J-term Abroad: Roman Structures, Engineering & Society

Monday, January 13th, 2019 (Day 9)

Hello, devoted blog readers! I’m Rachel Farah, one of two computer engineers on the trip and I am from the beautiful Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is already Day 9 of ENGR 271 and I can’t believe how fast everything is flying by!

Our day began with hotel breakfast croissants and class at 8:00 am. Today we discussed Arches and how to analyze art. This was very fitting since we were headed to the Sistine Chapel later that day. After our discussion, we had four more powerpoints surrounding Italian culture and engineering and set off to our rooms to drop off our stuff and head out.

We went out into the rain and began our walk to the chapel. When we arrived we had to wait in the long line of other eager people to see the beloved paintings of Michelangelo. About an hour later we were finally in! We swiped our tickets and began looking at the many paintings of saints. Before we could enter the chapel we had to make our way through various museums of art. A few of us stumbled upon a whole room with various pope mobiles across time. It was awesome to see the change in technology from the popemobile being a horse-drawn carriage to an automobile. We also saw the change from non-bullet proof to bulletproof glass from the popemobile in which John Paul II was shot. They depicted a video of the shooting and the Pope forgiving his shooter which gave me chills.

After this, we continued to the Sistine Chapel and went through many rooms with colorful ceilings and mosaic floors. Each painting depicting a holy moment was decked out in gold and royal blues and reds. It was beautiful how the paintings expressed to us the richness or the Kingdom of God. I was also incredibly overwhelmed by the number of statues, each more intricate than the last. I found my self struggling to take it all in. Each room of art we passed led right into another one and we began wondering if we would ever make it to the chapel.

Finally, after the incredible build up, we walked our way into the chapel. At this point, we had been exploring the museums for about 2 hours and were very ready to see The Creation of Adam. There were guards shouting “No Photos!” over and over again and people smushed together, it was chaos. However, I looked up and saw the breathtaking works of Michelangelo with The Creation of David near the center. To be honest, it was a lot smaller than most of us expected. It was, in fact, the same size as most of the scenes painted above. It got me wondering what made this one so much more special than the rest… Nevertheless, it was beautiful! Adam was painted with his hand struggling to reach out, while God’s arm was strongly placed toward Adam depicting that He is all powerful. We sat on the benches for a bit and just looked up, I don’t think all the time in the world could allow me to ever notice every detail.

After a bit, we got up and headed towards the exit. On our way back to the hotel we stopped by a flea market and got a nice laugh in by looking at all the fake designer items. We popped into a pizza shop for lunch. I got a rice ball with mozzarella in it and maybe I was just hungry but it was probably the best-tasting thing in the world.

Thanks for a nice day Rome,

Rachel 🙂

Hello! My name is Peter Elliott, I am a sophomore mechanical engineering student from Bloomington, Minnesota. I am writing to you on our second free day of the trip. Our group was divided among the island of Burano in Venice, the island of Murano in Venice, and Rome. I was with the group of five that went to Burano, so I will be sharing the day from the colorful island.

From left to right: Mitchell, Joe, Rachel, Nathan, and myself. On the ferry from the main island of Venice to the smaller island of Burano.

The day started at the Airbnb on the main island of Venice. After cleaning and checking out, the five of us went to the far side of the island to the ferry. We bought round trip tickets for 15 euros, which is a good deal considering each way was 45 minutes.  After arriving in Burano, we spent the first few hours walking around and taking pictures. Burano is less crowded than Venice and is full of brightly colored houses packed together. We walked through the narrow alleyways and along the canal, which is much clearer than in Venice.

For lunch we decided to get seafood since fishing is popular in Burano. We found a deal for a 5-course meal for 20 euros. We were skeptical, but it paid off. Lunch included bruschetta, seafood linguine, a plate of fried seafood (calamari), salad, and dessert. We were also given bread and champagne for free, which is unusual since normally nothing is free at restaurants in Italy. It was the best seafood I have ever had.

