Salve Engineers!

We are officially living la dolce vita, as we have spent our first whole day in Rome! This morning we were introduced to the hotel’s impressive breakfast spread and espresso bar. Around 9:00 a.m. we had our first class in Italy! Professoressa Deb gave us a presentation on Vitruvius, empirical engineering, and intercultural awareness, preparing us for our coursework and life in Italy. Eric walked us through the history and construction of St. Peter’s Basilica, which we visited yesterday.

After class, we met up with our tour guides, who showed us the way to Castel Sant Angelo! We learned about the structure’s rich history and its various additions throughout the years, which have transformed it from a mausoleum to a prison and fort. The past engineer’s ingenuity in finding purposes for the mausoleum shows us that we can revitalize buildings that have outlived their usefulness.

From there, we crossed the Tiber River to visit the Pantheon. The stunning height and size of the Pantheon’s dome and oculus were breathtaking. Our tour guides were surprised at how few people were in the Pantheon, as the sunny weather offered great lighting inside and beautiful views of a bright blue sky above the dome. The dome’s interesting architecture, its recessed panels and central oculus show us how we can save materials while strengthening a structure.

Having concluded our booked tours, we thanked our guides and began to plan the rest of our day. A large group of us decided to depart for the Trevi Fountain early, while the rest of us headed to visit a couple churches, Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, and Sant Ignazio of Loyola Church. From there we continued on towards the Trevi Fountain and ended up running into the other group on our way, just in time for another group photo. From the Trevi Fountain, we took a short walk through streets crowded with tourists to our final destination of the day, the Spanish Steps. After we had climbed the steps, we were finished seeing the sights we had planned for the day and split up and found our own adventures for the rest of the night.

Buonanotte, see you tomorrow!
– Bryce