Rome via Brooklyn

491 words.

I’m going to keep this post extra short because I have other work to do (to say nothing about figuring out logistics for Bay of Naples Thursday-Friday).

I’ve very pleased with how the day went. My first time mic-ed in the forum. No problems from tour guides or custodes. Super chill and beautiful day. The only real hiccup was entrance “6” the one behind the basilica Julia was closed today. I had picked it suspecting it would be the least popular. So unpopular in fact they do not staff it. We walked up and over the Capitoline to “4” the Carcare entrance and still were one of the very first people on site with no line to get in. I was so pleased with everyone getting to the meeting point on time even after their INTENSE weekend adventures. The early start was completely worth it. Two plus hours later when I exited at “2” arch of Titus, the lines were massively long, to say nothing of the heat and lack of shade. I just sat under a little tree for twenty minutes eating almonds and recovering before I actually got up and headed to the bus (by way of some self indulgent photos).

For next time, how do I find shade for the gaming presentation? It goes so well in front of the Basilica Julia but it was already brutal in the sun in the 30 minutes of our visit. I’d rather spend the student’s endurance for sun on the forum orientation lecture.

If I expanded anything I think I’d like to talk more about the Regia and evolution of the space. Visuals would have helped but phones are no good. Maybe I need a few old-fashioned color laminated handouts to pass around.

I almost wonder if I should buy a bunch of parasols for the group next year. Students think they don’t want them until they very much are willing to do anything to get out of the shade.

I ended with the modern significance of the arch of Titus as a site of protest demanding a safe place for Jewish people to live post WWII. It hit hard. Maybe too hard. But it is real. There was (is) an absolute need to provide a home for the displaced and traumatized victims of genocide.

I’ve been thinking a great deal about the Yiddish Policeman’s Union a novel the imagines a present in which that safe space was Alaska not Israel, but it was time limited. Sometimes alternate timelines can help us understand why we are where we are. I am also thinking a great deal about the Ottoman Empire, its many faults and yet its remarkable duration and stability. Are we only all living in a post Ottoman world?

Well this post took a swerve.

ALSO! The Temple of Romulus Augustus was OPEN and on top of that had a fantastic exhibition show casing the Magna Mater and her North African cult. Just brilliant. As I was teaching, no I did not take a single photo. Dammit.