Daily Updates
Week Three: Oct. 9
09 October. Peter reporting: The day began beautifully – bright sun, clear skies, and a slight chill in the air. It was perfect weather for a walking tour of the remaining Republican and Early Imperial monuments still visible in the Campus Martius and Forum Boarium areas of Rome. Oddly enough, our first site was the basement of an expensive restaurant. Alas, Professor Ulrich was not treating us to an early lunch, but instead, awed us with the foundations of Pompey’s Theater. Located in the basement of Da Pancrazio, we viewed some of the earliest opus reticulatum used in ancient Rome. Upon emerging from the restaurant, it became apparent that not only was the substructure still visible, but it was in use, supporting the surrounding buildings. Indeed, the streets and modern complex conformed to the outline of Pompey’s ancient theater. We continued to the front of the theater, where the remains of four temples and an ancient public latrine have been excavated. A short walk brought us to yet another theater: the Theater of Marcellus, started by Julius Ceasar to counter Pompey’s Theater. The top stories of this building are still in use as high-rent Italian apartments. The ancient arcades and façade are still visible and are currently used for nightly concerts. The tour continued with the temples of Juno, Spes and Janus, which have been completely built over by a modern church. We were able to descend into the depths of the church and see the ancient foundations of the the temples. We then continued to the roof of the church, where the entablature consisting of the architrave, frieze, and cornice, were still visible. Two more temples – one to Portunus and the other to Hercules – completed our studies of temples for the day. Before returning to the hotel, we visited the Mouth of Truth. Legend has it that putting one’s hand in the mouth and lying will result in the loss of your hand. Apparently, no one lied, as we still have our hands. The day concluded on Tiber Island, which is in the center of the Tiber River. We walked over the oldest, still functioning Roman bridge to the island. The island was pleasant, and we walked around the majority of the perimiter. The afternoon was devoted to finishing our oral presentations on Roman Portraiture, which we presented in the eveing back on the Capitoline Hill. Our late stay in the museum was rewarded by an impressive picture of a lit Foro Romano.
09 October. Oral presentations: Cordelia and Cicero
09 October. Oral presentations: Myung-Hee and Livia
09 October. Oral presentations: Karen and Nero
09 October. Oral presentations: Courtney and Vespasian
09 October. Oral presentations: Tori and Trajan
09 October. Oral presentations: Maya and Antoninus Pious
09 October. Oral presentations: Adam and Marcus Aurelius
09 October. Oral presentations: Katherine and Lucius Verus
09 October. Oral presentations: Sophia and Commodus
09 October. Oral presentations: Brian and Claudius Albinus
09 October. Oral presentations: Ariel and Septimius Severus
09 October. A view from the museum
09 October. Oral presentations: Matt and Caracalla
09 October. Oral presentations: Peter and Gordian the First
09 October. Oral presentations: Joanna and Traianus Decius
09 October. Oral presentations: Sarah and Constantine
09 October. A post-presentation discussion
09 October. The Campidoglio at night