Week 1 - We arrive in Rome

Jake, Ryan, and I arrived to Rome on Tuesday.  After finding our Hostel and getting some rest, we walked around a good portion of central and northern Rome, seeing some of the tourist sites.  The pics below are of Piazza del Popolo, Villa Borgese, and Trive Fountain. 

Week 2 - Class begins.

We started class on Monday after multiple orientations over the weekend to set the rules and regulations of our apartment living and studio.  They did not work us too hard as we spent a lot of time walking along the Tevere River, the site for our studio project.  Our professors also took us on a bike ride up and down the river on Friday and Saturday.  It was the first time I had been on a bike in a while, so I was sore in many different places over the weekend.  Overall, the experience of Rome is getting better as I have been able to settle in to my apartment and the surrounding area.  We are located in a area called Trastevere, which is South of central Rome.  It is a nice area with a lot of residential apartments. 

 

Week 3 - Villa D' Este

During our second week of class we actually started doing some work, each of us drawing a cross section of the Tevere River in detail.  We stopped by the Pantheon a few times throughout the week for class, which is quite amazing for being one of the first buildings built with a dome roof.  When you go inside the roof almost looks fake, because it is so perfect.  Not sure how they pulled it off without CAT and John Deere around to do the heavy lifting. 

We had a three day weekend this week and visited Tivoli, which is a small town just West of Rome. Although it is only 25 miles away or so, it takes some work to get there using the public buses and trains.  From our apartment, it took over 2 hrs to get there, using a tram, a bus, a train, and then another bus. On the way back, we had to wait about an hour and a half to hop on the right bus, so we were glad to get back to Rome.  However, it was worth the trip to see Villa D'Este and Hadrian's Villa.  Villa D'Este is known for it's water features and Hadrian's Villa is known for its grand scale.  Villa D'Este took the prize, living up to the hype.  The water features were amazing. 

Below are pics of The Pantheon, a Plaza of Ruins close to our Studio, Villa D'Este and Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, a random Church, and Trevi Fountain (again).

 

 

Weeks 4 and 5 - Birthdays and School Work

Week 4 and 5 was filled with school for the most part.  Mira and Pia, our professors, really put the boots to us that week, getting us in summer school shape. However, Mike Cedar and Josh Kriz both had birthdays in consecutive weeks, requiring some good Tuesday night celebrations.  Bars are open until 4:00 in Rome, allowing us to reach unprecedented levels.

 

Week 6  -  4th of July and Tuscany

This was one of the best weeks I have had in Italy.  It was packed with fun times, including a July 4th celebration on the studio terrace with the entire class and faculty.  After regrouping from the 4th of July, we took a class trip North to the Tuscany area, visiting three villas and spending some time in Sienna and Florence.  Both towns were interesting, with a lot of medieval architecture and nice urban plazas that were started during late medieval times and continued through renaissance times.  Large towers and large spaces are the theme as you look at some of the photos.  They are so tall they are difficult to capture with one image. 

Sienna

Florence

Villa Gamberaia

 

Villa Lante