After lunch we boarded the ferry back Venice and met up with the group coming back from Murano. We boarded the train and began the 4-hour train ride back to Rome. Most of our group slept, tired from an eventful weekend.  It was a fun weekend, but now we are back to work bright and early tomorrow with class at 8am.

Before I go, I would like to give a very special birthday shout out to the one and only Deb Besser. I hope you had a fabulous day!

Ciao!

Peter   

“CoUnTrYrOaDs TaKe Me HoMe….”, the tone going in and out by 15 people sharing the same space, enjoying a modern Airbnb on the canals of Venice. A meal which consisted of Grandma Crosetto’s chunky tomato paste, Charles’s ceiling tested noodles, and Grant’s burnt Chicken Parmesan (Let’s not talk about how he bought mozzarella instead of parmesan). The first day of our free weekend in Italy has been a blast. It began with a nap that started yesterday at 6:00 p.m., which soon led to five snoozes. At 8:30 p.m. I thought it was time to set that fat 5:00 a.m. alarm. Eight and half hours later I was on a train to Venice for the first time on the trip, I had no idea what the day had in store for me.

At the arrival of Venice, I enjoyed the roaming. Glassware, we checked it out. Masks, we wore them. Gondolas, we saw weren’t cheap. Canals, we took pictures at. Now, here I am about 9:00 p.m. and I am very relaxed but full of energy. It was the first day Charles pedometer read under 10 miles. After many days of everything planned out it was nice to be able to take a city by ear. The highlight of the day had to be the dinner I spoke of earlier.

(Cheesy alert) In a city of history and beauty, it was the people that I spent it with that made the experience so enjoyable. Hotel rooms only have so much space. No way could 14 people enjoy each other’s presence between the tandem twin beds of Rome, but in this apartment we will all be able to welcome the night together.

So here I am, post-meal, writing a blog in between many sing alongs, happy to be where I am. Among the new friends Luke toasted too, I will have to cut this blog short to not miss out on this special moment. I hope tomorrow, Peter has more to say, but for tonight, know that Venice has treated us well. We are excited to wind down our time here in Rome and to move on our adventure through Italy.

Hello all! It’s your one and only Wisconsinite Tommie on this trip, Caitlin Cretton! Today was a nice day of rest and re-catching up before our free weekend in Venice.

We visited Villa Dei Quintili – Santa Maria Nova as well as Parco degil Acquedotti. Both of these cites gave us an opportunity to wander and look around at the amazing scenery and just enjoy being outside. To start the day we had class in the morning for about two hours at our hotel. After class we met with our tour guide of the day and she led us to our bus that we would take out of the central city but we were technically still inside Rome.

Our first stop was Villa Dei Quintili – Santa Maria Nova and here we saw what used to be a castle for two rich brothers and it was built in 151 A.D. The ruins still standing had several beautiful arches and layers within itself that we were able to walk through and explore. After doing some exploring there was a large structure made up of brick and mortar and later our tour guide let us know it was a tomb, which is the image on the left and there is a person in front to compare how large this tomb was. However, many of us students had several unanswered questions still. One of our main questions was where the rest of the building ended up because we were able to walk on the floor and see the foundations of the building but not its ceiling and most of the sides of the walls.

Our second stop of the day was the Parco degil Acquedotti which gave us the nice fresh air and nature that we all needed. It was a nice walk and we also were able to play with some dogs along the way.

We are all preparing for our weekend as we take a night of rest due to our early wake up call at 5:45 tomorrow. As Charles said, each day just gets better and better.

Hello! My name is Anthony Buchanan and I’m a junior mechanical engineering student from Crystal, Minnesota. We spent day 5 of our adventure visiting a few major archeological sites. We started out at 8:15am by taking the bus to the Domus Romane, an old Roman estate whose ruins were built upon during the Renaissance. The entrance to this archeological site was situated next to Trajan’s Column which was built around 115_AD to celebrate Rome’s victory over what’s now Romania.

