As I start this post, it is sprinkling lightly outside my studio window. I'm working on a sketch project that deals with the Pantheon. I have become very familiar with this famous architecture and its surrounding piazza over the past few days. The project involves combining several sketches together on one page.
In class on Friday, we went on the first of several outings called Socratic Sandals. The idea of these is to become more familiar with the history of Rome by actually going out and seeing the history. It is very amazing to hear the different things that have occurred in this city. For example, everywhere you walk, 60 feet below your feet is the level that the ground was at when the city of Rome was founded. Because of this, construction of new things such as the subway system is always hampered because they have to do archaeological digs before they can continue. Anyway, the Socratic Sandals were based on going underground. We visited three sites around the city. The first place we went to was the catacombs. The tunnel system that exists is mind boggling. It is somewhere around 15 miles of tunnels that the Romans excavated to bury their dead! The second place visited was the Basilica San Clemente. This was a church with an underground church below it. Back in the day, the caretaker of the church kept hearing running water below the church that he took care of. It kept him awake at night. Curiosity finally got the better of him so he broke through the floor and found a two story church below him. The running water was a spring that we actually all dipped our hands into and drank from. The water was delicious! The final place we visited was a church that decorated the walls with the bones and bodies of dead catholic monks. It was very macabre seeing so many dead bodies hanging from the walls. It was very pretty, but it was still difficult to think that you were surrounded by the bodies of thousands of dead people. An interesting note about the bone church. The deterioration of living material such as flowers and human bodies degrade at a slower speed. People place flowers on the graves of some of the monks and the flowers stay fresh for months. Very cool and creepy at the same time. I couldn't take photographs of any of these places because they are such sacred places.
I have really been enjoying taking photos while we are out and about in the city. Everything is so beautiful and the ruins of ancient buildings is something that I'm not used used to coming from the U.S. I don't know how many photos have been taken but it is easily in the thousands! Well, I think I have spent enough time on writing this post. I should probably get back to work. The rain is now coming down very heavily. It makes it so relaxing to have the windows open with the cool breeze blowing through the studio. Well, until next time, ciao!
In class on Friday, we went on the first of several outings called Socratic Sandals. The idea of these is to become more familiar with the history of Rome by actually going out and seeing the history. It is very amazing to hear the different things that have occurred in this city. For example, everywhere you walk, 60 feet below your feet is the level that the ground was at when the city of Rome was founded. Because of this, construction of new things such as the subway system is always hampered because they have to do archaeological digs before they can continue. Anyway, the Socratic Sandals were based on going underground. We visited three sites around the city. The first place we went to was the catacombs. The tunnel system that exists is mind boggling. It is somewhere around 15 miles of tunnels that the Romans excavated to bury their dead! The second place visited was the Basilica San Clemente. This was a church with an underground church below it. Back in the day, the caretaker of the church kept hearing running water below the church that he took care of. It kept him awake at night. Curiosity finally got the better of him so he broke through the floor and found a two story church below him. The running water was a spring that we actually all dipped our hands into and drank from. The water was delicious! The final place we visited was a church that decorated the walls with the bones and bodies of dead catholic monks. It was very macabre seeing so many dead bodies hanging from the walls. It was very pretty, but it was still difficult to think that you were surrounded by the bodies of thousands of dead people. An interesting note about the bone church. The deterioration of living material such as flowers and human bodies degrade at a slower speed. People place flowers on the graves of some of the monks and the flowers stay fresh for months. Very cool and creepy at the same time. I couldn't take photographs of any of these places because they are such sacred places.
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