Tales of a traveller

So much updating to do, so little time to do it.
My stay in Rome is quickly expiring as I am already half way closer to my plane trip home. But I continue to take advantage of my time left here and try to not waste even a minute. In fact, since last week was our first free weekend of the program (by free I mean that we had no pre-planned group trips or tours) Kirstin and I planned a trip to Barcelona, Spain. It also turned out that a number of our other group members planned a trip to Barcelona on the same weekend, so we ended up hanging out as a group most of the time. I had an excellent time! For one, I could finally communicate with people thanks to the Mexican in me (which would be...a rough 100%) :-) Barcelona is located in the region of Catalunya on the south eastern coast of Spain. I learned that this region never actually wanted to be under Spanish rule and a lot of the population still considers themselves independent of Spain. They have their own language: Catalan, which seems to me a mix of French and Spanish. Fortunately, I was able to communicate with my Spanish.
The thing I noticed that was most different from Rome was the activity. I stayed in a youth hostel off of La Rambla, the most famous boulevard and center of the old medieval city center. I swear people never slept here..they partied well into the night. The street was insane. We arrived last Thursday ,June 23, and it was a holiday. There were fireworks alllll over the place...really loud, scary fireworks. The kind that blow your fingers off yet 10 year old kids run around throwing them at random people on the street and run off snickering. Bastards... I'm OK, though...no appendage loss for me. We also witnessed a street fight at 3am in the middle of a still busy La Rambla. The guys ran off bleeding after throwing bottles at each other. We saw at least three people escape from the police and run off. We saw the craziest street performers. We toured, we drank Sangria at all hours of the day, we sunbathed on the beach, we pretty much lived the life. All I gotta say is that people are alive in Barcelona. So on with the photos...


We arrived on Thursday night after 11pm. This was our first group picture minus Kirstin who was the photographer.



Next morning we met at the Christopher Colombus statue to go on a bike tour - the best freakin tour ever! I love bikes alone, but biking through Barcelona instead of walking to all of the features...double the fun!



Across the street from the Colombus statue is this building. Not exactly sure what it was. The cool thing about this building are the gargoyles that protect the building. A very characteristical feature of medieval architecture in Spain.



A very old goverment building. Spanish flag on the left, Catalunya flag on the right.



The steps where Christopher Colombus announced to Ferdinand and Isabella that he had found the new world. Located in one of the many the Medieval quarters of the town hence the brick, fortress like architecture that used to house the couple.



Palau de la Musica. A very beautiful modernistic concert hall built in 1908 by the architect Lluis Domenech y Muntaner. It is a jewel of modernistic sculptures and stained glass. Absolutely gorgeous and this is only the outside. I wish I could have gone to a concert in here.



Rome has the arch of Constantine, Paris has the Arc de Triomphe, and Barcelona has its very own Arce de Triomf. This was taken in the middle of our bike tour.



La Sagrada Familia: a huge Gothic cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi. Adrian was right, it is the most unusual piece of architecture I have ever laid eyes on. Beautiful, nonetheless. Gaudi's highly influenced the face of Barcelona's architecture as his work can be seen all over the city.



As if this cathedral were not massive enough, it is being expanded to several more towers. Very colorful... It is said to be under construction for the next, oh... 20 plus years. So when I'm 40 or 50 I can return to Barcelona to visit the completed building. : )



The front facade of Gaudi's original Gothic design. He pretty much dedicated his life to this cathedral and worked on it until the day he was hit by a trolley and died.



We made our way to a beautiful park. The day was scorching hot, but the park provided plenty of cool shade to relax and take in some beautiful scenery.



Huge fountain in the park. Green water...but the fountain is still pretty.



We ended our day of touring with Kirstin, Jeff, Ben, and I hiking up to Park Guell, a seemingly magical park with amazing designs by Gaudi and a beautiful overlook of Barcelona.



Kirstin and I enjoying the view from the tiled terrace.



Our two loyal travel companions - Jeff and Ben. Such an entertaining pair they are!


Awesome houses in the park. They look like gingerbread homes to me...



Finally, the famous Gaudi fountain dragon at the main entrance of the park adorned with colored tiles.
Because of time constraints, we really didnt have much time to explore the rest of the park. Unfortunate... But what we did see was well worth the short amount of time we stayed and I will hopefully be back again to spend a day exploring. We were only in Barcelona for three days, so we were pretty pressed for time. But it was a wonderful trip and a great experience.