After descending to the site, we were able to see what remains of the Domus Romane through a glass floor. The bulk of the tour consisted of a pre-recorded narrative accompanied by images projected onto the ruins to suggest what they might have originally looked like. We were able to see the baths, including the frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (mild room), and Caldarium (hot room), as well as the remains of a few rooms throughout the estate, a Roman street, and an adjoining house. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the site.

After the tour, we walked through the Jewish ghetto, where we saw several examples of building and building materials that were repurposed throughout their lives.

A short walk from the ghetto took us to the Pons Fabricius, the oldest bridge in Rome. This bridge, built in 62_BC, spans the Tiber River and is a great example of the ancient Romans’ use of arches.

Our final site of the day was Castel Sant’Angelo. This historic building was originally built next to the Tiber River as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian and his family and was later converted into a temporary home for the Pope in times of unrest. Today however, it’s simply a museum.

What up! It’s your favorite (and only) Electrical Engineer of the group, Charles Augustine. Today was a big day for us, and it included a lot of walking (12 Miles by my count!). Just after a quick breakfast, we left our hotel bright and early at 7:45 and walked over to the Vatican for the pope’s weekly audience.

Here’s our ticket for the Pope

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The Pope talked for a short while and then other people translated everything he said into about nine languages (which may be an exaggeration, but it sure felt like a ton). I tried my best to snap a picture of Il Papa as he walked into the room, but all I could manage to capture was a sea of phone screens being held up, which is far less interesting so I didn’t include it.

After the audience with the Pope, we toured St. Peter’s Basilica which was, in a word, incredible. Of course, as it is for most things like this, pictures don’t come close to doing it justice. It is unbelievably massive, and very beautifully decorated with paintings and statues.

By far the highlight of the day for me was climbing the 551 steps up the basilica and looking out onto the city. The climb was tough as the stairs were steep and claustrophobic, but the view was entirely worth it. The next few photos highlight how small the steps were the for the majority of the climb.

I know it doesn’t really look like it, but it felt like I was bent over at a 45-degree angle the whole way down.

After the long, sweaty climb we were treated to this gorgeous 360^o panoramic view of the city.

After the basilica, we went on a guided tour of the Necropolis, which is the area under the Basilica. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures in there, so you’ll just have to trust me that it’s pretty darn cool. Under the Basilica there is the ancient Roman Necropolis, which was a massive cemetery (of sorts), where the wealthy Romans would build mausoleums to bury their dead and keep in touch with them in the afterlife. It was buried when Constantine (the first Christian Emperor) decided to build a Basilica in honor of St. Peter, in the location of the current Basilica. He took the top off the Vatican hill and used the dirt to cover the Necropolis and flatten the area. In later years, it was discovered that the tomb of St. Peter himself was buried along with the Necropolis and was re-discovered in the 1940s when excavations began under Pope Pius XII.

After we finished at the Vatican, we had our second (and final) Italian lesson. Today’s focus was on how to order (wine) at Italian bars and how to shop at Roman grocery stores. We took a short field trip in the middle of class and bought some pastries from the shop on the street below, but apparently, it wouldn’t have been appropriate to order some wine. Lame. All in all, this day has been great. Every day is getting better than the last, and I don’t expect this trend to end any time soon.

See you soon Mom!!

-Charles

Side note- I’ve taken it upon myself to document the trip through portraits of Seagulls. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Hi Everyone! My name is Kristen Andrews and I am a Junior Mechanical Engineering student from Rosemount, Minnesota. Day 3 of our time in Rome was spent in class and out exploring some classic Roman tourist sites.

We met for class at 8:30am for a brief lecture before our adventure was to begin. Professor Besser discussed engineering aspects regarding forces on buildings. After a few student presentations, Claudio and three small vans met us outside the hotel. Our first stop was at the basilica of St Clemente. From the outside, the basilica was impressively large. The inside was even more majestic, with paintings on the ceilings. However, the most interesting aspect of the basilica was beneath the current structure. Descending down a flight of stairs, we were taken to a completely different world. The air was musty, it was slightly dark, and at times could give a claustrophobic person quite a scare. Beneath the current church was two stories of older buildings, the lowest dating back the first century AD. There was also a fresh water spring on the bottom floor. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed while in this building. After the basilica of St Clemente, we walked over to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The entrance was near a famous archway created by an old emperor who erected the monument after a key win in the war.

