Its been a while.
Well as you all probably would have expected once classes started up I have had a little less time to blog. But here I am, back in action. My classes are going well. After the first week I was a little worried I wasn’t going to enjoy them the second week has gone quite will. I guess that just teaches me a well needed lesson in the Italian lifestyle: don’t worry much, things work themselves out. I just got back from my American Foreign Policy class and it is unbelievably interesting looking at American foreign policy from the vantage point of another nation. Beliefs we have as Americans that we seem to think as universal usually aren’t.
I have been especially busy the past few days because my aunt Peggy and uncle Bill are in town. We have been to the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, strolled around Trestevere, and tonight we are headed to the Spanish Steps. I have been to the Vatican twice this week, once for class and once for a tour of the gardens.
As you can see, I have been very busy bustling around the city of Rome, and still fitting in time for homework and classes. Last Friday I decided to dedicated to art. I made reservations for tickets to Galleria Borghese for me and a few of my roommates. I have been excited about this museum since I took my very first art history class and discussed the works of Birnini. The gallery is located at the far and of Villa Borgese in the north of Rome. We left our apartment around 10:30 since we had a 1:00 reservation at the museum and didn’t know exactly how to get there. We made it to the park and followed signs to the museum and got there a half hour early, which was actually right on time. First, we picked up our tickets and then checked our bags. I decided to spend 5 euro on an audio recording that tells you about all the art as you view the pieces, those were 5 euros well spent. At 1:00 the doors opened and I entered the beautiful building. The audio recording led me though the rooms, telling me about all the major works of art, though I already knew some information from my own previous research. When I walked into the room showcasing Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Appolo e Dafne I was instantly mesmerized. The detail and sophistication shown in this sculpture was unlike any other I have ever seen. I was transported into a realm of ecstasy, so happy and excited to finally view with my own eyes a sculpture I have learned so much about. My expression much have matched the sensation I felt in that moment since a man came up to me and said, “I have been studying are for many, many years, and I have never seen anything this beautiful”. As he spoke I realized the smile that had spread across my face when I entered the room and the bewilderment in my eyes as I gazed at something so lovely. I think the man was happy to see that someone in a younger generation can be as awed and moved by a piece as he is. In that moment I felt like I gave the man both hope and certainty that art like this is everlasting and its ability to enrapture the viewer will never waver.
I still have so many unchecked boxes on my long list of works of art I want to see in Rome. For the first time since I applied to study in Rome I am beginning to think that even three and a half months of living in the heart of the city isn’t enough time to see all of Rome’s intricacies and delights. I am certainly making the most of my time here and am trying to explore as much as I possibly can. Keep looking for updates! I will write as often as I can.
Ciao,
Samantha
2 years ago • Notes