Colosseum from a distance

From the corner of Fiori Impaeriale standing to the left of the capitol, you can get an incredible view of the Colosseum. As you walk down this street toward the ancient arena you can really sense what it was like for tens of thousands of people to walk the same path on their way to watch a bloodbath. This road reminds me of Curtin Road or Park Ave at school. During a football weekend these streets are completely filled with people wearing hats and t-shirts supporting their team. People would walk down the street and pass monuments like East halls on the left and the BJC on the right. This scene is a little different than walking with an ancient Roman market on the left and the Forum on your right. I'm not sure which I prefer.

3 Places - Map - Descriptions

The first stop on this walk is Campo De' Fiori. It would be best to visit this Piazza in the morning between eight and eleven. This is when the open air market takes place. It can be an overwhelming experience if you aren't prepared to barter and argue over the price of a piece of fruit.
The second stop on the walk is Piazza Navona. This is the largest Piazza in Rome and was designed by Bernini. The focus of the Piazza are its fountains, the largest being Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi which holds a large Egyptian Obelisk. Good restaurants and artists become more prevelent as you walk from south to north.
The final stop is Piazza della Rotunda. This piazza contains one of the oldest and most visited sights in Rome, the Pantheon. The piazza is a great place to enjoy ancient art and architecture but also a bustling social scene. Each cafe has an umbrellaed patio in front of them. These provide a nice place to enjoy a glass of wine and marvel at the Catholic converted Pagan temple that dominates the space.

Map - Directions Three Piazzas

Begin at Area Sacra Argentina. Looking across the street at Antica Erboristaria Romana turn left down Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Pass by Piazza San Pantaleo and turn left at Museo Barracco. Continue straight and enter Campo De Fiori.
After you explore this space for a while, go back down the road you came in on and cross over Corso de Vittorio Emanuele and walk through Pza. San Pantaleo. Don't get hit by a car. Continue past Museo di Roma and enter the south end of Piazza Navona.
After you feel that you have had enough of this Piazza walk to the middle fountain (Fontana dei Quatro Fiumi) looking at the Brazilian Embassy turn around and walk across Corso del Rinascimento. Continue straight down Via Giustinani passing Antichita Tanca on your left and enter Piazza della Rotunda. The Pantheon will be on your right.

Colosseum Russian Ritual

So after the first time that I ever went inside the Colosseum I am choosing to blog about what happened outside of it instead. As my friends and I exited the Colosseum we saw some women dressed in strange costumes. As we neared we noticed that they were no older than 17 and they had two young boys near them dressed in even more extravagant attire. The next thing I knew people began to clap and shout. This was some sort of signal for the young boy who jumped out into the middle of this human made circle and began to “dance.” This dancing was more of a rigid jumping and stomping, paired with sharp precise movements of his hands and arms. One girl joined him but her dance was a slow majestic movement, the exact opposite of the boy’s. I labeled these people as Russian but I honestly don’t know where they could have been from. The dancing lasted about 10 minutes with several partners taking part. I want to assume that this was a wedding, a communion, a confirmation, or something else but to do that would be an insult to a culture that I know nothing about. Maybe it was just a formal way of picking up girls. If that was the case, I have a lot to learn.

Piazza Navona

We walked to meet a fellow student at his apartment and entered the south end of Piazza Navona. As we walked down the street I noticed a large ball that was black on top and had light pouring out of the bottom of it. We neared and saw a large crowd gathered underneath. I realized that this was undoubtedly another movie set for Angels and Demons. Maybe it was the three glasses of wine in me or the excitement about being this close to Ron Howard or the conversations I had had with my roommates just hours before about his show Arrested Development, or a combination of all of them, but whatever the reason I took it upon myself to ask, politely ofcourse, about when the show would be coming back. I yelled to Mr. Howard “Bring back AD,” to which he responded “What? I can’t hear you.” I then said “Arrested Development, it’s Awesome, bring it back man!” he replied “We are trying, we have a movie in the works.” This conversation was brief and answered all the questions I had regarding Ron Howard and the show, and I am sure said a lot about a 20 year old college kid in Rome. Hopefully he thought of me as a diehard fan and not a rude American jackass. I wouldn’t be surprised by either though.

Soccer in the Streets

As I walked back from the bingo hall after a short stay and a loss of 5 Euro this afternoon, I took the back route back to my apartment. As I got to the top of a hill I saw 5 men presumably between the ages of 40 and 50 playing an interesting game in the streets. Like I did when I was ten years old these men kicked a soccer ball as hard as they could in the direction of a garage. The opening to the garage was defended by one of the men and behind him was a car, a Fiat to be specific. As I neared the men I realized that this wasn’t just any garage, it was an auto body shop and they were all employees of it. I wonder if anywhere in America I will see 5 grown men kicking a soccer ball at a car that they are being paid to fix. I then wonder that if that did happen how quickly a lawyer would be on a phone and a lawsuit filed. Only in Rome.

Piazza Della Rotunda - Angel's and Demons

As we walked away from class on Monday we walked by a few vans that had video equipment. My roommates and I were curious about this and followed the row of vans into Piazza Della Rotunda. As we entered the Piazza the first thing i noticed was a crowd of people standing on the steps of the Pantheon and other crowds of people enclosing the fountain and obelisk in the middle. What they were enclosing was another group of people that looked somewhat normal but were all standing still. What was most noticeable about these people wasn't their lack of motion, but rather, the people themselves. I realized that this was a movie scene and it became apparent that religion was a predominant undertone. This was due to the fact that about fifty percent of the people in the portion of the Piazza that was being filmed were dressed in religious garb, either nuns, priests, or monks. This was nothing like the Piazza I was used to seeing and it was a little dis-heartening.
I asked someone what movie was being filmed here and the answer came back Angels and Demons. I was shocked at first and then the scene made complete sense. The book is all about religion, obelisks, Bernini and the city of Rome. The director, Ron Howard, wants to portray Rome as the Holy city, which it is, but I already noticed that he may be going over the top. Seeing the scene as it will appear in the movie is nothing like the Piazza Della Rotunda that I am used to.
After getting over the shock and awe of my first encounter with a movie set, I walked up toward the tents where actual production was taking place. Here I saw Tom Hanks and Ron Howard having a discussion about the scene they were shooting. This was a cool experience, I had the urge to yell "Ruuunnn Foooorrrrreesssst" but I reluctantly held back.