So now on to the second half of this dreadfully long entry. Unless you're interested in learning a little bit around Fascist Rome and the urban planning of Mussolini, read no further.

The Fascist regime, lead primarily by Mussolini, created several ambitious building projects from the 1920s to the 1940s. A lot of it still remains in Rome but it is most prominent in the Mussolini-conceived EUR district south of the center of Rome.
During the walking trip with my history class this afternoon, we saw buildings and urban spaces that best exemplify how architecture could transmit the ideology of Fascism. Many of these structures were directly inspired by imperial Roman art and architecture, but modified to be colder, more sterile, more totalitarian.


Our tour began in the Garbatella area with a visit to the oldest housing project in Rome. The low cost housing projects were built to be smaller and more simple than the typical apartment palazzos to emphasize a better and more simple family life.



This building that used to be a grocery store is now a concert hall and gathering area for young left wing political opinionists.
The center of the paintings reads: "We spit our heart out in the face of injustice day and night. We are the heros of Sancho Panza and Don Quijote."
Underneath it is a blatant anti war in Iraq message.



A church with constructivist art.



In the same square of the church is this elementary school. The four eagles on the top of the building are a symbol of the verility of the Fascist regime.

A couple blocks over in the same area was a theatre. All of the above mentioned elements were situated in the same area to form a small community with all the essentials for its citizens. It is a perfect example of Fascist urban planning.

We moved on to the EUR "Rome Univeral Exposition" district.


A slab of carved stone in a park. Its pictures glorify the activity of small village living by depicting scenery of country life. It was part of a campaign to keep people in small village communities with gender roles clearly defined.



Quadrato della Concordia with the Palazzo dei Congressi at the end of the straight street. This was the main congress headquarters. Near the roof of the Palazzo dei Congressi, there is a stone sediment sticking straight out. Its purpose is to imitate the Fascist salute.

After a long and tiring day of touring, we hop on the metro to head back to the residence. The metro was crowded as usual, so I'm standing and keeping my balance by holding onto the nearby rail. There was a group of kids sitting on the other side and they were really cute, so I smiled at them. A few minutes later I look up and the little girls have scooted over and signal for me to sit down. I thought that was so sweet of them, so I sat down to get to know them. It turns out they didn't speak Italian so my broken Italian meant nothing to them. I try again with Spanish, and they kinda understood what I was trying to say. They tell me that they speak Portugese and that they are from Brazil. They were so adorable and friendly! It was seriously the best part of my day.


Here I am with my new friends on the metro. Daniela is on my right and Jazra is the next one over. I couldn't catch the names of the two boys. But we love Brazil and we're reppin' the flag! : )

Volare

Another weekend gone by...

Last week concluded with the usual walking trip with my history class. The purpose was to explore baroque architecture in Rome. More than any other prior movement, baroque aimed towards a consistent meshing of architecture and art.


Our first stop was Porta Pia. It was ordered to be built by Pius IV in 1561. This was one of the final works of Michelangelo, later rebuilt in 1853-61 by Vespignani for whom it owes its baroque architecture to. Michelangelo's inspiration behind this building was a theatre set. The facade faces towards the city of Roma instead of away from the city(in which case it would act as an entrance). This means the Porta Pia was designed for an element of Roma as a theater. It was meant to create a visual effect when looking at it from a distance.


San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
It was the first church that Borromini built in Rome. It is a very small church whose size was said to not exceed a pillar in St. Peter's.


Borromini used his ingenuity in geometric art to design the interior of the church and the the domes. The shape of the interior was planned out using complex geometric designs.

On Friday time we took another 4 hour road trip northeast of Rome into the Tuscany region. We stayed in Florence for one day. I find it amazing how every region of Italy has its own style and each is so different from one another. Florence, for one, is an unrivaled repository of art and architectural treasures. Unfortunately, our one day sojourn did not give us enough time to explore its many features.


In the heart of Florence is the Duomo. It is one of the largest buildings in the Christian world. Its exterior has geometrically patterned bands of white, pink, and green marble. This tricolor mosaic is an interesting contrast to the sienna-colored fortresslike palazzi that dominate most of the city.


I'm telling you, this building is massive. It reperesents the flowering of the "Florentine Gothic" style whose construction stretched over the centuries.


Walking further to the Piazza della Signoria, we found the Fountain of Neptune.