Our tour guide for this location was Grant, with help from the Rick Stevens travel book. Rick provided a spicy type of writing style for our adventure through the Roman Forum. Just for the day Grant became our tour guide as we walked the ancient streets that Augustus and Julius Ceaser once walked themselves.(editors note)

Between the two of them, the group learned much about the site. Even though the knowledge was coming from 90 percent Rick and the last 10 percent from Grant (editors note) There were marble pillars that were almost stolen (note the lines at the top of the pillar, those are indents from rope and vinegar being used to try to cut down the pillar as noted by Rick Steves.

There was a large temple (larger than a football field) which is only 1/3 still standing.

The cementation site of Julius Ceaser also resides in this location. At the top of Palatine hill, there was a race track where chariots were raced, which we visited.
The rain started but we managed to walk to the Trevi fountain and also to the Spanish steps.

As we wind down our days in Rome, we will be visiting some of the many churches and chapel through out the city. Look for pictures of the Vatican to come soon. The next destination for us is coming up this weekend when a majority of us will be going to Venice Italy to celebrate and visit the city. We are hopeful that it wont be under water but excited to see what the city has to offer and how it differs from Rome.

Hello Everyone! I am Mitchell Allen, a sophomore computer engineering student from Rochester, Minnesota. Day 2 of ENGR 271 was full of adventures that were both fascinating and educational. The day started early with a surprisingly tasty hotel breakfast that started at 7am (midnight back home) that included orange juice, muffins, croissants and much more. Our Italian guide Claudio set up a tour for the Coliseum. Big vans were waiting for us outside the hotel which were situated so that three people are sitting facing another three, which was new for us.

Mitch standing in front of the Colloseum looking suave per usual.

After arriving, Claudio gave us a summary of the surrounding area which included the Coliseum and also a gladiator training school named Ludus Magnus (big game). The school is the only one of its kind that was attached to the Coliseum directly underground. The tunnel is no longer functional.

Before the official tour, Claudio gave us a little lesson on the Greek influence on the outside makeup of the Coliseum. The columns, going up, are each different types of Greek columns.  On the lowest level, the Coliseum sports Doric columns, which have flat tops. Above, Ionic columns are added which have two volutes on the top. Finally, the top two columns are Corinthian style, which are more intricate and spiky.

What’s left of the former gladiator homes just outside of the Colosseum.

This shows a reenactment of what the ancient romans used to raise people to the floor of the stadium. What a lot of people don’t know is that there was actually a tunnel system under the main combat floor. Slaves would work below and feed the animals and prepare gladiators.

We had to split into two groups to go to the tour and I ended up being in the second group.  While the others were taking the tour, we were free to explore. We went to the top of a nearby hill (we later learned it was called Palatine Hill) which had pretty trees and a church on top.  The church, which was open to our surprise, was pretty and had crosses for sale which we picked up. We then made our way back in time for the tour. The tour required wearing earbuds connected to a walkie talkie from the tour guide so that she could be easily heard. The tour was spectacular and informative. One thing I found interesting was the amount of engineering that took place below the fighting stage. There were many elevators underneath the stage that allowed for gladiators or wild animals to be lifted vertically onto the stage for the onlookers to enjoy. These elevators were normally powered by slaves operating a winch.

an exterior shot of the Colosseum, or at least what still stands. This is the only remaining exterior of the building and is constructed of a special rock taken from local Roman mines.

Just a few of the engineers taking a much needed break in front of one of the millions of Roman churches.

After making our way through the tour to the highest level of the Flavian Amphitheatre (the official name), we had the opportunity to observe the magnificent view of not only the whole Coliseum and also of Rome.

