Museo dell' Ara Pacis
1.26.2011
1.20.2011
Get lost kids!
Imagine it
Today's lesson: get lost.
Perfection!
The assignment: Derive 1. start at an assigned metro station in Rome 2. look at a map once; using your blind intuition, navigate yourself back to Campo de Fiori 3. the direct route is not your friend; let things distract you, get lost, explore 4. take at least 3 hours to get from point a to point b 5. sketch, take pictures, and record this journey in whatever way possible to compile later in a graphic presentation 6. go!
You forget how much you haven't connected in your mind as you walk through familiar places in Rome. You realize how one turn down a crooked alleyway can lead you astray, losing your bearing. You stop and realize that none of that matters. The less you know the more you discover, the better the adventure, the more memories you take away.
As you begin on the unknown path, you find that few lines with your pencil is just enough to get the point across in a sketch. You let go of worrying about how pretty a drawing is and you get down to what really matters, what you experience, what you see, what you do. Your senses are heightened as you lose track of time.
Music
Space
Nature
Traffic
Drawing
Machinery
Water
Structure
Fear
Hunger
Routine
Chaos
Tranquility
Mapping our journey will be an artful collaboration of sights and sounds which will find themselves on the fibers of one single piece of paper. How this happens we will have find out.
Today's lesson: get lost.
Perfection!
The assignment: Derive 1. start at an assigned metro station in Rome 2. look at a map once; using your blind intuition, navigate yourself back to Campo de Fiori 3. the direct route is not your friend; let things distract you, get lost, explore 4. take at least 3 hours to get from point a to point b 5. sketch, take pictures, and record this journey in whatever way possible to compile later in a graphic presentation 6. go!
You forget how much you haven't connected in your mind as you walk through familiar places in Rome. You realize how one turn down a crooked alleyway can lead you astray, losing your bearing. You stop and realize that none of that matters. The less you know the more you discover, the better the adventure, the more memories you take away.
My group of 3 was assigned the metro station directly behind Piazza del Popolo- Flaminio.
We begin the journey, pencils and cameras at the ready. We snap a few shots in the station just to get the creative juices flowing. After a stern look and a booming voice warning us not to take pictures do we realize this is against the rules.
We begin the journey, pencils and cameras at the ready. We snap a few shots in the station just to get the creative juices flowing. After a stern look and a booming voice warning us not to take pictures do we realize this is against the rules.
a fearless group. an illegal picture.
Piazza del Popolo_Giuseppe Valadier_view of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracol flanking Via del Corso
view of The Tiber under a canopy of trees
Armani Jeans_just a quick stop
no words
Music
Space
Nature
Traffic
Drawing
Machinery
Water
Structure
Fear
Hunger
Routine
Chaos
Tranquility
Mapping our journey will be an artful collaboration of sights and sounds which will find themselves on the fibers of one single piece of paper. How this happens we will have find out.
1.18.2011
inglobbare
Today was our first History lesson in Rome.
Imagine class at any University; the teacher stands before a podium and clicks slide by slide, students drift off or scribble notes onto a page absorbing anything and everything they can to pass the next test. Now imagine a class where you not only listen to a history of rome but you walk from Aventine to Palatine hill seeing where it all happened. Stories no longer sit on a page in black and white but all around you as you open your eyes to what once existed. Roman history, as we were reminded today, is about emotion, reaction, passion and identity. Romans built with principles of incorporating new structures with old, inglobbare, more of a spirit of place as opposed to a simple combination. Romans are proud to use pieces of their past to create the indentity of the future and are happier using materials like travertine to signify locality. The Roman Theater of Marcellus (the current background of this page) was an impressive example of what was to become one of the most common urban architectural forms of the Roman world. The Theater has a network of arches, tunnels and corridors which serve as backdrop to the beautiful natural setting of the Tiber island. The structure follows a principle of Spolia; an incorporation of other structures which can be seen in both Facist buildings and in Renaissance works alike, proving the value of the connection to the past.
I can't wait for another round of History class.
Imagine class at any University; the teacher stands before a podium and clicks slide by slide, students drift off or scribble notes onto a page absorbing anything and everything they can to pass the next test. Now imagine a class where you not only listen to a history of rome but you walk from Aventine to Palatine hill seeing where it all happened. Stories no longer sit on a page in black and white but all around you as you open your eyes to what once existed. Roman history, as we were reminded today, is about emotion, reaction, passion and identity. Romans built with principles of incorporating new structures with old, inglobbare, more of a spirit of place as opposed to a simple combination. Romans are proud to use pieces of their past to create the indentity of the future and are happier using materials like travertine to signify locality. The Roman Theater of Marcellus (the current background of this page) was an impressive example of what was to become one of the most common urban architectural forms of the Roman world. The Theater has a network of arches, tunnels and corridors which serve as backdrop to the beautiful natural setting of the Tiber island. The structure follows a principle of Spolia; an incorporation of other structures which can be seen in both Facist buildings and in Renaissance works alike, proving the value of the connection to the past.
