...
Fine. I suck at blogging. I blame it on finals and the fact that my greek final ended up being terrible and evil in every way possible and my City of Rome final somehow compelled me to relearn all those incessant dates and maps to within an inch of their lives and generally caused me to channel Hermione and my study group to kick me out for knowing all the answers.
So... Campagnia was fabulous. Pompeii, as I have previously mentioned to most people reading this, is absolutely fantastic and would be even better if it didn't have the same number of tourists as disney world. We had several people, profs and students, who were clearly giving scholarly presentations and were interrupted in the middle of their discussion of the epigraphical debate over the patron and architect of the site based on the clearly augustan corinthian capitals by flag waving tour guides insisting in various and equally obnoxious languages that they lead their pack of chubby, middle-aged and totally apathetic tourists through this street, right now, whereupon they always proceeded to point out the kitchen as the latrine and the atrium as the parlor. No.
Once we were away from the crowds a bit, it was much better. We were able to climb into the castellum aquae and hold a lecture inside. Half of us were channeling Ed Harris' Pompeii, a quarter of us were taking notes and the other quarter *raises sheepish hand* were halfway down the aqueduct going, 'I think I can see Rome from here!' Luckily there was a hole to the surface just inside the city walls. The villa of the mysteries is apparently totally deserted if you hit it at closing time and we were able to wander freely. We also got to venture inside the house of the Vetii, which is usually totally closed off, to see the gorgeous 4th style wall paintings and the garden and lararium used in HBO's ROME.
Herculaneum, however, is the lost gem of Campagnia. It's very much the sulky younger sister to Pompeii, but despite the insanely difficult excavation through 10 meters of mud/rock/volcanic sludge, it's ridiculously well preserved. Pompeii's incredible, no question, but it's also been looted and preserved to within an inch of it's ancient integrity. Herculaneum, you can walk into a building and see the wooden beams that supported the second story. As in, the ACTUAL wooden beams, a little charred, but really in pretty good shape for being some 1900 years old. They've also left much of the statuary in it's orginal positions, which is nice for those of us trying to get a real feel for the decor of a domestic villa. The real highlight there was the forum baths, which NO one gets to go in, except those of us who have special permission from the archaeological superintendent *smirk*. They are these incredible baths that are almost entirely preserved. As in, completely structurally intact, roof and everything, with the tubs still inlaid in marble, the floors a little warped, but still paved, the stucco-work still showing gladiators ready to go into combat and the huge marble basins for water in their proper places. It's the closest we'll ever get to seeing the inside of a Roman bath in all its glory and it would have been really, really pretty.
The villas at Stabia were also very cool--nothing left in them, of course, but a nice reminder of the layout of sprawling rural villas and the fantastic wall paintings that would have covered the walls.
So those are the highlights of the Campagnia trip and the rest of my semester in Rome was unfortunately consumed with finals and studying :(
That said, some final lessons from my stay in Rome:
*Do not ever wear heels, a loose skirt and an easily untied halter top to a pounce game were you will probably earn light duty. The potential for accidental nudity is far too great.
*If the wine tastes bad, it probably is. Do not drink entire bottle (learned through experience of a friend, who I then aided with large amounts of advil the next day.)
*Boatwright reading and the terrace do not mix on sunny days. Unintentional nap and sunburn will inevitably follow.
*Do not take Greek study group to the park. We're distractable enough as is without adding crack-smoking teenagers, wayward soccer balls, cute italians and reeeeally pretty mounted police horses to the mix.
*Finals should be taken outside in the garden whenever possible.
*The ultimate reason America fails as a country: TOTAL lack of appreciation for good gelato.
The last few days after finals I spent in Assissi at the Calendimaggio--the spring festival where the whole town parties like it's 1499 and gets dressed up in full medieval costume for 3 days and the two halves of the town compete against each other in the parade, crossbow, longbow, log sled, drumming, period music, and ballad-writing. It's AMAZING. Also, the drummer guys in tights--very hot. I was unconvinced of the attractiveness of Italian men, but Assisi brought it home. Men should wear tights and tunics more often. The entire thing was just ridiculously fun and exactly what I needed after finals.
So now, I'm hanging out in Sunderland for the summer, taking French (starting Monday), working at the MHC art museum (developing mad solitaire skillz), riding Blinky (who is utterly amazing and fantastic in every way except for the part where he's scared of butterflies. And rain.) and trying to write grad school applications (what the heck is an intellectual autobiography, anyway?). Also, my wireless has serious commitment issues and I almost start crying whenever I see a picture of Rome. Is it possible to be homesick for somewhere you've only lived for a semester? I think it must be.
