Sunday in Roma

So before I start today's exciting stories, I feel like I should take an aside and put down some of what Rome is like culturally and not just act like a tourist and react only to what I've seen historically. Rome is gorgeous, and overall, it's pretty clean. There is gelato, or a sorbet-esque dessert, literally every street, and beer and wine are sold freely on the streets. Those drinks are sold in little carts that line the street, along with clothes, sports uniforms, trinkets, you name it. The streets are always busy, and especially now during the ferie, or "holiday." In Europe, most people get up to 8 weeks off a year, and pretty much everywhere slows down greatly in July and August as far as businesses go, but as a result, tourism explodes, since everyone is off. Roma, being a very exciting place to visit, gets hit hard. And by hard, I mean it's swathed with people. I mean, to the right is the Spanish Steps where I went a few days ago, and I mean it was just jammed full of people.

Pickpockets are very, very common, so much so that supposedly 20% of program people lose some sort of belonging to them over the course of the year. Most of the time, they're drunk or being stupid, but other times in near-indefensible.

Especially during tourist season. I don't think I'm allowed to, and it may sound sort of hypocritical, but I really do loathe some tourists. I know, I pretty much am one, but those people who are just ignorant and don't try at all to embrace Italian customs and only eat at restaurants where they'll speak English, etc. I feel for why Italians don't like most tourists, since they just don't make an effort to embrace the culture. I came here for that, so it makes it a bit more difficult to deal with I think.

Also culturally, Italians are very judgmental and put a lot of value on the idea of "bella sopra realita" which translates roughly to appearing beautiful, like in nice clothes, expensive shoes, etc, is more important than actually looking all that good in actuality. Therefore, they look you and everyone up and down in such a way that would be creepy in American culture, but encouraged here. Girls in the program have felt a little over-stared at a few of them really don't mind so much and just take the attention in stride.

It is what it is, I suppose.

Anyway, today is Sunday. And Rome is VERY Catholic (Roman Catholic, see the root? Ahhh). Everything is closed except for food places, much like in the US, but to a greater extent even. But the monuments are still open, so Chad, Bert, and I went to Castel Sant-Angelo, or also known as Hadrian's mausoleum. Hadrian was a Roman emperor, one of the most successful, and his ashes, along with many others of his family, are buried there. The picture above shows how it looks from right underneath, and it's just at the very end of our street, but still over a kilometer away, towards the Tiber. It is now a museum, and houses lots of old Roman weaponry and armor, along with a few extraordinary pieces of art and architecture. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in.

Fortunately, I know how to turn my flash off, and I took pictures anyway. So sue me.

There is a beautiful sculpture by Rafael, to the right, which is a depiction of the titular Saint of the church, Saint Michael. It stands over 10 feet tall and is mounted, and I took a picture from a second story window to give perspective. It's truly beautiful, with such intricate and delicate features, it's amazing to think it was once a chunk of stone and could be made into something so astounding.

If you could tell from the outside picture I provided, the Castel (yes, that's how it's spelled in Italian) is very, very tall. What you can't see in the picture is that it has several terraces that overlook the city in beautiful fashion. I thought it was so cool to see so much of Rome and the Tiber, I took a video so I could show you all where I live more than ever before. It really is something, seeing this place all at once. But it got even better, if possible. The view kept getting more and more spectacular, and I kept taking more and more pictures, some of me, some of the view, some just to make sure I got it documented properly.

There are so many churches, basilica, monuments, you name it, in Roma, that it's easy to forget that this city is so jam-packed in and tightly bound together. The history never ceases to show itself the more you look around, and seeing it all from up above was a real treat for sure, and one of the better views I've had since I've been in Roma, and I don't hesitate to say it's one of the best views any eyes could take it as far as cityscapes go, it's just everything you'd imagine such a city to be, and then times about a thousand.

The stairs kept winding around, and we passed through a couple rooms full of art and sculptures, many outlining the period of co-influence Rome and Egypt had on each other, specifically the latter on the former. There were lots of little sphinx and Ra, the Sun God of Egypt, made of Ebony and Ivory, and documented Rome's copying of some things Egyptian. The walls and ceilings were also adorned with spectacular decorations that unfortunately I couldn't document due to Politizia being near by, but I went up a staircase from there and ended up on the roof of the Castel. What I saw there will remain with me forever.

That view I just talked about? It got better. Nothing in the way, just pure, 360 degree views of all of Rome. Saint Pietro's Basilica (day one of my Rome Blogging), The Pantheon (day two), and the Roman Forum (day three) were all visable, and it was just awesome to be able to see it all. This is probably my favorite video so far, and that's saying something. If you ask me. The Castel also has another sculpture of Saint Michael on top, which was really cool to see up close, and hey, I took more pictures, so you can see it too! Aren't I just so thoughtful?

From there, we just absorbed the view for a while, seeing all that Roma has to offer from up above. It really makes you realize that you're living in Rome, Italy: Capital of one of the greatest empires of mankind. And there was no doubting it for standing in its presence.

Tomorrow brings class and probably meaning a whole lot less exciting things to blog about, but who knows? Every day is an adventure and hasn't disappointed yet, why should tomorrow be any different right? I'm sticking with that attitude while I'm here, and hopefully, I'll just keep on keeping on with the awesome.

So, class, school, work, it's on the horizon, but so are some more awesome things, like trips to Florence, Milan, Venice, Greece, Naples, Hydra, and that's just in the next month. So, hope this wasn't boring today, and enjoy one last big ol' picture of me and the Vatican.
Ciao.