Final Reflection

It's almost been a month since we've returned and my favorite thing about being back is critiquing  American Italian food by saying "that's not how they do it in Italy". What I would give for one more chocolate croissant.

Art is an important theme for Rome because it is present everywhere. There was not one church that we went to that lacked some sort of decoration. I was also impressed by the detail that went into painting people so that their identity would be known. Peter can be identified in paintings or carving by having a short, but full beard. He can also be portrayed upside down on a cross because that is how he was martyred. Paul's beard is a little longer and comes down to a point. St. Clement could be spotted by the image of an anchor because he was tied to an anchor and thrown into the water. It was also interesting to see the techniques they go to to protect the art. For example, in St. Peter's Basilica they have plexi glass in front of the pieta to protect it from people who want to damage it. We also learned about mosaics and saw how present they were not only in St. Peter's Basilica, but in other churches as well. In the mosaic room they told us how mosaics are the easiest to restore and last a long time, which is part of the reason they are so popular. It was interesting how they used art to tell stories because many people were illiterate at that time. What intrigues me the most is how people would look at the art and know exactly what it meant. Even with Robert explaining pieces to us I still felt there was much more to these works that was going unnoticed.

Martyrdom was another common theme I saw in Rome. In class, we learned about the persecution of Christians that started in the Roman Empire. Many people died for christianity and eventually they were on the "right side of history". Many of the Saints' martyrdoms are well known. St. Peter requested to be crucified upside down because he didn't think he was worthy of being crucified in the same way as Jesus. Caravaggio painted this scene for a chapel in a church that we visited. Even though I'm Catholic, I don't understand how someone can have that much devotion to put themselves through a torturous process such as upside down crucifixion. We were also told of christians that were martyred in the Colosseum in front of thousands of people as entertainment. I find it very interesting that even today people will read about the saints and find a way to relate to them and their cause. These saints spent their lives doing God's will and were ultimately killed for it.

The christians built many things on top of others. St. Clement's Basilica is a great example of this because the bottom layer was a 1st century neighborhood that was rebuilt after Nero's fire. The roof was taken off the neighborhood and the structure was filled in so a 4th century church could be built to remember Clement's house church. Then in the 12th century a basilica was built on top of the 4th century church. Another example of building in layers is St. Peter's Basilica. Directly beneath the basilica is a room where many of the dead Popes tombs are held. Below that is a necropolis from the 1st century where the remains of St. Peter are believed to lie. I find it interesting how much history is layered in these locations accross Rome. Even in Assisi there were structures underneath basilicas that you could tour. What I don't understand is the how the art and structure beneath the top layer is so well preserved after sitting untouched for centuries.