Piazza del Popolo

This piazza is definitely one of my favorites. As you enter the piazza from either the Corso or from the Spanish Steps you are greeted by one of the largest obelisks in Rome. The base of the obelisk contains four fountains of lion like creatures spurting water from their mouths. To the right is the bottom of the Borghese hill, which in the daytime is one of the most beautiful places in all of Rome. Santa Maria del Popolo is, in my opinion, the most interesting church in the piazza although there are three others. I visited Santa Maria del Popolo again today to view the two Caravaggio's that are hung there. When I entered the church I accidentally walked in on a mass. I decided to stay and receive communion here and I actually felt like I belonged. The combination of the Piazza and the church makes this area unforgettable.

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.

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.

Piazza Espagna

Wednesday night my roommates and a few friends went to Piazza Espagna and the Spanish Steps. Even for a Wednesday the stairs were rather full of people and definitely filled with life. The atmosphere was jovial and there were several people having different conversations about their day, about what they were doing later, and about the upcoming weekend. One person was playing the guitar and the ambiance was enjoyed by everyone on the stairs. Two police officers patrolled, more like stood and talked amongst themselves, and observed the area from the second landing on the stairs. Within ten minutes of our arrival when we had just settled down to enjoy a bottle of wine the officers approached the man playing the guitar. The man stopped playing and just as the polizia told him he could not play the guitar anymore the whole population on the stairs began to boo. The officers ignored this completely and told the man he had to stop playing. I still have no idea why there was no music allowed. Was it because the songs annoyed the officers? Was there a complaint from one person? Is drinking alcohol on the stairs more legal than playing the guitar? I have no idea but whatever the reason the policy made the officers the most unpopular people in the Piazza.

Sounds of Vendors-Piazza Della Rotunda

While I sat in front of the Pantheon, I was quiet and took in the sounds of my surroundings.I was immediately drawn to the sound of two metal objects clinking together followed by a ringing noise that lasted a couple of seconds before ending. This repeated a few seconds later. I found the source of this annoyance to my left. It was a man with a bag of variety products available for purchase. The actual noise came from two magnets that, when thrown in the air, defied everything but common sense and came clinking together. Then as the magnets were in the air they spun for a second or two producing the ringing noise. The magnet is then caught and the incredible act is repeated again in case anyone happened to miss it the first 12 times.

Instead of being annoyed by this desperate attempt to make money, tourists with young children should say thank you. By demonstrating how annoying this simple toy is, the vendors allow parents to get a mental image of the next two hours after they buy that product. Images of themselves ripping the magnets out of their kids hands and throwing them as far away as possible. This image makes saying no to the child a little easier. And, thanks, to the vendors partner (in crime) ten feet away, the parents can avoid that ever present temptation to buy a bubble blower that makes a siren noise as it shoots bubbles in people's faces downwind. I think the vendors need a knew business strategy, maybe selling ear plugs to everyone who doesn't buy their noisy toys.