Review of My Themes

The first theme that I chose for my blog was the theme of police in Rome. I chose this theme because this was one of the first things I noticed in Rome. I noticed that there were more police in this city then I had ever seen in any city in America. It gave me a feeling of security and also enticed me to learn more about the police force.

My second theme was the method of transportation of choice for many Romans: mopeds. I chose this theme because this was also something that I noticed immediately after arriving in Rome. Mopeds are everywhere and seem to be one of the most (if not THE most) efficient ways of getting around the city.

My third theme was one that was very simple for me to travel to every day: my apartment! Living in Santa Maria in Cappella turned out to be, at times, a trying experience. However, the rich history and interesting characters of the place really made it worth it.

Leaving Santa Maria in Cappella

Friday, I will be leaving my apartment for good. At first, it was really hard to get used to the apartment. This was the first time I EVER had to share a room with some one. Luckily, I got two great roommates (Ilana and Nicole V.) and everything worked out fine. Another thing that was hard to get used to were all the small problems that occurred during our stay. Showers not draining, faucets breaking, sinks leaking, almost NEVER having hot water and bugs constantly attacking you night and day were small annoyances that were hard for me to deal with some days. However, I am going to miss our apartment once I'm gone. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm going to miss our friendly doorman always saying a pleasant "Ciao!" to greet us. I'm also going to miss constantly having 12 amazing girls that I have become close with constantly around me. I'm going to miss the views from our windows and being able to wonder through a great neighborhood like Trastevere whatever night I feel like. It's safe to say that although I may have complained a lot over the past seven weeks, I'm definitely going to miss Rome!

Places in Guided Walk

For the guided walk assignment, I chose three places that were related to the Doria Pamphilj family. The first place that I decided to stop at was the Doria Pamphilj Gallery. I chose this spot because this is actually in the Doria Pamphilj Palazzo and is where the family used to live. Some of the building is still used as apartments, but another party has been renovated and turned into a gallery displaying the family's collection. This gallery holds a more personal meaning to me because directly below the gallery is our classroom that we're in everyday. To be more specific, directly about our classroom is a chapel that holds the bodies of St. Justin and St. Theodora. There are also a lot of great paintings to see and rooms that have been refurbished to look as they did when the family lived there in the 17th-18th centuries.

My second place is Santa Maria in Cappella which is where the girls in my program live. This is a place that was owned by Donna Olimpia Pamphilj and in the 17th century, she turned the courtyard into a playground for children. However, in 1860 her descendants turned the place into an elderly care facility which half of it is still used for today. The other half is where our apartments are located. We're allowed to go into the courtyard, but we aren't supposed to mingle with the elderly people that live here.

The third place that I chose was a place that I haven't been to yet, but it looks beautiful. It's the Villa Doria Pamphilj. This is one of Rome's largest public parks. It was built in the mid-17th century by Pope Innocent X. There are still some summerhouses and fountains that have survived to this day.

Doria Pamphilj Guided Walk

Because one of my themes is our apartment which was previously owned by the Doria Pamphilj family, I decided to create a guided walk hitting some of the main areas of interest related to the family.

Beginning at the Museo del Corso, head south V. del Corso. After a short distance, the entrance for the Doria Pamphilj Gallery will be on your right. There are signs for the gallery on this dark stone building so you won't miss it. Coming out of the gallery, continue heading south on V. del Corso and head to the right of the capital until you reach V. del Teatro di Marcello. Follow this towards the river and cross over Lungotevere dei Pierleoni and head slightly south. Cross over the river when you reach Ponte Palatino. Head south, then turn right onto Via Ripense. turn left onto Via P. Peretti. Following this road, you will see Santa Maria in Cappella on your left. There is a large archway for the entrance and you will be able to see the chapel straight ahead. The entrance to the building is on the right inside the courtyard entryway. From Santa Maria in Cappella, go west on Bia dei Genovesi until you reach Viale Trastevere. take V. d. Gratte di trastevere west, then go north on Via Garibaldi. Go west again on Via di Porta S. Pancrazio. Continue west on V. Aurelia Antica. this will take you to the outskirts of the Villa Doria Pamphilj. I've included a makeshift map that will take you to all three locations. Good luck.