The adventure didn’t stop after the tour ended. We still had to navigate back to the hotel through the metro system. We were given directions at the beginning of the day and managed to follow them flawlessly to the correct destination, which was steps from where we were staying.  Roman public transportation is not bad!

Professor Besser had a debrief session planned for us after arrival where we went over cultural differences between America and Italy. Then, we walked to an Italian language lesson. We got to learn how to ask important questions such as “May I pet your dog?”. Italian is very similar to Spanish, which made it fun and easy to pick up.  I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store! Ciao!

For those of you who love food, I thought I would take the chance to post some of our pictures from our meals. Be warned this food is very good and may lead to you wanting to travel to Italy. Also, we would love to share pictures of the different wines made in Italy but, not much changes visually from red wine to red wine. They mostly look the same. Enjoy!

Written by Mitchell Allen Edited by Grant Gunderson

The time has finally come! we have just arrive in Italy in the last two days and have started off the trip with a ton of fun activities. Since the last two days were so crazy for us, I will be posting two blogs tonight to give you updates from our first two days as well as some great photos of the sights and the group. Just a warning to all some of these photos may just blow you away. Please look at all photos at your own risk because mind blowing may occur.

just another photo of the large celebration in the plaza. just on the other side of this crowd is the famous Trevi fountain. You may recognize the fountain from the Lizzy McGuire movie. 

In Rome alone, it is hard to walk farther than a block and find yourself not standing by a castle.

it may surprise you but, that is a hole in the roof. This picture from the Pantheon shows the architecture and engineering that went into one of the largest domes of ancient Rome. The rain that falls through the roof drains into small holes on the floor.

The streets were packed with people for the epiphany celebration. This photo is of a local plaza and the corresponding church there. Something really cool about these plazas is they have Egyptian obelisks everywhere taken straight from ancient Egypt.

Hello from the Structures of Engineering J-Term class of 2019! Today we finally touched down in the place we’ve been studying and preparing for, Italy! So far, we have been able to push through the jet lag and begin immersing ourselves in the Italian Culture. First we started walking towards the Castle then we traveled to the Pantheon which was a beautiful representation of the religious history of Rome. All throughout the temple are giant statues depicting Jesus throughout his life as well as beautiful paintings lining the walls. It is one of the oldest standing buildings here in Rome. One really cool aspect of the Pantheon besides all the Catholic altars is the gaping hole at the top of the dome. It is able to allow rain to fall inside of the building and drain into a central basin in the floor. It would be really amazing to see that in action. So far everyone is in good spirits and happy to be out and about! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s adventure brings! Ciao!

Rome at sunset is a gorgeous place to be. With all the old buildings highlighted by the beautiful colors of the sunset.

Among all the craziness we were lucky enough to experience the epiphany celebration here in Rome. The streets were filled to the brim with people and vendors and performers. It was amazing to see all the different types of food and products being vended that you don’t normally see in the US. To top it off nobody even got lost on our first day in Rome which is a pretty impressive feat when you think about all the people and craziness the city brings.

Written by Maddie Alidiner Edited by Grant Gunderson

Welcome to the blog for our 2019 January trip to the beautiful country or Italy! We are super excited to be your blog boys for this trip. We have some big shoes to fill from last time but, as your resident, and only three, seniors on the trip we are going to give you are best content we can, so you can follow us on our trip through Italy. This blog will be your one shop stop for all things Italy during our trip but, be on the lookout for a few different types of content we are hoping to post while on our trip (hint, it’s going to be a podcast). We are excited to do the podcast because it is something that will not only be fun for us but, let us have some great conversation with our classmates as well as talk  about what we are experiencing. Just before we get going, we wanted to do our best to introduce all three of ourselves to you along with a little introduction to our class. The three of us will be contributing to the editing of each blog but, as a class we will be working to write each and every blog so you get a chance to hear everyone’s voice. As a group we are made up of 3 seniors, 8 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 1 freshman. Once we get going into December, expect the posts to pick back up again as we prepare to head out. As our trip starts, each one of us is excited to introduce ourselves to you and give you our thoughts on Italy.