More on my not-so-thrilling adventures in MA at a later time. Or, you know, when I get so utterly and completely bored that I decide to update this thing, which should happen a lot more nowadays.
Miss everyone!
E
So... Campagnia was fabulous. Pompeii, as I have previously mentioned to most people reading this, is absolutely fantastic and would be even better if it didn't have the same number of tourists as disney world. We had several people, profs and students, who were clearly giving scholarly presentations and were interrupted in the middle of their discussion of the epigraphical debate over the patron and architect of the site based on the clearly augustan corinthian capitals by flag waving tour guides insisting in various and equally obnoxious languages that they lead their pack of chubby, middle-aged and totally apathetic tourists through this street, right now, whereupon they always proceeded to point out the kitchen as the latrine and the atrium as the parlor. No.
Once we were away from the crowds a bit, it was much better. We were able to climb into the castellum aquae and hold a lecture inside. Half of us were channeling Ed Harris' Pompeii, a quarter of us were taking notes and the other quarter *raises sheepish hand* were halfway down the aqueduct going, 'I think I can see Rome from here!' Luckily there was a hole to the surface just inside the city walls. The villa of the mysteries is apparently totally deserted if you hit it at closing time and we were able to wander freely. We also got to venture inside the house of the Vetii, which is usually totally closed off, to see the gorgeous 4th style wall paintings and the garden and lararium used in HBO's ROME.
Herculaneum, however, is the lost gem of Campagnia. It's very much the sulky younger sister to Pompeii, but despite the insanely difficult excavation through 10 meters of mud/rock/volcanic sludge, it's ridiculously well preserved. Pompeii's incredible, no question, but it's also been looted and preserved to within an inch of it's ancient integrity. Herculaneum, you can walk into a building and see the wooden beams that supported the second story. As in, the ACTUAL wooden beams, a little charred, but really in pretty good shape for being some 1900 years old. They've also left much of the statuary in it's orginal positions, which is nice for those of us trying to get a real feel for the decor of a domestic villa. The real highlight there was the forum baths, which NO one gets to go in, except those of us who have special permission from the archaeological superintendent *smirk*. They are these incredible baths that are almost entirely preserved. As in, completely structurally intact, roof and everything, with the tubs still inlaid in marble, the floors a little warped, but still paved, the stucco-work still showing gladiators ready to go into combat and the huge marble basins for water in their proper places. It's the closest we'll ever get to seeing the inside of a Roman bath in all its glory and it would have been really, really pretty.
The villas at Stabia were also very cool--nothing left in them, of course, but a nice reminder of the layout of sprawling rural villas and the fantastic wall paintings that would have covered the walls.
So those are the highlights of the Campagnia trip and the rest of my semester in Rome was unfortunately consumed with finals and studying :(
That said, some final lessons from my stay in Rome:
*Do not ever wear heels, a loose skirt and an easily untied halter top to a pounce game were you will probably earn light duty. The potential for accidental nudity is far too great.
*If the wine tastes bad, it probably is. Do not drink entire bottle (learned through experience of a friend, who I then aided with large amounts of advil the next day.)
*Boatwright reading and the terrace do not mix on sunny days. Unintentional nap and sunburn will inevitably follow.
*Do not take Greek study group to the park. We're distractable enough as is without adding crack-smoking teenagers, wayward soccer balls, cute italians and reeeeally pretty mounted police horses to the mix.
*Finals should be taken outside in the garden whenever possible.
*The ultimate reason America fails as a country: TOTAL lack of appreciation for good gelato.
The last few days after finals I spent in Assissi at the Calendimaggio--the spring festival where the whole town parties like it's 1499 and gets dressed up in full medieval costume for 3 days and the two halves of the town compete against each other in the parade, crossbow, longbow, log sled, drumming, period music, and ballad-writing. It's AMAZING. Also, the drummer guys in tights--very hot. I was unconvinced of the attractiveness of Italian men, but Assisi brought it home. Men should wear tights and tunics more often. The entire thing was just ridiculously fun and exactly what I needed after finals.
So now, I'm hanging out in Sunderland for the summer, taking French (starting Monday), working at the MHC art museum (developing mad solitaire skillz), riding Blinky (who is utterly amazing and fantastic in every way except for the part where he's scared of butterflies. And rain.) and trying to write grad school applications (what the heck is an intellectual autobiography, anyway?). Also, my wireless has serious commitment issues and I almost start crying whenever I see a picture of Rome. Is it possible to be homesick for somewhere you've only lived for a semester? I think it must be.
More on my not-so-thrilling adventures in MA at a later time. Or, you know, when I get so utterly and completely bored that I decide to update this thing, which should happen a lot more nowadays.
Miss everyone!
E