I can't wait for another round of History class.
Extreme side notes: Still Important
Italy is all about this chic & sleek puffy coat.
Get one soon, the sales are ending
A modern interpretation of a Roman proportional system
1.16.2011
People Watching
Yesterday for the first time I had the opportunity to sit back and watch people the way Romans do.
After a dinner of Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana (literal translation: "jump in your mouth," so good) with family friends, I had a chance to be in the heart of the city observing the people of Rome on a Saturday night. Campo was full of 13-20 something year old kids and adults of all ages walking about the vast square, mixtures of grups which can only be seen in New York City on such a night as this. Boys kick empty beer bottles back and forth across the cobblestones as girls chat in groups of three or cling onto the arm of their boyfriend as they run up to another group of friends they haven't yet found. Just watching from the table where we drink a glass of wine we can observe the magic.
It's hard to imagine the square the way it was in the morning when you look out over the flock of teenage boys and girls. The open air market where I bought fennel and pears this morning... there are absolutely no traces.
After a dinner of Veal Saltimbocca Alla Romana (literal translation: "jump in your mouth," so good) with family friends, I had a chance to be in the heart of the city observing the people of Rome on a Saturday night. Campo was full of 13-20 something year old kids and adults of all ages walking about the vast square, mixtures of grups which can only be seen in New York City on such a night as this. Boys kick empty beer bottles back and forth across the cobblestones as girls chat in groups of three or cling onto the arm of their boyfriend as they run up to another group of friends they haven't yet found. Just watching from the table where we drink a glass of wine we can observe the magic.
It's hard to imagine the square the way it was in the morning when you look out over the flock of teenage boys and girls. The open air market where I bought fennel and pears this morning... there are absolutely no traces.
the glory that is the daily market
the cleanup
the piazza transformed after dark
Now, as I watch over the social experiment that is Italian meet and greet, I remember why this never happens at home. Those who live in Rome live in a city where driving from dinner to a friend's house across town isn't commonplace. Simply put, you walk. You walk until you run into people who you know will be there waiting for you. A double kiss on the cheek and the conversation begins, the city is yours to explore.
1.15.2011
Sto cercando di scrivere il mio blog
Sette giorni
Venti due Caffè macchiato (approx. including making my own)
Quattro docce fredde
Cinque corse al supermercato
Quattro viaggi al compidoglio
Mi sento come sono stato qui per sempre
Here are the highlights/observations of the week
Living in Rome is starting to become a reality. Although I am in a category of my own between permanent resident and tourist, the Roman way of life is beginning to set in. My blending skills are improving. Here are the rules; keep conversations short, be confident when addressing others, use the Roman hand gesture when ordering two things (do not throw up a peace sign) and wear your backpack as little as possible. There's no guarantee that following the rules will make you look Italian, but most of the battle is not sticking out.
spotted, trying to blend
Architecturally this trip has been like none other. During our second walk about Rome with Eric and Marina, we were told that by the time our semester was over, we would know more about Rome than the Romans do, and I'm starting to see how this is possible. Discovering the city in a new perspective, analyzing buildings and piazzas in a purely functional ways, touring 5 of the 7 hills of Rome in one day, all of these will add to a greater understanding of how the city works. My mindset has already changed as I notice the virtual floor and the ceiling that the edges of a closed piazza make, or how changes in urban scale create spaces which are undeniably beautiful and adaptable. This trip is more about understanding why spaces and experiences bring forth certain human responses beyond simply looking at history or various drawings. This self discovery will allow each of us develop a sense for space making from live examples dating back to antiquity, an irreplaceable lesson.
I sometimes forget I'm in Rome and that everything we have learned about the city is actually here & within walking distance (wow, great realization Chris, but really). We all walk down the street normally, doing that thing we do, then we turn right and walk into San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane...I nearly fall over.
Today we end our tour in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four major papal basilicas in Rome commissioned by Pope Sixtus III. With classically Roman features, a tall and wide nave, an aisle on either side, and a semicircular apse at the end, the church is impressive and strong with beautifully detailed mosaics and surface patters. The whole experience of the interior is defined by reflecting gold surfaces with light shining in from a series of windows, the most magnificent of which are housed in the unassuming Borghese Chapel. Few words can describe what the pictures will convey
Italian food, oh how I love you. Let's begin with coffee, made to order, 70 Euro cents, stop it, it hurts. Best dish so far...it may have been the circumstance (because I was beyond hungry), but the simplest prosciutto and mozzarella panini in un piccolo ristorante vicino al circo massimo, tutti erano squisito. Italian grocery shopping makes me happy. I am also a little embarrassed to admit I am also becoming one of those people who measures my life in gelato. One thing I have found is that quality of the mixture is really what makes or breaks the whole gelato eating experience. The art of combination is becoming a passion.
1.13.2011
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