First days in Rome kinda Late

So,catch you up on what ive been up to here is a rewound bunch of moments, I wake up on Sunday morning for the second day in Rome, and we decide to go to mass at St. Peters Basilica.  Walking over to St. Peters means I have to cross the city, and the Tiber so I am just constantly looking everywhere and am constantly held in attention at the surroundings.  The Tiber River is the main defining feature of Rome and its life giving force, although today, it has been stuck between two gigantic retaining walls to stop the flooding (and essentially cut it off from the city completely).  The main part of Rome we are focusing on is in the main loop with the city spreading out past it in all directions. 

So the group of about 8 of us cross the river and proceed to walk down the main thoroughfare that leads up to St. Peters that is perfectly on axis with it and is marked with repetitive markers on the side to lead you in to land at the doorstep.  Upon entering the big oval piazza in front of the church, the pure scale of everything hits you in the face with a bat.  The columns are all so large, that they dwarf everybody, and the statues on top of them are 3 to 4 times life size.  After drooling for a bit, we proceed inside, and sit down in the rows of pews of the central church for all of the Catholic Church with the Pope living next door.  Right before the mass starts, an attendee comes up and asks us where we are from.  We think he is going to kick us out for not being Italian or something and begrudgingly say Los Angeles, to which he replies something unexpected.  He asks us if four of us would like to be part of the ceremony…………  Of course we would………….  So Pat, Matt, Michael, and I walk up with the man to the front of the whole  church to the main alter and he tells us all the goings on that we do, and we sit in the front row to wait our time.  First row seats for god.  So there is the usual procession of singing and prayers and all sorts of stuff, then we get up and take the various things we were assigned to the main priest in the center of the church.  Standing there under a huge cupola, everybody’s eyes on me, looking at the priest and handing him the sacred oil in one of the most important churches in Italy, was certainly a memorable experience.  Sitting in the front row also had its perks in the fact that I was so close to the amazing sculpture behind the altar with the sunrays and clouds lifting up a huge chair all cast in gold and bronze. 

So the whole procession is coming to an end and the light starts to hit the window so perfectly that the sun beams streaming into the church from the nave to our left and illuminated two marble statues so perfectly, that they looked like they were coming to life.  It was a magical moment, and one to look back on fondly.

Then we finish up, and we all mill about the church looking at all the various sculptures and such, the highlight of which is La Pietta Michaelangelo’s sculpture of Mary and Jesus that was so soft and flowy that it stood head and shoulders above the rest.  Then as we were all congregating around the door, we hear a ruckus coming from outside, and head out to see what it is.  The overwhelming piazza that seemed so daunting as we arrived had been completely filled with people.  We had no idea what was going on, until Jim pointed up to the little window with a red sash in front of it, with the Pope himself addressing the crowd.  Apparently it was his address to the community for a recent goings on with the universities and the strained ties with the church and education.  Anyways, the Pope is a Rockstar.  People chant his name and every time he said something memorable, they cheered and went wild. 

After all this, we head off to go to our soccer game.  We hop on the bus and know immediately that we are going the right direction, because everyone on the bus is decked head to toe in AS Roma gear.  The stadium is huge and new and well designed with a huge space frame around the perimeter above holding sun shades and things and the whole stadium is in an uproar when we walk in.  It isn’t a sold out crowd, but the Roma section makes up for it with huge flags waving everywhere and smoke bombs going off all the time.   The Roma song comes on and a sea of scarves raise up with every man woman, and child singing along to every word.  (In Italy, you can change your job, your friends, even sometimes your family, but you can never change your team so these people are Roma fans for life).  There is such undying devotion here for the soccer teams, that it truly brings all the people of the towns together in support.  This is an effect that has yet to catch on to such a severe degree in the US.  There are teams that come sort of close, but nothing compares to the unyielding support of these soccer towns.  Roma won 2-0 to the crowds delight, and everyone piled back onto the busses to go home.

Thoughts of Rome

Im still in Como working away on my new project and finishing up my drawings from Rome and Florence, and generally fitting into the Como life.  My days consist of waking up around 8:40 and rushing for a shower and a quick breakfast to get out the door by 9:05ish.  Then its time for studio and I head off toward the lake and our studios which are located in Villa Olmo on the top floor first window to the left of the center.  It is about a 20 minute walk through town through the small streets packed with old houses and lots of shops down to the lake past the Terrangi WWI monument and the Volta Temple, then along the amazingly beautiful lake for about 10 minutes finally arriving at the park outside of our studio which usually has people milling about in it enjoying their mornings as well.  Then we have studio all day with a 2 hour lunch break which I walk back to the apartment for lunch or hit a cafe for a pizza or something like that.  Then at 6:30 we get kicked out of our studio and head on home to start cooking up some dinner.  I crack open a bottle of wine and dance along to the music while cooking and then enjoy dinner usually with a bunch of others who all bring their food as well.  Needless to say, we eat really well.  Then its time to draw some more or watch a movie and whatnot or read the paper in Italian and such until its time for bed.  We often go to bars when theres a good soccer game on or for apertivo where if you buy a drink, you get free food all night.  A pretty amazing day full of incredible scenery, attempts to pick apart Italian language, and amazing food, and well i guess some work too.

Villa Olmo

So, at this very moment, I am sitting in Villa Olmo (one of the most impressive villas on Lake Como) which is to serve as my studio.

