Pompeii

For my first trip outside of Rome, two of my friends and I went to Pompeii. By necessity, we spent some time also in Naples and we ended up grabbing dinner there, but the main attraction and reason for the day was definitely the ruins.


My first impression of Pompeii was that it was much bigger than I thought it was going to be. I mean, the place is huge. I think most people (at least I know I did) forget that Pompeii was a full functioning Roman city.

Because of this, there is a lot of history behind the ruins. I'm going to be honest - I really don't know much of it. I did no real research before going and neither did my friends. We were only equipped with the ideas about Pompeii that are considered common knowledge - that Pompeii was a Roman city destroyed completely and suddenly by the neighboring volcano Vesuvius. And that actually turned out to be enough.


It was a gorgeous day and we ended up exploring the ruins at our own pace, without guides or any restraints whatsoever. We stumbled upon things like strangers in a foreign land (like the gorgeous mural above). I think that we knew enough to be able to understand the significance of everything, but not too much for it lose any of its mystery.

I'm not saying that the trip would have been less enjoyable if we had known more of the history and significance of the place. It's just that, among ruins, Pompeii holds a unique place in that anyone can understand their significance well with just a basic familiarity with the history.


Most ruins which are easily accessible and visible to the public are self aware. By this I mean that they were made to commemorate something and they were made to last for that particular reason. The people who made the Coliseum probably weren't thinking of the bustling cars and goggling tourists the structure encounters now, but they did know that it was a building like nothing else.


Pompeii on the other hand, is strikingly plebeian. The city is represented without bias. In Rome, the things that were important survived and the things that weren't became bus routes and highways. But in Pompeii, everything survived and was frozen in time.

After spending so much time in Rome - such a fluent place representing so many cultures - I can't help but ask "why can't Pompeii become a modern city now?" This comes across as extremely blasphemous. Didn't I just say that Pompeii is unique because it is untouched and unbiased?

But it seems to me that merely preserving history is a relatively new idea (at least it starts from a time when civilizations could afford to physically preserve older civilizations instead of building off them). We should try to find a balance between preservation and progress. Pompeii has a rich history, and people should be able to enjoy it in a daily way, just as it was meant to be enjoyed.


I have to admit that on this thread, I really am torn. I appreciate history, and I realize we can't preserve it and live it, but the ideal thing would be if we could strike a perfect balance between the two. Rome seems to have struck quite a good balance between the historical and modern (like the picture above of Piazza del Popolo filled by a political rally concerned with modern issues), and it's what makes it such a unique place. (By the way, Rome is currently celebrating its 2763rd birthday).


Either way, Pompeii is a really cool place and everyone should see it!

Ciao!
Matt

Holy Week in Rome

Many people told me "get out of Rome for Easter, it's going to get crazy". But they didn't get that I was excited about Rome getting crazy. I'm always drawn to anything that attracts a crowd without offering free doughnuts or cash.


In fact, it's even more of a cultural wonder when thousands of people show up on a Sunday morning for seemingly nothing but a lot of cold, cold rain and a glimpse of an old man speaking Latin.

Of course, I'm neglecting the fact that it's Easter Sunday, but that's the point isn't it? People come for many miles for a commonly intrinsic reason! I was happy to be a part of it.

But I'm getting ahead of myself - Easter Sunday is but the end of Holy Week. I'll have to try and bring this one full circle.

Holy Thursday, I went to a seminary to hear a mass in English with my friend Charlie. He is studying to be a priest here. Afterward, him, two of his friends, and I participated in what can only be described as a "Church Crawl".

On Holy Thursday, most of the churches keep their doors open late to display the blessed sacrament in different ways. Many of these places are completely dark except for the area around the tabernacle, where all the occupants of each church are crowded around praying. We went to 13 churches altogether and it was easily one of the most gorgeous experiences I've had in Rome.


Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera at the time, but I visited many of the churches later when I passed them on the street during the day. This is a picture from one of my favorite churches, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Along with this, we saw the Spanish and German national churches in Rome, Our Lady of Sacred Heart, la Chiesa di San Agostino, la Chiesa San Luigi dei Francesi, la Basillica di San Eustachio, la Chiesa del Gesu, San Carlo ai Catinari, Santo Birigitta, la Chiesa di Sant'Anna de' Parafrenieri, St. Jerome, and la Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista.


Holy Week was the first time I've really felt homesick since I've come to Rome. It was lucky then, that one of my cousins (Anthony, with his fiance Erica) showed up in Rome for a good lunch the next day (Good Friday) with me and Rosina!


