Jesuits, Obelisks and Latin Inscriptions!

Our group started off our amazing day (even though it was raining) with a presentation on the Jesuits in Rome by Reed. During his presentation we walked to Il Gesu church and St. Ignazio church. We then listened to Lia’s presentation on Obelisks, visiting Minerveo, Macutco and Solare Obelisks around Rome. Everyone ended their day with a walking tour with Tyler Landsford on Latin inscriptions in Rome.

The rain stopped when we met at the Rome Center and walked to Il Gesu church. Reed is sick so he had to use his “small voice” while talking to us outside the church on Victor Emanuel street. Il Gesu, dedicated to Jesus, is the mother church of the Jesuits and marks the beginning of Baroque style architecture. Cardinal Alexander Farnese, the grandson of Pope Paul III, commissioned this church. It is dedicated to Jesus and one of the first things I noticed about the façade was the big “IHS” that is inscribed in the front of the church. “IHS” is Christ’s name in Greek and all the Jesuit churches show this lettering throughout all the churches. On the façade, on either side of the door, you see two sculptures. On the Right hand side is the depiction of religion stomping out heresy and the one on the left hand side is the triumph of the church over heresy.

The illusionist ceiling catches the eye of every person that walks into Il Gesu. This ceiling is the “triumph of the name of God” and there is a mirror placed perfectly in the back of the church so that visitors can look up at the ceiling and see the full effect of the figures in the painting “falling out” of the painting. The Jesuit community wanted a less grand, wooden ceiling while Farnese wanted a fancy, vaulted ceiling and since he was commissioner, he was able to complete the ceiling the way he wanted. The Jesuits believed art was for education and didn’t believe in lavish decorations. Il Gesu, is a high renaissance church that is beautifully decorated but not to Jesuits normal simple taste. So we must assume that all the grand decorations were added over time and by the patron himself.

We saw the two most famous side chapels of Il Gesu, Chapel of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. The chapel of St. Ignatius holds his tomb and is very extravagant, to the point that he wouldn’t have agreed with the grandeur style of his tomb. Directly across from that chapel is the tomb of St. Francis with a relic of his arm (symbolizing his missionary work of converting many people), this chapel is way more understated and less eye catching.

Reed told us that Jesuits are a secular clergy, meaning they adopt the dress and language of the region and culture they are preaching in. After the Counter Reformation, the soul purpose of Jesuit churches was to be able to see and hear the preacher while having good acoustics. This changed the architecture of Il Gesu in that it is shorter and wider than most churches and has side chapels so that more than one mass could be preformed at once. There are a couple of predominate depictions that occur in most Jesuit churches which are the letters “IHS” are written through the church, the scene of the circumcision of Jesus is usually on the high alter and the depiction of missionary work.

After the Il Gesu we followed Reed to St. Ignazio church. It was surprising to see that the fronts of Il Gesu and St. Ignazio were almost identical, with the only differences being there were no statues. The ceiling inside this church was typical for the 17th century and was less extravagant than Il Gesu, but still had the illusionist look. It depicted the four continents that Christianity had reached; Asia, Africa, Europe and America. The main feature that caught the group’s eye was the dark “dome” that is really just a painting. Before the church was finished they ran out of money and so they couldn’t complete a dome so the artist just painted an illusion of a dome.

Right after Reeds presentation we walk to Piazza della Minerva to hear Lia’s presentation on obelisks. We were lucky to see three of the thirteen obelisks in Rome. Originating in Egypt, they were built for celebratory and religious purposes, are usually made of one stone, having four square sides that taper to the top and were moved when Egypt fell to Rome. Pope Sixtus brought back obelisks and made a path for the pilgrims so that from each one you can see another.

The first obelisk we saw was Minerveo in Piazza della Minerva. It is the smallest obelisks standing at 5 ½ meters, made out of red granite and was placed here in 1667. This obelisk is one of a twin set that was made in Egypt in sixth century. The base was designed by Bernini and on top of the base is a human size elephant. On the elephant’s forehead are the words zeal and industry. The next obelisk we went to was Macuteo in Piazza della Rotonda (Pantheon). Here we talked mainly about the other thirteen obelisks in Rome. An interesting fact that Lia told us is the obelisk Vaticano in St. Peter’s Square is one of two not inscribed on. Our next obelisk we saw was Solare/Campense in Piazza di Montecritorio. It is 72 feet tall and was brought back by Caesar to symbolize conquer over Egypt. At the very end of her presentation it started to rain hard, Lia quickly rapped up her presentation and all rain for cover!

