Tuscany Trip II: Arezzo

Our home base for the trip was a very comfortable hotel in the city of Arezzo (pop. 92,000). Our walking tour of the city included visits to the Duomo (cathedral) and a smaller Romanesque parish church (Pieve di Santa Maria). Luckily for us, the Piazza Grande and all the side streets were crowded with vendors in town for a lively antiques fair that only takes place on the first weekend of each month. The church of San Francesco contains beautiful fifteenth-century frescoes by Piero della Framcesco that depict the "Legend of the True Cross," but no cameras were allowed.

https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/TuscanyTripArezzo#

Tuscany Trip I: Siena

This past weekend, we took a three-day bus trip through Tuscany with the CUA Rome Program. The "grown-ups" (David Watson Vasquez, Aurora Santero, Susie and Steve) were outnumbered by our delightful young traveling companions, a group of 46 students from CUA and Loyola.

Our first stop was Siena, a city of 60,000 that rivaled Florence in wealth and grandeur during the 13th and 14th centuries. We toured the huge Dominican church, the Palazzo Pubblico (town hall), the great medieval cathedral, and the home of St Catherine of Siena. There was also plenty of time for a delicious lunch and street-by-street exploring before we returned to our hotel in Arezzo. Here are a few pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/TuscanyTripSiena#

Capitol

On Sunday, 30 January, we headed back to the city center to visit the Capitol, the hill above the Tiber that has been occupied since the Bronze Age and that formed the center of the ancient Roman world. The Temple of Jupiter (c. 509 BC) is now far beneath the Piazza del Campidoglio that was designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century, but some of its massive foundations can be seen inside the Capitoline Museums. These museums, established by Pope Sixtus IV in 1471, contain many of Rome's most famous works of art, especially bronze and marble sculptures. The buildings on the piazza also contain offices of the city government.
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Capitol#

Ara Pacis & Pantheon

On Saturday, 29 January, we went into the city center to do some more exploring. We started off at the Piazza Navona, a beautiful public square that stands upon what was once a stadium for athletic contests built by the Emperor Domitian (d. 96 AD). The grandstands, remains of which are still visible well below street level, could seat as many as 33,000 spectators. Today, the square is a lively place for buskers and artists. Its centerpiece is the "Fountain of the Four Rivers" designed by Bernini for Pope Innocent X in 1651.

A short walk took us to the new glass museum building that houses the Ara Pacis, an altar constructed by the Senate in 13 BC to commemorate the Pax Romana ushered in by the conquests of the Emperor Augustus. The external walls of the altar are decorated with beautiful marble friezes depicting the emperor, his family members, and his officials in a lifelike procession. The museum was also hosting a special exhibition of 138 works by Marc Chagall.

We finished the afternoon at another magnificent site of ancient Rome, the Pantheon. This "Temple of All the Gods" is a huge rotunda 140 feet high. The dome sits on a stone cylinder and would form a perfect sphere if extended to the floor. Light enters through an "oculus" (eye) in the center of the dome. Originally built during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (118-25 AD), it was consecrated as a Christian church in 609 AD. In addition to being a majestic piece of architecture and an incredible piece of engineering that inspired the US Capitol and the coffered ceilings of the DC Metro, the Pantheon also houses the tombs of the kings of modern Italy and the grave of Raphael.

Here are a few snapshots taken during our walk:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/AraPacis#

Santa Maria Maggiore

The link below will take you to a variety of pictures that we took over the past week and a half. One of the highlights was a bus trip across town to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill. The triple nave dates from the fifth century, as do the incredible mosaics. The apse, which is also decorated with brilliant mosaics, dates from 1295. On the way to the church we walked though a neighborhood with Asian and African markets where Susie had gone before to buy spices. We ate at a Chinese place where we were the only Westerners and caught a glimpse of young dancers that brought back memories of our time in Dalian.
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/SantaMariaMaggiore#

Weekend of Jan 15-16

On Saturday, January 15, Dr David Watson-Vasquez (Director of the CUA Rome Program) took students and faculty on a guided tour of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.  David is an authority on religious architecture and has lived in Rome for 7 years, so he was a great guide.  The next day, Sunday the 16th, we ventured out on our own to visit the church of San Marco and the Forum of Trajan.  We strolled through the city, finishing up on the busy shopping street known as the Via del Corso.  We ended the afternoon with a gelato at the Piazza del Populo, a short walk across the bridge from our flat.
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/WeekendJan1516#

A Walk in Trastevere

Trastevere ("Across the Tiber") is a picturesque older neighborhood on the west bank of the Tiber, across the river from the main part of the ancient city.  It is still characterized by narrow cobblestone streets, beautiful old churches, and sunny squares full of cafes and ice-cream shops.  We spent the better part of a Sunday checking out the flea market, eating Chinese food, and visiting the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Santa Maria in Trastevere dates back to the third century and is thus one of the oldest official places of Christian worship in Rome.  The exisiting church dates from the 12th century and is the home of magnificent medieval mosaics on the facade and in the apse.
Here are some pictures from our walk:  http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/AWalkInTrastevere#