Blog 5

So I had left off on my last blog post about our visit to Ostia Antica. Well, since then my greatest accomplishment has been a really good tan and semi hurtful sunburn. I've been to the cities of Sperlonga and Bracciano Italy, and to the forum of Trajan, Piazza Navona/Stadium of Domitian, and the Museum of the Imperial Fora. 

Me at Truglia Tower

Climbing Rocks by Truglia Tower

My two trips to Sperlonga (June 10th) and Bracciano (June 11th) were really amazing. There was so much beautiful scenery that just set the whole mood for those days. Sperlonga is a coastal town located between Naples and Rome. Or it's about an hour train ride southeast from Rome. We (Cari, Rachel, Steve, and I) mostly sat on the beach, swam in the salty sea, and toward the end of our day we climbed on the rocks (pictured left) by Truglia tower. Although we didn't get to go inside Truglia tower, the rocks around it had some interesting creatures and beautiful views to see. 

Lake Bracciano

The trip to Bracciano was just as beautiful as Sperlonga. I thought swimming in Bracciano lake was better mostly because there wasn't a fear of sharks nor was it as salty. Lake Bracciano is one of the major lakes in Italy and was formed from volcanic activity. The main magma chamber was situated in the present lake Bracciano's location. The collapse of this magma chamber created the crater or caldera that is now Lake Bracciano. There is no motor boats allowed on this lake and it is actually fairly deep and the water was super clear. It was an overall great experience. 

Fountain of the Four Rivers on the Piazza Navona

Earlier today though (June 12th), we got to see the forum of Trajan, Piazza Navona/ Stadium of Domitian, and the Museum of the Imperial Fora. The Piazza Navona is built on the Stadium of Domitian. For those of you who don't know Domitian was the son of Vespasian and the third emperor of the Flavian Dynasty. He ruled starting in the year of AD 81 and was assassinated in the year of AD 96. The stadium was built in AD 86 and is shaped kind of like the Circus Maximus that we had visited earlier. It was significantly smaller in size though and could seat about 15- 20,000 people. It was made for more things like footraces rather than chariot races like the Circus Maximus. The seating area of this stadium is now filled in with buildings and shops. The actual arena area is now the Piazza Navona. On the Piazza Navona there are a few fountains. One of the fountains was the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Pictured Below), another fountain was the Moor Fountain, and lastly was the Fountain of Neptune. The Piazza Navona was very lively, filled with people, artists, musicians, and shops. It had a really good energy to it. 

Forum of Trajan

The next things we did was visit the Forum of Trajan and also the Museum of the Imperial Fora. The Forum of Trajan is one of the largest imperial Fora and the last one to be built. According to Rachel's presentation, It could fit almost all the Forums into it excluding just one, I think. Emperor Trajan had this Forum built in AD 112 using the riches won after the conquest of Dacia. Trajan also had the column of Trajan built and put up around AD 113. The Museum of the Imperial Fora was really interesting to look around in, mostly because it had a special exhibition featuring fashions using food. It seemed so wrong and unusual to have modern art in a place that has statues and ruins in it. Overall these past few days, or trip in general has been amazing. I can't get over how beautiful the views are and how amazing life has been here. I almost don't want it to end... Almost. 

Some of the Dresses hanging inside the Museum of the Imperial Fora