The Small Things in Roma

Walking to the small grocery store that is a few hundred feet from my apartment, I realized that there are a few small things that I am going to miss about living at Santa Maria in Cappella and going to school at the Sede di Roma. One of the things that I am going to miss about the school is the small bar where we get paninis right down V. Piè di Marmo from the school. At this bar, the owner is always behind the counter, almost seeming like he's waiting for us to come in and get our daily lunch of paninis. Speaking the only Italian we know, we all offer a friendly "Ciao!" as soon as we walk in the door. This white-haired, slightly overweight man gruffly responds in his throaty deep voice "Ciao," drawing out the "ow" part of the Italian greeting. I will also miss the other bar that is right around the corner in between V. Piè di Marmo and Pza. della Pigna. At this bar, the two young guys that are always working in the morning are happy to put a heart on the foam of your cappuccino. Closer to the apartment, I will miss the tiny grocery store I talked about earlier and the owner, although a friendly man, refuses to speak any English to any of the students who frequent his place. He sits behind the counter on his stool and will say the prices of things aloud (in Italian) as he slowly punches them into a cash register. Sometimes, (if you're lucky) a younger Italian woman will be working and will speak some English to you. If not, you are completely immersed in the Italian culture and completely lost in the Italian language. The thing that I will miss the most, however, is the doorman at Santa Maria in Cappella. Our doorman does not speak a lick of English (like the grocery store owner.) However, when a line of six or seven of us march through the main door, he always waves and offers a friendly "Ciao," to all of us. In response, without fail, each of the six of seven of us will respond with a "Ciao," of our own, not at once, but rather in the row that we process in with. As the time passes I realize that I really am going to miss the little things about Italy.

Stretch Hummers.. in Roma?

Normally, I'm used to seeing mopeds and Smart cars all throughout Rome. There just really isn't room for cars bigger than that size. For example, when I see a minivan here, it's weird. At home, it would be equally as weird to see some one driving a Smart car down the highway. However, I saw the biggest car I have ever seen in Rome since I've been here (besides the double-decker tour buses.) Last weekend, after Rome won the World Cup, I saw a stretch Hummer drive by on the road in front of my apartment! There were people hanging out of the sunroof and the windows jamming out to music that I think was rap. They were videotaping everything going on around them, and seemed to be pretty intoxicated. I really couldn't tell if they were Italian, or some other nationality. Regardless, to be driving a stretch Hummer down a crowded highway full of cars that are about 1/10 the size of your own is pretty intense!

Internet at the Apartment

It's difficult for me to tell if the internet is horrible in our apartment, or just in Rome in general. Every time that I am in my room in my apartment, I get kicked off the internet about 60 times in a row. This seems to happen whether there are a ton of people home and on their computers or if I'm here practically by myself. Each floor here at Santa Maria in Cappella has it's own source of wireless internet, and none of them work for me. I've noticed this happened at our classroom, the Sede di Roma also. That's why I kind of think that this is just a problem with the internet in Rome in general.

The Girls' Apartment

Because one of my themes for this blog is my apartment, I figured that I should tell you a little about how it's set up. We have six bedrooms that are shared by 13 girls. We all have to share three bathrooms. This means that some of us don't always get hot showers. We also have a small kitchen that is nice to use when we actually cook! We also have a large common room that can be used for doing work or eating. There are three refrigerators total, two in the hallway by the kitchen and one in the common room. Overall, I really like our accommodations. I share a large bedroom with two of my classmates, Ilana and Nicole. The room is beautiful and we have two large windows, one with a view of the Tiber River. The only unfortunate thing is that our building is right on the Porta di Ripa Grande. This is a very busy road in Rome and the traffic never stops, not even in the middle of the night!

I've posted a picture from our family dinner we had one of our first nights in Roma. You can kind of get an idea of what our common room looks like!

Mopeds in the Rain

Because it's been raining for the past three days in Roma, I've been noticing that the attire changes drastically for moped riders. I saw a man wearing a full on tarp/blanket made out of some sort of water resistant material while I was walking past the gas station near our apartment (Santa Maria in Cappella). I also noticed that many people who are on mopeds in the rain have what looks like a water resistant jumpsuit. It almost resembles a snowsuit that I would wear in the winter, but less bulky. This attire is necessary so that these people don't get soaked while they're riding to work. I'm sure that they have a change of clothes in their bags or in the storage unit that are on some of the mopeds.

