So what have I been up to? Before the break, well, it feels like we've been just about everywhere! I'll tell you one really fantastic thing about this program - they make a real effort to get us out to the rest of Italy (or at least Latium, the area around Rome) to get a better sense of what was going on 'out there' as it were. Thus we've been out exploring the Etruscan tombs at Cerveteri and the Roman Colony at Alba Fucens, for instance, in addition to the big Roman sites like the Colosseum or Pantheon. So the fact that this program has a bigger base of operations, as it were, has been a real plus and helps put some of the truly exceptional things about Rome into a larger Italian context.
One of the biggest highlights, however, had to be the dreaded Autoptic Exam we faced about a week ago. What, pray tell, is an Autoptic Exam? I'll be honest in saying that I still haven't a completely clear idea. But here are some things it seems to involve.
1. A lot of students freaking out the night before (because they don't know what's coming)
2. A random un-labelled site (Alba Fucens - a quite lovely site, actually)
3. A sudden, ferocious rainstorm
4. Dividing off into groups
5. Identifying Roman Building Types from the remains during said rainstorm
6. Profit.
But perhaps I shouldn't be so flippant, since it was actually quite a fun exercise to do. Most of the time, we are prejudiced, I want to say, by the labels that have already been applied to sites. That is the Baths of Caracalla, this is a House structure, that is 2nd Style Wall-Painting, etc. But for the most part none of that is Roman - all they've left behind are the remains themselves. Certainly no ancient Roman spent a sleepless night worrying whether posterity would recognize his temple from the remains of its walls alone. Of course not. He just built a temple, and it had many more clues: a roof, painted decoration, priests, pilgrims, a cult statue, etc. So it was fun to get back to the 'roots' of archaeology - let's look at these remains that we have and, knowing what we know, attempt to figure out what was done here, when it was done, and maybe who did it. So much is lost, of course, but so much is also still there. And that's what we're learning, right?
But still, the rain and all too brief time limit didn't exactly do much to help everyone's stress levels. And let's not forget the building type our instructors forgot (the macellum - a meat/fish market) and the bizarre structure that no one has offered a plausible explanation for. (Seriously, it was nutty - 3 rectangular rooms with apses that let in sun, but only the tiniest of doors between the rectangles. Some sort of industrial space? I dunno)
So what else has been going on? Oh yes, the so-called Fourth of July Long Weekend! What have I been doing with myself and four free days in Rome? Well, there was an attempt to see the Villa Borghese on Friday - but unfortunately our best-laid plans were laid low by (what else can I say but) Italy. You see, the Galleria is very particular about visitors reserving tickets in advance. They only let in some 300 or so visitors to the Villa for a strictly enforced 2 hour tour. I suppose they don't want to have large crowds absolutely swamping the art and making it impossible to really appreciate the villa or even move about it. But they also say that you can easily reserve a ticket online. which we did - well, my friends, that particular cake turns out to be a lie. Big surprise. Although, to their credit, they are completely willing to tell you that their system works perfectly and you must have done it all wrong somehow. In any case, the upshot is that we were told we didn't have a reservation for Friday, but managed nonetheless to get tickets for Saturday. So I guess the point of this whole rant is, what exactly? I don't know anymore - but you shouldn't trust the Italian internets.
When I finally did manage to get inside the Villa Borghese, it was absolutely wonderful. It's really hard to describe how the rooms of the Villa all fit together artistically to portray some theme or even a particular story, most often from Ovid. Thus the famous Daphnis and Apollo sculpture, for instance, isn't just an isolated work of genius - as this stolen picture would have you believe...
But, to return to my point, what's really cool is how the statue actually fits into the entire scheme of the room it was designed for. Thus there are amazing ceiling paintings depicting different episodes of the story surrounded by imaginary architecture - columns reaching into a beautiful blue sky, etc - as well as recycled Roman materials - such as elaborate sarcophagi, planted within the walls that might portray a related mythological scene. The artist even recommended to the family which way the statue should face so as to garner the most impressed reaction from visitors! So the level of care and detail around each room is just plain astonishing.
My only complaint - and this is really just a complaint made in fun - is this:
HOW MANY DEPICTIONS OF AENEAS DOES ONE FAMILY NEED?! GOOD LORD!!
So, yeah, the Borghese were really projecting their love of the Aeneid all over their house. That and the Madonna and Child were everywhere, though Aeneas may have had a slight edge. But I suppose that's the impression they wanted to make, that they were an extremely devout and cultured family. Who also just happened to have enough wealth to own an entire section of the city of Rome and turn it into a fantastic pleasure palace. But the best part of the experience was simply seeing some of these pieces of art in their original, intended context - and also thinking about how closely this probably resembles ancient Roman customs as well. I could imagine Cicero, for instance, taking a second to think just where to place that statue of Socrates in his library to really impress his viewers. And then what sort of painting should adorn the walls around him. And then fit that to the organization scheme of his library. And then how that fits into the rest of his Tusculan Villa. Ad Nauseam. Perhaps aristocrats never change, only their fashions do.
Is that supposed to be some deep thought? Not really. But I've always loved visiting cities, like when Dave and I went to Istanbul, because it gives you a sense of the entire history of the city rather than just that one era. And Rome certainly has that sort of historical depth in spades. Hope everything is going great where you are, and a new batch of silly postcards are on their way! Go go Italian Postal System!
