Blogs from Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe - page 15

Today was a weird day. It was the first day that I did not have class in the morning. So, a small group of us went to Il Convento dei Cappuccino. This church, museum, and crypt have been on my "to-do list" for Rome. The Ossuary crypt was made from bones. There were about 7 different rooms with different designs and concepts. Seeing the bones in an ornate design was very unsettling. Over 3,700 bodies were used to create the crypt. No words could describe the feeling of seeing these bones laid out. Of course me being a nursing major, I was looking at the different bones and naming them. After the church, we went one mentor stop over to Spanga to see the iconic Spanish Steps. It was nice because it wasn't busy, but it ... read more

Today we got to sleep in! I didn't have to meet my professor until 9am at the bus stop! We went to the Gallery of Modern Art. The building was very cool and some of the artworks were very interesting. However, I still don't get why a piece of block cement hanging on a wall is amazing or a solid black canvas is "well done" or "amazing work." But hey, I was open minded! Once we got the the second floor of the museum, there were more paintings and photos that I enjoyed. For instance, we saw Claude Monet's famous painting series of the water lilies. Also, we saw a Van Gogh painting, which was beautiful! Luckily, today was not a bad day for walking and we even got back to campus at a reasonable time. ... read more

Today was an early day! Our class went to Galleria Borghese, which took us about an hour to get to. The collection was beautiful! So far one of my favorite collection this trip. There were original Caravaggio and Bernini sculptures and paintings. Unfortunately, we only had 2 hours to explore, which was not enough time. Next, we walked to S. Maria dei Popolo church and saw more of Caravaggio's paintings. Then we went to the Pantheon, which is one of the largest domes standing in Rome. It was a lot of walking, but we were able to see many sites today. For dinner, a group and I went to a restaurant called Sant. Anna, which was a few blocks from Piazza Venezia. The food was amazing and not overpriced (which was good because Venice was expensive). ... read more

As the first week is coming to a close, today was my last day of classes! Tomorrow, I will be hopping on a train, EARLY morning, to spend the weekend in Venice!! Today was a quiet, yet long day. We went to Musei Capitoline, which is near the Colosseum and overlooks the Roman Forum. This museum had everything but the kitchen sink! From the few parts of the Colossus of Constantine to the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius and the She Wolf with Romulus and Remus. We spent about 5-6 hours in this museum. The guards were very rude to us because they did not want us taking notes about the art pieces or drawing, but we were allowed taking pictures and we were there to learn! They watched us like a hawk the whole time ... read more

It is day 3 in Rome, and I am in love with this city! This morning, we went to Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. Formerly, this church was a Roman bath location for the public to bathe, but when the Popes took over Rome, they made this into a church. Also, we went to Museo Nazionale Romano at the Palazzo Massimo. This museum had a collection of Roman and Greek original or copied statues. The Romans were inspired by the Greek bronze statues and made replicas in marble. We were able to see the iconic disk thrower statue! The buses are super packed, and people will not let you on, so we decided to get some food. After, a few friends and I grabbed lunch at Lo e Marco Pizzeria, which was amazing! I ... read more