When my alarm went off this morning, I groaned, grabbed my phone, and forced myself to stare at it for a minute or so to avoid drifting back to sleep. I tugged my window shade open and woke up my roommates, but each one struggled as much as me to get up. Still half-asleep, we got ready and wandered down to breakfast. Arriving at the meeting spot at 8:00am, only about a third of the group was present -- it seems we weren't the only ones experiencing a slow morning. Once everyone arrived, we started to wake up, and the short walk to the market got the group back to its normal, energetic state. From the just-opened stalls wafted smells of coffee, spices, and fresh fruit, making many of us hungry despite having just eaten. We lined up to choose our sandwich bread and fixings, and although the vendors spoke limited English and we spoke limited Italian, we communicated well enough; when getting fruit and vegetables, Google Translate came in handy. With the exception of Pike's Place, if I needed lunch at home I would go the supermarket and buy everything, packaged or fresh, at one place, but here I found the stratification and the freshness of the products to be quite fun -- and it made for a lovely lunch later.
After the market we braved rush hour at the metro station and eventually made it to the train taking us into the countryside. After a half hour of watching the apartment buildings fade and the green hills go by, we arrived in Ostia Antica, the ancient port city once located at the mouth of the Tiber. For centuries Ostia was a wealthy, diverse trade city through which most goods passed en route to Rome, but once the path of the Tiber shifted and Naples because a more major port city, Ostia was abandoned, left to be preserved by nature. As we got off the train and walked towards the site, we passed the blush-colored houses and soccer of Rome's suburbs, a peaceful respite from the business of the city. In the ancient city, we split our attention between the massive brick structures and navigating the uneven stone pavement. We reached the amphitheatre where we received some breif background information about what happened to Ostia, then some of us recited Shakespeare, Latin poems, and even limericks in the massive theatre. After that, Sarah took us to a rather interesting location: the toilets. Though perhaps not up to our modern standards of privacy, we were all impressed with the complexity and efficacy of the Roman sewer system. At that point I peaked around a corner and noticed a hallway, so of course I had to go down it. I expected it to stop in a dead end, yet it kept going in crazy directions. Once I made my way back to the group, we were let off to eat lunch and explore the ruins.
We ate our fantastic picnic lunches in the shade of some walls before splitting up. Many of us marched up some uneven steps to the base of the Tempio Rotunda, where we promptly layed down and took naps. As my alarm went off 45 minutes later, I blinked my eyes open just as a butterfly flitted past my nose, and I sat up to see white marble columns and towering travertine walls all around me, once more reminding me just how unique and fabulous the place we're in is. After being granted 45 more minutes to explore, I walked through what used to be the bath houses and discovered a basement, into which I slid Indiana Jones style, then walked up to a vantage point overlooking all of Ostia. As I made my way back to the amphitheatre, I passed the fast food restaurant of Ostia with its layout and mosaic menu still discernable. Again and again, I remarked, "This was a big city. This was almost the size of Redmond;" I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that a city as big and important as Ostia could be abandoned so quickly, and that I was there, 2000 years later, walking the same roads as the Romans. Our time at Ostia finished, we walked back to the train station and travelled back to Rome.
*Ecstasy of St. Teresa*
After the massive scale of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, walking into the small nave of Santa Maria Della Vittoria at first seemed to be a cozier atmosphere, until the ornateness and extravagance hits. The epitome of Baroque architecture and design, every available surface is filled by a painting, a gilding carving, a Latin inscription, or a statue. While the paintings down the nave were breathtaking, the show stopper was in the left transept: Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. As we learned in art history, Bernini fancied himself a set designer for plays, and his dramatic flair truly came through in not only the sculpture itself but also its location and surroundings. On either side are scupted audience members marvelling at the scene before them, lit as though by a spotlight from a hidden window. With incredible skill, Bernini made the hard marble of St. Teresa's dress appear soft and silky, and her expression, while somewhat suggestive, was beautifully carved. The angel beside her appeared muscular and fit, as though made of a whole different material from St. Teresa. After studying this is class, it was a pleasure to see something as significant as The Ecstasy of St. Teresa in real life. While the statue was the main attraction, the beautiful scupture of Joseph and Gabriel and the relic of St. Vittoria were incredible to see. Sitting on a pew to take in all the extravagance, I still couldn't believe the beauty and astonishing history that surrounded me here in Rome.
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