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Published: January 26th 2009
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written and a lot has happened. We are through with orientation and have begun actual “school.” (oh yea, did you forget that I was here to study because I did!). So, let’s begin.
Siena and San Gimignano
Wow - absolutely gorgeous. I absolutely loved it. We drove to Siena on Saturday, Jan 10. We were only in the city for a little bit and then we drove the 45 minutes to San Gimignano, one of the smaller towns outside of Siena. Again - absolutely gorgeous. It is an ancient medieval town that is known for its towers. There are 13 (or 14, there was a discrepancy between what our tour guide said and what the published information said) towers remaining. At its height, there were 52 (I think, if I’m remembering correctly). The views of the countryside are breathtaking, especially at sunset when we arrived. We got to watch the moon rise over the little town, it was amazing. I bought two scarves and a bottle of olive oil. Yummy!
Siena was on Sunday. We had the morning free to explore the town on our own. It was nice to just be able
to explore and go where we wished. We were supposed to have Mass but it was decided that Loyola would celebrate it at 9pm back at the Rome Center. This did not work for me because at that time, the route I was taking to get back to Villa Nazareth was taking roughly 45 minutes to an hour. So, I had to get to church on my own. I asked Fr. Al, the priest and campus minister for the Rome Center, if he knew of any churches nearby/if we could find one for me to go to. It turns out that there was a small parish just down the road from the hotel. Mass was at 9am which was perfect. That left me about 2 hours to explore Siena. The Mass was all in Italian. It was a “low Mass” of sorts for those who know the term. There really was no music, only a little bit of chant in Italian for the Holy, Holy, the Amen, etc. Thankfully, it was the feast of the Baptism of the Lord so I was able to understand most of the readings and get the gist of the homily. After Mass, I headed
down to the center of town. Unfortunately, our hotel was a good 20 minute walk down to the center. But I found the Piazza del Campo, the main town center which is huge and the Duomo, the main church. The pictures don’t do it justice. Sadly, I had poor timing and was not able to go into the church. I’m excited to go back and spend time there when my parents come to visit. In Siena, I bought another scarf (I’m slightly obsessed…I am giving one of the 3 I’ve bought as a present though, for the record).
Hadrian’s Villa
Monday, Jan 12 we went to Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, only 45 minutes outside of Rome. The Villa was built/added on to by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It was not only a private retreat but also a place where he could exercise his architectural skills. Many of the buildings and locations within the Villa are inspired by various places he visited as a young man traveling around the empire. Hadrian is the main architect for the Pantheon in Rome. So much of the Villa remains! It’s incredible. There are still whole sections of various domes and buildings intact. Unfortunately,
Garden Hotel, Siena
One of the beautiful walkways that connected the hotel buildingsover the course of time the marble and decorations have been pillaged but the ruins are still impressive. I loved every minute of it. Today was also the first day I got to talk to Ben using our webcams! Overall, a very wonderful day =)
Montecassino
This was our last trip for orientation. Montecassino is the abbey that St. Benedict formed in the 500s. Sweet! It has a sad story though. The abbey sits on top of a mountain and overlooks the valley below. The valley is situated between two mountains and during the time of World War II, was the only easily accessible path to Rome from the coast. The Allied soldiers had landed in Sicily and were working their way up the coast to Rome. When they came to this valley, they were stopped by the Nazis and Italian soldiers who held both mountain tops, including the abbey. They fought for months. The Allies thought that the Nazis were using the abbey as a hideout. They informed the Vatican that they were going to bomb it, it was their only option. All the artwork and precious objects were removed just before the bombing which almost entirely destroyed
the abbey. Unfortunately, it was then discovered that the Nazis had actually not been in the abbey at all and were sparing it. After it was destroyed, they used its remains as a hideout and they Allies did not get through the pass for another few months.
The abbey today has been completely recreated based on photographs, floor plans and drawings that we have. We were able to see St. Benedict’s private chambers and chapel. We also got to see the spot where a miracle is said to have occurred. It is said that St. Benedict was walking along a corridor and slipped and fell. When his elbow hit the floor, the rock softened and cushioned his fall. His elbow left an indent in the rock, which still survives today! We got to go up into the main chapel (which is breathtaking!). It was redone in the baroque style that it had been in at one point in time (though I never caught if it had looked like that when it was bombed or if they were bringing it back to an early stage in its history when they restored it). We were able to sit and listen to the
end of the monks chanting Evening Prayer. It was beautiful. Currently, there are 20 monks living at the abbey, the youngest is around 28 and the oldest is 95. There are 3 men in their novitiate so hopefully soon the number will increase a little bit. We also were able to go around behind the main altar and see the tombs of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, his sister. It was really moving.
