Ciao!

My day started off with class at 8:45 am where we listened to a presentation from Courtney, Aveline & Josh. They presented on domes and one main takeaway I got from their presentation was always think outside the box. I really enjoyed learning about the egg story and how the dome in Florence came about.

After class we took the metro and made our way towards the Roman Forum. Just outside of the Roman Forum we took some amazing pictures in front of the colosseum and the arch of Constantine.

 

Shortly after we entered the Roman Forum and walked around learning the rich history of what remained of the Roman Forum and what history could be retold to bring this historical area back to life in front of our eyes. Seeing what remained of the structures and rendered images of what they would have looked like still blows my mind. Unfortunately not much remained of Circus Maximus or many structures throughout the site. We were told that some of the materials used to build the Vatican and St. Peter’s basilica were taken from this site.

The Roman Forum was amazing and I am so glad I got to experience it and walk around such a historic site. After that, our tours for the day were over so a group of us went to the Vittoriano for lunch. Here I ate the best sandwich I have had since arriving in Rome and some really great pizza as well. This location has such a nice view of the city.

After this, we were making our way back to the hotel when we stopped by a medieval store and we looked at all sorts of cool little objects that fascinated us. I was personally interested in the medieval chess set and the Harry Potter wands. There was a free museum of medieval armor and it was a super cool store that was very unexpected.

To end my night off strong I went to a Roma vs Torino soccer match where unfortunately Roma lost 3-2 by a last minute winner. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was amazing and it was an experience I will never forget. Forza Roma!

Sincerely,

– Eric Rico Fajardo