Some Recent Shots

Joel at the theater in Taromina, Sicily.

Coming up the stairs at the Royal Palace in Naples. No big deal.

Mike talks with students in the Royal Palace Theater, Naples.

A number of us wondered where we could
get one of these--a rotating reading desk!

Day 8: Naples

     The departure from Sicily was bittersweet--as you can tell from previous blogs, I think it's fair to say we all fell in love with the charm of Southeowever, our time in Naples so far has by no means been lacking in sweetness (including, but not limited to visiting exciting new sites, deepening our knowledge on course themes, as well as obligatory gelato).

     We started our day with a quick metro trip to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale de Napoli, which houses one of the largest and most extensive collection of Roman Archeological artifacts. Founded by Charles the Third of Spain in 1750, the museum features items discovered during the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The neoclassical building itself was beyond impressive, with imitation Greek columns on the facade demonstrating how identity can be built on influences from the past. Once inside, we were even more blown away by the collection ( which was inherited from the well-known Farnase family). The Farnase Bull, the largest statue from antiquity, was a definite highlight. Carved from a single piece of marble, it served as a testimony of wealth and power--a common theme represented in the overall grandeur and splendor of the statues in the collection.

     A very interesting part of the exhibitions was the "Gabinetto Segreto," a collection of phallic and erotic art from ancient times. Because these artifacts were placed apart due to their perception as unfit and indecent, they became "pornographic," even though this was not their intended nature. Male genitalia was a symbol of power, used in art to demonstrate domination and scare away evil spirits. The fact that this collection is still shielded from the general public brings about an interesting discussion as to how history is created based upon the story we choose to enact. 

     Our second stop of the day was a trip to the Naples Duomo. We visited the baptistery built in the 5th century, which is located in the original portion of the church built on top of a Greek temple. The elaborately decorated ceiling mosaic depicted scenes displaying the splendor of heaven and the victory of Christ. It was very interesting to compare the use of the Jewish Mikvah to the below-ground baptismal fount, which is meant to reflect the Early Christian understanding of death in baptism. The rest of the church served as a crossroads of east and west influences, and features a vial of blood from the Patron Saint Gennaro (which is said to liquify for good fortune of the city). Even though we have visited many churches during our stay, their beauty and intentions have yet to cease to amaze me.

    Caught in some brief rain showers (the first of the trip!!), we traveled to our final destination for the day, the Royal Palace of Naples. Built for Charles the Third of Spain, this enormous neoclassical style palace was meant to portray a message of intimidation and strength. This was very easy to understand as we walked up the enormous marble staircase and entered into the ornate rooms of the palace. The impressive use of rich colors and expensive materials, as well as skilled painting to create illusions of depth, made the palace a testament of skill and advanced proficiency in the arts. 

    As we continue on our journey, it will be very interesting to explore the concept of the multiple purposes of religious, as well as political sites.

-Hope Koene 

Day 5: Taormina

Day 5: Taormina

Today we started out at a site of ancient tombs and a church in a cave. We've been talking a lot about how one structure/object could have been used for many different functions and purposes so it was interesting to see how these tombs had been converted into medieval homes and used up into the 19th century by the poor. The church was cut out of rock and still had traces of frescos (a painting done in water color on wet plaster on walls or ceilings-used in Roman times). It's interesting to talk about how the concept of sacred spaces and religion has changed over time. During the 14th century when this church was in use, religion was the center of community, but it was more about personal devotion, communion, and individual prayer to the saints. We were asked what makes a space sacred and it seems that it's the idea that a space is designated/set aside for that specific purpose as well as elements such as the art, bread, wine, and decorations that make it look and feel sacred.

After a short bus ride we arrived in the small town of Taormina. It is one of the most visited places in Sicily. It's located on a mountain so looking around we could see the sea below us and Mount Etna in the distance. We walked through the streets of the town looking at the cute gelato, ceramic, and souvenir shops before stopping to go our separate ways for lunch. Some of us ate out on a terrace at a restaurant that serves gluten free pasta (I was very excited) and then ran to get gelato and crepes before going to visit the Roman theater.

The theater was amazing and when we climbed to the top we found a gorgeous view of the sea and the town so naturally we took a lot of pictures. In order for the people sitting in the stands to hear the performers, most theaters were situated so that the ocean was in front of it and a mountain or wall was behind it. The wind from the sea helped the sound travel up to the audience and the mountain/wall blocked it from escaping.  We learned that Roman and Greek theater differed in that the Greeks used it more to teach about life and politics but the Romans, who displayed gladiators and live animals as well as plays and music, used it more as entertainment. Today the theater is generally used from May to October for concerts, operas, and festivals so I'm planning on coming back to Italy for that (sorry mom and dad).

