The Mother of all churches

 One of the hardest things about this program is being asked to try to describe, or at least vaguely capture the brilliance and ruin of 2-3,000 years. How can I fathom a bakery older than my country? Let alone the Roman Forum where they discussed politics, the Colosseum even more spectacular than its ruins, filled with blood and thundering applause, the Pantheon with its ever opening mouth, and today, to write about St. Peter's?
Rome has been one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. I have loved being here, but "loved" is very complicated. Rome is at once beautiful, at once hideous, at once modern, and all together bursting with antiquity.
I am continually speechless. The words in my journal seem fumbled, my sketches a mere shadow, my camera just a snap shot. I leave some sights thinking I might have captured them, that they might become more graspable in time, but they don't. I think I could sit at St. Peters or the Coloseum forever and still walk away not fully seeing.

Haha so there's my intro to St. Peters, which was absolutely breathtaking. And, like everything else, I can't make it as real to you as I wish I could.  I haven't had time to post about the other churches we've seen, but this one is the big mama of them all.
It is 2 football fields long, and 7 stories high! The letters in Latin on the walls are each 7 feet tall. Interestingly though, it doesn't feel that big. You're only reminded of that when you see how tiny the people are next to things.
As a Protestant, I have had some trouble understanding the Catholic churches here, as they are very different. One of the girls who is Catholic explained that St Peters was designed to feel much more intimate, despite its enormous size. The illusion of size is meant to reflect how small and human Peter was, but God's hugeness and the enormity of Peter's calling.

 On to pictures! Our brief visit in the Vatican last week or so in the evening. Outside St. Peter's basilica (center). When you enter the Vatican, this is the main focal point. Arcs extend and curve from it.

 Above, Peter's obelisk on the right side of the basilica. In 64 AD it became a site of public execution for Christians, and where I believe Peter was executed. It became sacred. Every other obelisk fell, but it was the only one preserved.

Below, view from inside the Capola, the higher point inside the church that you can climb.

Mosaic angel on the wall from the view. It was incredibly intricate and covered the entire wall.

 The ceiling above (highest point of basilica)

View from the ground of this view spot.

After another climb of winding stairs, we reached the view of all of Rome. Near the top the walls start to lean to the right, and you have to grab a rope.  It was kind of terrifying. I had to tell myself to not think about it, and just keep moving. One of our professors, Johnny, says that every time he goes to Rome he loses five pounds. On these stairs, he loses four.

 Above, the view of the Vatican City. Below, Melissa (roomie) and I looking over the city.

 One beautiful view of many... in the middle, forested area you can see the Tiber River and one of its bridges in the middle. We live on the right side of the bridge.

 We haven't even really gotten inside yet! Here we go...

 Notice the light streaming in through the window. I was very excited :)

Believe it or not, but these angels holding the holy water are 7 feet tall!

Mary holding Jesus after his death. Michelangelo's only masterpiece with his name written on it. Mary is actually very young looking, and disproportionate, but that was intentionally done. This doesn't seem to matter when you're caught up looking at the folds in her dress and her expression. Another fun fact- a crazy guy attacked the statue and chipped away at it, so now it is behind glass.

Statue of Peter, considered holy. People rub his foot for good luck. So much rubbing that all this toes have worn away!
Below, the marble floor, gorgeous.

 A mass going on...

 Above, I couldn't figure out how to make this vertical (but look that way). I don't have time to go into detail on the statues unfortunately. Below covers St. Peter's tomb, which is under the church,

 St. Peter's tomb here. Wups, I wasn't supposed to take this picture! Oh well, I get to share it with you.

Here is a poem I wrote about it this afternoon:

Today in St. Peter's I touched a tiny marble piece woven into an angel on the wall.
The piece disappeared, smooth and cool under my pointer finger.
Today I am that tiny mosaic piece too, placed in the rippling crowd of hundreds, all their own stories and colors.
Climb the winding steps of the Capola and you can see how.
Below, mosaic in the marble sea, spilling roses, golds and light, so much light, resounding with bright echos.
Climb higher, climb to the Basilica's top.
You are a mosaic in Rome now too
a Rome that rolls below in orange rooftops, misty water bridges, toy trains and cars, intricate gardens with perfectly rounded hedges small enough to cup in your hands, tiny forests thick and dark, and the rocky splendor of Rome's Empire like light houses at bay.
All is threaded into the open blue sky, which surpasses even St. Peter's splendor.

