First Impressions of Rome
The last 10 days of Italy and the Scientific Revolutions Dialogue is spent in Rome, after spending 3 weeks in Florence. I was really sad to leave the beautiful Renaissance city, after it became so familiar, but I was really looking forward to come to Roma! From Florence, our group took a coach bus to Rome, which took about 3-4 hours. The trip was very picturesque, as we drove south through the rolling hills, small castle towns, and vineyards of Tuscany. As soon as the bus arrived in Rome, I was struck with how grand the city felt – particularly because we drove right past the Vatican to reach our apartment.
The 18 students on the dialogue are staying in a section of Rome called Trastavere, which is just across the Tiber River from the Pantheon and other downtown attractions. Our classes are held in a building on the Northern (Pantheon) side of the river, in a building that used to be a Cardinal’s apartment, but is now owned by Iowa State University. It is a longer walk to this classroom than to our classes in Florence (15 minutes verses about 7), but the view as we cross the Tiber makes the walk much more enjoyable.
Our first evening in Rome, we went on a walking tour accompanied by an architectural professor, and visited the Pantheon, the Largo di Torre Argentina, and piazza Sant’Ignazio. All of these sites were incredible, but the most striking similarity among them, as well as the majority of Rome, is how integrated the past is with the present. In all of these sites, ancient roman ruins are kept in their original locations, which are now surrounded by modern buildings. The Largo di Torre Argentina in particular, is an excavation site of several temples that fills a city block, which otherwise could belong to any city in Italy. The plan of the modern city is not centralized around the ancient one, as many other Italian towns have developed. In contrast the city has just grown up around (and on top of) the ancient ruins.
Typically, the remains from antiquity can be found under the modern city, because the ground level is significantly higher than it was during the height of the Roman Empire. For centuries, the Tiber River would flood the lower ground of the city, and leave a layer of silt in its wake, thus heightening ground level. In addition, whenever buildings would collapse due to war, earthquakes, or construction, rather than clearing the rubble, Romans would simply flatten it and build on top. Because of this, the ruins of Largo di Torre Argentina are about 20 feet below current street level, and the entrance to the Pantheon is now below street level (as opposed to walking up steps to reach its doors).
Overall, Rome is a very different city from Florence, but I think I personally prefer Rome from the little I’ve seen of it, because its historical significance, grandiosity, and bustling liveliness leave me in amazement.