-Chelsea

More Pics from Professore Michele

I will miss you, Sicily

Lynn discusses the votives in Syracuse, Santa Lucia

looks on in approval

Agrigento

Our private guard dog in the Valley of the Temples

Students interpreting the first temple

Selina ponders a sacrifice

Lynn renders her opinion of the recent installation

Agrigentine goat, whose neck itches

It's a think-piece

Agritourismo

Lyndsey and Hope interpret a Roman mosaic

Splendid morning view from hotel in Syracuse

Syracuse's Greek theater

Elon Honors putting the "study" in study-abroad

Day 4:Siracusa!

At the Capuchin Quarry.

Today, we explored a small town in Sicily called Siracusa (Syracuse). After meeting our new tour guide, Enzo, we toured an ancient quarry, which was originally used by the Greeks for limestone. Through the years, though, people have used the quarry for many different reasons, such as a family tomb or a shelter during a bomb raid. While hearing about the history of this quarry, I realized that this one location connects several different traditions and religions, including Greeks, Arabs, and Christian monks (all of them owned the quarry land at one point). Since the crossing of different cultures is one of our course themes, I was very happy to make this observation at a secular place, since we usually discuss it in the context of churches or temples.

Next, we toured an ancient archeological park, which included another quarry (called the “Paradise Quarry”), a Greek alter from the 5^th century BCE, a Greek theater, and a Roman amphitheater. The theater was especially interesting because we talked about how the Greeks used drama to explain way of life to uneducated commoners. Some people in our group started wondering if the content of these plays could have been propaganda, with the wealthy aristocrats trying to censor the knowledge of the commoners. Regardless of whether or not the rich people intentionally brainwashed the commoners, this question does highlight our course theme of the “power paradox,” which is basically just the study of who has power and how the people without power interact with the individuals who do have power. Anyway, we were able to contrast the Greek theater with the Roman amphitheater (an amphitheater has a full circle of seats, whereas a theater is just the semi-circle shape). Since the Roman amphitheater was a little larger than the Greek theater, the Romans could use the space for gladiatorial games and animal showcases as well as for drama.

After the park, we toured the Duomo of Siracusa, which was breathtakingly beautiful. The structure was originally a Greek temple to the goddess Athena, but when the Christians came to power they built on the foundations to create a church. We could especially see the resemblance to the Greek temples when we went inside the church, as the interior housed many columns, which would have signified the distinction between the outer porch and the inner room of the Greek temple. In the church, however, the columns just surrounded the central part of the church.

To finish the day, we saw the Mikvah of Siracusa, the oldest surviving mikvah in Europe. A Mikvah is a ritual bathing for purity in the Jewish tradition. As this mikvah represented something of both historical and religious significance, I was very excited to see it, and I was not disappointed. Located far below ground, the Jews were able to hide the mikvah when the Arabs, and later the Normans, came and dispersed many of the Jews. The bathing pools in the mikvah were surprisingly small, and I noticed that there were different chambers for wealthy people to separate from the commoners when bathing. This distinction reminded me of the bath structure we saw at the Roman villa yesterday, since there was a separate facility for the commoners.

Before I finish my post, I just wanted to do a quick shout-out to my mom and dad. I love you both and I miss you, but don’t worry about me because I am having an amazing time on my study abroad!

--Meara

Day 3: Agrigento!

The group at Valle dei Templi.

We woke up early and boarded the bus to see the Valle dei Templi. I was surprised to see so many well preserved temples in such a small area. Joel and I joked that they were probably fake; it was too convenient to have so many temples nearby. Around the 5^th century BCE, the Greeks built these fifteen temples within seventy years. We saw a few of them and of course we all stopped to take a few selfies.

Our tour guide pointed out that there was minimal innovation between the temples. It was interesting because I never considered how the lengthy time it took to build them didn’t leave much time to try new things. Each temple took about twenty years to build, and the average lifespan then was forty years. An architect really only had time to build one temple within a lifetime.

We learned about how the Greeks valued perfection, and they achieved this perfection with symmetry. There was also a lot of numerical symbolism. For instance, the ratio of columns and even the square footage held meaning. I knew that statues and paintings could be religious, but I never really realized that even the number of columns was meaningful before.

