Fail Day (that then turned into a win)

Yay for pride! Though you can barely see it. :P

Today got off to a slow start. I slept a full night for the first time in about a week, got up at 10, and prepared myself to tackle the list of places Sister TerTer had laid out for us. Antonia was going to come with me, along with Kirby, who's in town. But we, along with everybody else, forgot about siesta. Rome totally shuts down for like three hours every day. Also, it was Monday, so the Etruscan Museum, one of the sites on our list, was closed. So, with some quick reconfiguring (and our professors being very nice about the situation), class got pushed from 4pm to 6pm, and we got to go out and see San Clemente with the mithraeum underneath as well as Giovanni e Paolo (especially the domus under the church).




I only took a few pictures today of these sites because they didn't really allow pictures, but there was a spring running underneath San Clemente, so I took a video. :)



I took down a few notes while I was there. We saw frescos and sarcophagi, including a pagan sarcophagus that protrayed the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus. If you don't know that story, it's from Greek mythology, and they told you the story while you were at the site. Hippolytus was the son of Theseus (the founder-king of Athens), and his Roman counterpart is Virbius, a forest god. Hippolytus refused the advances of the married Phaedra, who killed herself in fury after his rejection but left a note making it look like he'd raped her. So, her husband got pissed (or in some cases, Theseus got pissed) and prayed to Poseidon to send a sea monster after Hippolytus. This happened, and the sea monsters got Hippolytus's horses and he was killed. After this, the truth was found out.

Sidenote: Sometimes Carlyn decides to take a flash photo right after a sign tells her not to, and right after she does, this voice comes over the loudspeaker and is like ITALIANITALIANITALIAN PLEASE NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY. Haha!

I also saw a fresco of Jesus (though it was extremely hard to make out). However, they found an inscription at the end that said "God have mercy on unworthy John," so they figure that some guy named John made the fresco. That kind of attitude is very much the attitude of ancient artists, I find. Caravaggio felt the same way. There's a pure aspect to it but also kind of a manipulative one. I'm not sure what I think.

I also found a Madonna and child painting from the 8th century. The man who discovered it, Joeseph Mullooly, O.P. (aka Order of Preachers aka DOMINICANS) found it, and the hole that he dug in the wall to get in was still in the wall on the left side of the painting. There was at first a very "precarious" Madonna and child that then fell out to reveal the present one, which was nearly perfectly preserved. Isn't that weird how things happen like that sometimes? The drawing is flanked on either side by paintings of what they think are St. Euphemia and St. Catherine of Alexandria. As all the figures in the paintings are decked in stones and pearls, they think that the paintings are either Byzantine-era or had a Byzantine makeover. I didn't know who St. Euphemia was or St. Catherine of Alexandria (though to be fair, there are a lot of Catherines), so I looked up some information on them:

St. Euphemia lived in the 3rd century and lived in a rich family in Byzantium (which later became Constantinople). From an early age, she was consecrated to remain a virgin. The governor of Chalcedon (around where she lived) said that everyone had to make regular sacrifices to Ares. Euphemia was found in a house with other Christians worshipping God, which was forbidden. She was taken with the others and suffered numerous tortures before she was killed, probably by a wild boar or lion. Because she was the youngest of the group, she received the harshest torture, including the wheel, which involved being tied cartwheel-style to a wheel and being beaten with a hammer that would break bones. One would be left in this state of pain for days. She is often pictured with a wheel for this reason. She can also be pictured with a cross and lions.

St. Catherine of Alexandria's symbol is also a wheel, as she too suffered this torture. She was born to a wealthy pagan family and said that she would only marry the best of men. This brought her attention to Christ, and she converted to Christianity in her early teens. She converted the Emperor's wife and several people brought to her to try and change her mind. She was eventually beheaded after lots of torture.

After San Clemente, we headed to Giovanni e Paolo, the house that at some point belonged to two Christian martyrs. I have a few pictures in here that I took before I was told to stop using my camera (but to be fair, there was no sign that I saw that said not to).







There's a peacock up there, which we all saw immediately, the sign of Juno. Mary's in the pictures too, so there's the parallel between Juno and Mary, who were both queens of heaven. There was a room of the worshipper, characterized by a person who looked like she was worshipping (it was an orante). We also saw some of the waterways that the domus used as well as a wine cellar (or at least that's what the discoverer Father Germano said when he saw it for the first time). There was also a grave that people found and they have no idea who was actually in there (though they have plenty of suggestions, haha).

I found an interesting scene on one of the walls that involved two men pouring drinks for a woman while baby cupids danced in the background. They weren't sure what it was. Suggestions included Proserpina and Hades; Bacchus and Ceres; or Bacchus and Venus Marina. The sea theme was very prominent.

Other things we saw in the frescos were a lot of geometric shapes like circles and triangles, goats, and ugly faces (demons?).

Sights from the city today!