After our lunch break we met back up for our walking tour with Tyler Landsford. The weather was holding up for us, and we were all excited to hear about the latin inscriptions throughout Rome. We started in Paizza della Cancelleria, then moved to the far side of the Campo, then to Capo di Ferro, then Ponte Sisto, to Largo de Librari, into the Ghetto, and then through the Ghetto to Tiber island. We followed the path of the old Via della Pellegrino. My favorite inscriptions that we saw were the ones on top of eight statues on the façade of Palazzo Spada. The eight statues are of Trajan, Gnaeus Pompey the Great, Fabius Maximus, Romulus, Numa, Marcus Marcellus, Dictator Caesar and Augustus Caesar. Trajan’s really stands out to me, reading “Trajan, an emperor of invincible valor, deserved the name of ‘Best.’”

After listening to Tyler’s translations of the inscriptions, I couldn’t stop thinking about the amount of dedication that he put into his work. Stacie asked him about the process he went to find inscriptions, especially the inscription on Ponte Rotto. For this particular inscription he read about it in a book, then every time he visited Rome he would come to this bridge and look for this inscription until finally he found it one day. His lecture was so interesting and walking around the city, being able to see exactly what he was translating was an incredible experience.

Cooking class with Mary!

This morning the boys and I woke up and went to the Pigna apartment for brunch. Cami made pancakes and Richelle made crepes. After eating we sat around for about an hour or two before going to the Rome Center for Mary's class.
The highlight of the day was Mary's cooking class. The first thing she taught us was how to properly chop an onion. Lia and I have always done it differently but Mary's way made sense to us.


This picture shows Richelle hard at work with her onion. We all did a good job and Mary was rewarded with a pot full of chopped onions.

The next thing we made was an eggplant parmesan. I have always loved eggplant parmesan so I was thrilled to learn how to make it. I tried it a few times before but it always came out really sloppy or with the eggplant just being mush. The important step that I didn't quite do correctly was to brown the sides of the eggplant slices either by lightly sauteeing them or by broiling them in the oven for a bit.
Again, it was a fascinating process. Matt and Kelly were especially floored.


After adding several layers of a delicious ragu sauce, eggplant, and parmesan we baked the eggplant parmesan for about twenty minutes. We could hardly contain ourselves and it didn't take long for us to finish it.


Later that night I decided to make bread for the apartment. Baking bread is something that I only learned recently but I have perfected an easy and cheap way to make several loaves of bread. Matthew has expressed an interest in learning how to make along with several others and so I've decided to share the recipe.
Start with adding a cup of warm water to a large mixing bowl. Add a spoonful each of sugar, salt, and yeast and let it sit for about five minutes. Once the yeast has been activated slowly add in 2 cups of flour and stir quickly for a few minutes. Add a cup of melted butter or if you want to make it healthier, add a cup of an oil and warm water mixture. Then add another two cups of flower. Before it gets too doughy add in a spoonful of pesto sauce, some dried red pepper, and anything else you may want (some rosemary is nice). Once you have a big glob of dough then divide it into loaves and let it rise for 2 hours. Bake for about half an hour at 350 and serve immediately.
Ciao!

Caravaggio and the Oregon Trail

Today the weather consisted of nothing but clear, blue skies. It was a bit chilly, but spirits were high and the chance of cholera low. Rations cut to half. The topic of the day was presented to us by Amy, on the artist Caravaggio.

Caravaggio was the son of a master architect, and was apprenticed early in life after his skills were made obvious. He had many friends who were also artists, and they may have influenced his style in various pieces. It is interesting to note that Caravaggio never learned how to create frescoes, one of the more important types of art at the time. Instead, Caravaggio mastered the use of oil paints on canvas. In an even more interesting note, Caravaggio stood slightly outside the swirl of Humanism, as he simply was not that interested in antiquity. As many other brilliant artists, Caravaggio was violent and a drunkard.

