"You know VVs aren't allowed outside the palace without an escort!"

Today is the first day in a while that our internet has worked; I apologize if anyone has been on edge waiting for my next post. Friday we returned to the Forum, and tomorrow we'll be back there again for a site report by one of the graduate students on the Arch of Titus, then moving on to the Palatine and the Colosseum. On Friday we moved to the back of the Forum, exploring a lot of the newer buildings that extended the Forum after the Republic, and into the villas that lay just outside the Forum's actual boundaries, but still within the archaeological site. Later Friday night all the guys went over to the girls' apartment (which is huge; they like to bring up the fact that they have a study) with the grad students to have spaghetti that the girls (meaning Ariana) prepared. After dinner everyone went back to the Pio to watch an episode of the HBO "Rome" series on a projector in one of the classrooms. I didn't actually attend, and instead went for a walk around Rome. I really can't get enough of the buildings here. I can watch "Rome" anytime, but I won't be there forever.
Saturday we met in the Piazza for a tour of the Campo market place and various food vendors with Bill Guion, an American professional chef living and working in Rome who showed us where to get what for cooking Italian food. That night we helped him prepare risotto and lemon chicken, along with bread, cheese, and salad. The food was really good, and incredibly easy to make. Afterwards, both grad students (Ashli and Robin) went on a walk with Nick, Kayla, Dan, Stephen and me to the Trevi Fountain, and then to the Spanish Steps. Kayla was cold, so we walked home by way of the Tiber and played poker for about an hour before going to bed. The Spanish steps are a lot of fun, because once you're at the top you can see out over a lot of Rome, the tops of cathedrals poking out everywhere above the flat tops of apartment buildings and city shops. There were some Italians sitting on the steps playing guitar and singing, and everyone there seemed to be in love with something, if not someone. I could have done with a castle or two, but the view was pretty.
This morning, Dan, Nick, and I went for a run to the Villa di Borghese, a large park more north in Rome. We ended up getting a little lost and running around ten miles, which my Achilles tendons have yet to appreciate. Tonight we are going into the Jewish Ghetto in search of deep fried artichokes, which are somewhat famous and sound delicious (although, after a ten mile run, not a whole lot doesn't).

The video is of the Temple of Vesta, where the flame of Rome was kept and tended by the Vestal Virgins (hence the title to the post; if you aren't following the relevancy of the titles, you should rent "History of the World, Part I," both for future reference recognition on my blog, and for your own personal edification), followed by a survey of the villa where the Vestal Virgins lived. They were I believe the only people who lived in the Forum, which says something about how important they were (very). Their floor of their home was raised up and heated from underneath, I forget what it's called, but people are just starting to do this again and thinking it's an amazing, innovative way to do things, except that people were doing it in ancient Rome...The statues that are still in their home are in pretty good condition, and portray various Vestals from the past that were particularly important or notable. The house also extends quite a ways, again a testament to the wealth of and importance placed upon the station of Vestal.


Temple to Antoninus and Faustus, later turned into a church (most of the building behind the columns is the rebuilt church).
Slaves' quarters that would have been underneath a Roman household. Whenever you see something like this there's a raging curiosity that burns in your soul while you're marveling at the front of the object, standing behind a railing, because you know that fifteen feet away from you is a doorway that goes to a hallway that goes to an underground house that you can't see from where you are, but you can see barely around the corner enough to taunt your imagination horribly. I just want to play here.

Close-up of the #$&%#@ hallway that we can't $*^&%*# walk through. #(&$#$^@*$.
I forgot what exactly this was, but it was huge. The remaining portion is that of the low roof, too. The original building would have extended over where we were standing, and it's ceiling would have jumped in the same dome-like fashion of the ceiling you see about half as high again as what is left. It's building was begun by Maxentius, and finished by one of the emperors, I think Hadrian, but I'm probably totally wrong. A lot of bath-like architecture.



The next two photos are of the "Tower" in the Pio. This is a part of the building that UW restored, and is an actual 13th century tower part of the original building. I come here to read Latin, but inevitably end up drawing swords in my notebook...In the picture of the tower on the web site for the Rome Program, there is a bunch of medieval furniture, but they have apparently done away with this, which I am not happy about at all. But it's a neat place to study.

Latin Word for the Day: incertum, adj., "uncertain."

Vale, amici.