Ancient Rome and Pompeii Scavi

While studying in the city of Rome, I have learned a lot about ancient Rome.  Before Rome came to its fall, it was the most powerful empire.  There were many different social classes.  These particular classes had divided people from each other.  It had separated people depending on if they were rich or poor.  The richer the people were the more they were considered important to society.

After visiting Pompeii, I had realized its ancient history.  Pompeii seemed to have been more interesting than Ancient Rome.  The social classes had been very similar to Ancient Rome.  The people of Pompeii loved to show off by acknowledging who had money and who did not.  Before the volcano had erupted, it was a great city with many activities for pleasure and entertainment.  There were private shops, markets, public baths, an amplitheater, etc.  It did not seem to have been a very put together city like Rome had been.There are many similarities of ancient Rome and Pompeii.  In both cities, a great way to gain happiness was eating and drinking good food and wine.  Still today, Rome is known for great food and wine. 

Pompeii and Rome also have a few differences. While visiting Pompeii, I noticed that sex had been used for great pleasure.  In fact, they had certain rooms where one would chose which position they wanted.  A man would pay and then go into a room of concrete with a woman who was a prostitute.  A main priority in Pompeii had been sex. It seems to me that Pompeii had been more laid back than what ancient Rome had been.

I have come to realize that both ancient Rome and Pompeii had many similarities and also many differences.  Rome had been a city of power while Pompeii had very little.  Pompeii seemed to be more of a vacation spot for entertainment and pleasure.  Ancient Rome was a place of religion.  Both cities have a lot of history and I find it to be very interesting to have had the opportunity to learned about both ancient cultures.

Worldwide and Global Institution

I believe that the Catholic Church is both a worldwide and Roman institution.    The Roman Catholic Church is known as the largest religion in the world with more than a billion members.  The Catholic community includes about half of the entire world’s Christians.  The number of members in the Catholic church has remained stable for several of decades.

The Catholic Church is also a Roman institution because it is centered in the city of Rome.  Catholicism is led by the pope, which is known as the bishop of Rome.  Rome is the apostolic center of the world-wide Church of Christ.  The Pope is in charge of serving the bishops as their leader. This allows the city of Rome to be the center and also the leader.  All of the most conclusive decisions always go straight to the Pope.  St. Peter, the apostle had preached in Rome. St. Peter had been the first bishop of Rome and the first Pope.  In the city, there are many sights which revolve around the Catholic Church, which include the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican.

The Catholic Church is worldwide even though it is centered in the city of Rome.  As mentioned before, Catholicism is the largest religion in the world. It is one of the oldest continuous religious institutions known in the entire world.  Catholicism takes up the majority religion of Italy, Spain, and all Latin American countries.  It is a well known fact that in the United States, the majority of people are Catholic. 

Overall, I believe that the Catholic Church is a worldwide and Roman institution. Catholicism is one of the world’s oldest religions.  It is the most known and is practiced all over the world.  In almost every country there are bishops, priests, monks, brothers, sisters, etc.  practicing the faith of Catholicism.   This religion is the center of most religions, and other religions go off from it for ideas.  The Catholic Church has grown extravagantly over the years, and will continue.  It is the largest of all religions in the world.

Leisure

My daily life consists of many different ways to create leisure at home. While at home, I feel that the most relaxing way to create leisure is to relax on the couch and watch television, read a favorite book, napping, making food with my friends, or just watching a good movie. After a long week of hard work at the office, I love to spend my weekend relaxing and resting up. I feel as if I need leisure at home, but not as much while studying in Italy. While I’ve been in Italy, I feel that I need to take advantage of my time here and see as much as possible. Even on Wednesday’s (our free days), I love to explore the city of Rome.

While visiting in the city of Rome, I feel as if Italians don’t have as much leisure as Americans.  There are so many activities going on everywhere.   Traveling in Italy takes up much more time than in America.  In America, most of all people have vehicles and here it is less common.  Because of this, when a person needs to travel, they must either walk, take the train or metro.  Some activities that Italians do for leisure is shop, hang out at piazzas to relax, or enjoying a walk at the famous parks.

When Italians aren’t involved with their busy lives at work, they take off time that is called siesta.  This is a special time in the afternoon when most of the shops close.  The time they close is usually between 1 and 4.  During this time the women usually go home and cook and clean for their families.  This gives the women a nice break from their busy lives to do work around their homes. In America, people only have about an hour lunch break.  During lunch breaks, everyone uses this time to get a bit to eat from fast food. 

Overall, my perspective of leisure has greatly changed.  There is a difference of leisure in both of these countries are very different.  In America, leisure usually means to just lay on a couch and do nothing for a few hours.  American’s find this to be very relaxing and a way to rest.  In Italy, it seems that leisure is still getting out of the house and doing something that involves activity.  I wish that Americans would live more like the Italians.  Thinking of this, American’s seem to be a little more lazy than Italians.

Piazzas Help Understand the Italian Culture

While studying the piazza’s in Rome, I am being lead to a better understanding towards the Italian culture. There are many different piazzas all throughout the city of Rome.  A piazza is defined to be similar as a town square.  It is a place to relax with your friends or just get a bite to eat or drink.  Piazzas always seem to be exciting with people surrounding.   So far throughout our studies, we have been given the opportunity to visit the Piazza del Popolo and the piazza in Navona.   While visiting these Piazzas, I have decided that these places allow Rome to seem more calm and relaxing.  The city always seems to be very busy and the help one to relax and enjoy the city a little more.

