Field Trips!

lunedi, 30 maggio 2016

Well, today was our first field trips in both both of our classes. In our morning class, Roman Archaeology On-Site, we went to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It was very nice being able to learn more about what we were seeing so we could understand the history of the area. Basically, the Roman Forum served as a general meeting place for people of a number of social classes in Ancient Rome. It served as the center of political, commercial, and judicial life in Rome at the time. They had a few basilicas (different than what we associate with the word now) that served as an indoor version of the open-air forum in case of bad weather (like the weather we experienced yesterday). We also saw several triumphal arches that emperors had built to commemorate military battles in which they were victorious.

Remains of the Basilica Emilia - many buildings had the marble or other materials taken and repurposed over the centuries

Part of the Temple of Concordia

Our professor giving an explanation at one of the sites on the Palatine Hill

Overlooking the Forum

After visiting the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill for class, we walked back to our apartment and stopped at the outdoor market to get some fresh produce. On our way to the market, we also found the Chiesa di Santa Dorotea and stopped in for a little while. We returned back to our apartment, went to the supermarket, and got some key foods that we had not yet gotten and were desperately craving (milk, ground beef, potatoes, etc.) and ate lunch before our next class.

Chiesa di Santa Dorotea

For our afternoon class, Christianity and the Roman Empire, we went to the Capitoline Hill, visited the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and saw the Roman Forum again (we did not actually pay to go in this time). Santa Maria in Aracoeli was so beautiful!! It was also very nice to have our professor with us to point out many things that we would not have otherwise known about the church, plus she has a sassy personality and is very interesting to listen to during class!

Capitoline Hill and Marcus Aurelius statue

 

Santa Maria in Aracoeli

Tomb of St. Helen in Santa Maria in Aracoeli

After class, we visited a couple of churches, Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano and the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere. Both were very nice churches, and we stayed in the second church that we visited for a while for our holy hour, which was quite nice. There were a few people talking in the back of the church while we were trying to pray, but I discovered one benefit of being in a foreign country is that it is at least a bit easier to tune out people talking when you have no idea what they are saying.

Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano

San Nicola in Carcere (including an adorable little figures in a model of the church)

Eventually, we made it back to our apartment with rumbly tummies as usual, and were so excited to have the ground beef that we had bought earlier that day! Kelsey made some delicious hamburgers, and we had sides of rice and corn, plus a little bit of gelato from the tub of it that we had purchased to have on hand in our apartment!

Mmmm! Yummy food!

Well, I suppose that is all for now!

Arrivederci,

Allison and Kelsey