THIRTY-SEVENTH
DAY
WALKS
AND TALKS
October
19, 2005
One
of the things that really has made the Academy a special place is what they
call Walks and Talks. It is a constant
series of adventures around Rome with various scholars leading groups around
the classical antiquities of the city.
Yesterday, our walk and talk was led by the head of the humanities here
at the Academy, Ross Holloway. Ross is a
Brown University professor who is nearly retired from the Classics
Department. He sure looks the part with
his beard, khaki suit and traditional summer hat, just like a professor. He will lead us on a trip around Rome’s
ancient theatres. They are located in an
area of Rome that was called “Campus Martius”.
All four that we will see today are located between the Campo de Fiori
and the Ghetto. Dr. Holloway is a true
classics guy and doesn’t much care for anything that is AD. He starts by describing the temples that
exist as a refuge for feral cats at Largo Argentina. They were all constructed at different times
and the most interesting one is the round temple simply called Temple 2. It is easy to see the circular shape from
above the ruin where we are standing.
All of these temples were built before the birth of Christ. At least one is from 300 BC. It is not easy to visualize life in Rome at
that time but imagining the scene is the way to take it in. It makes you feel like a part of ancient
history.
We
then cross the street on the way to the theatre of Pompey. This huge theatre has a footprint that is
extremely large, extending at least a couple of hundred years from front to
back. We go into a restaurant and walk
down a series of steps until we end up in the cavern that was the backstage
area of the theatre. It is hard to
believe that we are standing there, almost overwhelming. Even the fellows who have been there before
can not help but be taken with the moment.
There is a model of the Theatre down there and we plan to go back and
eat there soon. What a trip. Two more important facts, it is thought that
the theatre could hold as many as 20,000 seats and some say more; fact two is
more interesting, Julius Caesar was killed right at the front of this theatre
around l4 AD. What?
We
go on to visit the Theatre Balthus and the Theatre Marcellus before the tour
ends. Balthus is still under excavation
and can be seen at a depth of more then 30 feel below street level on
Saturdays. We say we will go back, but
there are so many things to see and places to go. We end standing in front of
the imposing façade of Theatre Marcellus.
There are three apartments on top of the theatre that are in use
today. They are all extravagantly large
and owned by noble families with great wealth.
It would be so great to get inside of one but I am afraid it is not in
the cards; oh well, one can only imagine.
In case you might want to stay there, one is rented out for E17, 000 per
month. Our new apartment is steps from our finish.
We
signed up for our apartment today. The
woman who owns the big tourist restaurant in the Ghetto, DaGighetto, is our
landlady. We have eaten here before, but
today we have the business of signing the lease and putting down the security
deposit. She seems like a nice lady, but
who can tell? She promises to have it
cleaned up and ready for us. There are
issues about where and how to get the computer up and running. There is no phone, so we will face that
problem when we return on November 13 from a planned trip to Spain. When you sign up for a phone in Italy, it
must be for a year. They are expensive
so it may be that we will use some sort of Internet point for our
computer. We have a wireless airport
card, but there doesn’t seem to be so many spots for that around here. Still, we like the location and will work out
the details.
We
then have the oddest lunch of the trip at a restaurant that serves Italian
Tapas, all meats and fish wrapped around some cheese or peppers. I thought it was good, but Kim didn’t get
it. It was an Enoteca and the wine, a
Multipulchino from Abruzzi, that we’ve had once before was excellent. This time I bought a bottle to take home at
8E. Pretty good price, I think. We also
each bought a pair of shoes. One of my pairs
of Merrills just couldn’t take anymore and has now been replaced. The day to day seems to be taking over and I
go to the Gym for a late workout. At our
room we have a light meal and an early evening. Could we be getting the
rhythm? Kim is studying Italian and is
in dogged pursuit of making progress. I
think she is getting a lot out of her class.
There are people in the class that she likes and, of course, she wants
to be the head of her group. What’s new?
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