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By catrionaschwartz

Sculpture 1

Aside from the millions of humans that live in Rome, there must be just as many statues. From a nameless angel perched above the high altar of a church to glowering gods of the sea, wrapped in octopi, hunched around fountains—Rome is chock-full of marble citizens.

Sculpture 2This guy could be from Brooklyn if it weren't for the collar.

sculpture 3

It is one of my favorite aspects of the architecture here but far from the last. The dilapidated streets of the old Jewish Ghetto, for example, are equally beautiful. In a sentimental way they almost conjure the sort of Romantic-era notions about ruin.

Jewish ghetto 1“The ideas ruins evoke in me are grand. Everything comes to nothing, everything perishes, everything passes, only the world remains, only time endures.”
-Diderot
(More on ruins and romanticism here)

Aside from any sort of existential appreciation these buildings inspire though, there is also the transformation they’ve undergone to consider. As part of orientation for my IES Rome program we had an aperitivo at a pottery painting studio in a 16th century building known as Palazzo Delfino, in the Ghetto. Palazzo Delfino was supposedly the one-time home of St. Ignatius and his companions in the mid-16th century. In the years following the building was rumored to be haunted.
Centuries later, Lori-Ann Touchette, an American academic, and her partner, artist Paolo Porelli founded their ceramics studio there and restored the space as much as they could to its original parameters. One day, not long after their opening, an old man came to the door. They let him in and he told them how he and his family had lived in one of the small backrooms for four months during the Second World War, with the walls bricked up and people passing them down food and water.

Ghetto 2

The repurposing of old buildings—from 16th century palazzo to modern day pottery studio—is a phenomenon that I’ve seen around the city a number of times now. The Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary is another amazing example of it. The sanctuary is situated in the ruins of four Roman temples and Pompey’s Theatre—allegedly where Julius Caesar was assassinated in the year 44 BC. The site was later built over and was not revealed again until the 1920s.

Cat sanctuary

From that point onward, stray cats began to inhabit the site, fed by a number of women in the neighborhood. An official sanctuary for them was not founded until 1994 however. Now over 90 cats call the ruins their home. There is something wonderful about seeing the cats among the ruins. These buildings, which hadn’t been continuously inhabited for century after century after century are now once again filled with life—albeit the feline kind.

(More info on the cat sanctuary here)

Just like the pottery studio, the extent of the ruin’s narrative is not clear from first glance. Of course it looks old—ancient in the case of the ruins—but not all of the history is apparent at first glance. The same can be said of some of the churches here. Despite somewhat simple facades, many seemingly modest churches hold masterworks.

ChurchThis church had a simple, stone facade but the inside was covered in marble and gold.

Finding out what is under the surface of these buildings is something I’ve loved doing in these first two weeks here in Rome—that and knowing that there is much that I’ve yet to discover. Arrivederci!

By catrionaschwartz

Today marks the end of my first week in Rome! My parents and I arrived in Italy early to go sight-seeing but my program actually starts tomorrow, something I am very much looking forward to. This first week hasn’t been too frantic yet although it has been wet. (As you may or may not have heard Italy and France have been having flood-level amounts of rain this past week.)

Either way, here are ten things I have learned after a week of partly flooded and very touristy sight-seeing:

1. There are lots of seagulls here! There are also pigeons and swallows, the same as in the US, which is a bit of a letdown after London’s colossal, brobdingnagian crows and odd masked river birds (they even had herons at Regent’s Park!).  Still, this is made up for by the fact that:

2. The trees are different! This was one of the first things I noticed upon arriving in Italy. In particular, what I have since learned is a stone pine caught my eye. This type of tree is typical to the Mediterranean but also to North Africa. Basically, they look really cool.

3. There are a lot of ecclesiastical clothing shops in the city, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in the US although they must exist there. There are also of course many nuns and priests, which is unsurprising considering the number of churches I’ve seen here, and the location of the Vatican.

4. Street peddlers are much more aggressive perseverant here, especially those selling umbrellas. They’ll follow you for a bit, even after you tell them you don’t want anything, even if you are already holding an umbrella.

5. Just like in London there aren’t really any water fountains in buildings—but—there are some on the street, especially in piazzas. The ones I have seen thus far are pretty ancient looking and the water pours out of them like a faucet. However if you place your finger along the rim of the faucet there is a way to get the water to arch up. I hope that by the end of my time here I will have mastered this mysterious technique.

6. Even small, unexceptional looking churches can have masterworks inside. Along the Piazza del Popolo for example, there is the Basilica of Santa Maria which has a relatively simple façade compared to other churches in the city. Inside however are sculptures by Bernini, and paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Donato Bramante.

7. A lot of the statues here are very sassy.

Nettuno Piazza del Popolo

Nettuno at the Piazza del Popolo.*

8. You can’t hail a taxi just anywhere. You can try (and boy did I try) but you just look like a bit of a loser as they drive past you without a backward glance. You can really only get a taxi at a taxi stand, and there are thankfully a fair number of those, especially in touristy areas and along piazzas.

9. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of Italian food here. More surprisingly, it is easy to become tired of Italian food, even in seven days. In the less touristy areas though there are non-Italian restaurants. I can’t attest to their quality but as I said, after seven days of Italian food I’m ready to take a risk.

