Explorer West's 8th grade and their chaperons are almost fully recovered from a week of touring Rome on foot followed by seemingly endless hours on planes. One student remarked, "Rome has had a lot more influence on stuff today than you'd think. Their language has survived, and so have their buildings."
Thirteen students set forth on Saturday, 17 February after months of planning by Debbie Ehri, our intrepid business manager and travel advisor. Debbie speaks Italian and French, and is a miracle of organization, so we were in good hands.
Also accompanying the students were Petyr Beck, Chair of EW's Board, Board member Doug Pedegana, and Latin teacher Maripat Webber.
Our Bed and Breakfast was in a converted townhouse a few
blocks from the Colosseum. All of us were excited to see remnants of the Aurelian Wall enclosing the ancient city, Triumphal Arches, temple
ruins, and, of course, the Teatro Flavio--the Colosseum--on our trip
into Rome from the airport. That night we walked through rainy
cobbled streets past Trajan's forum and column and the Largo
Argentina, where Laura S. was pleased to spot some resident cats,
toward the fabled Pantheon. Even though we were nearly asleep on our
feet after a day of plane rides, this most influential of buildings
impressed and delighted. That oculus cannot be 142 feet above us!
Next morning we headed out for Rome's "Living Room"--the Piazza
Navona--which our guide Valentina informed us was built over the
remains of Domitian's stadium. We walked a few blocks back to the
Pantheon, which we all considered well worth a second look,
especially with the added attraction of Valentina's informative and
amusing guidance.
Valentina brought us up the Campidoglio to view the remains of the
ancient fora from the top of the Capitoline Hill. Emmanuel E. spotted
the familiar outline of the remaining columns of the temples of
Saturn and Venus, the subject of his Roman Architecture project.
Diego found and named for us two of the Triumphal Arches his project
focused on. We all enjoyed sitting in the sun on ancient pieces of
looted temples while listening to Valentina tell us what we would
have seen had we been there during the early days of the Roman Empire.
We followed the via Sacra, treading in the footsteps of Augustus and his successors, to the Colosseum, where our tour ended. Everyone enjoyed the
impressive and awe-inspiring sight of this immense amphiteheater, and
we proceeded afterward toward the Palatine, playing fierce and
enthusiastic games of soccer and Frisbee on via San Gregorio with the
Colosseum and Constantine's Arch in the background.
We were looking forward to viewing the palaces, gardens, and stadium
atop the Palatine, where the first settlers of the area built their
huts, and which became the most prestigious address during the late Republic and early Empire. Unfortunately, it was late in the afternoon, and we were chased
out by guards who closed the park at 5pm.
Over the succeeding days, we toured the Vatican Museum and Sistine
Chapel, St Peter's Basilica, and several churches of historic or
artistic significance. Students particularly enjoyed the palimpset church
of San Clemente with its multiple layers of structures, the earliest
containing a Mithraeum. Its caverns were dank and kind of spooky,
making it the favorite of many students.
On Thursday we traveled south to Pompeii. Natalie observed that just
last week we were watching a movie about Pompeii, and now we were
actually THERE! We saw many buildings and mosaics that students have
studied or seen in various movies and documentaries viewed the
week before in Latin class.
The sun came out for our last day as we tested our veracity at the
Bocca de la Verita, then walked North to the Piazza de Spagna and the
Spanish Steps. We all agreed that a highlight of our trip was the al
fresco lunch of rolls, salami, cheese, and apples we shared while
sitting on the steps in the sun and enjoying the view. We then hiked
up the hill to the Borghese Gallery. Many students spent several
minutes with each of the Bernini sculptures in the collection.
Throughout the week students found Latin inscriptions they had
learned about in class, and the consensus was that it was fun and
enlightening to see in person buildings we'd been reading and writing
about in Latin class. We pondered how a city has existed on this spot for more than 2,000 years, and that aqueducts built in the first century CE are still providing fresh water to modern Romans. "It makes you look at city planning in a whole new way," remarked one student.
Worm Condos. Lovely, aren't they?
The next step is to dig holes big enough to accommodate the shiny new condos. This job requires a strict ration of 3 supervisors for every 2 shovelers.
The new worm hotels now await their legless visitors, as we await the rich soil they will pay as rent. The native plants garden will emerge slowly, staring with a design contest and basic preparations this spring, and planting next fall.
