Chiesa di Gesú

The first time we (Franchesca, Steven, and I) attempted to get to the church of Gesù was after our visit to the Capitoline museum. We walked straight there after our visit to the museum, asked for some directions and finally arrived at the front of the building (we were originally on the back end and kept walking passed it because there were no signs). When we reached the front of the building all of the doors were closed, but we decided to ask two men siting on the steps what time the church would reopen. Someone in our broken Italian the men understood us and told us the church would open again at 4. As we stepped off of the steps of the church it began to pour; the rain was coming down really hard. We decided we wouldn’t wait until 4 because it was just 1 and we still had ample opportunity to return to this site. We walked in the rain to the next bus stop and rode the packed and muggy bus back to St. John’s.

            Franchesca and I returned to the church a few days later during its open hours. I must say that the church from the outside looks very old and not very impressive, but when I first stepped in I was taken by complete surprise by the beauty of the church. Like most of the other big churches, this one had massive ceilings with beautiful paintings around the church and on the ceiling. At the front of the church there are two small rooms that I really enjoyed. One room is dedicated to a statue of Jesus on the cross and the other is dedicated to prayer. I enjoyed the prayer room because although I do not attend religious ceremonies very often it was nice to take a moment to appreciate the place where I was and the time of my life that I was there in.

Capuchin Crypt

Before getting to the Capuchin Crypt I was very skeptical of how much I would like it. I have not experienced a close death to me and often think of what my reaction will be when it does occur. I obviously cannot predict my reaction but I am admittedly afraid of when it does happen even if it is inevitable. Knowing before hand that I was going to see a series of displays of art made with real human bones did that make it any easier. I did not know what to expect, but I knew that I would not be comfortable. I agreed to go to the museum an face my fears because I did not want to make a museum visit and alone and both Franchesca and Steven were interested in going to see the crypt. To get to the museum Franchesca Steven and I took the metro from St. John’s to Barberini and walk to the crypt.

When we got in I was very relieved to see that the bones were not the first objects presented. I enjoyed reading more on the Capuchin Friars and learning more about their history and the symbols and objects that they used. I took my time going around reading all of the printed explanations. I liked the museum part very much because there was an explanation for most of the objects in exhibition so the viewer did not have to do much wondering around without knowing what they were looking at. As I got closer and closer to the crypt my anxiety levels went up a bit but I was already inside and had paid to get inside so there was no way out of this.

The first exhibition was probably the most shocking because I was still trying to get over the bones on top of my head. I did stop to read the descriptions of each exhibition but I was completely freaked out. I was able to keep my composure but I was definitely trying to move past it as quickly as I could. I was very careful not to touch anything and felt very claustrophobic at one point when I stepped into a room that had too many people and I had to stand near the back wall. I think the ones that freaked me out the most, second to the actual skulls, were the bodies that were completely preserved and were placed either standing up or laying down. Those were the constant reminders that these were actual people.

Although I was afraid of the crypt and did not want to spend much time there, one quote from the first exhibition stuck out to me and I have been thinking about it ever since: “what we are now you will be, what you are now we were.” I think that was one of the main reasons why I could not shake off the fear of the crypt because that quote is literally the point of the whole exhibition. People that lived and served their purpose in life now reminding us of what is to become of all of us. Thinking about this quote still does not prepare me for the tragedy that will be when I lose someone close to me, but it is a reminder that death comes to all, but we can continue to serve another purpose even after we are dead. 

Santa Maria della Vittoria

Getting to the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria was a bit frustrating. We were coming from the Trevi Fountain where we were bale to walk through it because it wasn’t on, but from the train stop the two were on the complete opposite side from each other. We tried to catch a bus that would at least take us to the train stop, which was the half way point between the two. We could have gotten on the first bus that came but it was completely full and a wheelchair was trying to get on the bus. To avoid being on a completely hot and full bus we decided to take the next bus that came right after and stopped at the Barberini metro stop. From here we walked up the hill and tried to find the church once we finally got to the top of the hill. The frustrating part for me was that after it took us ten minutes to walk up we noticed the first bus we had avoided took us right to where the church was. Of course there was nothing I could have done at the time, but it would have been nice to avoid walking up that hill after a long day.