After lunch, I went to the Passion at the Vatican with Rosina and company and look who I found?! Il Papa!

Later that night, the Pope did the stations of the cross outside the colliseum. It was really a powerful scene, especially with the thousands of faithful crowding the area. It was a gorgeous night outside and overall a nice experience. (By the way, the audio in the video is the Our Father in Latin).



After failing to get inside St. Peter's Cathedral for Easter Vigil Mass, I showed up to the Vatican for a refreshing (although others may have described the cold rain with other adjectives) Easter morning. This marked the last day of my beard (which can be seen in it's maturity above), the end of Lent, and the end of my homesickness.


Ciao!
Matt

Mom and Dad come to Rome!

As mentioned in my last post, my parents visited this past weekend with the Garbarts. This was really a lot of fun, and a great change in pace for me. It was the first time I saw the Vatican museums, and we ate at a lot of great restaurants, but my favorite times were walking around the city and talking about home.

I tried to bring my parents to as many churches as possible without it becoming an exhausting exercise. St. Peter's Basilica is amazing of course, and my parents loved it, but other more personal Basilica's seemed a little easier to enjoy at times.

This is a picture of my Mom in Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the best sites of the trip. It's one of the very few churches in Rome that acts well as a parish because most times there are too many churches for the amount of space that real parishes can't be established. However, Santa Maria in Trastevere seems to have a very active religious community that interact in very cool ways (as seen by all the offerings at the statue St. Anthony).

The group's first stop at the Colliseum was on a gorgeous night! After seeing the inside of the ancient monument along with the Roman Forum on the following day, Mama G remarked that my Dad was like a "kid in a candy store".


Once again, the Borghese Gardens were a favorite for visitors. It was forecasted to rain all day, but it held up giving us almost perfect conditions. We even were blessed with awesome street performers in the form of an Italian roller skating show (videos to be posted later) in the park.

This is a picture of Mama G taking a picture of Papa G who is taking a picture. We often had to wait for Papa G who took more pictures than anyone else by far! So, if you want to see any pictures for the trip, don't ask me because he has all the good ones. I'm sure they turned out great!

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 34th Anniversary here in Rome! I'm glad I was able to be a part of it. I don't think they ever imagined they would be spending an anniversary visiting their youngest child in Rome! But I guess surprises are just another part of marriage.

That's all I have for right now. It's 2 A.M. here and I have to meet T, Rosina, Joanna, and Marina early tomorrow for a day of adventuring! The time with my parents and the Garbarts made a truly a great weekend, now I'm gearing up for a great week.

Ciao!
Matt

Update in Pictures (6)

Things have been very busy here with more visitors. My parents were in Rome this weekend along with the always lovely Garbarts!

My sister is here now, along with my cousins Joanna and Marina. Since we will be touring around some more the next few days, I thought I'd post an update in pictures to brief everyone on some Roman times. I have a lot of half-finished posts, which I will get to as soon as I can. Hopefully, no one is holding their breath.


To all my visitors (especially my friend Caitlin who visited this past week), the Borghese gardens have seemed to be a very popular place. People seem to be surprised that there is so much space in such a packed city. It is truly an Oasis - a place where people can run around or lay out in a sublime mix of natural and man-made beauty.


I have a new found obsession for slowly and meticulously exploring all the great churches of Rome. There are so many wonders to be found on a case by case basis here and so every day that I'm free, I like to pick something I want to see, research it, and go out and find it! This is a sculpture by Michaelangelo near the altar of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva near the Pantehon. It is one of many amazing churches throughout the city.


So maybe all of you are tired of seeing pictures of Castel Sant'Angelo, but this one brings a point. I was walking around with Caitlin, taking pictures of everything we saw (unconciously), and she said "you still take pictures everywhere?!" I guess I probably seemed pretty touristy at the time, but I really can't help it. The short answer, is yes. I still take pictures of everything that makes me stop and stare, including the things I already have a thousand pictures of. Every time I see St. Peter's, it seems so majestic that I just want to capture it the way it is at that moment. The same goes for Castel Sant'Angelo.


Alas, the end of lent marked the end of my beard. I miss it sometimes, and the Italians don't mistake me for one of their own as often, but it had to happen sometime. However, before I got rid of it all, I left this tribute for an hour to the amusement of my friends and the pride of my Dad.

Ciao!
Matt