PCC Trip to Rome

Last weekend, the group from Pasadena City College had their weekend trip to Rome.

Early morning saw the group meeting Angela, our local art history expert, and Harry from AIFS Student Services at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella train station and catching the fast service down to Italy’s capital. Once there, Angela and Harry went to pick up three-day travel passes for the whole group before leading them to the buses and taking them down to the Hotel Pace Helvezia, a 4-star hotel with a roof terrace overlooking the city.

There wasn’t much time to stop, however – before lunch, Angela led us down to the Trevi Fountain, where we split up to garb a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel and heading off to see the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Divided into two groups, one led by Angela and the other by Emmanuella, a Roman tour guide, we wandered around the ancient amphitheatre, learning not only about what games and entertainment went on within its walls, but also how those walls were constructed and decorated.

Moving on, we came to the Roman Forum. This is the heart of ancient Rome, and held the most sacred of their temples and shrines. These included the Temple of Vesta, whose ruins and statues were still visible, and the Temple of Caesar, where people still to this day leave fresh flowers in memory of Rome’s last dictator.

Thursday evening was free for the students to explore Rome in smaller groups, or even individually.

Reasonably early on Friday morning, we travelled to the Vatican. After a record-breakingly quick entrance to the museums, we walked through the inner courtyard while Angela gave us a fascinating background of the Holy See as it is today, along with an interesting, and often funny, historical context of Michelangelo’s work on both the dome of St Peter’s and the famous Sistine Chapel. We then wandered through the impressive corridors, halls and rooms of the Apostolic Palace, looking at beautifully painted frescoes, classical sculptures and the truly awesome Hall of Maps.

Before exiting and heading to St Peter’s, we spent a good amount of time in the Sistine Chapel. Angela talked us through the different sections, showing us the symbology Michelangelo used, and pointed out the tiny squares which were left untouched by the restoration in the 1990s and which are a fascinating historical record of just how dirty the walls and ceiling had become over 500 years, and how bright and colourful Michelangelo had originally intended the chapel to be.

Finally, we walked to St Peter’s Basilica, where the students were left literally speechless by just how beautiful a building it is. We stopped under the dome long enough to gaze up and try to get an idea of scale – Angela helping by letting us know the actual dimensions of some of the decorations – before ending the tour at Bernini’s monument to Pope Alexander VII.

Again, Friday afternoon and evening was left free for the students to enjoy their own time.

Saturday morning held a tour that was only mandatory for Rita d’Amico’s Italian 10 class, but it was encouraging to see most of the group tagging along out of interest – particularly as it started at 9:30 am!

We walked around 5 of the most beautiful churches that Rome has to offer, looking at masterpieces by Caravaggio and architecture by Borromini, all the while listening to Angela speak on a subject about which she is obviously passionate, and with which she never failed to keep the student completely enthralled.

Finishing the tour at the Spanish Steps, there was just enough time for a long, relaxed lunch before finally ambling back to the hotel in the surprisingly warm November sunshine and boarding the bus back to Florence.

It was a fantastic trip all round; the students had a great time, saw more than you’d think possible in a short time, and no doubt many will return as soon as possible. In fact, at 11:11 on the 11^th day of the 11^th month of 2011, all the students were standing at the Trevi Fountain, flicking a coin over the left shoulder, a tradition that is said to ensure one’s return to Rome.

Alla prossima!