We began our trek from the portone towards a church that housed Caravaggio's first piece we were going to learn about. Unfortunately the church was closed until 10 AM, and we were there at 9:30. So onward we went to the next church, but there was mass being held so we couldn't go inside to view the work there, either.

Cardinal Delmonte was Caravaggio's first patron, as the Cardinal was heavily keen on art. Caravaggio finished up a chapel, taking over the work of another artist. Rather than fresco, Caravaggio used oil -- and was so skilled that he maintained the same payment for the job as the other artist. There are some who say that Caravaggio was gay, citing the fact that he never painted women. However, Caravaggio painted two seperate works of women, and there is evidence of Caravaggio entertaining the ladies.

Due to the Counter Reformation within the Catholic Church, there was a re-emphasis on the basics. Subsequently, Caravaggio could have his choice of Biblical scenes including the Last Supper, the Madonna, and any of the Saints -- Caravaggio stressed the reality of these images. Ironically, Caravaggio much preferred painting scenes of nature to people. After leaving Cardinal Delmonte's patronage in 1600, Caravaggio sought out new sources of work.

Caravaggio created the Crucifixion of Saint Peter at the Del Popolo, as well as the Conversion of Saint Paul. Originally the chapel was to be decorated by another artist named Caracci. There was a myth that all the crows in the Piazza del Popolo were evil demons sitting in a tree. As a sign of victory, this walnut tree was cut down and replaced with an oak tree.

One aspect unique to Caravaggio's painting of St. Peter is that only St. Peter's eyes are visible, and they emphasize a focal point. The figure is almost full size, and they were Caravaggio's first to be publically displayed. In the painting, there were different styles of clothing used, and Jesus' hand is very similar to that of God's in the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately for us today, the original painting of Saint Matthew was torn down due to a few problems such as St. Matthew's bare feet, his dirtiness, and the fact that the painting itself was simply too small. Recently, researchers have discovered incised lines in the canvas, used for the purpose of creating outlines of objects to help guide the artist.

After Amy's presentation, we returned to the Rome Center to break for lunch, and then had Professor O'Neil's class at 2 PM. Nobody died from malaria or whooping cough. Crossed South Pass.

Learnin' bouts the Italians and Popes

Today was a class day so we spent the morning in Italian and afternoon in Mary's history class.
In Italian class with Mary, Marco and I worked on reading chapter nine of A Ciascuno il Suo, where we learn in the story more about the politics of Sicily in the 60s, and the plot thickens when they go to talk with the widow of the friend who was murdered.
In the Italidea class the girls learned about adjectives and descriptions, and took a field trip out to Farnese and Campo dei Fiori to describes sights... in Italian! Brava.

Later on we had class with Signora Mary, where we learned about Pope Sixtus and looked at some of his commissions, and began an quick introduction on Machiavelli for next week.

After class, since we had a 3-day weekend, everyone got ready for their trips to Prague, Istanbul, and Lyon!

Eggs in Purgatory

Roma Reporta—February 18, 2009
Posted by Reed

Today was a very relaxed day. Our usual Wednesday morning art history class had been rescheduled, since Lisa was with the honors group in Southern Italy; so, we decided to spice things up with an impromptu group brunch. Jenna was the master chef of the affair. She was assisted by her sous-chef, Stacie, who flipped a mean pancake. The meal—and it was a meal—consisted of two courses. For the first course, pancakes topped with Nutella whetted our appetites for the complex and delicious second course. The second course, appropriately named “Eggs in Purgatory” was a unique and delicious brunch experience, consisting of marinara sauce, a fried-mashed-potato concoction, a fried egg, and plenty of parmesan to top it off. As if all of that was not enough, there was also freshly squeezed blood-orange juice to wash everything down. It was a very tasty brunch and an excellent way to start the day.


The Master Chef at Work


After our feast, it was time for history with Mary. With our second paper due on Friday, we discussed several more aspects of the medieval family, but the majority of class today was focused on a discussion of popes and the papacy. To add to our already relaxed day, Mary decided to end class early in order to give everyone more time to work on their papers. Unfortunately, this was the end of my relaxed day, as I had to get right to work on my paper in order to turn it in before travelling to Prague for the weekend. Much of the class was in a similarly hurried state with the paper, since everyone had travel plans for the weekend, except for Heather, who had chosen to stay in Rome for the weekend. Bryan, Alex, Matt, and I went to Prague; Stacie, Carly, and Maya went to Lyon, France; and literally everyone else (except for Heather) went to Istanbul. My apologies to Heather if it sounds like I’m picking on her—apparently we missed some great weather in Rome.