Mama Mia!

Italians see things in such different ways sometimes, it can be very fun.
Some of my favorites so far:

Parking near our apartment- only in Italia. I think parking rules/tickets are only applied in theory.

These cookies read something like: "Hugs: No one knows if the chocolate is hugging the cream, or visa versa."

If you are Italian, you should own at least one dog. Or even better, five!

Even the graffiti here can be cute.

McDonalds (yeah, we stopped there, I'll admit it. We were craving fries the other night). Take note of the classy paintings in the background. In addition to the usual fries and Big Macs, they sell pistacchio ice cream and mozarella stick bars.

Giant Nutella displays

Lovers locks on the Tiber. As the tradition goes, the lovers write their names on their lock and throw the keys into the water.

Vespas with built in flying bug protection.

Even the cats like pasta.

What is Rome without gladiators?

So this is how Italians get their power...

Happy 4th of July!
Ciao for now,

Kendra

Make a wish

The last four days have been our break, and we have loved having time off class! School starts again tomorrow, and we're up for 2 more weeks of craziness.

Sunday night was Italia's final match against Spain for the Euro cup. We went to the Circus Maximus, and it seemed like all of Rome was there- dazzling, loud, and smoky:
Small fireworks and smoke bombs, flags unfurling, a sea of faces, and 2nd hand smoke so bad you could nearly feel your lungs popping. Whistles shrieking, hugging, kissing, throwing brothers up above shoulders, and the national anthem belted with high shoulders and smiling faces. Also, it was very warm and sweaty.

Here is the national anthem at the stadium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tt6yvjSSW4

 I wish we didn't lose so badly! 0-4. Lots of water bottles were thrown throughout the game, lots of angry and sad Italians. It was the quietest night in Rome, it seemed, since I can remember.



Last night we went to the Ice Bar, which was absolute heaven. It felt like Seattle but better!
Where in the world would Rome get all that ice? They ship it from England to remake the walls every year.
We heard that the record time to stay inside was 40 minutes, so we were up for the challenge! They gave us these funny ponchos to wear to keep the heat in. We felt like penguins. We also tried to have a dance party, and it was hilarious because all we could do was flap. They served our drinks in ice cups, and we sat in an igloo on sheepskin benches. It was all very surreal.
We made it 40 minutes, to only find out the record was actually 4 hours.  I have much more respect for the German that lasted it out now.

Left- entering into a strange world. Right- me, Melanya, Katherine, Oliva, Kim. (Katherine and Kim are my two of my three room mates.)

 

We made it to the Trevi fountain around 1:00 AM. It is always so crowded during the day, we were told late at night was the best time to go.
Guess what? About 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain every day! The money goes to a soup kitchen/organization for the poor, which is awesome.

Far right- making a wish. I learned later that throwing my one coin means I will return to Rome again.

 

Olivia, Kim, Me, Mat
(it was Olivia's birthday, so a very fun 21 for her!)

But the faith endured

Two days ago we visited the Catacombs, but it isn't an easy thing to write about, so I waited for a bit.
We went to Calisto, which is the largest underground cemetery of the 60 (either in Rome or Italy). Christians began tunneling out Calisto in the mid 2nd century. It has 4 levels, covers about 37 acres, and half a million are buried there. The saddest part to me was that 40% are children and infants. We saw a lot of tombs that were maybe only 2 feet long.
Persecution wasn't constant, but it continued until 313 AD when Constantine legalized Christianity, and they could bury their dead above ground. Christians actually didn't live in the catacombs, though they did gather there. (The sulfur on the walls and insufficient ventilation would give you lung poisoning if you stayed too long.)
I was able to snap some pictures of illustrations of the drawings seen below. The anchor on the bottom left represents the trinity, the fish on the far right symbolizes Christ. A much simpler fish drawing (still around today) is actually an abbreviation of 5 greek words proclaiming the faith that spelled fish. To identify a Christian, one would begin to draw the fish in the sand, and the other would or wouldn't complete it.

An interesting story about St. Cecilia, who was once buried there... she died defending the faith after multiple attempts to kill her. They burned her, and tried to cut off her head three times, and when she finally died, her body was apparently perfectly preserved on inspection fifteen years later.

