The email reads:
(click: "reads")[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/de4afd5006e74ca04a9ae68039426429/bd2ce16ced33bfc0-63/s1280x1920/686552a2e77968bef1285857ca95d687053efa5d.pnj" style="width:100%;max-width:1024px">]
//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
''Directions Around''
Welcome to Rome! I understand from your advisor Professor Valeria Moro that this is your first time in the city, so I’ll give you directions in the simplest possible way: one leg at a time. Text me (I believe Valeria gave you my number already) when you arrive at the first location.
I'll be texting you some pictures of a map that you can use to help you find your way. The map has one layer that shows ancient Roman ruins superimposed over a Google map of the modern-day city.
If you get confused, don’t worry, we’ll muddle through this together! Truthfully, it’s the blind leading the blind; I have a terrible sense of direction and can only find my way around Rome’s winding streets by orienting myself using ancient sites. I thought that since you’re new to the city, doing this might help you, too.
Here’s your first direction on your way to my house. I’m guessing that, as you read this, you’re still inside Termini train station. If you go outside the doors to the front of the station, you’ll see part of the original city wall. It’s called the Servian Wall, and it was built in the 4th century BCE, during the Republic. Over time, the city expanded beyond the Servian Wall and a newer city wall was built, but the Servian Wall is the first one, and it marks the edge of the early city of Rome. Once you step outside the train station and are able to see the fragment of the Servian Wall, send me a text, and I’ll give you the next direction a casa mia (to my house).
Best,
Lisa Polidori]
[[Go outside the station and look for the Servian Wall.]] ]
(set: $progress to 2)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
You walk through the glass doors, awkwardly dragging your luggage while holding your phone.
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=264e432f-1812-471c-a047-af3a0130d5a8&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
(t8n:'dissolve')+(t8n-time:10s) [Once you’re outside, the stifling summer heat hits you. Looking around, you see...
(click: "you see...")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src=" https://64.media.tumblr.com/c21b3e1f1d2ef7e991efb411770aac2d/d41a85d1b21d062f-d1/s1280x1920/c5294e2117ccebc37607f3d7e6784acf544ec646.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="650">
The Servian Wall! It was built in the 4th century BCE, Lisa said, which would make it... you think for a moment... about 2,400 years old.
You text Lisa that you’re outside Termini and are [[looking at the wall.]] ]]]
(set: $progress to 3)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
Lisa responds to your text right away.
(click: "right away")[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e1ee183cdd3a5484d2e855af66ebedb8/9e78d3292278fbcd-cf/s1280x1920/ad86902b851d08d86499056aa83ef90c6497bfd7.jpg" width="539" height="700">]
You click on the image to expand it.
(click: "the image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/acf09f5c96cbdaee01d20400115b0d47/5bf8dd4e0d32b497-74/s1280x1920/17f8d0e6bafa1f1c7b7178c0fc04afbc0209af67.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You stare at the message and the image. Hmm... although the word //frigidarium// definitely wasn’t in any of the materials that your advisor sent you to read on the plane, you have a vague recollection of having come across the word in your grad studies — maybe in that architecture class you took a couple years back?
You try to access the internet with your phone, but it’s taking forever to load — maybe because you’re outside the train station now. So you decide to take a guess:
[[//Frigidarium// refers to an ancient Roman refrigerator that used ice blocks brought down by mule from the Apennine Mountains.|fridge]]
[[The //frigidarium// was a room with a large cold-water pool in ancient Roman bath complexes.|baths]] ]]]
(set: $progress to 4)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
You begin to doubt your first impulse. You try your internet connection again, and surprisingly enough, it works. You do some quick research and find out that, while there is some evidence that ancient Romans living in what is now Switzerland used deep holes to store beer on ice, [[the //frigidarium// was actually a room with a large cold-water pool in ancient Roman baths.|baths]]
(set: $progress to 4)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]On your phone, you look at the picture of the map that Lisa sent you, and you look for a shape that might indicate an ancient bath complex, which would have included a (text-colour:cyan)[//frigidarium//]. You seem to remember from your previous classes something about the architecture of baths including large, curved spaces.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/acf09f5c96cbdaee01d20400115b0d47/5bf8dd4e0d32b497-74/s1280x1920/17f8d0e6bafa1f1c7b7178c0fc04afbc0209af67.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You go toward the nearest ancient baths shown on the old map, which are the
[[Baths of Titus]], which are south of Termini, toward the Colosseum.
[[Baths of Diocletian]], which are northwest of Termini.
(set: $progress to 5)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
You head south toward where the Baths of Titus are marked on the picture of the map that Lisa sent you. The streets feel like a maze... maybe because you’re so tired from jet lag. You eventually arrive at a park with some ancient ruins. According to the map, you seem to be in the right spot, but you get confused when you see a sign that reads //Terme di Traiano//.