The Final Product: Eggs in Purgatory

Posted by Reed

Ragazzi Piccanti

Today was loaded with scores of amazingly fun activities! As usual on Tuesday, we started the day with Italian. The class was more intense and interactive than ever before. In class, Paola taught us two new verbs: sapere and conoscere. Cosa significa sapere e conoscere? Sapere, an irregular verb, means to know something. The verb usually is followed by: 1) a phrase, such as “Sai dove vanno in vacanza;” 2) a direct object, such as “So il francese;” 3) another verb in the infinite form, such as “Franco sa suonare il piano. Non lo so, which means “I don’t know” and is one of my favorite Italian phrases, is derived from the first person singular of sappere. Conoscere, a regular verb, which also means to know, is always used with a direct object, for example, “Conosco Seattle.” After learning these new verbs, we played an intense game of trivia. First, Paola split the class into two groups, the A-Team and the Ragazzi Piccanti. Then she had us listen to a dialogue in Italian. After listening through the dialogue a few times, each group constructed five questions for the opposing team to answer. Things got competitive between the two groups. Stacie and Jenna battled it out over points, but in the end, the A-Team barely squeaked by, earning 3.5 points to Ragazzi Piccanti’s 3 points.



After Italian we had a nice three hour break, in which most of us worked dexterously on our essays for History class. Art History class convened at 2:45 in Villa Borghese at the Galleria Borghese. At the museum, Maya gave her art presentation on four of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculptures: David (1623), Rape of Proserpine (1621-22), Goat Amalthea with Infant Jupiter and Faun (1615), and Apollo and Daphne (1622-25). Although, I enjoyed all of the statues, I found the Rape of Proserpine particularly intriguing as it vividly captures so many human emotions, as well as, vividly portraying the action of the moment. The details on the statue are absolutely mind-blowing, for example: the teardrop running down Proserpine’s face, the different textures of the characters skins, and finally, most impressive, was the impressions of Pluto’s two hands imprinted into Proserpine’s skin. After the presentation, we were free to enjoy and walk around the rest of the museum. Other interesting art pieces at the Galleria included: the statue of Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix, Caravaggio’s St. Jerome, Sick Bacchus, and Raphael’s Entombment of Christ.



After looking around the Galleria for about an hour, we made our way to the Piazza Navona, where Jenna gave her art history presentation on Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers. The Fountain of the Four River’s depicts the allegorical figures of the Ganges in Asia, the Nile in Africa, the Rio de la Plata in America and the Danube in Europe. One of the most interesting facts that I learned from Jenna’s presentation was how Bernini got the commission for the statue. Originally, Bernini’s archrival Borromini, who had reconstructed the façade of the nearby Church of St. Agnus and designed the Acqua Felice, was assumed to be a shoe-in for the commission. However, after the pope saw a model of Bernini’s design, which had been dropped off inside the papal palace, he decided to pick Bernini, reportedly proclaimed, “the only way to resist executing his works is not to see them."



To cap off the day, we ate dinner at a restaurant in the Jewish Ghetto. We had fried artichokes, fish and zucchini leaves, all of which were delicious! The food was the perfect ending to another wonderful day in the Eternal City.

Jewish Ghetto and Campidoglio

We started our day with not one but two presentations! Stacie presented the Jewish Ghetto and led us around this very small quarter, while Carly presented on the Campidoglio.

The Ghetto was built in the 16th century on the banks of a frequently flooded bend of the Tiber River, and was the forced home of the Roman Jewish population for more than 300 years, between the Counter-Reformation (16th century) and Italian unification (19th century). The Ghetto is very small and at certain points up to 7000 Jews were squeezed into its confines.


The Campidoglio is the piazza on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome which houses the city government building as well as two museums. The façade of the buildings and the brick pattern on the ground are all from the designs of Michelangelo, even though he did not see the project through to completion.


It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time!