Our Grand Finale

Today we savored our last class experiences together, as our program here in Rome now come to an end.

We enjoyed a brisk walk to Piazza del Popolo in the morning, where Ashley gave a fantastic presentation on the Chigi Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. I could not help but notice that the Chigi family has had quite an impact on my time here in Rome, considering my presentation was on Villa Farnesina - it seemed appropriate that our last class focused onthe final resting place of Agostino Chigi, the patron who commissioned the villa. The Chigi Chapel is especially unique because it was designed by Raphael, though ultimately completed by Bernini. This leads to an interesting blend of Renaissance and Baroque styles within the chapel. Ashley did a great job elaborating on the many details contained within the chapel, including beautiful ceiling mosaics of the gods representing all the planets, hybrid-pyramid/obelisk tombs, and Biblical statues of Daniel, Habbakuk, Jonah, and Elijah. We then took some time to explore the church in its entirety, in order to view the stunning works of Caravaggio (including The Conversion of St. Paul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter) and Caracci in one of the other chapels.

We then headed over to Trevi Fountain to toss in our coins. Lisa noted that there a number of myths surrounding what the coins correlate to, though the most common belief is that you throw in one to return to Rome, one to find true love, and one to get married. Before we tossed in our coins however, Lisa shared with us some of the history of Trevi Fountain, which is full of imagery alluding to the power of water. Although the water used to be known as the healthiest in the city, you are no longer encouraged to drink the water directly in the fountain. However there is a small tap next to the fountain which is potable if you want a taste. I also thought that it was particularly awesome that all the money collected from the bottom of the fountain is donated to the Red Cross.

We ended our morning by getting gelato together! Due to the fact that San Crispino (a gourmet gelato hot spot near Trevi Fountain) did not open until noon, we decided to head over to Giolitti (another great gelato spot near the Pantheon). It was a bittersweet moment - all of us enjoying our cones, though not wanting to say goodbye.

At that point we all went back to study our Italian flashcards over lunch, because we still had to take our Italian final... We all aced the final (so we hope) and said goodbye to our Italian teachers (Aurora and Antonella), who have been absolutely fantastic.

And... that's pretty much where it all ends. Everyone spent rest of the afternoon and evening in lots of different ways - finishing up last minute shopping, visiting Mossimo's wine bar, packing very full suitcases, and chatting with each other. Different groups left at different times for the airport, so it seemed as though we were constantly saying another set of goodbyes (of course, my flight had to be just about the last one to leave...).

I hope that you can see from this blog what an incredible time we have had here in Rome! It is so difficult to capture the essence of this experience in words, though perhaps "veni, vidi, vici" come the closest - "I came, I saw, I conquered" - over the course of these past five weeks, we have taken so much in and we have come to feel at home in the beautiful city of Rome.

Posted by Erin