Palazza Doria Pamphili

I found out a little more information about the woman who used to own my apartment (Donna Olimpia Pamphili.) Apparently she used to own the building that our classroom is in too! It's called Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. I don't know why the last letter is a "J" but I have seen this last name written with both a "J" and an "I". According to our guidebook, the old parts of this building date back to 1435. There are two courtyards and a gallery inside. The gallery holds over 400 paintings from the 15th to the 18th century. There is also a portrait of Pope Innocent X and the sculpture of Donna Olimpia Pamphili that I posted before. I definitely want to look at that gallery for myself and get some of my own pictures of that sculpture!! I'm posting a picture of our building that I found online at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Pigna_-_piazza_Collegio_romano_e_palazzo_Doria_Pamphili_1000422.JPG. Our classroom is on the left side on the first floor. It looks like there are white things in the windows. Those are actually shutters that are on the inside. They use those instead of blinds or curtains. I think it's really interesting to learn about this woman and what she did during her time in Rome. I feel like that will give me a better understand of my apartment.

Donna Olimpia Pamphili

So I was talking to one of my professors today in class and I learned a little bit more about the woman who used to own our apartment building/old convent. The woman's name was Donna Olimpia Pamphili. She was known as the "Mistress of the Vatican." Apparently this woman caused a TON of controversy in the Vatican. Her husband, Cardinal Gianbattista Pamphili, was the late brother of Pope Innocent X. She was known as the Mistress of the Vatican because of her influential power over the Pope, the cardinals and the church in general. When Pope Innocent X came into power, many of the people in Rome and Italy were outraged. They knew that this meant that Donna Olimpia would be ruling the Vatican. They went so far as to call her Pope Olimpia I and portray her in pictures as the Pope with the keys of St. Peter and Innocent at her side looking like a woman in a bonnet and curls. This is one of the most interesting things I have learned about a place that affects me so much here in Rome!

*All of the information in this post came from http://www.mistressofthevatican.com/shock.htm . I strongly encourage you to check out this site!

History of my Homestead

So I've been doing more research on the place that I'm living, Santa Maria in Cappella. Turns out this place DOES have a pretty amazing history. According to Wikia.com, "The church was built about 1090, and was used by the merchant community of the port. In the 15th century, it was taken over by the Guild of Barrelmakers". I can't believe that this place is literally hundreds of years old. I mean, I guess it makes sense because we're in Roma, but still.. it's crazy.


Also according to Wikipedia, "The garden behind the church was turned into a riverside playground in the 17th century by Donna Olimpia Pamphili, Pope Innocent X's sister-in-law. In 1860, her descendants decided that a home for the elderly was more needed than a garden. This was first home for the elderly in Rome, and still functions as this today". It's just crazy to me that the same courtyard that I can see from our terrace was used for hundreds of years. Oh yeah.. the old people here are pretty cute.

Covered moped

Although there are probably thousands of mopeds through Rome, there are a certain kind that I have noticed. These unique mopeds actually have a cover over them to protect from rain or bugs (I'm assuming). Unfortunately all of the mopeds like this that I have seen have been whizzing past me at a million kilometers an hour. Luckily, today I was able to see one parked on an alley near our home, Santa Maria in Cappella. It's interesting to see a brand of automobiles here in Rome like we would see in the US. This moped is a BMW. I've also seen Fords and Mercedes. As you can see, this moped also has a large storage bin on the back so the owner is able to carry groceries, luggage or anything they need to transport. As you can see, it looks like this moped can probably only fit one person. However, most mopeds in Rome are able to carry two people. It's funny to me to see two guys on a moped in really nice Italian suits driving to work in the morning on a moped.

My Place

The third thing that I've decided to talk about for this blog is the place where I'm living, Santa Maria in Cappella. It's in Trastevere, which is one of the oldest sections of Rome. Also, my building specifically used to be a convent. There is still a room on the bottom floor that has a huge concrete vat that was used to wash clothes. And there's a huge picture of Jesus behind glass right next to it. I need to research this, but allegedly, this place owns the largest privately owned green area (our courtyard) in the city. Pretty nice : ) Pictures of my place will be coming soon!