Ostia Antica

Last Thursday Katie and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having (low 60s) and make a day-trip to Ostia Antica, just outside of Rome.  The site is like Pompeii, in that much has been uncovered and preserved, and it gives us an idea of daily life and city planning in Ancient Rome.  Ostia, like it remains today, was an important port in antiquity, and so the ancient city was home to many working-class fisherman and the like.  In addition, it was also a popular vacation area for the rich, and so there are also quite a few villas,  although they are not as elaborate as the ones found at Pompeii.

Wall of mosaics

Here's how you can tell that I am a total architecture nerd-- I get excited by seeing the brickwork in the cross-sections of walls.

I also love exterior brickwork and patterning.

The thing about Ostia Antica is that it is not as famous as Pompeii, and therefore it is far less frequently visited, especially in February.  This was to our advantage since we had almost the entire grounds to ourselves.  The other nice thing about this is that it is not so heavily monitored and therefore you are able to touch things you might not otherwise be able to do.  This chunk of floor mosaic was just lying in the middle of the grass and it was really awesome to see because we saw just how long each stone was, and how deep they were embedded into the dirt.

Here is more of the same type of mosaic, still in the ground.  I don't know if it simply has not been uncovered, or if the grass has been allowed to regrow as a way to protect the floor, but we saw similar pockets of floor mosaic all throughout the site.


We decided to help out a little and uncover more.  They should hire us!

Taking a squat in the ancient bathrooms.  The little gutter in front of our feet would have been filled with flowing water, and you would have a sponge on a stick that you would dip in the water and then use to wipe/clean yourself.
 

Like most ancient architecture, much of the exterior marble has been stripped away and reused for later buildings, but bits and pieces remain.

Archways in the ancient baths.

Katie pointed these out to me, which I had no idea about.  Apparently they are hollow bricks that were used for steam ventilation inside the baths.  Neither one of us had ever seen them still in place before.

 Sitting on a bench in the baths, wishing they were still functional.

 If you looked up beauty in the dictionary you might find an image like this next to the definition.

Sitting on the stairs of a large temple in the middle of the forum.

This little niche is a lararium, or a small shrine in which the household gods would be placed and worshiped in the home.  Kind of awesome to see one still on site.

 Besides the surviving architecture, the major highlight of Ostia Antica is the preserved mosaics.  These are very early, and therefore are simple in style, and only in black and white.  Again, given the location of the city, many of the mosaics are aquatic-themed.

The ancient theater.

View from the ancient theater.
 

Like Pompeii these ruins have their own dogs, but unlike Pompeii the two dogs we saw had collars and were obviously well taken care of.

Orvieto

When Lou was in town visiting Dave I tagged along with them for a day-trip to Orvieto.  I've been there before, back in 2003, but only for a few hours, and ever since I've wanted to go back and spend a bit more time.  There isn't a whole lot to do in the small town, and that's the point.  Not many tourists make the trip, and it was especially empty when we went given that it was a chilly and rainy January afternoon. 

Like the duomo in Siena, Orvieto's main church is a rare example of Italian "Gothic" architecture.  I use quotes because it is nothing like the true Gothic architecture of the north, neither in style nor conception, as seen in my Wells post.  The main reason for this is because "Gothic", meaning "of the Gauls", is a style that originated in the north, and the Italians wanted nothing to do with it.  What they produced during that time period is uniquely their own, as seen here.  There is a rose window (the central round stain glass window), elaborately carved arches over the doorways, pinnacles at the top of the facade, and a lot of tracery work, but that is where the similarities between the two styles end.

Another architectural trait unique to central Italy and Tuscany is the use of white and black stones in the framework of churches.  I love this view and how the supporting arches and buttresses intersect the otherwise consistently horizontal patterning of the brickwork.

A close up of the side of the facade

On the front of the facade (seen in the first picture) are reliefs depicting the last judgment.  The emotion conveyed in the carving is incredible.

My favorite part of the church, however, is the intricate and elaborate twisting columns and relief work on the front.

 
Each delicate column is inlaid with mosaic

A view of Umbria

Walking back towards the church at the end of our day

Misc. Winter in Rome

A few misc. pictures from November-January...