That same day, we had a birthday festa for Fabbrizia, one of the girls at Villa. Some of the boys from the guys dorm came over as well. We had cake (which was covered in powdered sugar - story in a minute), coke, popcorn and a bottle of Italian style champagne/sparkling white wine. It was a lot of fun. When they passed out the cake, people started blowing the powdered sugar in each others’ faces! We had quite the war.
Wednesday began the first day of classes. I only have one class on Monday and Wednesday - the Philosophy of the Rise of Communism and Fascism in 19th and 20th Century Italy (yes, I am slightly crazy, I know). I got to talk to Ben
again (smile) and I got to talk to my mom for the first time as well! We had been using Gmail chat (for those who don’t know, it is like aol instant messaging but through Gmail) but we finally connected with the webcams. I keep thanking God over and over again for the gift of this technology. I don’t know where I would be if we didn’t have them.
Thursday I had the rest of my classes. I have Art in Rome, Italian 104, and History of Primitive Christianity. Art in Rome should be really great because the majority of the class is taught on-site which is awesome. Our teacher has lived in Europe for 45 years and knows it well. We will be going to the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel, the Forum, etc plus a number of churches and basilicas. Italian 104 is going to be hard! My teacher loves grammar and is very insistent upon our speaking always in the correct tenses and using proper prepositions etc. I can get away with mistakes around Villa because I’m using the right verb, just not always the right tense and the girls understand. But not in class. History of
Primitive Christianity is going to be amazing! I absolutely love the teacher. He is British but speaks Italian very well. He is an Ancient Rome historian. The class is going to be a historical study of the cultural, social, political, economic, and religious context in which Christianity began to thrive. “A History of Primitive Christianity: From Saul to Paul” is the full title of the course. Being a religious studies major and a history minor, this class should be incredible. And even cooler, Sander (Alexander Evers, he goes by Sander I think because in Italian, Alexander changes to some form of Alessandro and shortened it becomes Sander), was telling us about how he wants to go back to Greece and sit in the ruins found at Corinth and read St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and wouldn’t it be cool if we all went as a class?!?! I’m so excited because I think we are actually going to do it.
Fridays I don’t have any classes, thank you Loyola! I actually spent a good portion of the day at Loyola because I had to buy all my books. But then I went to the Vatican. This was the first
time I had gone since coming to Rome. It was wonderful to be there not as a tourist. I was able to sit for an hour in St. Peter’s Square. I didn’t even go inside the basilica! I just sat there and watched the sun set behind the colonnade. Actually, I made a sort of friend while I was sitting there. I was writing in my journal when a man in his late 40s, early 50s approached me and asked if I speak English (I asked one of the girls here what it was about me that makes people think I speak English. I have had at least 3 people come up to me at various times and ask if I speak English. I was curious to know if it was the way I dressed or walked or what. She said that even though I have some Italian blood in me, here in Italy I don’t look Italian enough and my British and Irish roots are showing through more clearly, identifying me as an English speaker of some kind - interesting fact). Back to the story, he told me that he was a poet and that I had inspired him
to write a poem! Here it is (and keep in mind he is a native Italian and didn’t speak very good English):
Warm Roman sun is quietly leaving St. Peter’s Square.
Its light still shine in clear blue sky and in a writing girl’s lovely clear eyes.
I was shocked! He was a talker too! We talked for about an hour, just sitting in St. Peter’s Square. We talked about Chicago, Obama, Italian politics, Loyola (he just so happens to live literally down the street from the Rome Center) and my schooling in the States. It was ridiculous but hilarious at the same time.
