Roman Holiday

I have been in Rome now for one week!  It is crazy the amount of stuff I have already done!  It seems like I've been here for more like a month.

At the Trevi Fountain

At the moment I am currently enrolled in 6 course.  They are all so interesting I just don't know which one to drop!  I think instead of dropping a class I will decided to audit it instead so I won't have to worry about doing the work and receiving a grade.  Unlike most study abroad programs, we are going to have a lot of work.  I doubt this will be my "joke" of a semester.  So, I apologize in advance if I am not able to update everyone every few days.

Earlier this week I went to the Trevi Fountain (which is gorgeous!) and did the tourist thing of throwing a coin into the fountain.  I learned that the legend has it that if you throw a coin into the fountain, you are ensured to return to Rome.  Some say throwing two coins will lead to a new romance and three will cause either marriage or divorce.  Not even knowing the superstition at the time, I threw in two coins...I will just have to wait and see if the legend is true!

Yesterday, all of the students from the Pantheon program went to Tivoli.  We first went to the Villa Adriana, also known as Hadrian's Villa.  It is the largest archeological site in Tivoli and it is said that only 1/3 of the complex has been excavated.  It was built as a getaway for the Roman emperor Hadrian during the early second century AD.  We spent the entire morning there listening to lectures and sketching some of the ruins and sculptures.  I really enjoyed being able to sketch, yet I don't think I would be able to spend the entire afternoon sketch, which is what the Penn State students were required to do.

Hadrian's Villa

Hadrian's Villa

Instead, a group of us went to Villa d'Este in Tivoli.  It was absolutely BREATHTAKING.  It was built in the sixteenth century AD and is an example of Renaissance architecture and Italian Renaissance gardens.  I studied these gardens this past semester in my landscape art history course.  It was amazing to be able to see it.  It is one of those places where you get so overwhelmed by how beautiful it is.  There are over 500 fountains in the gardens among emense greenery.  At 4:30pm I was able to witness the playing of the water organ.  The moving water pushes air into the organs pipes which produces a sound.  The visit to Villa d'Este is by far my most memorable experience so far while in Rome!

Hall of 100 Fountains