When we got inside my initial reaction was “wow they really meant small church.” After all the large churches we had been to it was a complete shock to see a small church that still managed to have similar art and history as the bigger churches. There were not many people when we first walked in but little by little it began to fill up. At one point it felt as if I had to watch where I was going because there was not much room to walk around in without bumping into someone else. Although small the church was beautiful. When I walked up toward the altar I immediately recognized the statue that we had discussed in class with the ecstasy look on Santa Maria’s face. There were many people looking at the art so I did not have a chance to go and look at the name of it, but was very pleased with myself to have recognized it. The altar was very beautiful and decorative, not that I would expect any less from a Catholic church in Rome. The ceilings were also very decorative and beautifully filled with artwork.

The most important part of the visit for me was seeing a church that was actually functioning like a church and felt less like a museum. There were many people sitting on the benches and prayer and using the church for its intended purposes. There was even a priest siting in an area in the back that had a sign for confessions and blessings. Even as I walked around to admire the church I felt as if I was intruding in the religious space of someone else. I wondered if they were accustomed to people walking in simply to admire their church, while this may have been a regular religious space for some individuals. I was very pleased to see the space being used productively, not that admiring a church is not productive but the usefulness of this smaller church gave me a full picture of what churches mean in Rome and how they can mean different things for different people, for example a resident and a visitor.

Ostia Antica

For the writing assignment at Ostia Antica I decided to do the Voyeur because it was one of the assignments that I enjoyed the most. There were a group of tourists from Spain that I overheard talking as I rested at the cafeteria. They were a part of a larger group that seemed to be touring Rome. There was one older man and two older women sitting at a table having some drinks. The man and one of the women shared a beer while the other drank water. They complained of how warm their drinks were but kept the conversation to a minimum. They sat mostly in silence enjoying each other’s company. Other people that were apart of this group were talking and you could hear their conversations in the background, but I was particularly interested in this group because of how calm and comfortable they all were; it went well with the atmosphere at Ostia Antica. I was also attracted to this group of people because they spoke Spanish. For some reason I enjoy overhearing the conversations of strangers in my Native language, in particular because they come from very different paths of life starting with living in Spain. The woman drinking the water and the man sitting at the table are husband and wife, you can tell by the tender way in which he speaks to her and helps her get up before they head out. The other woman is a dear friend of the first lady and they have decided to take this trip to explore Rome together as they have taken many trips before with each other’s families. Because they have never been to Rome before they decided to do a huge guided tour with other people their age. They are enjoying their trip very much and are discussing plans to call back home as they walk away.

Momentary Blindness

El jardín de naranjas es un lujar de paz. No se siente el movimiento de mucha gente pero al mismo tiempo es un lugar con vida. Sentada en banco siento la madera debajo de mi. Este banco es como cada otro banco en un parque, una mescla perfecta de comodidad y incomodidad. Si te quedas en una posición por mucho tiempo encontraras marcas de la madera en tu piel. A lo que pienso en como me siento estando sentada aquí puedo oír diferentes conversaciones en la distancia. Diferente gente pasan por delante de mi y puedo oír uno segundos de su conversación. Aunque no entienda la mayoría de lo que oigo es obvio que son diferentes conversaciones llenas de emociones distintas. Pasando delante de mi también puedo oír las ruedas de bicicletas cuando tienen una interacción con las piedras en el piso. La gente pasando en las bicicletas se hablan pero me llama a la atención el sonido de las piedras contra las piedras porque sin las piedras quizás no podría oír la diferencia entre la gente que están caminando o montando las bicicletas. El sonido también me deja saber de que dirección están viniendo la gente. Al lado de mi se sientan dos mujeres a tener una conversación casual. Parece que este es un lujar de reunión para las dos. El parque no parece tener un olor distinto aunque se que estoy rodeada de matas de naranjas. Aprecio la tranquilidad del parque, especialmente porque esta en el centro de la cuidad pero te da el sentido de que te has separado de las ocupaciones de la cuidad central.