When in Rome..

Look Familiar?

This weekend i made a second trip to Rome with my studio group. This time around i saw the sites that have attracted people from around the world for hundreds of years. Friday however was spent investigating a number of more modern works by big names such as Richard Meier, Zaha Hadid, PierLuigi Nervi, and Renzo Piano. The Richard Meier building housed a structure built in the time we consider B.C. The MAXXI ( Modern Art of the 21st century) museum by Zaha Hadid was probably the coolest contemporary building i have ever seen and displayed some very clever artwork. The work by Nervi and Piano was primarily a structural exhibition as Nervi designed a Geodesic dome and Piano had rethought the traditional amphitheater. Later in the night i went seperate ways from the school group with a couple friends to continue exploring the city. We returned to the Spanish steps as the sun went down which provided a particularly pleasant view of the city. After the steps we meandered to the Trevi Fountain which was mobbed with people but was quite the site being illuminated in the early nightime. Having not realized we could bus across town for free, we then made our way to our hostel to set up camp. A short while later we ventured back across town, this time by bus, to Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori for dinner and drinks.

The Colosseum

Saturday morning at 6:30 i officially began my tourist career in Rome. After breakfast, i made my way over to Piazza San Pietro and the Vatican City. The Piazza was massive and empty with the exception of my friends and myself. The Vatican was proposterous ( i'm getting of tired of saying ridiculous, amazing, and insane even though they re perfectly applicable as well). The luxurious adornments within the endless halls of the Vatican seemed irrelevant in comparison to the works to which they led. The School of Athens, Laocoon, and an unfinished painting by Leonardo Da Vinci were some of the highlights but were dwarfed by the main attraction. The Sistine Chapel was breath taking. To be in the same room as the most famous work of art in the history of mankind... was pretty special. They discourage taking pictures.. well actually they swarm you with security guards and most likely confiscate your camera. It's always nice to have a challenge however and its even nicer when you can sneak a money shot image like the one at the top of this post. From here on i was pretty set with picture taking as i had nothing greater left to achieve. My adventure continued across town in the Roman Colosseum and the Forum. These two sites displayed a preserved version of the greatest ancient civilization ever to grace this planet. The Colosseum has served as a precedent in the design of public gathering spaces since its inception. The Forum has also been a model for democracies and the formation of their own societies. At the end of the day, i was not only physically exhuasted but mentally drained as well. This worked out well allowing me to sleep the entire two and a half hour train ride back to Florence.. which had i not awoken for, would have taken me to Munich for the morning. But i woke up just fine and can now proudly look back upon my time spent in the greatest city in the world.