Hmm. You recollect from your old architecture class that the word //terme// means "baths," but the name Traiano is different from Titus, which is what the picture Lisa sent says. Something is obviously wrong, so you text Lisa, telling her about the sign you’re looking at.
(click: "you text Lisa")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/4a9fe410c10b220fb35e87f14c05ced8/abc67faf95916a5f-36/s1280x1920/eef33bead31fb618f84ec6a08b999156e8291df4.jpg" style="width:60%;max-width:896px">]
The Colosseum? You check the picture of the map and see that it’s very close. ]]
(click: "check the picture of the map")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/fd0441d438fe9a7f165a634c46171b7e/d53012d30cf96a08-64/s1280x1920/80f0d91eb67e3e9b5b4209c55c82f19e68097db4.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You think for a moment, trying to figure out where to go next...
[[You decide to extend your detour in order to take a quick look at the famous Colosseum before heading back to Termini.|Colosseum detour]]
[[You’re tired, so you decide that the Colosseum can wait. You go straight back to Termini.|back to Termini.]] ]
(set: $progress to 6)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]You walk through the parking lot in front of Termini.
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=d97ecf1b-f5e2-4ab0-95c5-af3a0130d988&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
(t8n:'dissolve')+(t8n-time:10s) [You continue heading northwest toward the Piazza della Repubblica. ]
(click: "Piazza della Repubblica")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=1679c726-a67d-4ab0-8fa8-af3a013e05a9&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>]
(t8n:'dissolve')+(t8n-time:10s) [When you reach the piazza, you get a text from Lisa.]]
(click: "reach the piazza")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/fd6186f703c0ed4cdf4caf852616f673/cea20749d710bd1f-ac/s540x810/e8922534f1e69a133fb6ba850d76b61393d036b7.jpg" width="540" height="543">]
You click on the image. ]
(click: "the image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c4f183b5e59ef7010573fa07a0f4fcf6/4694cf0167f1702e-6c/s1280x1920/70d306155bfd119cbfd25708a9bc1b104c669eea.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You realize that, since they have the same shape, the buildings surrounding the edge of the roundabout must have been built on the ancient foundations of the front, semicircular part of the Baths of Diocletian.
You reflect on how incredibly enormous the Baths of Diocletian must have been in their heyday.
You text Lisa:
[[“How old are the bath ruins?”|how old]]
[[“Bathing must have been a big thing with the ancient Romans!”|bathing big]]]]]
(set: $progress to 6)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
You continue southwest. You don’t have to go far: as you scale a small hill that allows you to see over the trees in the park, an impressive site appears in front of you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/4e4a5b42a3d7d81c6c9e218d625379df/f1357083c7cb7a7e-57/s1280x1920/ff595c34e12712d980e117cf5d0dffee6ad5595f.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You reflect on the countless animals and people who were slaughtered there inside the Colosseum during gladiatorial games... but for what purpose? Simple, bloodthirsty entertainment? Or was there more to it than that?
You also wonder if statues may have adorned the Colosseum, maybe underneath the arches, or as decorations in the corridors. Hmmm... you seem to remember hearing something about the Colosseum being named after a gigantic statue, a “colossus” of some sort. Could Andy, your statue of the sleeping boy, also have been associated with the Colosseum in some way?
These thoughts lead you to want to get a closer look at the fabled amphitheater, but your luggage is getting heavier with every step. You reluctantly decide to put your questions on hold and go [[back to Termini.]]
(set: $progress to 6)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
After a long walk going back the way you came, you find yourself facing the front of Termini once again, with the Servian Wall on your right. You consult the picture of the map again, looking for another bath complex that is closer than the Baths of Titus (or Trajan, for that matter!).
(click: "consult the picture")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/acf09f5c96cbdaee01d20400115b0d47/5bf8dd4e0d32b497-74/s1280x1920/17f8d0e6bafa1f1c7b7178c0fc04afbc0209af67.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You see that the Baths of Diocletian are very close — a little to the northwest of where you are.