I have just finished my whirlwind trip through Rome, Florence, and Cinque Terra, and now get settle in to Como for two weeks of studio and try to make it feel like home.  I will stop living out of hotel rooms and be in my apartment for a bit.  This also means that I have the internet now, and can tell you all of my affairs.  

So after I arrived in Rome, I was still jetlagged much to my disbelief.  I wanted so much to go out and explore, but the first two nights found me asleep by 7 or 8pm.  But the third day and the ones following were much better.  Sleep or not, during the day we make the best of it.  My first day there, I decided to make my over to the Sistine Chapel.  It would be the best way to kick off my stay in the Eternal City.  I roll over the Tiber River and up the long corridor to St. Peters, Michaelangelo's great intervention, and walk off to the side of the building to find the burried wonder.  In the museum, I venture through the halls and rooms, looking at all the busts and paintings that have found their way through the years.  Getting through the series of rooms, I thought I had missed the chapel when I found a small sign in the corner calling my name.  I followed down dingy stairs and turns and twists, and found my way into the world wonder coming out the service entrance oops.  The second I looked up at that ceiling, I was hit like a ton of bricks.  For the next three hours, I could do nothing but crane my neck up and look like towards the heavenly ceiling.  I can't start to talk about it, everywhere you looked and every detail you saw seemed to bring greatness into reach.  It was so mind numbingly beautiful that it put me in awe of the human achievement of it, and made me want to achieve so much the same.  

All in all, it was an amazing way to kick off my trip.  I couldn't stop grinning the entire time, my trip had already paid itself off.  After the museum, we set off to pick up our soccer tickets for the following day, Roma was to do battle with C.......... I don't remember.  On the way to the ticket vendor, I ran into the Pantheon head on for the first time and it is HUGE.  I had always thought the piazza in front of it was quite large, but it was only about 1 1/2 the size of the facade of the building.  The facade is so daunting that the space compells you.  You are simply overtaken with the pure magnitude and longevity of the building, given that it is the best kept building from the Roman times.  The building has been completely isolated from all that is around sits amidst its nest among the neighboring buildings, having forced itself in there.  

I had seen two things I had only glanced at in books that so completely overwhelmed me, that the trip seemed to seem rather full of wonder being that it was my first day.  Just to cap off the day, Ryan, Aren, and I went for some gelato while sitting on the Spanish Steps, which were so packed, that you had to wheedle your way into them with great care.  People always rave about the gelato, and it is all true.  Ice cream doesn't compare to the light fluffy wonder that is gelato.  We went back for seconds and tried all the varieties we could get our hands on.  We made our way up to the top of the steps, and overlooked the mayhem of the throng of people to take it all in.  While there looking down, the bells in the Church of the Trinity at the top started ringing.  I meandered on in for a glimpse, and caught the tail end of a mass with an incredible choir singing an incredible song in which I understood a handfull of words.  Finally, having seen so much and tried our hand at Italian enough, we decided to call it a day and went off to bed.

Ciao Amici

Welcome to the boot of the world.  

And what a fashionable boot it is.

I have made it to Italy in one piece, and have finally gotten a chance to catch this thing up on my journey.  So from the beginning, the airplane had free booze so it was obviously a great trip across the pond.   When we arrived, Ryan and I had fun finding our way through Milan fumbling in my new found language of Spanglian.  After a few wrong turns and a bottle of wine later, we found our train and hopped on board.  We arrived in Como, which is to be our home base for the trip at around 8pm and had our first Italian dinner of what is now a staple of our diet, some of the lightest and most incredible pizza ever.  We didn't sleep much, with the excitement of the first day there, so at 6 am we woke up to rain, lots of rain.  

The first day was glum and overcast, but still incredibly beautiful with the lake dominating the city and the mountains gently holding us in the valley on two sides.  The clouds hovered on the hills and set up camp to greet me.  I met some of my new teachers and saw my studio which is the largest villa, (Villa Olmo) on the lake front.  I ate and drank to my heart's content and the group of us started to get acquainted with eachother as a group, and with the city.  

On the second day though, the sun greeted us in full force and the entirety of our city came into view.  It is amazing that I will be living there for a semester.  It is too picturesque for its own good.  I am just in awe of the place whenever I walk around and cannot conceal a smile.  I start to form my mental map of the whole thing and have a basic sense of where I am going, even though you can see the mountains to orient yourself no matter where you are.  

The days go by in a blur of pizza, pasta, and incredible architecture.  The duomo just looms over the center part of the city with its huge flat facade just staring at you making you feel its presence whenever you get a glance of it.  The Casa del Fascio is there in its gloriously modernity even though now it is home to the National Police, who hate everyone and wouldn't let us sit on the bench obviously made to be sat on in their courtyard (it really is the home of the fascists).  

Just as I am getting settled in, it is time to take off for Rome.  So this is where I am writing from now.  I have just finished my first week here in the Eternal City, and every day has been an adventure.  Just on the way from the train station to the hotel on our first night, we accidentally saw the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and too many churches to mention.  

We have been studying with our new professor Michele all week and drawing a whole bunch every day, but we have found ample time to party and I have already jumped in the Trevi Fountain to wash my hair while closely watching the police car close by.  

There is a lot to tell, and I will get back to updating soon, but right now some more pizza is calling my name.  Ciao ciao