Submitted by Lydia Fimmano on the 2022 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Philosophy…
When you think of Rome, you think of the Colosseum so obviously this was a site that my friends and I were very excited to see. Early in the trip, we all watched Gladiator together to get ourselves excited about seeing the Colosseum and to get a fresh understanding of what kind of events used to happen there. Touring it was unreal and our sweet tour guide Teresa was very informative and told us all about the structure and how it came to be. The beauty and complexity of the Colosseum sums up exactly what studying in Rome is like. Everything you see is so historic and you just stare in awe wondering how these structures were built hundreds and even thousands of years ago. This was a highlight of the program for me. Something that was very special to me was recreating a picture that my Dad had taken of my Mom in front of the Colosseum with her two friends. My trip mates helped me find the exact spot and two even jumped in to pose as my Mom’s friends from the picture taken about 31 years ago. It was so exciting to stand in front of such an amazing structure in the same place as my Mom had stood years ago. Rome really is the eternal city.