Mr. Peter Egyd, a Canadian diplomat, gave an address earlier this month to the students about the work of the Canadian Embassy in Rome. His talk focussed on the following points.
· International diplomacy
· Canada’s international priorities
· Profile of the Canadian Embassy
· Bilateral relations, Political affairs, Foreign policy
· Trade and investment
· Culture, Public affairs, Academic relations, Youth mobility
Skiing
Last weekend, nine students accompanied by Mr. Stephens as well as my wife and I, spent a picture perfect day skiing at the Montepratello Resort near Roccaraso, located about an hour and a half south west of Lanciano. As you can readily tell by looking at the photos, the ski conditions as well as the weather could not have been better. Everyone enjoyed the day and is looking forward to returning next weekend.
The first of five Quartiere Sunday Dinners scheduled for this semester was held last Sunday. It was hosted by the Faculty and Staff. In essence, each Quartieres (all of the students are assigned to a Quartiere) will select a theme, design a menu, prepare the meal, serve it and assist with the clean up thereafter. The students dressed up for the occasion which was very well received.
The Faculty and Staff embraced Mr. Knapp’s suggestion of an Arizona Meal in honour of the upcoming 100th Anniversary of his home state. Students were served nachos with all the trimmings, chilli in bread bowls and a dessert of traditional chocolate pudding and orange slices along with two types of homemade cookies – chocolate chip and oatmeal.
A good time was had by all. Everyone is now looking forward to the next one to be held on March 6.
Lunch on Thursday, February 10, 2011
This is a typical weekday lunch prepared for our students.
Rome 3
Early on Friday morning, February 11 we set out for our third trip to Rome for the year.
We offered four tours – the Ancient City, the Catacombs, the Math Museum and the Galleria Borghese. Three of the tours went as planned and were well received by the students. But unfortunately, the Math Museum was closed for renovations even though we had been told that is was open.
Galleria Borghese is an art gallery in housed in the Villa Borghese Pinciana, a building that was from the first integral with the Borghese Gardens. It is located in what was once considered to be the outskirts of Rome. Cardinal Scipio Borghese, a nephew of Pope Paul V (1605-21) began the collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities. The Cardinal was an early patron of Bernini and collected works by Caravaggio (Boy with a Basket of Fruit, St. Jerome, Sick Bacchus), Titan (Sacred and Profane Love), and Peter Paul Rubens to name a few of the famous works on display.
Currently the gallery houses works from the 1st to the 17th C on two floors. Many of the sculptures are located in the spaces originally designed to house them.
San Sabastiano Catacombs
Starting in the 2nd C, Christians and Jewish communities in Rome, buried their dead, and celebrated their funeral rites or the anniversaries of the martyrs in these underground cemeteries located outside the city walls. Unlike the Romans who preferred cremation, the Christians preferred burial as Christ was buried in anticipation of their resurrection. Those above ground areas already owned by Christians above ground were limited. Available burial space would soon be exhausted. Most early Christians were poor. Burying their dead in the catacombs which could be extended underground provided them with a practical, safe and economical burial method.
Although fictionalized as hiding places, historians now believe that the catacombs served only as temporary hiding places used for worship services. Even during the persecutions, these sites were held sacred.
The San Sabastiano Catacombs are located along the Appian Way, a straight road connecting Rome to Capua near Naples and eventually to the Adriatic port of Brindisi. The Roman government of the day (312 B.C.) recognized the military and economic importance of a good road system.
Residents who live there are surrounded by ancient mausoleums and villas (country houses) of ancient Rome.
A guide took us through these catacombs and showed some of the 7 miles of underground tunnels carved out of volcanic rock on three levels as deep as 30 M which at one time contained over 100,000 graves. Our tour finished in the 4thC Church of San Sabastianio.
An added bonus was being able to see Bernini’s last sculpture done of Cardinal Scipio Borghese, his patron.
Meanwhile our third group was touring Rome’s historic centre.
One cannot help but be amazed at the scale and size of the Colosseum. Its original name was the Falvian Amphitheatre. Commissioned by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD to gain favour of the crowd and opened in 80 AD, the Romans adapted the plan of the Greek amphitheatre and created the first freestanding structure of its kind by having in essence, two amphitheatres facing each other. It also represented a forward movement in Roman engineering as it pioneered the use of concrete and the use of the rounded arch for strength. Its express use was for public gladiatorial contests of one sort or another. The building later was nicknamed the ‘colosseum’ because of its proximity to a colossal statue of Nero, now lost to antiquity, which was also over portions of Nero’s massive palace which is also for the most part gone as well.
There was seating for 55,000 people arranged by rank with the most wealthy nearest the ground level right up to the top level which could be occupied by women and slaves. Large canvas awnings anchored in the uppermost walls (the holes that houses the poles remain visible today) were drawn across to provide shade. Underneath what was a wooden floor covered in sand, were chambers housing the animals and equipment necessary for the games to run. Admission was free as the games were sponsored. When it first opened, there were 100 days of games. Each day games were scheduled from mid-morning to later in the afternoon, with the best gladiators fighting at the end of the day. It is reported that upwards of 5000 animals were killed during that period. Within 400 years, the gladiatorial games were in disfavour and the building underwent a slow decline.
The Roman Forum nearby was Rome’s civic centre. Walking through, one can see the layout of the marble streets some of which remains today and appreciate just how crowded it was with businesses, temples and state building standing side by side.
How many of us know the story of Julius Caesar’s untimely death and the remarkable speech made by Marc Antony that triggered a civil uprising? It is in the Forum that Antony gave his speech and it is here where his friend’s body was cremated. The small apse in the photo above, is reputed to be that place. Above it stands what once a temple renamed by Emperor Augustus, as the Temple of Julius Caesar, as he had deemed his late uncle and mentor, a god, the first Roman god of its kind.
Rome’s imperial glory lasted for a thousand years. By AD 500, it was in decline. Rome’s many building in the Forum were destroyed by rival tribes and nations. Its population was rapidly shrinking.
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