June 9 and 10 -- Stratigraphy and Cats

Well, I never did get around to posting yesterday, so I have a lot of ground to cover today...I'll have to be somewhat quick because I am getting up very early to take the train to Pompeii tomorrow with a few friends...

Yesterday we visited an Early Republican site that is not much more than foundations of a few temples...not the kind of place a tourist would go for a look around. There we discussed stratigraphy and analyzing the layers of an archaeological site in relation to each other. It may sound very dull (and parts of it definitely were) but there is something neat about knowing the kinds of stone that the Romans used at various periods, and being able to date structures just by recognizing the rock and how it weathers.

During our free afternoon several of us went to the Capitoline Museum, where many of the most famous Roman statues are housed including my personal favorite, the Dying Gaul. I spent a lot of time taking pictures of famous works from odd angles (the back, from below) so that I can give my students in the future a better idea of what they really look like than they get from silly textbooks.

The museum also has an extensive painting collection, including two Caravaggios (my personal favorite), and some Reubens, etc. There are SO MANY museums I need to visit during this trip, I don't think I will possibly make it to all of them. And Romans also like to make things more difficult for art lovers by spreading important pieces out in churches, etc. It's more or less like a scavenger hunt.

Today was quite enjoyable...we visited the Largo Argentina on the Campus Martius, which some of you might know as the site where Julius Caesar was stabbed (not the senate house, as Shakespeare leads you to believe). Others of you know it as a cat sanctuary. I had never been down in the ruins, which consist of four temples, labeled with much imagination as temples A, B, C, and D. Each of the temples was rebuilt at some point, some as many as three times, so we got to practice finding and identifying the various levels. Pretty dry stuff, but useful.

One cat took a particular shine to me and followed me around all day, occasionally nipping my heels or legs (when I was sitting down) if I did not pay him enough attention. I think they were thrilled to have so much human company, instead of people just standing around a story up and taking photos of them.

We also visited a few other Campus Martius sites such as the Theater of Marcellus, but there is nothing really remarkable to report about them, especially without the use of pictures.

Afterwards Taco and Jason and I went to the Vatican so I could mail some postcards that I had stuck Vatican stamps on without thinking about having to go back there to mail them. Jason had never been in St. Peter's, so it was fun to see him experience it for the first time. Even Taco, who is from the Netherlands and is an atheist, said that the first time he walked into St. Peter's was one of the most remarkable experiences of his life. It is impossible to convey it in words or pictures, but everyone should make an attempt to see it at some point. There were very few people there today, which is rare, and we were able to go down to see the tomb of Pope John Paul II. Since he requested to be buried in the earth, there is not much to see...a simple marble slab engraved with his name and the date. Other popes have rich sarcophagi topped with portrait statues of themselves, but John Paul wanted something simple to reflect the simplicity with which he lived his entire life. I thought that it was very appropriate and moving.

That's pretty much it for the past few days...I am tired and a little cranky, but some good rest tonight should do the trick.

I would like to answer a few questions from the comments...yes, Christina, the American Academy gives Rome Prizes for musicians. I heard a vocalist warming up out in the garden yesterday, and the piano in the Salon is reserved for Fellows. You should get on their website and see what the process is...I am sure you have to have a project in mind that specifically needs to be carried out in Rome, so start thinking about it.

And about the weather...this may come as a surprise (I know it did to me), but it has been chilly here this week. We had a big thunderstorm Monday night that blew in a massive coldfront. Prof. Terrenato says that in the 30 years he lived in Rome it was never this cold in June. I am not at all prepared for it in terms of the clothing I brought. We all shiver through our fieldwork, especially in the mornings. I decided when packing that a sweater was an unnecessary use of suitcase space, as was an extra pair of jeans (that I don't mind getting dirty). What I wouldn't give for them now! I have borrowed a sweatshirt from Taco, which is nice, but I don't have any warm pants, having packed mostly shorts, capris and light wind-pant type garments to dig in, thinking it would be extremely hot. Very strange.

So I'm also not getting as much sun as I had expected, which is probably good. What I do get, though, is only on my hands, lower arms, and face (even though I wear a hat a lot), so I will definitely have a strange-looking tan when I get back. Prepare to make fun of me.

Send news from home if you have it, and watch for postcards if I have your address! I have mailed quite a few, but the Italian post is so notoriously slow I have now idea how long they will take to get there!

Everyone take care and let me hear from you.

Ciao,
Candace