Hello everyone! My Name is Grant Theodore Gunderson. I am a senior Mechanical Engineering Major from the beautiful and scenic Lakeville Minnesota, Go Panthers. I am the Oldest of two kids and my family still lives in Lakeville with our two yellow labs. I am the esteemed Commissioner of our student professor engineering fantasy football league, and proud to post that on my resumé. I’m a huge fan of food and wine and for those reasons I can’t wait to experience everything Italy has to offer. Seeing that my mother is an English major, I’m doing my best to make her proud with my writing skills. Still, I have a feeling I will be getting regular texts about both my grammar and writing style. Expect improvements to come. Like I mentioned above, we are looking to start a podcast while overseas to give you our somewhat funny takes on wine, things we don’t understand, our daily activities, interviews with our classmates and more. As the brains of this operation, a self-given title, I appreciate any immediate feedback you guys can give and feel free to let us know what you think of the coverage. I am excited to be part of our squad we dubbed the “Blog Boiz” this January and hope we can give you a glimpse into our fun abroad. I hope that we can give you different ways to keep up with us and our classmates and a peak into the fun we will be having.
-Grant T. Gunderson (Right)

Howdy y’all, it’s your lone Kansan representative on the trip, and as far as I know, at the school. I’m Luke Rachwal, and a product of Shawnee, Kansas. I’m from a family of two siblings, a brother and a sister, as well as the most adorable Maltese-poodle mix you’ll find west of the Mississippi. I’m a senior, as mentioned by Grant, and will be graduating in May. I have a job lined up too, so senioritis has been a chronic illness thus far in my semester, and I don’t expect improvements to be made in the near future. I have a real knack for poorly and quickly photoshopped pictures, which is basically just me cropping heads onto existing pictures, nothing requiring any real skill. I’m a baseball player at UST, and probably am the required “weird lefty” that every baseball team needs. My goal as a part of the “Blog Boiz” is for Grant’s grammar and spelling to improve but I must say, the outlook is exceptionally bleak, so apologies in advance. I’m very much looking forward to this trip and have been ever since I came across Professor Besser in Anderson Student Center during the Study Abroad Fair last year and couldn’t ask for a better group to make my first visit to Europe with! Please let me know if I can help anyone with anything, or if you just want to be my friend, that works too.
P.S. My dog is not named Toto, and I have no friends named Dorothy. Though if I were a character from the cult classic film Wizard of Oz, I would probably liken myself to the Tin Man because my knees are similar to those of a 60-year old.
-Luke J. Rachwal (Center)

Hey everyone, I want to start by saying thanks for choosing the “Blog Boiz” as your travel companions on this adventure of a lifetime! I am a senior mechanical engineering student and will be graduating this upcoming May. My home stomping grounds is the always classy St. Cloud, MN. I am the youngest in my family. I have two older brothers who are 27 and 28 and an older sister who is 31. My sister is married and has two daughters who are currently 2 and 5. And yeah, they are the cutest kids you’ll ever see and I’m more than happy to share some pics and adorable, funny stories about them. I have had a couple of internships over the last couple of years, and I am currently working as a Tech-Aide at 3M in the Abrasives System Division. I have always been an avid outdoorsman. If it’s nice and warm out, you can find me on a motorcycle either on the street or some off-road trails. If it’s too cold for that, it’s a safe bet to assume I’m out sending it and shredding some gnar on the ski slopes. I’ll do my best to assist Luke in his goal to help Grant’s grammar and spelling, but keep in mind that I can only do so much. If you happen to find yourself tuning in to our podcast, I’ll probably be the guy going on rants about crazy, interesting, or completely random things we find and experience along our journey. I have always had an immense love for Roman history, so I can’t wait to get going on this trip and to get to know everyone!
-Nathan D. Hahn (Left)