Rome via Brooklyn

(679 words, 4 minutes read time, Double post)

For Day 14, Professor Yarrow offered us an optional excursion to the American Academy in Rome for an opportunity to physically interact with archaeological objects! I decided to go and rode in a taxi there with the Professor and my classmates, which included a seat layout I hadn’t experienced in a taxi before. I liked how none of the seatbelt holders overlapped with each other, that often annoys me in three-seater rows.

Once we arrived and met with the guide for our trip, we got to choose certain kinds of ancient objects we wanted to interact with. All of the ancient Roman items that were passed around the table carefully were all super cool, and getting to learn more about each of them at a more personal level made me appreciate what archaeologists, archivists, curators, and historians do to preserve these objects for us.

The experience at the American Academy wasn’t only eye-opening in terms of art history, but also in political terms. Our chat with our guide eventually verged towards the current American political climate and what it means for us as American citizens. Though I knew Italian citizenship wasn’t birthright citizenship, her anecdotes about the hoops her children have to go through to gain citizenship when they’ve lived here for almost all their lives, speak the language, and assimilated into Italian culture, made me realize that I should put much more of an effort into earning the citizenship I’ve received through my father’s blood. I want this to be a motivator for me to push myself to learn more Italian once I’m back in the States as I continue to re-evaluate what it means to be a citizen, especially when innocent people in my home country are continuing to be separated from their loved ones because of ICE and the endless hoops the American government puts immigrants through to be (theoretically) granted mercy from these crackdowns.

My body was not in the mood to walk home, but since there was a general strike for transit workers today, I didn’t want to cross any picket lines by trying to wait for the bus or train back to the apartment. That did mean forking out cash for a taxi, though, which I decided to take to a Flying Tiger to get some shopping done. Though our planned class for later today was optional if we attended the American Academy trip, I decided to force myself to go anyway since I promised Khadija I’d be there to support her for her solo presentation (which was amazing!!).

Once we reached the Forma Urbis Museum, I was immediately wowed by the floor map of Severan-era Rome prepared there. My Borgo Pio roommates and I tried to find where our apartment would approximately be on the map, but it unfortunately was cut off. We passed by the Circus Maximus on the cab ride home after waiting a while outside the museum, which was also super cool. As stated in Alive!, the Circus Maximus’s area for emperors to watch the chariot races and games there was also the area where statuettes of the gods would be placed to partake in the festivities (Aicher 298), which reminded me of the themes of combining the religious and political in ancient Roman culture. Whenever I’m able to go back to Rome, I’d love to take time to visit this ancient arena.

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow’s our last class together. This trip has gone by so fast and not fast at all at the same time, but I’m looking to make our last full day one to remember.