After rolling out of bed a little later than usual, 19 of us met at Piazza del Risorgimento to begin our journey to the coast on our day off. For most of us, this was our first time using the subway in Rome, and we were lucky to have captain Kyle along to guide us through the chaos. After a couple different trains we arrived at our first destination called Ostia Antica: an archeaological park near the coast. This place had a lot of cool views and ruins similar to Pompeii. It also had a lot of history, but I don’t think any of us knew anything about that so feel free to look it up if you’re reading this. It was really nice to be able to move at our own pace on this day off and explore where our curious minds took us at this destination. I even had an opportunity to play eye spy from the top of a ruin! See if you can spot all 18 of the students that joined me on this adventure.

Eventually, 14 of us made our way back to the train station while the others stayed at the park to continue exploring. We played spoons (using sticks) while we waited for our train to arrive at 4:26 PM. Luckily, the other five students got to the train station at 4:25 PM and made it just in time. Alex only lost three euros as he panicked to jump on the train. Finally, we arrived at the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea (at the edge of Rome where our Rome metro passes would take us). We were relieved to make it just before sunset and enjoyed the evening on the beach.

On our way back to the train station, we grabbed some gelato, and Herggy enjoyed his 23rd cup in only nine days! We took the subway home, and everyone made it back safe. I’m looking forward to the adventures we will go on tonight!

– Jack M

After concluding our tour of the Roman Forum, we made our way over to the south side to climb Palatine Hill. Our tour guide, Cristian, noted that we were exploring some of the most ancient areas in all of Rome and had plenty of stories to tell. The name Palatine Hill was etymologically derived from the word “palace” and is famous for being the location Romulus and Remus were initially found – at least according to Cristian. Pictured below is our view from atop the hill:

Once we reached the top, we were welcomed by an all-encompassing view of the Circus Maximus. This was an enormous valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills that had the Colosseum just barley in view. The Circus was once home to Rome’s finest Ludi, which were public games that were connected to Roman religious festivals. Ludi consisted of a wide selection of different events, including horse and chariot racing, plays, recitals, and even gladiator fights. Today, the venue hosts artists such as Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones for tens of thousands of people and also serves as a public park. Check out our view from the bottom:

Our class kept busy both in and out of the class today by learning all about beam analysis and getting legally checked into the country by the Italian Polizia. We’ve been striving to rack up more steps with each passing day, clocking in at roughly twelve miles today. It was incredible to see the scale of these ruins in person and the amazing view of Rome we had at the top. Ciao!

Jack Hergott

To finish the “school week,” our class visited several Ancient Roman sites, including the Roman Forum, a large, open area where many ancient temples, markets, and places of worship used to stand. After a morning briefing on the Roman Forum in class and a quick lunch stop for pizza, we headed toward the site of the Forum. I am excited to report I was able to interact with the cashier at the pizzeria in solely Italian! It has been an adventure trying to learn a new language on the fly.

To navigate the expansive Roman Forum pictured above, our tour guide from the Colosseum, Cristian, accompanied us again. His knowledge of the site and sense of humor helped the group learn as much as possible about the Forum. When I was not stumbling over the uneven pavers that make up the roads in Italy, I was looking around at a variety of ruins that give a tiny snapshot of life in Ancient Rome. We saw several temples today, including the Temples of Saturn and Apollo, as well as a Constantine-era Church (4th century CE) and the remains of a marketplace where food and goods were sold. Temple remains are pictured below.

As I write this at 6:00 PM local time, I have walked nearly nine miles today. The class has stayed busy seeing the sights of Rome and by the evening we are all ready for bed after a quick bite of pizza, pasta, and/or gelato. For those wondering, the food in Italy is as good as it sounds! I look forward to hearing what my classmates have to say about the second half of this trip and to reconnect with those at home. Until then, Ciao!

Kyle Larson

Tony Hartmann – Senior Civil Engineer

For today’s class, we finally conducted the highly anticipated tour of the Roman Colosseum, or the ‘Amphitheatrum Flavium’, as it was originally named. To prepare for the visit, we spent the morning class period learning about the fundamental structural behavior of arches and arcades, as well as conducting a presentation on the colosseum’s history and reviewing a modern structural analysis of the structure.

Upon arriving at the Colosseum, we were greeted by our tour guide who spent the day sharing a passionate wealth of knowledge on the construction, history, function, and justification for creating such an impressive structure for its time. The tour began by leading us through the main concourse of the stadium, carrying with it a feeling of fascinating similarity compared to my recent visit at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Next, we were led out onto a platform that was level with the old ‘field’ inside the colosseum, made to resemble the feeling of standing inside the colosseum as if you were performing for the crowd. From here, we got an excellent look at the rooms and complexities built beneath the main floor of the colosseum where slaves, animals, and other competitors were held prior to competitions.

Image of the interior of the colosseum with a great view of the structures underneath the main entertaining floor.

