Rome via Brooklyn

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Blog Prompt: Take as your final theme LAYERS of history.  Think about the experience of descending physically down into the past.  Where else on this trip have you had similar experiences?  What does this bring to mind?

Today was a very inspiring day! On our way to the class meeting space our bus had to be detoured. After getting off, we waited for a bus for around 25 minutes before we decided to just walk. We had no idea what was going on until we remembered that there was a huge Palestinian protest happening around our meeting space. During the detour and the waiting for a bus that would never come, I was pissed. But after finding out why there were delays I was extremely happy. Protests are meant to destabilize the system and cause a bit of disorganization. This protest did just this. I used to be one of those kids that questioned the reason for protests, but I have grown out of that selfish and ignorant mindset. Seeing the people outside marching, talking, and socializing, all with a common interest in mind–the freedom for Palestine–just restored my faith in humanity. There were Palestine flags, LGBTQ+ flags, Communist flags, and Anarchist flags being waved above everyone. Things like this go a long way.

At the Church, when we started descending into different time periods and histories, I was reminded of our time at Herculaneum. The different layers that were exposed in some of the houses that were present in the Herculaneum left me in awe. With each paint of plaster, brick, and wall there comes a history that is attached to it. Seeing these things was just spectacular and reminds me how history is built on top of itself. The physical descent of the church added another part to this already intriguing trip. I was able to actually walk through history PHYSICALLY. This is extremely cool and is an outer body experience.

The steps also have an eerie history about them as Peter Aicher in his Rome Alive! says by referencing Tacticus, “[After the Vitelline forces took the Capital One during the civil war of AD 69, they killed the city perfect Sabinus] and dragged his stabbed mutilated, and headless body onto the Gemonian Steps” (Tactius, Histories 3.74, referenced by Aicher, 2004) What we descended has a well documented history about it and it makes it a pleasure (not the fact that people were killed) for anyone lucky enough to take part in the descent.  

Also, the more we descended the creepier it got. I don’t know if others had a similar experience. Something eerie about this church.

I wanted to give a short thank you to everyone on the trip for being nice to me and listening to my ideas! I also want to give a special shoutout to Prof. Yarrow for showing up each and everyday inspiring all of us. I would not have had this experience with any other group! 

GO ROME VIA BROOKLYN 2025!

–Moussa Toni Cisse