Florence: Cathedrals, Statues, Towers, and Steak

The long bus ride to Florence from Rome was well worth it.  Directly after we stepped off the bus and checked into our hotel, we walked over to the Accademia where we met our guest instructor for the week, John.  In L'Accademia, we saw the famous Rape of the Sabine sculpture by Giambologna and Michelangelo's David.  The David stands at roughly 17 feet, and is sculpted to near perfection, perpetuating the Renaissance's emphasis on human potential.  Here it is:

That evening, we went on a special cultural excursion, and saw Roberto Benigni, an Italian Oscar winner, do a dramatic reading of a passage from Dante's Inferno at San Croce.  With our trusty translations by our sides, we were qble to follow along as he gave his interpretation of Dante's words.

The following day, we went to the Uffizi, a spectacular museum where, much to my dismay, there was a strict "no picture" policy.  However, I can recall a few of the sculptures and paintings, most notably; Bernini's painting of Dionysus and a sculpture of a man kneeling over the body of an opposing soldier.  That night, I enjoyed a dinner of the regional favorite; bisteccha Fiorentina, which was both gigantic and delicious to say the least: worthy of a 8.5 on the Steak Scale.

That steak dinner provided me with the energy I needed to climb the Duomo the very next day.

  



The Duomo was originally built to serve as a city cathedral as well as boast Florentine prowess.  It was also highly influenced by Islamic architecture, which had become popular in Europe after the Crusades.

After the Duomo, we went on a day-trip to Siena, where we saw the Cathedral of Catherine of Siena, filled with relics such as the actual head of Catherine of Siena, ate wild boar and pan forte, and climbed to the top of Siena's central duomo.  We also visited the piazza where the annual Siena horse race between all the city's sectors is held.

The next day, we checked out the Medici Chapel, which, commisioned by Lorenzo de'Medici, is very extravagant and contains a slew of valuable relics, including the bones of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Our visit to Florence concluded with a trip to the beach and Pisa.  Guess what I saw:





 Cum speculas Turrem Pisae, cadere visa est.
When you look at the Tower of Pisa, it appears to be falling.

Rome: Part II

Rome continued to amaze me.  On the following day, we checked out the Coliseum, which was originally named the Flavian Ampitheater, but received the name "Coliseum" after a "colossal" statue to the Roman Emperor Nero was erected in front.  The Coliseum was the ancient arena which held several showings of gladiatorial combat.  Contrary to popular belief, when the emperor held the thumbs up sign, it meant kill the gladiator, not spare his life:

After the Coliseum, we headed over to the Forum, which was the central meeting and market place in Ancient Rome; very similar to the Greek Acropolis.  In the Forum, we had the opportunity to take a look at Caesar's tomb as well as Romulus' fig tree.  Legend has it that Romulus founded Rome after a she-wolf rescued him and his brother, Remus, from drowning in the Tiber River.  According to the myth, the she-wolf nourished them until they were old enough to set out and seek a kingdom, as was their fate.  Romulus and Remus both settled at the base of the Palatine Hill, but, after a skirmish in which Romulus killed Remus, Romulus was the de facto king, hence the name "Rome", and not "Reme".  At the Capitoline Museum one may see a sculpture of the she-wolf feeding Romulus and Remus.  Caesar was stabbed 44 times by a collection of Roman senators for violating the jurisdiction of his office and abusing his power consequently.

Caesar's Tomb

The Capitoline and DaVinci Museums were great as well!

Finally, we went to the Vatican City, and saw the beautiful and ornate Sistine Chapel which Michelangelo painted.  In the Sistine Chapel, I spent about an hour just staring up above me at the image portraying the creation of man, gawking at its awesome splendor.  It was quite a sight to behold.

We leave for Florence tomorrow, and I can't wait! 



Tempus est discedere Fiorentam.



It's time to go to Florence.

When in Rome

After a great week in Athens, it was time to leave behind Ancient Greek culture, and the heat, for Rome.  As soon as we stepped off the plane at Rome's Fiumcino, we were exploring the city.  The first historical site that we stopped at was the Pantheon.  The Pantheon, a temple built by the Roman emperor Marcus Agrippa, was originally dedicated to all the gods (from Jupiter to Nemesis), but is a modern-day church.

