The Vatican Museums

Written by Anika

Photos by Kelli

The beauty found within manmade walls is especially apparent in the Vatican.

The ceilings in the round hall that seem as though you could feel the roughness of the sculptures are really just ornate paintings created to embody the Pantheon.

The 35,000 people that walk the halls each day are lucky enough to take in paintings with blues, reds, and golds wrought from objects in nature. 

Laocoon and his sons are brought to life exactly as I had imagined in the Aeneid. 

All in all, the regality and grandioseness of the Vatican is unbelievable to human eyes and a gift to all who have the privilege to absorb it.

Ostia Antica

Written by Toby 

with photos by Kelli

Starting off this day, the bright blue skies were a breath of fresh air from the gloomy clouds and the torrential downpours of previous days. The coastal breeze and the clean air helped clear our minds before we traveled back in time to the city of Ostia. 

Ostia Antica was a magical oasis, for which it felt like we were some of the only people who knew. We strolled down the main Roman road, scurrying off the path to get a closer look at pristinely preserved ancient ruins like the amphitheater or the temple to Minerva.

We broke for lunch after reflecting on previous days by analyzing a specific structure or detail broken down into 5 poetic sentences. 

While our stomachs were full, our heads and legs were ready to take in the ancient city. We broke apart into our own little tribes, and it was a pleasant surprise when we would see a fellow Overlaker in the vast maze. The preservation of the ancient tilework truly astonished me. How such a simple floor that so many people used to walk on in the 7th century BC is still in pristine condition and is often overlooked. 

I appreciated the sheer magnitude of Ostia and often got lost when trying to retrace my steps. It might have been because I got distracted by the cute cats scurrying about the ruins.

-Toby

 

                  

The Vatican Museum through the lens of Art History

Written by Kristen/ Photos by Kelli

Going to the Vatican was a surreal experience. I have studied a couple of the pieces showcased there while taking Art History and it was a gift being able to see them in real life. I remember the Sistine Chapel and School of Athens catching my interest back then, and it was really cool seeing the actual size and amount of detail in something that i’ve had to study meticulously about. 

In typical museums the walls are bare with artwork hanging off them, but the vatican itself is the artwork. Although it was very busy you didn’t miss out on anything since the work was built into the walls and architecture. The statues were equally impressive and I could only think about how much time and skill it takes to make stone look like silk. Overall, I feel honored to have had that experience and was so impressed with not only the skill of those from the past but how well it’s all been preserved. 

Rome—If Only You Were Here

A poem by Catherine

The sun, setting into St. Peter’s Basilica—a building created to catch it; 

The most inglorious and fortunate time of life, set free by marble; 

A tapestry of sky, caught on the tip of a fountain and lifted from the earth; 

Angels with hands aloft, lining a tomb's pathway with song and spear; 

Rome, a memory of history and lineage, of passion and conflict, of extravagance and mundanity, of humans. 

Photo by Kelli

The Pantheon at Night

A quick stop to admire the Pantheon again, but this time at night on our way to gelato before returning to the convent for bed!

St. Peter’s Basilica by Jack

Text by Jack/Photos by KP

This beautiful monument was by far the most amazing place we have gone so far (in my opinion). We got there in the late afternoon on Wednesday after being drenched in the pouring rains throughout the day. The entry went smoothly, and we were able to enter without any shenanigans (after waiting in the line of course). Just standing in the line was enough to fulfill any dreams about Ancient Rome. Surrounding the waiting area were beautiful colonnades for defense against the elements, along with a piazza that allowed an unblocked view of the great basilica and its dome. 

After getting inside, the first view we got was one that will stay in my memory forever. A beautiful ceiling that shimmers golden in the light, framing beautiful paintings and elaborate carvings. 

After strolling around into the various chapels in the two side-bays of the basilica, my personal favorite and one that I stayed in the longest was the Chapel of the Pietà. Michelangelo’s sculpting is unrivaled by any other by far. 

The entire basilica itself was full of people, but finding a quiet spot to rest against a wall and just look at all of the beautiful imagery surrounding us was quite easy. It would’ve been easy to stay there for hours and hours in a single spot and still find pleasure and awe staring at the marble sculptures. But all good things had to come to an end, and when we left we got to see some guards wearing some goofy uniforms! 

The Roman Forum by David

Text by David / Photos by KP

The visit to the forum, though brief, moved me like nothing else. This uniqueness, of course, was on account of the inclement weather. 

It may seem simple, unpleasant, even, but this sole factor shifted my view of all previous sites monumentally. Never before, in any movie, book, or artwork I have seen, have I ever been brought to consider the feeling of the Forum in the rain. These grand, once-bustling monuments are always depicted in golden sunlight, pure myth to a Seattlite like myself. We can learn from a textbook about the great basilicas, the immaculate marble temples and arches gleaming silvery white in bright, golden sunlight, and when the structures truly are bathed in warm light they still feel larger every time. But when the sky darkens with rain cascading down upon you, the mythical place becomes eternal and timeless. The mind wanders in all directions, finding bursts of understanding in the midst of the inclement weather. One suddenly realizes the reasons for the simple details they have spent years taking at face value: the reason for the wool tunica and togas, the design of the streets’ drainage, the true size of the simple rostra; these bring more understanding than half a decade of learning ever can.

[Photos of our time exploring the Roman Forum, including Overlake student docent presentations.]