Before arriving at the Valley of Temples, we did a reading on a temple called the Olympiad. This temple was huge, three times larger than the Parthenon. From the reading, we learned about the significance of numbers in the architecture and how the architects spent time making sure that the numbers were correct. They had to alter certain aspects of the building to make sure the columns were the right ratio. It was really interesting to see the Olympiad after reading about it.

We all got on the bus again, and most people fell asleep (and took pictures of other people sleeping). We stopped to get lunch in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. It was delicious though. The waiters explained how all of the food was grown right there on the farm, and it was all very fresh. I tried many new kinds of food, including a delicious meat that I am going to pretend was cow.

Our last stop of the day was a Roman Villa. We saw many beautiful mosaics that were impressively intact. My favorite part of the stop was seeing the Roman baths. There were several different rooms of different temperatures of water along with a gymnasium and a changing room. However, I think the bathroom was most characteristic of Roman culture. It had several seats all in one room and just really exemplified how the Romans were not ashamed of their nudity. The guide talked about how the baths in general were a sort of ancient country club where informal business could be done as well. I just found the lack of privacy in the whole bath complex interesting.

My favorite mosaic was in the gymnasium. It showed four chariots and crowds cheering them on. The people in the crowds had bread in their hands, and we talked about how the rulers of the Roman empire provided entertainment and bread to appease the citizens.

Altogether, it was a big day. I think it’s safe to say we were all happy to pass out on the bus on our way to Syracuse.

--Mary Ellen

Day 2: Cefalù

This morning we traveled out of Palermo and towards the town of Cefalu.  As we drove away from the city and traveled east along the coast, the Sicilian landscape transformed into picturesque rolling hills of farmland dotted with small towns made up of both individual villas and condominiums.  Upon arriving in Cefalu, the land was noticeably more hilly and as we drew closer, the Cefalu Cathedral could be seen looking over the town.  On top of the hill, we could also see a Norman castle, which was built upon a huge rock, known as La Rocca.  The outline of the castle as well as the multiple levels of guard walls surrounding it were visible from far below and looked like a formidable fortress protecting the town below.  

The town of Cefalu as it is known today is a coastal fishing town and looks much like the typical images of Sicily that we see on postcards and in guidebooks.  Narrow stone streets lined with shops and small restaurants wound up the hill, leading us to the cathedral and La Rocca beyond.  From the house windows above, families had hung their wash alongside colorful flowers and plants and lights celebrating the recent Epiphany holiday.   As we approached Cefalu Cathedral, two towers of Romanesque style could be seen peaking over the other buildings.   Vincento, our tour guide, described the cathedral as “the giant” and the city below it as “the dwarf.”  On the front wall of the cathedral, arrow slits could be seen on the first and second floors.  Near the door of the cathedral, there was a circle engraved, about 1.5 feet in diameter; this circle actually represented the typical size of a basket of durum wheat.  Both of these characteristics display an interesting detail about sacred spaces that we often overlook in modern times.  The church (or cathedral in this case) was for many towns and cities the center of social, economic, and political life- as well as religious.  Both business and personal interactions took place outside the walls of a space that served as the visible and intangible center of faith and religion.  The functionality of these spaces as places of community and kinship enhances their importance within the town.  For us, this was an interesting dynamic to encounter. 

This point also brought up an interesting question: why did the Normans build these churches in such earnest when they conquered Sicily?  The answer to this question involves many different factors.   The Norman conquest of much of Italy was shown to the people they conquered as a crusade.  In agreement with the Pope, each new Norman conqueror was first and foremost conquering the land for the purpose of the church, more specifically the Western Catholic Church.  The Cefalu Cathedral, begun in 1131 by Roger II, was one of these such establishments.  Not only did this agreement benefit the Pope and the entire Roman Catholic faith by expanding the number of believers, but also the Norman conquerors who wanted to establish, expand, and solidify their kingdom among people who were basically foreigners.  This situation was quite ideal for both parties involved and accounts for many of the churches that we see in modern Sicily today.

After visiting inside the cathedral and looking at the Byzantine-style mosaics and frescos inside, we continued on for a hike up the hillside towards the ruins of the Temple of Diana.  Along the way, we saw remnants of cisterns used by the fortress as well as storehouses for grains, ovens used for baking bread, and multiple sections of stone walls.   At the temple, we climbed upon the ruins and could see the entirety of the town below us – the beautiful beach, the marina where smaller ships were kept and the expanse of houses and farmland.   Although only our second full day in Sicily, the beauty was unmatched by anything previously seen, and there is only more to come!

--Jenna