Bjorn Eggen – Sophomore Mechanical

Today, we toured the Jewish Ghetto, the Theatre of Marcellus along with other ruins, the national monument and finished by touring bridges along the Tiber river.

The Jewish Ghetto is a Jewish neighborhood in Rome with lots of Kosher restaurants and shops. It was established in 1555 by Pope Paul IV to isolate the Jews of Rome. The conditions in the Ghetto were horrible with severe overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. Visiting and learning about the Jewish Ghetto reminded me of the redlining and racially restrictive laws in the United States.

Next, we visited the Theatre of Marcellus, which was a theatre with a design similar to the Colosseum that was built 2000 years ago. This building was a good illustration of how modern Rome is built upon old buildings. Beneath Rome, there are ruins of a previous city. There is currently a new underground metro line being built, however, it is extremely difficult since archaeological ruins keep getting discovered as they are tunneling.

Next, we toured the National Monument in Italy, which was built after World War 1 in celebration. The most striking feature of this monument is the gigantic horse statue. The views from the monument were also stunning.
We finished the day by walking along the paths on the bank of the Tiber river looking at bridges. Our professor, Deb Besser, a former bridge engineer, talked about the different bridges.

 

Theatre of Marcellus.

Ruins seen from the streets of Rome

Horse statue at the National Monument

Group photo from the National Monument (Colosseum can be seen in the background).