In the city of Rome, people are always rushed and it is always crowded.  Everyone needs a special time to just sit down and enjoy one another’s company;  a piazza is a great place to do so.  When observing these piazza’s, I have noticed that most of the people are either eating, enjoying the fresh air or just sharing a drink while enjoying the presence of each other.

My favorite piazza that we have visited so far is one of the most famous, the Piazza in Navona.  This piazza is in the historic of Rome, which is very close to the Pantheon.   It is full of outdoor cafes, restaurants, night clubs, and painters everywhere.  When looking outside of this piazza it seems to be a fairytale.  It is so beautiful with many people.  This is a very lively and busy scenery with many people.   The main attraction of this square is the three fountains.  These fountains are very beautiful and have significant meaning.  It is very easy to see how the culture is different from any other by spending time at this piazza.

While just sitting or walking around the piazza, you are able to learn so much about the culture and the people of Rome.  The people in the city seem to be much different because of the setting.  It is very different from being at the train station when everyone is being rushed, running into each other and gypsies everywhere.  While at the piazza’s, people seem to be very comfortable to worries in the world.  It is a great time to see the city not only as very busy, but being relaxed and enjoying a beautiful night.

Overall, I have learned a lot while visiting these piazzas and see that they lead me towards a better understand of the Italian culture.  Before visiting, I felt that I had the wrong impression on the City of Rome.  I saw that Rome was too busy and I never felt very comfortable just walking around the city.  I always tried to be very observant and cautious because anything wrong could happen.  The piazza’s make me feel a little more safe people it is just a place to relax and chat with friends.  It is very similar to going to a park back at home and just being with people I care about.  It is nice to take a break from your busy day and go out and enjoy yourself.

History Bolsters Faith

Rome is the center of Catholicism and is full of catholic history. Most sightseeing in Rome in some way revolves around the Catholic Church.  I believe that the history of Rome Bolster my Faith of being a catholic.  There are many masterpieces in architecture, paintings and sculptures that prove Catholicism is a big part of the culture in Rome.  Some of the great sights we have seen so far in Rome include the Protestant cemetery, and the Statue of Peter, and the Vatican.  All of these show a great importance to the catholic religion. Most of the messages from the gospel were sent out from people from Rome to the people of Europe.

The city of Rome revolves around the fact that is the city of the catholic pope.  Because of St. Peter’s success as the bishop of Rome, Rome is not seen as the head and the center of the church.  The entire diocese of Rome is known to be “The Holy Roman Church”.  This means that this city is the triumph of Catholicism.

In Rome, the catholic history is traced back to the earliest days before Christ. It starts back to the catacombs in which we had visited the oldest one in Rome.  In the catacombs lie dead people which include martyrs saints, and other very holy people. They used these catacombs to help pray and communicate with the dead as a place to remember.

Studying in the city of Rome includes many different opportunities.  Because I believe in the catholic faith, I am accelerating in my Faith.  We have been given many opportunities to see ancient works of art that have reflected on religion.  This city is full of art and mostly come from religion which we can study and interpret religion from thousands of years ago.  Overall, I truly believe that Rome is full of religion in many types of ways.

Blog #2

As a traveler in a different country, I feel that the city of Rome is very exhilarating.  Rome is the most beautiful city I have ever seen in my entire life.  It is full of ancient history and so many incredible sights to see.   Rome seems to always be entertaining and busy.  There is almost always activities going on everywhere you look.    Because of Rome’s ancient history, it seems very incredible that so many monuments are still standing after thousands of years.

                During the past two weeks in this city, we have visited many different locations such as the Colosseum, Forum, the Spanish Steps, fountains and two of the Capitoline museums.   The Colosseum and Forum are both ancient monuments that towered over us.  I found both to be extremely amazing because of how massive and ancient they are. The Spanish steps lead to the French church, Trinità  dei Monti. These steps are full of people snapping photo shots and sitting to rest.  My favorite sights are the fountains.  The fountains have such great artistic value of history.  The Capitoline museums are also very beautiful!  These museums are the Roman’s ancient history that has been traced back from Rome’s best treasures.  The museums have beautiful artwork such as paintings, sculptures, statues, etc.  I feel that there is so much to see and so little time.  Rome is full of beautiful sights and covered

                Every aspect in Rome is so new and different to me.  I am always amazed by everything I see.  Not once have I felt oppressed in this city.  This city is so beautiful and full of sight-seeing.  Ancient buildings are surrounding the city which were rebuilt and transformed.  By learning about thousands of years ago, I feel that my knowledge has expanded.  In a certain way, I now feel as a different person.

                While studying in Rome, I have learned that I need to empty my and mind and just let the city soak into me.  Learning about the culture is an amazing experience.  When seeing all of the art and buildings, its puts my mind into a different place and I see things in a different perspective.  The entire city is full of different history which makes it so unique.  Overall, Rome is the most amazing place I have ever set foot.

Reflection #1

As an American visiting the Colosseum for the very first time in Rome, I no longer felt that it was only a large foundation of concrete that was built thousands of years ago. I was informed by our guide that the Colosseum was designed for entertaining the public crowds and was held by emperors such as Titus. They chose exotic animals which included lions, cheatahs, jaguars, elephants, etc. and ended with a fight to death with the gladiators. The Colosseum was the first ampitheater to ever be built in Rome and could hold 80,000 spectators.

I came to realize that the Colosseum was actually built for a specific reason and was very important to the Romans. It is very interesting to understand what people did for fun thousands of years ago and why they did it. I could relate to them because of what some people do now for fun such as bull fights, cockfights, etc. I feel that these death fights thrilled them because it was unusual for the gladiator to survive. Overall, I really loved visiting the Colosseum because I got a better feel of how the people were in that time period and realized they were very similar to us now days.