A couple other interesting facts- the barbarians actually raided the tombs in the 9th century and destroyed many of the bones there. It wasn't restored until 1849.  Up until 20 years ago, tourists would actually steal the leftover bones from the tombs. (I guess they were going for a very authentic souvenir.) Also interesting, people are still allowed come in to worship.

Overall, although a very dark and chilly experience, our tour guide was pretty fantastic. He was very inspired by all the people who had died for their faith, and encouraged us to think about the gravity of that and to learn from them, regardless of our own beliefs.
We were required to incorporate the catacombs in our writing for that day, and what I said sums up a lot of what I felt: "I am confident that fortunes improving should not change our course of action when we are called to respond against doubt and hesitation. I think those who buried their sons, daughters, and parents in the Catacombs understood this well. Eyes dry, chins up, no mourning in public, but the faith continued."

Before I go, I'll mention a church we stopped by afterward. It is said that the church is built over where Jesus appeared to Peter when he was leaving Rome. Jesus told him to stay, and that is where Peter was executed.


Below, our walk to the church. We were a bit lost, and some nuns on their way there offered to show us the church. To the right in the inside, which depicts the conversation between Jesus (right) and Peter (left) above. Middle left- Peter hanging upside down, as he was crucified. Right, Jesus hanging rightside up.

Also, last pic is apparently of the footprints Jesus' left after speaking with Peter.  The church is pretty literally built above them.

"You can siesta when you're dead"

What is the sun like here?
I heard that the Romans used to call it a lion. Especially when all the Italians are taking their 2-5 siestas, the hottest part of the day, and we're trudging through heat in the 90s-100s. It is an understatement to say that the heat takes the strength out of you.
Here is some humor/tragedy for you.
You know it's hot when...

-3 showers a day, 2 outfit changes
-The dogs are always panting
-You go through an aloe vera bottle for one sunburn, and sleep with a wet towel
-You listen to Bon Iver just to feel like you're in a cold forest
-You put deoderant between your legs to prevent chaffing
-One of your classmates goes to the hospital for 2nd degree burns
-The number of gelatos per day indicate the temperature rises

Today we took the train to Ostia-Antica. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that train doors are automatic, and only stay open about 10 seconds. Train door slamming in my face, and being whisked away from my classmates? Check. Struggling through broken Italian to find the train back? Yep. Sitting on the bench, waiting for the next train was both comical and depressing.  One of my professors, Rebecca, had left to come back for me. We were late for a very traditional European tour guide.

(To the left, the beginnings of the fateful misadventure)

Our guide was fantastic though. A very well known, sassy, energetic old man named Jan Gedeyne. He repainted Ostia-Antiqa for us so well I could imagine the towering buildings, community baths, and crates rattling on the cobblestone. Ostia was an ancient port town in Rome (before the coast line moved). It died between 6-8th cent AD. By the end of the tour, he had memorized all our names. I was "the girl who got lost." Of course.

Here are the memories of old shops/apartments, and a road built to impress.


Ostia had the best brick work in Rome, and very beautiful mosiacs. Also below, their theater and a view of the end of the city, where the water used to be. Augustus placed his portrait in many theaters to make the people feel as if they were participating in the government, although he ruled as emperor with all power.

 

 

 Aww, a random statue of Cupid and Psyche kissing...

Our guide said the funniest things. He was very blunt, if not mean, but spoke in such a humor, authority and wit that he got away with it very well.

As we groan up the steps....
"Shade is for tourists."
"So this is the future of America?"
"Andiamo! (Let's go!) Do you think I was born with the face I have?"
"We don't sleep here. You can siesta when you're dead."

Learning our names...
To one of the girls who was smoking, "You who are going to die young, what is your name?"
One of us, who is amazed by his boundless energy and ability to remember our names. "What do you use?"  "Cocaine."

Roman food...
"Anything bean-y Rome loved" (Apparently this means that the Romans loved beans.)


After returning from the long day, we read poems at a park on Capitaline Hill. 2 weeks over already, we are halfway through! I was also given my new nick name. In Rome there are saints for practically everything- shipwrecks, lost things, children, etc, but apparently I found a new one! I became the "Patron Saint of lost train stops."

Breathtaking view from tonight... I will have to come up here to draw sometime.