10. People wear a lot of black. The stereotype about Europeans wearing a lot of dark colors has thus far rung fairly true. Just something to consider when you’re packing, which I did not.

+1 for good luck!

11. As someone who hasn’t really traveled in Europe before, the picturesque cobble stoned streets really are pretty amazing. Aside from the joyous feeling of walking inside one of your high school language text books, it’s fun to imagine you’re in the 17th century for a couple of blocks.

I can’t wait to learn more about Rome; its different neighborhoods, what it looks like in the spring, what it feels like to be here for more than a week, all of it. I’m also looking forward to going to more museums and churches and seeing the amazing art history the city has to offer. Despite the sometimes sketchy internet and phone service, the odd store hours and the utter lack of chai tea lattes I’m so excited to see what this semester will have to offer!

*Image source

By catrionaschwartz

Tonight is my last night in New York for four months! To celebrate this momentous occasion my parents and I ordered Chinese food from my favorite place in the city and watched a documentary about Rome. I also had my last Starbucks (okay 2nd to last—let’s be real I’m going to get some in the airport tomorrow) for maybe four months because, as I recently found out, there is literally no Starbucks in Italy!

On a more serious note though, this will be the longest I’ll have ever been away from home in my life. At school there’s the Thanksgiving break and spring break and while there is a spring break in the IES Rome program I’m not going to be going home for it. I’m nervous about this but I’m also looking forward to the challenge. Besides which being away from home can make you appreciate certain things about your town/state/country that you had taken for granted before.

I’ve been trying to prepare by watching films and shows about Rome, and even trying an Italian language program online but all of that has now fallen to the wayside in favor of packing. As mentioned in my first post, packing can a bit of an art. Still, I’ve managed to squeeze some time in to watch some of “I, Claudius,” (a somewhat melodramatic television series produced by the BBC in the 1970s), “Meet the Romans with Mary Beard,” another BBC series, this time a documentary series made in 2012 about life in ancient Rome, and “Francesco’s Italy,” a really fun, again—BBC (this wasn’t intentional I swear) documentary program about contemporary Italy.

Despite this (really pretty meager) preparation I’m not really sure what to expect when I arrive in Rome. In London, where I studied last term, I felt like I could blend in with the other Londoners as long as I wasn’t walking around the city in a North Face, wearing Lululemon yoga pants. In Rome I feel like somehow it will be much more apparent that I’m American, even before I open my mouth to no doubt stutter really horrifically butchered, clunky Italian. I don’t think this will necessarily be a bad thing—maybe it will encourage people to overlook any faux pas I make?

I will let you know how it goes in my next post which will be after a week (my first week!) in Rome! Hopefully there will also be a few pretty pictures. Until then, ciao!

P.S. For anyone else planning on visiting/studying abroad in Rome I found a really great blog by an American who has been living there for several years. Here’s the link: http://www.revealedrome.com/rome-travel-planning.html

By catrionaschwartz

This is my last week in Brooklyn before I leave for Rome! Preparing to leave is one of the most boring, stressful and important parts of study abroad—that and packing up at the end. There are endless little tasks that need to be carried out before you can leave when all you want to do is go: calling the credit card company to tell them you’ll be away, sorting out your cell phone plan for when you’re abroad, checking that your visa is in order and that you have the proper documentation for residence in your country of destination, and then of course packing as much clothing as you can fit in the largest legally allowable suitcase money can buy.

All of this can seemingly cut into the romance of study abroad a bit. It’s certainly not Fellini and gelato and walking along the Tiber on a sunny day. The thing is though, when people talk about study abroad helping you grow and change as a person, all of this planning is a big part of that as well. When I studied in London last semester I had to deal with these bureaucratic type issues on my own for the first time, although I did always have the lifeline of calling my parents and my study abroad advisers at GW (and of course at my host institution in London).  Dealing with those issues—most monumentally trying to get a visa for Italy as an American in London—gave me more confidence in myself and my ability to deal with issues in the future. So embrace it a bit, as much as it can be boring.

       Still, for all that making mistakes is a growing experience I will give some packing tips that I learned from my last semester abroad to finish up this preparation-post:.

         1. Bring adaptors! This is so important because you do not want to arrive at your hotel/dorm/home-stay etc. and realize that your phone is dead and you have no way to charge it!

            2. Bring something that reminds you of home for that one week where you might be feeling a little bit homesick.

           3. Bring shower shoes: you don’t know what the shower situation will be like. Be prepared.

            4. Also about grooming: there is a chance that the country you’re going to will not sell your usual hair products/make-up etc. so if you swear by something it might be worth it to bring it. Still, suitcase space is a precious commodity. Use it wisely.

            5. Check what the weather/temperature situation will be like where you’re going to study. You’ll likely need warm and cold weather clothes which is a pain because it means you have to bring less of both to fit into your already bursting suitcase.

            6. In relation to #5: don’t over pack. I really did when I went to London and even if your parents are bringing you to the airport and people are picking you up, two barely-legal-they-are-so-ridiculously-Americanly-big suitcases are not fun to lug around when you’re trekking through the airport on your own.

Hopefully some of that will be helpful! In the meantime I’m trying to get my fill of home time before Rome—as well as parse together some really pathetic Italian. Till next week!