Perseus holding the head of a slayed Medusa


Finally, Kirstin and I ran into cupid on the street.

Our group visited the Uffizi Gallery where the personal art collection of the Medici family is housed. It is considered the single greatest collection of Italian and Florentine art. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed so I have no pictures to share. :-(
After the Uffizi Gallery, our second stop was at the Galleria dell'Accademia whose main draw is the marble statue of David sculpted by Michelangelo when he was only 29 years old.


Here is the one bootleg picture that I took (since cameras were still not allowed). But I had to do it.


My evening in Florence concluded with a hike up to the Piazzale Michelangelo where you can enjoy a breathtaking view of Florence and the Tuscan hills.

The next morning we departed to Arezzo, the most landlocked of all the towns of Tuscany. It was originally an Etruscan settlement and later a Roman center. The city flourished in the Middle Ages and has preserved its structure and historic value.


Il Duomo at Arezzo was built in the pure Gothic style, rare for Tuscany.


Its art tresures include stained-glass windows by Guillaume de Marcillat and a main altar in the Gothic style.

We were lucky to be there on that particular weekend when they were celebrating their biggest event of the year: Giostra del Saraceno. In a tradition unbroken since the 13th century, horsemen in medieval costumes reenact the joust ritual.


Although we were not present to see the actual jousting which took place in the evening, we saw the procession throughout the city. It reminded me of Sleeping Beauty! : )

We left that same day back to Rome to enjoy Sunday and prepare for a new week of classes. If all goes as planned, I will visit the Vatican Museum on Monday and go to the Pope's blessing on Wednesay morning. Next weekend is also our first free weekend from the group. Kirstin and I planned a trip to Barcelona, Spain ... my first time out of Italy!

Hoping for a good week... : )

"Ella le gusta gelaterias!"

....Lovin' the quote of the day! Hah Hah

This afternoon I spent soaking up the wine culture. How?


Wine tasting! (Do you love the wedding pose, or do you love it???!)

Wine is an essential part of every meal in Italy. I have never been a big fan of wine, but I must admit that I am slowly becoming accustomed to the taste and gaining a little big more appreciation for it.
In Piazza Cavour, a couple of km away from my residence, there is a Vino Forum taking place for a couple weeks. There were several tents set up each displaying wines from all over Southern Italy. Now I am no connoisseur of fine wines but we all start somewhere, right? Especially when our landlord, Gianni, invited all of his student residents to this special event for free. Usually, the entrance fee is 10 euros, but Gianni is da man and has a friend who owned a tent. So he hooked us up and got us all in for free. We met at 8pm and he packed a group of 16 of us into his 9 person van. After a short drive, we arrived and spent the rest of the evening walking around with our fine wine glass in hand and stopping from tent to tent. They even gave us a pasta dinner! It was probably the best pasta I have had here so far. Mmmm...


We left for the night with a full stomach and quite content. : )

Now, no day in Roma is complete without a daily gelato.


Who can resist it when there are 3 Gelaterias on every block (no joke) and the ones closest to my residence are only 1.30euro?! It will be my demise, but they are healthier than ice cream. Delicacy...pure delicacy.

Living In Paradise

I admit I've been slacking on updating this journal for the past week. I hope this post will make up for that as it will be a long one.

Backtracking to last weekend...
We took our first organized group trip outside of Rome. We went to Viterbo which is about an hour and a half northeast of Rome. Andrew Viterbi, the man who our Engineering school is named after, is from this area. The small town setting was a big change from the huge urbanized area of Rome. It was our first taste of how truly distinct and unique the different regions of Italy are. The origins of the province of Viterbo date back to the Etruscan civilization. Their settlement called "Surrena" began to develop in the early Middle Ages. During this period, Viterbo became important as it was a refuge for many Popes during a contoversy between the Catholic Church and the Emperor. It has preserved its distinctive medieval urban and architectural plan ever since.


Cattedrale San Lorenzo
It was built originally in Romanesque forms but has been modified in the subsequent centuries. It Gothic features are characterized by the long tall parallel columns and doors.


To the right of the Cattedrale is Palazzo Dei Papi, a 13th century Palazzo Papale built as a residence for the pope but also served as a hideout when the pope was in exile. The exteriror staircase and the colonnaded loggia combine to make up one of the finest examples of civil Roman architecture from the Gothic period.


