Roma-ma

I promised a nice long post about my weekend in Rome, so here it is. Okay, if it's not a long one, it's cause I'm tired. But based on what I have in mind to write about, I'm sure it will be a decent length.

So, on Day 1, we all woke up in the early hours (talkin 5ish here) on Thursday morning to catch our train to Rome. As zombies, we dragged our bags around town following our guide, Matt Doll. He is an incredibly intelligent person. His mind is full of so much information for the art which we've been seeing and talking about during this semester. His passion burns for it so much that it's impossible to be irritated or bored when he rants on and on about art history. So, while we were tired, we followed Matt like little ducklings and listened to a few lectures before he brought us to our hostel rooms. I don't want to brag here, but I don't want to be discrete either. I shared a room with 6 girls and we had a balcony that overlooked the Pantheon. There's a small piazza in front of the Pantheon, and we were directly above it looking down at crowds of people. We could hear live music and the flow of the center fountain perfectly, among many languages and conversations. I seriously don't know how I got to be so spoiled. I am grateful to be here, and so grateful for the people who made it possible for me to be here.

The weekend consisted of lots and lots of walking. This means I know my way around Rome a little. I feel important now. I have to say that it is EXTREMELY refreshing to move on from learning about frescos from the Renaissance onto paintings from the Baroque period. Baroque is way up my ally. I think I've fallen in love with Bernini and Caravaggio. There was a whole museum full of Caravaggio's paintings and just about every painting had my attention, some more than others. To see a fresco after that exhibit made me chuckle a little. I think I hate frescos. I've seen too, too many. But maybe we just need some time off. I might like frescos again someday. Matt asked us to do some sort of writing response for one of Caravaggio's paintings in the museum. I chose to write a poem about "Cattura di Cristo" (The Taking of Christ). I'll post my poem below with a picture of the painting. Julia happens to be a big fan of Caravaggio, and she happened to turn 21 this past weekend. What a wonderful birthday... in Rome... seeing one of her favorite artists' work. Amazing.

Yesterday we went to the Vatican. The inside is nothing like I ever expected. It is huge, it is marble ALL over. It is beautiful. The most beautiful thing inside the Vatican, by far, is the Pieta. Sarah took a picture of it when she was here last year. It's funny to think I stood where she stood almost exactly one year later. I must say, the Pieta moved me. I stared at it for a long time. I didn't want to look away.

Okay, we did so much over the weekend, but I feel like I've summed it up enough. If anything else comes to mind, I'll be sure to add it to this post. But at this point, my brain's a little fried. These excursions usually involve way too much information to retain, so it takes a few days to refresh my mind. But, all in all, I woke up in Rome today. That's pretty stinkin cool.

------------

The Taking of Christ

should a kiss ever be
associated with pain?
You calmly pull away.
the time was coming,
and You knew it was near,
for this dark and dreadful day.
in his face, there’s no regret
it’s still as the sea
when the skies don’t speak.
his eyes search for Yours
but You’re somewhere else
he slightly kisses your cheek.
the sounds of the soldiers
and yells of your brothers
crowd together and smother
Your shaken soul.
Christ, are you afraid?
would You rather it be another?
it’s time to give Yourself whole.
the light on Your face
doesn’t reveal contentment.
the lines on Your face
show fragility and fear.
Heavenly God, draw near
to Your Son
before He becomes
our sin.