You proceed to the [[Baths of Diocletian]]. ]
(set: $progress to 6)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/43945ba35f90e5c75fcc6db6d37f0497/af7c699ec0f9483b-ae/s640x960/3dca5e459c9d2fa5cfacbbd2163517fd45a5d2fb.jpg" width="540" height="940">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/8670c20a974e3a826cad36d4c4862500/c82bd54d1a90c876-37/s640x960/b965c0b6a5cdcc0f1c0b07551723c144c388f6a6.jpg" width="540" height="940">
//(Click here for an enlarged view of the story excerpt)//
(click: "Click here for an enlarged view of the story excerpt")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[//My dear Lucilius,
If you want to study, quiet is not nearly as necessary as you might think. Here I am, surrounded by all kinds of noise. Conjure up in your imagination all the sounds that make one hate one’s ears. I hear the grunts of musclemen exercising and jerking those heavy weights around; they’re working hard, or pretending to. I hear their sharp hissing when they release their pent-up breath. If there happens to be a lazy fellow content with a simple massage, I hear the slap of hand on shoulder; you can tell whether it’s hitting a flat or a hollow. If a ball-player comes up and starts calling out his score, I’m done for. Add to this the racket of a cocky bastard boasting, a thief caught in the act, and a fellow who likes the sound of his own voice in the bath, plus those who plunge into the pool with a huge splash of water. Besides those who just have loud voices, imagine the skinny armpit-hair plucker whose shrill cries never stop except when he’s doing his job and making someone else shriek for him. Now add the mingled cries of the drink peddler and the sellers of sausages, pastries, and hot foods, each hawking his wares with his own particular grunt and peal.// ]]
You open the images and notice the statues in the last one, and you decide to message Lisa about them.
(click: "images")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b2526ee7ed7a46697a33c011735a31b9/e91d9f3a09331d9d-13/s1280x1920/9c5725bb9be26d2cadbe2548e6c59a8171fa7f52.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/9cef39848727d629dd930d74cbfeafe8/71aa79eacd5c923a-61/s1280x1920/ac8e1adcc8b4346d4d662ad92c38dda3a4782f7a.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d8e82f22a1775c851bb1f0761a1a512e/e6e4ae7830f12d67-f8/s1280x1920/1a35f38e2fca7857da0b72389540741b54ff85fe.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
[[Duck into Michelangelo's church for a quick look.|Enter Michelangel's church.]]
[[Next direction, please!|next direction]] ]]
(set: $progress to 7)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5c171f6979bb131b2733b6f9e9294249/58eba8f95af9944b-7b/s1280x1920/8b0a3ca5e44741fcbbaf7ab7dc016548e4fd222f.jpg" width="540" height="940">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/8670c20a974e3a826cad36d4c4862500/c82bd54d1a90c876-37/s640x960/b965c0b6a5cdcc0f1c0b07551723c144c388f6a6.jpg" width="540" height="940">
//(Click here for an enlarged view of the story excerpt)//
(click: "Click here for an enlarged view of the story excerpt")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[//My dear Lucilius,
If you want to study, quiet is not nearly as necessary as you might think. Here I am, surrounded by all kinds of noise. Conjure up in your imagination all the sounds that make one hate one’s ears. I hear the grunts of musclemen exercising and jerking those heavy weights around; they’re working hard, or pretending to. I hear their sharp hissing when they release their pent-up breath. If there happens to be a lazy fellow content with a simple massage, I hear the slap of hand on shoulder; you can tell whether it’s hitting a flat or a hollow. If a ball-player comes up and starts calling out his score, I’m done for. Add to this the racket of a cocky bastard boasting, a thief caught in the act, and a fellow who likes the sound of his own voice in the bath, plus those who plunge into the pool with a huge splash of water. Besides those who just have loud voices, imagine the skinny armpit-hair plucker whose shrill cries never stop except when he’s doing his job and making someone else shriek for him. Now add the mingled cries of the drink peddler and the sellers of sausages, pastries, and hot foods, each hawking his wares with his own particular grunt and peal.// ]]
You open the images and notice the statues in the last one, and decide to message Lisa about them.
(click: "images")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b2526ee7ed7a46697a33c011735a31b9/e91d9f3a09331d9d-13/s1280x1920/9c5725bb9be26d2cadbe2548e6c59a8171fa7f52.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/9cef39848727d629dd930d74cbfeafe8/71aa79eacd5c923a-61/s1280x1920/ac8e1adcc8b4346d4d662ad92c38dda3a4782f7a.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d8e82f22a1775c851bb1f0761a1a512e/e6e4ae7830f12d67-f8/s1280x1920/1a35f38e2fca7857da0b72389540741b54ff85fe.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
[[Duck into Michelangelo's church for a quick look.|Enter Michelangel's church.]]
[[Next direction, please!|next direction]] ]]
(set: $progress to 7)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=8ffc5dc4-8c98-4501-9862-af3a013e092b&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You get a message shortly after entering the site.
(click: "the site")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/24ee26ead7d401b1919d38530c5a7df7/c1524b3ee212255b-38/s640x960/4887978f13f6bdfa32b171a12d8c6cd60245b32d.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
[["Sublime."]]
[["Very different from Seneca's description!"]]]
(set: $progress to 8)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/4d499e7a7a4d0f95e98803c48eb5ea11/4e1ab4fef8cf6a62-54/s1280x1920/c776b9cb816a822ab26e1d4990372a4d7a3f4d84.jpg" width="540" height="940">
You begin walking around the church and take note of the statues, including one with a holy water basin.