Once we reached the second floor, we started to analyze the materials of the structure more carefully. Our guide pointed out to us that there were several reasons for the colosseum only having one side of the outer wall still standing. One of these reasons was that there was a considerable difference in the materials used in the concrete that was used to build one side versus the other – obviously, the stronger concrete mixture was used on the side that remains standing today.

Image of the original outer wall that still stands.

Image of the now revealed interior wall, due to the collapse of the outer wall.

After taking continuing the tour around the top of the colosseum, on our way out of the stadium, we were told stories of the different types of entertainment that would take place here. Interestingly, one of these is speculated to be documented naval battles that would be performed for the audience, where they would flood the floor of the stadium and bring boats inside to act out the given battle. However, there is controversy as to when, how, and even if this display could have been pulled off to a significant scale. Once we left the stadium and the tour had ended, we briefly stopped by the barracks in which the top gladiators would live and train for their future fights. Overall, this was a day full of monumental historical value and lessons taught in engineering and structures that I will never forget!

Image of the foundation of the ancient gladiator barracks and training grounds.

Nicole Harris- Senior Mechanical Engineer

Today our class visited the Vatican Museum, which included paintings, sculptures, mosaics, and lots of awe. My favorite part of this day was looking at the cars/ wagons the pope used to ride in. These vehicles ranged from carriages to Mercedes Benz! Not to mention all of them were extravagant and you could tell someone important rode in them. The engineering that just went into the mechanics of the carriages must have been very detailed in order to ensure that not only the pope was safe, but the vehicle could be moved efficiently and safely. I also really liked all the artwork at the beginning, there were so many paintings of so many different sizes I wasn’t sure where to look first, and this also continued throughout the museum. Every single painting told the viewer a story and it was fun to try to interpret what the artist was conveying to its audience and how that was important in those times. Some of these paintings were larger than life and took up an entire wall! Some had to be in special cases to have them preserved with temperature and light control. Most of these paintings had a style to them that I had a brief knowledge of because I took art history. The way they painted to include dimension, size and general picture was incredibly intricate and amazing. Another highlight of this day was the hallway of maps. On both walls there were maps of countries all up and down. I thought this was especially cool because they didn’t have half the technology we have today and still came up with extremely accurate and detailed maps. Near the end of the museum there were 2 full size maps with what the people back then thought the world looked like which was also crazy because only half of North America had been outlined and most edges were straight. A very cool day looking at everything and learning about this history and engineering!

Old Pope Car

Tapestry Depicting the Last Supper

Grant Gregory – Senior Electrical

Today started bright and early with a bus ride to Naples, Italy. Just outside Naples is the ancient city of Pompeii. Pompeii is very well known and famous because of the disastrous destruction of the city in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius exploded showering the city below in flaming rock and meters of ash. We started our tour in the ancient Greek style outdoor theater. Pompeii has three outdoor theaters each of a different style. The Greek one is the smallest and the oldest style being a single row of seats and rather small capacity.  Much of this theater is preserved and still intact today. This ancient Greek style theater is not in use or open to the public to view. From there we went to the more modern Roman style amphitheater. This theater is the half circle style outdoor theater that we think of today as an amphitheater. This style boast several improvements over the Greek style in that it has two levels of seating so its capacity is much higher. It also has been designed in such a way that actors speaking toward the audience have their voice bounce of off the hard stone and amplified. This allows the whole audience to hear the actors even if the actors speak in a normal tone. The final style of theater is the full Roman amphitheater. We unfortunately did not have time to see this one. It is a smaller version of the famous Roman Coliseum. It is a full oblong shaped theater with a huge amount of seating and retractable roof for rainy days.

Below is the Half Roman style theater:

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).

Eric Danner – Junior Mechanical Engineering Student

Today Rome finally set in… Upon waking and opening up my balcony window, I was met with pouring rain, a beautiful sight as compared to snow! I rejoined with my group from the previous night and trudged through the rain to the high-end shopping district of Trevi. I did not find any items to purchase, however, I found the best traditional Gelato shop! I was able to sit and have a cappuccino and try the vanilla gelato (Amazing!). While we sat and enjoyed our treats, live music poured up the street, complete with a man singing acoustic Metallica. Continuing with the theme of water, my group and I decided to adventure underground in the Trevi district. We were able to go below the street level down a staircase and check out the hidden aqueducts that fed the city from below. At the site, we saw the original stone foundations of the homes that stood here thousands of years ago. Additionally, the aqueducts that flow to the nearby trevi fountain and their storage reservoirs are found deep below the city at this site. It was fascinating to see how the new and modern city was built right on top of ancient Rome. A complex network of I-Beams and trusses allow the modern high-rise apartment buildings, restaurants, and shops to exist above. Finally, my group and I ventured back to the Castel Sant’Angelo and stood by the Tiber River. We watched the sun engulf the bridges connecting the Tivoli to Prati and the St. Peter’s basilica and its statue-lined driveway while two amazing musicians played on the shore. Overall, today was an excellent day full of culture, learning experiences, and new friendships!

Best,

Eric Danner