Submitted by Paige Gunning on the 2018 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Philosophy…
We’re almost finished with our first week in Italy and our first part in the city of Rome. We’ve been all around the city of Rome and even took a day trip to see the great ruins of Pompeii on Sunday. It was a long day of travel, but everyone really enjoyed seeing how the ancient Romans lived. On Saturday, we had an adventurous day as well, with an early start. We didn’t think we would get enough tickets to go, but we were lucky enough to get enough tickets to attend the Epiphany Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica and witnessed Pope Francis say mass. Late that afternoon, we visited the college where American seminaries study in Rome, and Gregory, whom we had met the day before, showed us the most magnificent view of the whole city. It was breathtaking. We finished Saturday with an AS Roma fútbol game. Roma lost, but it was still fun to go. On Monday, we toured the Acropolis underneath St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning and followed it with a tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Many of us will say the Sistine Chapel was the most amazing chapel so far, right alongside St. Peter’s Basilica. Learning about the magnificent paintings definitely added to our appreciation of the artwork and the meanings they hold. Finally, today, we toured the great Coliseum and other Roman ancient ruins surrounding it. So far, we’ve visited many beautiful churches, historic monuments, walked thousands of steps and enjoyed delicious foods. While we’re not looking forward to leaving Rome, we’re excited to continue our journey in Florence on Thursday.