There, I visited the tombs of the artist Raphael, Italy's first king Victor Emmanuel II, and Italy's first queen Margherita di Savoy, for whom pizza margherita is named.  Later that evening, I tried my first Roman style pizza, which was great, but, being the proud American I am, cannot say it matches the likes of New York and Chicago style pizzas.  We also saw the Trevy Fountain, and I tossed a coin in over my right shoulder, meaning that I will return to Rome again:

The next day, we went on an excursion to Naples and Pompeii.  In Naples, there was an extraordinary museum which featured various statues depicting events of importance in Rome, including Aeneas fleeing Troy as well as busts of Caesar and Octavian Augustus.  The museum also had this painting of Alexander the Great leading a charge against the Persian military:

After a lunch of Napoletano pizza (still not as good!), we went to the ruins of Pompeii, which had been left uninhabitable after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.  The remains of restaurants, theaters, and apartments were a testament to the desolate land which once served as "home" for over 10,000 Romans.

I cannot wait for the next few days in Rome!

Aestate, Roma pulchra est abque multis late videtur.
In the summer, Rome is beautiful and is seen by many people far and wide.

Amazing Athens

It is currently 10:35 in Athens, and so the countdown begins.  I have approximately seven hours and ten minutes until our departure for Rome, and, while Rome is the site which I am most looking forward to visiting, I cannot deny that Athens was truly spectacular.  Following our trip to the Acropolis, we went on a journey to Nafplion and Mycenae. In Mycenae, we explored the ruins of the tribe which inspired the Cyclopean race in Homer's epic The Odyssey, and saw the famous Lions Gate.  Afterwards we spent some time in the small town of Nafplion.  There, we trekked through a Venetian-built castle that featured the Lion of Saint Mark.  We then enjoyed a local beach, which, I would say, put those of the Carribean to shame.  The combination of fried calamari and the marvelous shade of blue that decorated the ocean was worthy of peanut butter and jelly status.  On the following day we went to the museum:

Statue of Spartan Lad on a Horse

Sculpture of Hercules

Statue of Zeus or Poseidon

The statue of either Zeus or Poseidon is especially famous.  We also learned all about the classical and archaic periods of Greek art.  We then capped off our trip to Greece with a hike up Lykavitos Hill and a trip to Glyfada Beach.   The view on top of Lykavitos was incredible:

Just look at that beautiful face!  Oh, and the Parthenon in the crook of that face's elbow.  The Cretan dinner afterwards was also a marvelous way to satisfy the appetite which I worked up on the hike!

Quis est excitatus Romae?
Who's excited for Rome?

Upon Arrival in Athens

It has now been two days since I stepped off the plane, after two long and grueling flights, and landed into sunny Athens, Greece.  After settling in to our hotel, the beautiful Hotel Plaka at the corner of Mytropoleos Street and Kapnikareas, we visited the agora (meeting place and political center of Ancient Athens) where we took notice of the architectural design, and surveyed the collection of pottery, sculpture, and other artifacts.  We then proceeded to visit the Temple of Hephaestus and the Monument of Eponymous Heroes.  Our Greek-speaking director Emily also explained to us the effects which the Greek language has had on English by citing the example of the word "eponymous", which consists of the two Greek words "epi", meaning upon, and "onyma", meaning name.  The Monument of Eponymous Heroes once featured 12 self-made visionaries each from a separate tribe of Athenians, hence the etymology of the word "eponymous", as each hero took it "upon" himself to make his own "name".  After a great trip to the Athens museum were I saw a replication of a carved-out mural depicting Aeneas, the Trojan hero of the Aeneid, fleeing Troy with his father over his shoulder, his son Ascanius by his side, and the household gods in his hand, we had a nice dinner of zucchini balls and Greek salad.

AENEAS FLEEING TROY

  That evening, we went on a scavenger hunt, where we were required to find various items, including a Greek national jersey and a picture with a street performer, all throughout Athens, and the winning team (not mine) received a luxurious prize.  On the following day, we hiked up to the Acropolis, a high citadel overlooking the city of Athens, and saw both the Parthenon and the Erechtheum.  Truly a sight to behold:

 We then finished off the day by learning a few traditional Greek dances, and watching the sunset from our hotel's rooftop garden.  I can't wait for tomorrow when we shall be heading to Mycenae!


Eamus itinere!
Let's go on a journey!


-Jacob Weiss