Rome via Brooklyn

438 words, 2 minutes read time.

Today we started off with an Etruscan pottery demonstration in Cerveteri, ancient Caere! Roberto Paolini presented a PowerPoint explaining the intricacies of his work and then went on to show us his replicas and actually paint on some! This was cool especially because we just went to the Etruscan museum the other day and learned about all the different kinds of pots. “While some Etruscan products, like metals, may no longer be recognizable, others remain distinctive, such as the black, reduction-fired “bucchero” pottery made from ca. 650 BC into the early fifth century with abundant regional variations (De Puma 2013a).”

He showed us different techniques with different paint brushes and explained how each paint brush serves a different purpose. He has to work quick which was stressful but I was amazed at how skilled he was. It was beautiful watching him paint with the animal whisker brushes. After the demonstration we got to go to Roberto’s shop and I was able to get a wolf ring! I also really liked his pottery inspired by graffiti.

I really liked the castle like structures. It was cool that there was a clock only counting up to 6 for the farmers. We had a really good group meal and I got my first personal pizza in Italy! We were all so excited to be having dinner together that we kept talking a bit too loudly. The residential buildings around us were so beautiful and I can only imagine being able to live here.

Next we headed to the Necropolis, the city of the dead. We saw a bunch of ancient graves and watched them progress and expand as we went further in. We even got to see a well-preserved one with the colors still intact. I loved all the greenery. I wondered if there are any superstitions about going into these graves and was glad I didn’t believe in that.

After our exploration, a taxi picked us up and took us to the beach!! It was my first time seeing black sand so I was extremely excited. Black sand is thought to have healing properties so it was nice to dig my feet in. We went swimming and the water was so clear and warm!! I’m so grateful we got to swim together. I love swimming and could spend all day in the ocean. It heals and refreshes my mind and body.

Getting back home took a while because the train was really slow. But it was nice experiencing transit with everyone and relaxing after a long and rewarding day.