An Italian movie, An Italian Opera, and a trip to the Eternal City

November 28^th to December 2, 2007

On Wednesday the 28^th, the school hosted a movie night of an Italian film called “I Soliti ignoti” (Big Deal on Madonna Street). This Italian comedy was a fun prelude to my trip to Rome. Set in the 1950s this film highlighted what Rome was like during that time period. It was a great film and I recommend anyone to watch it if you can find it in the states. The next night, I had an evening with one of Italy’s Operas. The opera, called La Forza del Destino. This was a great cultural experience for me and I actually was able to understand the story line and read the Italian subtitles on the reader board. The only downside was the Opera was over 4 hours long and by the end of it, I was falling asleep in my chair. Overall, it was an ok experience but glad that I was able to see an opera.

Early the next morning at around 7:00am a small group of 35 students boarded the bus for Rome, the Eternal City. We arrived around 11:00am and had a few hours to explore the area around the hotel. I was able to visit Piazza Republica where the church of Angeli and the Martyrs was and had a chance to go inside and see its enormous interior frescoed and painted by Michelangelo. This church was integrated into one of Rome’s largest steam baths after the fall of the Roman Empire.

At 1:30pm we returned to our hotel where we begun our three hour guided tour through ancient Rome. We walked to the Coliseum where we were able to take photos and walk around the massive structure. It was great to see this famous site. We then toured through the ancient Roman forums and walked under three Arches of Triumphs. Our tour concluded with visiting the Vittoria Emmanuelle II monument where the tomb of the Unknown Soldier was laid. It was a great spectacle and amazing to see such a large monument.

After our guided tour our personal school guides took us on another walking tour to the rest of Rome’s famous monuments. We visited the first Jesuit Church and saw the tomb of St. Gonzaga. We then visited the famous Trevi Fountain where I was able to toss a coin into its flowing fountains. Then we visited the grand Pantheon and ate some great gelato. Even though the night came early all of these places were lit brightly and I was able to capture and experience them majestically. Our last stop was the Spanish Steps where we climbed to the top and had a perfect skyline of the city and St. Peter’s Dome. We then all split into smaller groups and we strolled down via corso and saw Gucci, Prada, Fendi…etc all lit up and decorated in Christmas lights and ribbons. The first day in the Eternal City was amazing and I was able to cover a lot of ground in our first day.

My second day in the Eternal City began at 7:30 am where we all took the Metro to the Vatican Museum. We waited in line for about 45 minutes where the line was at least half a mile long. We then split into small groups and toured the Vatican Apartments, Raphael Rooms, the various museums of Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome and the Etruscan period. I was extremely impressed and amazed at the details of all the rooms. Each room was frescoed, painted, carved and decorated so elegantly it almost seemed fake…but it wasn’t. The conclusion to the Vatican Museum was the Sistine Chapel. This blew me away in amazement and I wished I was able to capture and show you what it was like, but was not able to. Brightly colored and frescoed from wall to wall and floor to ceiling Michelangelo did it all. I was awestruck at its elegance and beauty.

After the Vatican Museum we regrouped and walked to St. Peter’s Basilica. We were lucky to not have to wait in line long and we scurried into the grand church. It too was elegantly decorated and immense! After visiting the largest Catholic Church in the world we then walked to the River Tiber and crossed the Ponte Angele and walked through Piazza Navona and Compo dei Fiori. We then walked through the Jewish quarter where it once was one of the largest Ghettos in the world. We then traversed back across the river over the island of Tiberina and explored Travestere (across the river) district. Here we visited a small Franciscan Church where we were able to see Bernini’s last famous piece of work, the Maria in Ecstasy.

We returned back to our hotel by bus and tram and saw the place where Julius Ceasar was murdered…its now a cat sanctuary where there are now over hundreds of cats living under safety…its very smelly.

The next morning we packed up and left early again to St. Peter’s Square. There we visited the Vatican Radio Station where a Jesuit of Gonzaga gave us a personal tour of the Vatican’s famous radio and journalism station. We then quickly walked to St. Peter’s Square to witness and listen to the Pope’s Angelus that occurred at noon. It was exciting to see the Pope and I think I went crazy taking too many photos of this event. He did his blessing in five different languages and concluded his blessing with a shout out to all the visiting Australians. I don’t know why…

After the Angelus, I had time to browse the streets of Rome, did some shopping and returned to our hotel and returned home.

It was a fantastic trip and I wish I had more time in the Eternal City, but now I that I have seen all of Italy and can go home content.