San Pellegrino is the Medieval Quarter of the town. The layout of this neighborhood from the 11th-13th centuries has remained intact. The staircase with no side rail leads up to the house of the door. This was strategically designed so that if an enemy was walking up the stairs to attack, they could easily be pushed off the side!


Characteristic of homes belong to wealthy familes during the Medieval period were their towers.

After the weekend trip to Viterbo, we returned to our home in the bustling streets of Rome to resume our week of classes.

Last Thursday, my history class took a walking trip to explore Medieval and Renaissance Rome.


We first met at Santa Maria In Trastevere, a Romanesque church built around A.D. 350 and is one of the oldest in Rome. The restored mosaics on the top front of the church date from around 1140 and right below them are mosaic scenes depicting the life of the Virgin Mary done by Pietro Cavallini. An interesting feature of the mosaics is that they are a mix of Byzantine and Roman art. Byzantine art forbids any images of humans since they are God's creation and therefore should not be duplicated. These mosaics, however, do display figures that appear to have a human form. In accordance with Byzantine art standards, they are presented as stylized icon figures with disfigured and convoluted features.
To the right of the picture is the central fountain of the Piazza. This octagonal fountain is an ancient Roman original that was restore and added to in the 17th century by Carlo Fontana.


Inside of the church, we found its attributes to be those of a typical basilica style church. Along with the central high facade on the outside, the inside features a large central area with high ceilings decked with large columns on each side. The triumphal arch and worship area decorate the front of the church. Sorry about the fuzziness of the pic. What can I say, I have a ghetto digital camera!



Here is a statue of Saint Anthony that was inside of church. People write prayer notes and place them around the statue, hence the mounds of papers surrounding the statue.

Our class walked a few blocks over to a Medieval style neighborhood in Rome. Not very many exist since most remnants of the Medieval time period are practically lost in Rome.


Here is my class examining an example of Medieval urban planning. Found along the narrow and curvy maze of streets are arched walkways, steep stairways, and stone homes.


We continued walking and found this church which exhibits a neo-classical facade. It used to be home to Saint Benedict who founded monasteries and helped Christianity take root.


Piazza Trilussa with the Acqua Paola Fountain which commemorates the new acqueduct carrying water to the district in 1612.


Via Guila said to be the first straight streets given to Renaissance Rome by Pope Julius II. It was an exclusive street where the important families of the time lived including the wealthy Farnese family of cardinal Alessandro Farnese who later became Pope Paul III. The home, which owes a lot of its architecture to Michelangelo, is situated further down on Via Guila and today stands as the French embassy.

Another weekend finally arrived and we have yet another organized group trip! This time we traveled south on the western coast to Sorrento - one of the best known resorts in Italy. The origin of its name - Surrentum - poetically dates back to the Sirens who in the Odyssey tempted Ulysses with their beautiful yet deadly voices.


The people who planned our tripped definitely hooked us up! We stayed in Hotel Conda Park, a beautiful hotel. Here is the view from my room overlooking the Gulf of Naples in the Mediterranean Sea. In the background is Naples in the middle of the picture and Mt. Vesuvius is towards the left.

I spent the rest of Friday afternoon exploring the streets of Sorrento. Kirstin and I were on a hunt for some good authentic Limoncello (Lemon liquor) and we found a grove of citrus fruits.


In the middle of the garden was a liquor shop where they sold the products that were made from their fruits. They even gave us free samples.

That night, they took us to a Tarantella show. It was Italian folk dancing...interesting show to say the least.
The next morning, we took a ferry over to the island of Capri. I must say that this is probably the most beautiful place I have ever visited. Pure amazingness.... I can't even explain it. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.


USC Engineers!
Upon arrival, we took our first group pic - all 36 of us.


A view of the island where the Roman Emperors Augustus and Tiberius once stayed.


The bluest water I have ever seen or swam in.


Posing on the rocks!


Engineers in the Mediterranean Sea!

After spending an awesome Saturday in Capri, we took a ferry back to Sorrento and celebrated Kirstin's 21st birthday and our last night in Sorrento at Club Matilda.

The next morning we took off back to Roma, but on the way stopped at Pompeii to visit the ruins of the city destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79


A courtyard pic


More ruins..


Preserved human - victim of the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius.


Mt Vesuvius in the background.

And so ended an incredible weekend. Sometimes I feel like I'm on vacation instead of being here for summer school...except during the week when I settle down and do homework all or most of the day. :( Exactly what I need to get back to right now...