 Katie, Dave, and I took it upon ourselves to cook a full and traditional Thanksgiving dinner for everyone, which turned out to be 16 people.  There were only 4 Americans, and 1 Canadian; the rest were Italian, and for them it was their first time eating turkey prepared in this way.  Italian kitchens, and everything in them (i.e., the ovens) are quite small, and the smallest turkey we could order (yes, you have to special order a turkey here) was 7 kilos.  We were terrified that it wasn't going to fit, but miraculously it did.  Luckily we also had a toaster oven that we could use because nothing else was fitting in that oven when the turkey was in there.  Dave was in charge of the bird, and he did an amazing job.  It was delicious.

 All in all we had turkey with gravy, green beans with garlic, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing (thanks for the recipe mom!), and broccoli with melted cheddar on top.  Cheddar cheese is also ridiculously difficult to find in Italy; there is one store I know of that carries it, and it is imported direct from Cheddar England.  It's obviously much more expensive than we pay in the states, but wow is it good and worth it.  Again, this was another first taste for the Italians.  For desert we had brownies and pumpkin pie.  It was a huge feast!

 The tree being decorated at St Peter's.  The temporary wall just to the left of the tree enclosed the nativity as they were still constructing it.  Unlike other nativities around the city (and the country) that decorate every church for the entire season, the one at St Peter's is only revealed on Christmas Eve, and only stays up until Epiphany on the 6th, and therefore I have yet to see it in person.  I hear it's quite elaborate and beautiful.  Next year!

In mid-December we read about an ice-skating rink set up near one of the concert halls north of the city, so of course we had to try it out.  Fun, but freezing!

 Moving day!  From the shadows of the Vatican in Prati to the cobbled streets of Trastevere.  Claudio, Katie's boyfriend, was able to use his parent's car, and so it made moving a lot easier.  We crammed that Fiat full to the brim!!

 Christmas market set up in Piazza Navona

 Flurries of snow in late December.  It has now snowed twice since I've been here-- last February, and then in December.  Before this it hadn't snowed in Rome since 1986, so both times were quite a big deal-- as you can see, even this gladiator had to stop and take a picture.  The day it snowed in February was the day of our Fulbright mid-year meeting, and so we were unfortunately trapped inside all day and couldn't enjoy the rare weather.  This time, Katie and I made a mad dash to the Pantheon to see the snow fall through the oculus in dome.  It was amazing, but unfortunately, not something that could be captured on camera.

A Jersey reunion in Rome!  On the right is Dave (the mustache is new), and on the left is his best friend Lou.  I've met Lou a few times and he is such a great guy.  It was so much fun to hang out with the two of them for a week.  (Dave has been living in Rome on and off for the last year or so.)  We ate delicious food, (since both are quite the foodies), made a day-trip to Orvieto (next blog post!), and laughed a lot.  They are some of the best friends a girl could ask for!

Wells Cathedral

As part of my Bath conference we took a day-trip to Wells Cathedral.  Apparently there is a really famous/old clock in the church and that excited all of the astronomers and thus was the main reason for our visit.  Meh.  I much more preferred the architecture.  Although I have taught it extensively, this is actually the first time I have ever been inside a Gothic cathedral, mainly due to the fact that this style, in the true design sense, simply does not exist in Italy.  Anyway, it was absolutely breathtaking and I am hungry to see more!

 The exterior at sunset.  As my friend Susannah has said of the facade, it's quite "squatty"...

 Inside.  The concept of Gothic architecture was to make the supporting elements as invisible as possible, therefore giving the impression that the building was supported by light (hence the popularity of stain-glass windows at the time) and more significantly by the divine.

 Looking straight up in one of the aisles

 Amazing capitals, if you can even call them that, in the choir

 The ceiling above the choir

An amazing staircase, worn from centuries of use.  If it looks familiar...

it's because they used this church to film a few interior scenes for the movie Elizabeth: The Golden Age.  I didn't know this until I saw the staircase, which I recognized from the film, and sure enough, after a little googling I read that Wells indeed was one of their locations.  I love the internet!