How can there be so much to just one city!!??

June 18 Monday

Turns out that the director of CIEE Rome is also a curator of an archaeological collection at the American Academy of Rome, which means that the participants had the chance of actually touching and studying artifacts of ancient Rome. They looked at coins, candle holders plates, jewelry, and so much more… even an ancient nail cleaner/Qtip made out of bone!!!!! After the incredible archeological morning, we continued by eating lunch and walking in the Trastevere neighborhood and then we met up with Valentina, the Italian language teacher, who taught students how to ask questions in Italian. Following, we walked through and had a treasure hunt activity in the Ghetto Ebraico, which unfortunately got interrupted by a downpour of rain.

After dinner we got the chance to tour the Roman Forum by night with a “radio tour-guide” that walked us through Cesar’s Forum. The tour showed projections of what the forum used to look like and explained its history. It was breathtaking.

June 19th – 20th

Have you ever seen a fresco? We have been seeing frescos everywhere…. They are incredible… but how do you make frescos? Well, today our lucky participants had a Roman Fresco workshop in which they learned exactly that! The process is fascinating. Our participants got the chance to make their own frescos by tracing an existing famous art piece, then poking dots, then powder, and water…. Oh my gosh! So many steps!!! But the process and results are incredible!

After this fun workshop the best way to complete the “fresco cycle” was to go see some of the most incredible frescos ever! To do this, the participants went to another country… well, not really but kind of… We went to the Vatican museums! They learned all about the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s frescos. So many images previously seen in textbooks, and now they are in front of us! What an experience. Though the museum was overly crowded, the participants were still very happy and stunned by the beauty of each room and are. Some participants also ended up “speechless” with glistening eyes.