We headed back for St. John's, super excited that we'd gotten to see everything. We had a little trouble at the Metro stop. One train came by our stop completely empty and didn't even stop, followed by three COMPLETELY FULL trains. We were worried we wouldn't get back on time, but finally, a train came with enough elbow room for all of us. We squeezed in and switched to the red line fine, though I had to get a little belligerent (and, well, Italian) with people in trying to get off.

I was proud of myself.

Today, in class, we furthered the theme of mockery in the Bible in order to discredit or delegitimize people. Three ways they do this to kings are portraying him as grossly obese, effeminate (or gay), or as terrified. We also learned that calling someone bald or referring to someone has having a hunchback was a huge offense in Rome. Then, we discussed kings Herod, Eglon, and Belshazzar and how these themes apply to them.

Belshazzar ends up being slain, by the way--right after Daniel tells him what the invisible hand writes on his wall for him. Like that night. Ouch.

After class, Carlyn, Lauren, Jacob, and I went out to dinner and ended up running into the Fab Squad (aka Sebass, TerTer, and Elizabeth). We had dinner together, where Carlyn had FRENCH FRIES (yeah, I know, right?).




Of course, I had to try one then.



It was pretty good!!!

After, we all got gelato, and there's this ridiculous rum chocolate gelato that tastes like someone put gelato into a tub and just poured a bottle of rum over it (seriously, let's face it--that probably happened). RIDICULOUS.

Flavors of Gelato Kylee Has Had So Far in Italy
- Peach
- Coconut
- Lemon
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Almond
- Hazelnut
- Strawberry
- Yogurt

SO GOOD. I can't wait to have more. I had pizza tonight with anchovies and capers, so I'm still downing gallons of water. It was totally worth it, though.

Tomorrow, we head for Ostia Antica, which is a WHOLE CITY OF ANCIENT ROME. It was a harbor city, to be exact, for the Mediterranean, and it sat at the mouth of the Tiber River, about 30 km to the west of Rome. I've heard about it before in Latin class but never looked into it that much. I'm really looking forward to this. :)

Beautiful Day

All the pictures I took today happened outside. Cameras weren't allowed inside where I went. But the outside was lovely.






















I'll separate the Villa Borghese by piece, because it really was a piece-based trip. A lot of the pieces spoke to me, so I have the ones that we did for class and the ones that I wrote down to look up later. I've never really looked at art critically before and never had art history or anything, but I think that it's very interesting. Besides these pieces, we saw a lot of other pieces, including the art on the villa itself. It got overwhelming after a while, and I think I get overwhelmed if I'm in a museum for too long--especially one like this--because there's just SO MUCH to process that my brain has trouble, and I get tired. However, I think I'm learning a lot more than I think I am, because I type these things up every day, read them back, and there is just SO MUCH information. I feel like I can't keep up with it all, but I'm definitely learning.

Ultima Cena, Jacopone Bassanto



Painted in 1542, this painting of the Last Supper was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's. This takes place right after Jesus says that one of them will betray hi, so everyone's trying to figure that out. The piece I found of it on the Villa Borghese website says that the light passing through the wine glass stains the table red, representing the betrayal as well as the oncoming death of Christ. If you notice, the figure on the right is looking out toward the audience and isn't really involved in the painting. Is that Judas? It was customary for the artist himself to put himself into the picture, often looking out. It was also customary for the artist to put himself into a not-so-good position in the picture.

Other things I found on the website are that the painting has recently been restored to its original colors, which were painted over because they were too vivid and not in fashion. I personally like the bright colors.

There's also the effeminate person sleeping in the table, which we talked about a little a few days ago. We don't know if it's just another disciple, the beloved disciple, or Mary Magdalene. Carlyn brought it up while we were talking, and I thought it was interesting. I think it's also interesting to look at another portrayal of the Last Supper. We're all really used to Leonardo da Vinci's, but there are a lot of portrayals out there.

David with the Head of Goliath, Caravaggio



We led right into this one from the previous picture, as Caravaggio put himself into the painting as the head of Goliath. A lot of the analysis from this painting came from us, though Kristin pointed out the stark lack of light, which causes the painting to be very striking. The expression on David's face is an interesting mix of pity and...almost righteousness. Like he didn't want to do what he did, but he knew he did it for the greater good. He also looks a little struck by the head. After all, he's just a young boy. Antonia pointed out that Caravaggio put so much more effort into his own head (Goliath) than David. It was a little humorous. Caravaggio put himself into the painting to ask for clemency, which get got, but not until after he died. So it was kind of a win/loss.

I looked on Wikipedia for a little more insight into this particular painting, and it says that it was in the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, which I forgot to mention. That's the guy whose house we were in. Or his family's anyway. That's how they had so much money to turn their house into a museum. There's an inscription on the sword that says Humilitas occidit superbiam, or "humility kills pride." The fact that Goliath's head drips blood creates drama. Also, David's expression is described as "sadness and compassion" by Catherine Puglisi, which describes it way better than I could. Also, the model for David was Caravaggio's young assistant, so the painting is kind of seen as an apology for Caravaggio's wild youth.

