for me and my roommates. After seeing that this concert was going on we are definitely going to take a trip to Venice to see at least one night of this show. I think it would be an amazing experience to see Alanis Morissette, Counting Crows, Linkin Park, and the Police all in the setting of Venice. Not only are these bands all very different and i'd normally see this concert regardless, the fact that the show is Venice makes me extremely excited to see this show. I think its particularly interesting that Italians follow the same music and celebrities that we do. It really shows the power of Hollywood. I wondered to myself, who are famous Italians that local Romans follow? After stopping at a news stand and seeing all of the familiar US Celebrities i've come to the conclusion that American stars are a global power.

The Pineapple Fountain

Near the Capitol Hill along Piazza Venezia across the street from the Victor Emmanuel Monument, there is a very unique watering trough. Shaped like a pineapple with two spickets so far this is my favorite watering hole. Not only does it look awesome, for some reason the water that comes out of this statue is ice cold. I've drank out of a number of watering holes, and every single one has a different temperature of water. I'm not positive but a lot of them have different tasting water as well, the taste might have something to do with the temperature I can't be completely sure. I find it very interesting how there are so many and they are all very different. It is very remarkable that many of these troughs are fed by the same aqueduct system that was used thousands of years ago. As the days mount that i've lived in this city, I've really taken note of how remarkable it is that the abundance of these watering troughs are fed by water from mountains that are up to 50 miles away.  I definitely think that this particular fountain has the most character out of all the ones i've seen. As you can see by the picture, the pineapple fountain isn't exactly the cleanest of all the fountains i've seen, but I can definitely say that the water was delicious!

The Colosseum at Night

After viewing the Colosseum during the day, I thought it would be cool to head over to the area after dark. There was no let down with this assumption. I thought that it was absolutely incredible how the Colosseum was lit up at night. It was so surreal walking around the Colosseum in the dark because it was absolutely beautiful, I could see why the characters in the books we've been reading go on dates there! I was under the impression that none of my pictures that I was taking were coming out because it was so dark, but when I uploaded them onto my computer and changed the exposure settings I was very surprised at what I saw. Almost every picture that I took of the Colosseum had white orbs all over them. I thought this was really interesting because every other picture that I took that night of other things did not have this effect. If you are one to believe that an orb is a spirit or a ghost, I guess it would make sense that thousands of them would be fluttering around this ancient wonder. On any given day in ancient rome dozens of people and hundreds of animals were slaughtered on the Colosseums hallowed ground. It might have been only in my head, but the air around the Colosseum definitely did feel strange and eerie. I can honestly say that so far, the Colossium has lived up to every expectation that I had about this spectacular structure. 

Advertising in Rome

Because I am majoring in Advertising Public Relations I thought that it would be very interesting to study different types of advertising throughout Rome. In the first couple days i've noticed that there is a huge American influence throughout the city. For instance, the movie Sex and the City is coming out at the end of this month, obviously this is an American film that takes place in New York City and i've noticed advertisements all over the city printed in English. I have to wonder, are these advertisements aimed for American's living here, or is America such an influence that english ads are understood by the average Italian. I find it very interesting to analyze this concept not only because it is my major, but because I've always found American influence on other cultures to be quite remarkable. If there was a popular Italian film coming out, you would never see the italian language on an Ad in midtown Manhattan. This is just one example, but I am eager to analyze other types of advertisements that I pass everyday while exploring the city, and walking to class.  

Roman Watering Troughs

The ancient Romans built a system of aqueducts that carried water from the nearby mountains to the center city of Rome. The aqueducts supplied fountains, baths, and sewers with fresh running water that kept the city both clean, and functional. I can remember learning about this in junior high but I had no idea that the same system was still used today. I was under the impression that water in this ancient city would be disgusting, possibly even unsafe to drink. Surprisingly throughout the city i've noticed that there are freshwater springs located everywhere. The water is delicious and you never know who or what you are going to see drinking out of this abundance of fresh water that flows constantly. The picture that I posted is a picture of the watering hole located a mere 20 feet outside of my apartment. A was a bit leery at first, but i've grown accustomed in the first week to filling my water bottle every day as I pass it on my way to class. Magnificent, ancient Rome, quenching thirst for 2000 years and counting. 

The Roman Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum is the oldest known "stadium" in the world. It is thought to be over 2000 years old. I find in remarkable that the remnants of this facility remain in modern day Rome, and that gridlock traffic whizzes around it 24 hours a day. For my entire life I have always had an infatuation with the Colosseum because of its rich history. When I was asked to choose a specific place in Rome to blog about it was a "no-brainer" for me to choose the Colosseum. I wasn't even in Rome for 24 hours before visiting this ancient battle ground. I think one of the reasons why the Colosseum is so special to me is because I have always been a huge fan of Penn State football, and the trek to the stadium on football Saturdays is something very exciting to me. When thinking that 2000 years ago 55,000+ people made a similiar trek to the Colosseum it blows my mind. I go watch Penn State football players tackle and hit their opponents. Ancient Romans watched gladiators dodge tigers and lions, while trying to spear their opponent. Death played as the agony of defeat, not points on a scoreboard. My how the human race has evolved. . .