The Roads Lead...and then they keep going

Well, I’m back. I think that about sums up the feeling of the end of Southern Trip 2008. For those of you without access to the itinerary, I left Switzerland at a nonexistent time (5:00 am) last Friday. I returned today just after 15:00. I have checked my e-mail, and discovered a number of pressing issues that will be handled before I take off for Prague next Saturday. In the meantime….I went to Italy.

Last Friday: I awoke at a nonexistent time (a few people may recall that the previous debate was whether 6:45 was a real time. It is. 5:00 is not.), and departed still out of the realms of reality (5:45). I watched the sun rise over Milan from a bus window. For those of you expecting some lush, romanticized story of seeing the red glow through the city smog, while I sat in my cramped seat wondering why various deities allowed traffic which was the main reason we were leaving so early- forget it. It wasn’t that fun. Fabio took us through the mountains and into Tuscany, where we paused in Siena.

Siena really is a pretty city, with a lovely stripped Duomo; reminded me of Straticcela gelato. Siena has winding streets, and an annual horse race with seventeen families competing (well, ten at a time). I was more intrigued by the free gelato we found along one street as we walked from Campo to Chiesa to Duomo. I would have liked more time in Siena, actually. We really only had an afternoon to explore, as we were back on the road by 8:00 the next morning.

On to Rome, it would seem, after a brief break in Tarquinia. First an hour of wandering painted Etruscan tombs (better if there hadn’t been glass in the way); and then another two hours of museum wandering and lunch. There’s not a lot to say about that stop.

So it’s off to Rome for real this time. We arrive in the afternoon, and promptly go on a brief foray past the Colosseum, and into the Circus Maximus; then up to Santa Sabina and home to the hotel. Keep in mind that all of that takes up approximately three hours. Why is that important?
Because on day two in Rome, I start a 8:00, whiz by the Colosseum (and our tickets don’t work out, so new plans), see the Arch of Constantine, most of the Forum Romanum, lunch in a Chinese restaurant, see the majority of the Capitoline museum, get disappointed by the Colosseum again, stop by the Trevi fountain, brief shopping, then resting before dinner. Day three is up again early, for 7:45 departure to see the Vatican museum (including the Sistine chapel and the Sobieski room. And everything else), street vendor lunch, into St. Peter’s Basilica, and then a walking tour past the Castel Sant’ Angelo, across the Tiber, down the most expensive street in Rome (Via Corso), up the Spanish Steps, down to the Hard Rock café for souvenirs, then into the Capuchin crypt thing.

This deserves pause: I got a reputation within 20 minutes of the Italy trip for liking the morbid/macabre/creepy things. Really, I don’t quite know how it happened, but it did, and it’s not wholly inaccurate depending on your definition of morbid/macabre. This is why our professor suggested the Caphucin crypt. I was perfectly happy to go alone, but I’m pretty glad people were with me. It’s five rooms of bones in the crypt. Not haphazard bones strewn about by the years and neglect. Oh no- these are carefully arranged bones, in artful patterns. Truly, the vertebrae have extraordinary decorative potential. I was rather fond of the shoulder blade rosettes. And of getting out of there.

From the crypt it was up to the corner of the fountains, then into one church, past the Quirinal palace, and down to the hotel. Only lemon basil gelato kept me going at this point.

Finally, day four. Up later than usual- a 9:00 departure from the hotel. Now it gets busy: down to the Trevi for coins and pictures (right arm over left shoulder to return to Rome, by the by), out past the Column of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris in Gladiator; you can also use this column as a prequel to Gladiator), around the corner to the Pantheon with the nifty McDonalds, around the other corner to the fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini and across the sidewalk into the St. Agnes church designed by Borromini. Then! Off again to see the Ara Pacis Augustae, down Via Corso again, up the Spagna, again (which happen to be right next to the house where Keats died…Next trip), down and around to find the Chiesa di Maria e Vittoria….which had closed four minutes earlier. That’s okay, it’s only noon by this time. Time for lunch at the Hard Rock; never in my life have nachos and a cheeseburger tasted so good. Off again by 13:30 to see the Santa Maria degli Angeli- designed by Michelangelo, which a rather fun sundial thing. It’s in a Dan Brown novel, apparently. Then it was the Santa Maria Maggiore to marvel at the simplicity of the Bernini tomb (oh, and I saw Raphael’s tomb in the Pantheon, in case you were wondering), as well as the fourteen confessionals, each with three language options. It’s amazing how multilingual sins can be. Out from there, down the street and up the stairs to attempt the San Pietro in Vincoli….which was closed. Onwards to the Colosseum, where the theatre exhibit, “In Scaena” had closed two days earlier, when we were supposed to have gone, leaving me a sad theatre major. Or “sad panda” in the vernacular of the youth of today. There’s not a lot to see in the Colosseum, so on towards the Lateran, by way of cinnamon and caramel gelato. Pretty sure I missed the doors I was supposed to see, but it’s a lovely cathedral nonetheless. Straight shot out of there to see the Maria e Vittoria, which had reopened at 15:30; allowing all the art history majors to see St. Theresa in Ecstasy. For those who don’t recognize the sculpture, it’s kind of a big deal. Personally, I think St. Theresa’s description of her ecstasy is far racier than the actual statue. Then another straight shot to see San Carlo (Borromini) and Sant’ Andrea (Bernini). The chiesa di Sant’ Andrea was positively mobbed by Polish tourists, which confused me until I saw the tomb of Stanislav Koska. Which means virtually nothing to me, but apparently he’s a big deal to Poland. Then a block down the street to the Quirinal palace and the Nostoi exhibit. Nostoi basically means homecoming; it was an exhibit of all the things taken out of Italy by other collectors, which have been returned in the last few years. Got lectured by a member of the Caribinieri there, so I don’t think I’ll ever go back. Then down the road, and back up the steps to see San Pietro in Vincoli, so I can cross Michelangelo’s statue of Moses and St. Peter’s chains off my list. Finally, at 18:35 I was done, and off for brief souvenir shopping before dinner.
And that was Rome. Needless to say, my feet hurt, and I didn’t have much time for shopping, so no leather or scarves for me. Also, I was exhausted. This meant that Wednesday morning, when I had to get up at 7:00 for a 7:45 departure I was less than pleased. But on to Cerveteri for another set of Etruscan tombs, these far more fun than Tarquinius. Into town for a museum of pottery, and then lunch. Out of Cerveteri, and off to Orvieto.

I’d like to say that Orvieto was wonderful, but by Thursday morning, I was exhausted, and quite ready for Switzerland. I did see the Duomo and the miraculous cloth that inspired the Feast of Corpus Christi. I saw museums, an Etruscan temple, and the outside of the Well of St. Patrick. It cost too much to go in, and by that point, my brain couldn’t handle any more education. So, instead, a nice relaxing day around town; little shopping, sent out some postcards, and basically “chilled”. Friday morning was another 8:00 departure for a direct drive back to the Villa.
I think it’s safe to say I have yet to fully process the sheer scale of this trip. I’m relying on photos to remind me of half the things I saw, and Wikipedia to tell me why it was important. I should have some better analysis soon, but for now, all I can do is this list.