Saturday I went back to the Vatican (it’s so close! Only 4 stops on the metro and then a 7 minute walk) but this time, I met up with students from Loyola and Fr. Al who was going to give us a tour. And give us a tour he did! Wow, he knew so much. He is a Trinitarian priest who was recently elected to his Superior General council. He arrived in Rome in August, 2007 and will stay for 6 years. My favorite fun fact from this tour, which I did not know
and Fr. Al said that most tour guides don’t tell their tour groups concerns 4 statues and chapels in the basilica. If you look at the canopy over the main altar, there are four statues, one off each corner of the canopy. They are of four saints that have a specific connection to Christ’s Passion. They are St. Veronica, St. Leonitius, St. Helena, and St. Andrew. Above each statue, there is a small balcony and beyond the balcony is a chapel dedicated to that saint. What is interesting is what is housed within each of the chapels. In St. Veronica’s chapel, there is a piece of the cloth which she used to wipe Christ’s face when he passed by her. In St. Leonitius’ chapel, there is either a piece of or the whole spear which he used to pierce Christ’s side when he hung on the cross. After piercing His side and the blood and water flowed out, he converted to Christianity when he said “Truly this is the Son of God.” St. Helena was Emperor Constantine’s wife and is significant because she made it her mission to collect as much as she could from the time of Christ. She
was lead by visions to Jerusalem and found pieces of the True Cross. These remnants are in her chapel. The final chapel is the chapel dedicated to St. Andrew, St. Peter’s brother. St. Andrew was crucified on a cross in Greece with four equal arms. In his chapel, we have his head. I think this final detail might be the reason why tour guides neglect to tell tourists about these chapels!
Fr. Al also brought us down into the crypt and we got to walk past countless tombs of the various popes. To walk by John Paul II’s tomb again was incredible. I almost cried, it was such an emotionally charged space. However, my favorite part is the chapel dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. There are curtains that cover the entry way and you are only allowed in if you tell the guards you are there to pray. You cannot take pictures or talk. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed for I think the whole day. Again, it is a beautiful thing to go to the Vatican as a worshipper, rather than a tourist. I am able to go and sit as long as I want. I am so grateful
that the Vatican offers spaces like this - it reminds all of us that the basilica is still first and foremost and church, meant to be worshipped in, not a place to take pictures of regardless of its beauty.
Sunday I decided to return to the Vatican (three days in row and I’m not even close to tired of it yet!) and go to Mass. I was able to attend the 10:30 Mass. There were at least 35 priests, 2 to 3 cardinals and maybe 20 bishops (assuming I got all my colors and vestments correct), either way, a huge number of clergy. It was so inspiring. The Mass was in Latin but in language only, it was not the Tridintine Mass. It is a beautiful place to celebrate.
I had a week of class, nothing too terribly exciting. Thursday night I went out with Raffaela, Noemi and Gabriele to a club in Rome to see this band White Queen. They are an Italian cover band for Queen. It was hilarious to see these Italians screaming We Will Rock You. The lead singer was a rather hairy Italian man who liked to dance with his shirt off. It
was quite the night.
Friday I went shopping with Raffaela and Noemi which was a lot of fun. I found two pairs of boots for 22 euro total! It was amazing.
Saturday I went to Assisi. It was nice to have a day away and to be able to not be on a schedule. I was able to go where I wanted when I wanted and stay for as long as I wanted. I think I spent over an hour and a half just sitting or wandering around The Basilica of St. Francis. I love Assisi. Unfortunately, I was rainy so I didn't take any pictures. But I have some from when I was there in 2005 and I'll be going back with my parents.
When I got back to Villa, some of the girls asked me if I wanted to go out to a pub with them. I said sure, why not. It's Saturday night, it should be fun. We show up at this pub that has pictures of the Taj Mahal on the doors and I stepped back, now wait a minute, this doesn't look like any pubs I know. Apparently, it was an Indian pub,
Franciscan Abbey
The remains of a 14th C Franciscan Abbey in San Gimignano aka a hookah bar! We had a ton of fun and I think we are going back sometime. What was even better was trying to get them to say Hookah - they had never heard the word before and thought it was really funny.
Updates on travel plans. I am going to Sicily with a group from Loyola in February. Loyola has a host of study trips throughout the semester and I get to go to Sicily! I am also in a History of Primitive Christianity class this semester. We are studying the historical, social, political, economic, religious etc. setting for the beginnings of Christianity, particularly around St. Paul. So, my teacher thought, wouldn't it be cool to go to Greece and go to the ruins of Corinth and sit and read St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians? So we are! We are deciding what weekend in March to go in class on Tuesday. I'm so excited! I am also hoping to get to Paris and Ireland. Other than that, I'm starting to think about limiting some of my travel only because there is so much in Italy and in Rome to see! I'll keep you all posted though.
Until next time! Ciao
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Mom
non-member comment
Wow you have been busy! 243 pictures! It was great to look at them all and see some of the friends you are making and the places you have visited. By the way, just what exactly is a 'hookah bar'???