This is not Caravaggio's only portrayal of David and Goliath. Here are the others:





Rape of Proserpina, Bernini

I think this was by far everyone's favorite piece. I have pictures here, but it really doesn't do it justice.







It was so terrifyingly realistic that I was struck. Look at the indentations he makes on her skin with his fingers. I don't know if you can see her expression, but she's crying. There are tears on her face. He's so much bigger than she is; his hand is her entire side. And beneath them, this dog-monster's witnessing the whole thing. I got a teeny bit emotional.

This was made in 1621 or 1622. Bernini was only twenty-three when he made this piece, a Baroque piece, out of marble. It uses "rape" in the old sense of the word, meaning "kidnapping." But does that distinction really matter? Proserpina prays to her mother to help her, and you can see that in this too. Just...wow.

Apollo and Daphne, Bernini

This piece, made in 1622-1625 (they're not sure), actually struck me the most. Daphne, a lot like Proserpina, is terrified. But she's turning into a tree. SHE'S TURNING INTO A TREE. Part of her side if bark. Branches are sprouting out of her fingers. Her hair is turning into leaves. Like...I don't even know how this guy came up with this, but it's ridiculous. Just...look at it.



Apollo's very androgynous, which was common. Also, it kind of showed how for some reason, Apollo just wasn't lucky in love. Like ever.

La Verita, Bernini



I found myself struck by this piece, called La Verita. In English, the title is Truth Unveiled by Time. Apparently, Time was supposed to be in the upper part of the sculpture, but Bernini didn't finish it because he was going through a stressful time, being blamed for structural problems with St. Peter's Basilica and all. It was very personal, and the article I read on the Borghese Gallery website hints that it was probably made in response to those accusations. He bequeathed the statue to his eldest son in his will, probably as a warning. It's considered his most personal statue.

Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Dei Palafrenieri), Caravaggio



This is also one of the pieces that I saw that struck me. It's a late Caravaggio, done around 1605 or 1606, and it shows Mary, Jesus, and Mary's mother St. Anne. It's very interesting, because the painting is supposed to honor St. Anne, but she is shown as an old woman in the picture and takes the passive role as her daughter and grandson together battle the snake, which is original sin. Mary's cleavage is showing, which shocked people who looked at it, because Mary is usually seen as fully covered. Jesus is uncircumcised, and people wonder if his phallus is meant to battle the snake's.

I don't know...I think that in St. Anne's case, her grandmotherly role is filled with honor and wisdom. I'm not so sure how I feel about her being stuck in the corner like that, but she seems fine with it.

Other Things

I learned that the word "hermaphrodite" comes from a supposed child born of Hermes and Aphrodite, who had both male and female parts. I also saw three different forms of Artemis--a more traditional one, one repainted to look like a muse with a mask, and a third one that was a little more ambiguous. Lauren pointed out that in the traditional one, Artemis's hand grasps something, being more masculine, while the other hand remains more dainty and feminine, representing her kind of dual nature. Mary was based off Artemis, I learned too, and it's interesting because Mary has pretty much no masculine traits. She is always the epitome of femininity.

After the villa, we went to lunch, where I had a sandwich with green olives, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, and cured ham. It was extremely good, though different than you usually see back home. I realize I haven't been talking about food enough on here. I need to fix that. For dinner today, I had a rice ball, which is kind of like a really big mozzarella stick with rice and cheese and tomatoes inside instead of mozzarella. :P

After lunch, we went to the Catacombs of Priscilla. MOST BEAUTIFUL THING EVER. All the paintings in there, made somewhere in the 2nd-5th centuries, were all pretty much perfectly preserved. We had the most creepy tour guide ever. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The catacombs included the burial of all the members of the community, and the one we visited was one of the oldest. Everyone used them, including Jews and pagans, and they were buried underground because there was a lot of room underground. The soft volcanic rock was easy to dig through. The graves were dug into the sides a lot like shelves, and they were short because the people were shorter back then. A lot of the graves were made for babies because infant mortality was especially high back then. Bodies were wrapped in linen and sprinkled with lime, which hastened the process of decomposition.

People began putting bodies on top and began to dig down as they needed more room. The catacomb we went to extends 13.5 meters underground. When we went in, all the bones had been removed so that tourists wouldn't take them.

And the paintings...there was the earliest Madonna and Child painting down there, along with burial pictures, the three boys in the fiery furnace (shoutout to the choir--He never failed me yet? :P), the Good Shepherd, and so many more.

Oh, and our tour guide was creepy. Way creepy. Like...ghost-leave-us-down-there creepy, but it was okay. Because he took his lunch break (or part of it) to show us the catacombs, so I was happy.

We're watching The Gladiator right now. I think we get extra points because we're watching it in Rome. :)