(click: "basin")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=0a875898-892f-4b1e-842b-af3a013e0c94&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/64ab16bd5df86390f68b902a995ef82b/0f41bf03386eceb6-50/s500x750/034f522e2bf26bc952236a913caf225b1f870ac6.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/027fb9f9a5ca761b1efda8941df346c0/4e1ab4fef8cf6a62-59/s640x960/651f335d56cd2e0e2b7d3d2dbb60c1c6efbf5010.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You gaze up at the high vaulted ceiling, breathing deeply. You still feel tired from your trip, but you’re somehow more refreshed now.
(click: "refreshed")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d258ab1a560c76eec4696753453860b0/a2e0ae224240f21c-1a/s1280x1920/fddeb009f8d9c4386f8ebabb52c8ee51a009a930.pnj" width="540" height="940">]
[[“I think I’m ready,” you say.|next direction]] ]]]]
(set: $progress to 8)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/38896693d96798abdac3d4dc42aeb675/06a9d379ab5374bc-4a/s540x810/bf90da9fba588ec750ee0402136c9a07818d61d7.jpg" width="540" height="293">
(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve') + (t8n-time:10s))[You find a quiet spot on a bench and sit down. The cool air in the cavernous church is a delicious break from the heat outside, and it contributes to the atmosphere of spaciousness and peace you feel.
The words //Pax Romana//, or “Roman Peace,” waft into your head, and you lose yourself for a few moments as you take in the collage of the ancient, Renaissance, and contemporary worlds you’re sitting in.
You take a deep breath, feeling calmer yet somehow also more energized.
You look down at your phone and see that Lisa has texted again. ]
(click: "texted again.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/a0ff8c934cd6646c60fdc086b4694fe3/42a6db294165b010-43/s2048x3072/b62d1bbb2bbc1d24b821d08fdbdaed43394cbf63.jpg" width="540" height="600">]
You begin walking around the church and take note of the statues, including one with a holy water basin.
(click: "basin")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=0a875898-892f-4b1e-842b-af3a013e0c94&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/64ab16bd5df86390f68b902a995ef82b/0f41bf03386eceb6-50/s500x750/034f522e2bf26bc952236a913caf225b1f870ac6.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/027fb9f9a5ca761b1efda8941df346c0/4e1ab4fef8cf6a62-59/s640x960/651f335d56cd2e0e2b7d3d2dbb60c1c6efbf5010.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You gaze up at the high vaulted ceiling, breathing deeply. You still feel tired from your trip, but you’re somehow more refreshed now.
(click: "refreshed")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d258ab1a560c76eec4696753453860b0/a2e0ae224240f21c-1a/s1280x1920/fddeb009f8d9c4386f8ebabb52c8ee51a009a930.pnj" width="540" height="940">]
[[“I think I’m ready,” you say.|next direction]] ]]]]]]
(set: $progress to 8)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/360683b001a0fb8e5754bf21719ae8d0/5342767566e93b6f-ba/s640x960/108775449acf4cd8285e00a5644917caedfd8461.jpg" width="540" height="940">
You scan the map after enlarging it...
(click: "the map")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b546da50567cec245111712a7612b448/a4c6a58af4aff27b-9e/s1280x1920/e8ecf7295020882978f72532db72e1ad0dfc6485.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="650">
After looking at the map, you decide to reply with the following...
[[“I think I know where to go. If I go down and to the left from the Baths of Diocletian on what looks like a main, straight street, I’ll run into the Forum of Trajan, right?”|via nazionale]]
[[“I’m lost,” you admit. “These pictures of this map are hard to make sense of!”|lost]] ]]
(set: $progress to 9)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e872ec44a8d33f36af63999d223a4aa2/6e70e3e28aba19fb-9a/s540x810/c9b31ae2e203c6f40f9be0577f62597dab71c0e0.jpg" width="540" height="442">
As you get close to the cars, you see that they’re coming (transition:"slide-right") + (transition-time: 2s)[//fast//]. Even though it’s obvious you want to cross the street, none of them stop for you... and there’s no stop light. There’s no break in the traffic, either, so you can’t just run across.
What do you do?
[[Start walking into the street. The cars will stop for me!|into street]]
[[Wait for someone else to cross the street in either direction so you can copy how they do it.|follow]]
(set: $progress to 10)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/af9c2cdca5c33a67b9c867f1b82de626/cea39e26e6ecac34-08/s640x960/36f192f7676a93e64bad58e71d49dc3038f09ed8.jpg" width="540" height="940">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b546da50567cec245111712a7612b448/a4c6a58af4aff27b-9e/s1280x1920/e8ecf7295020882978f72532db72e1ad0dfc6485.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="650">
As you get close to the cars, you see that they’re coming (transition:"slide-right") + (transition-time: 2s)[//fast//]. Even though it’s obvious you want to cross the street, none of them stop for you... and there’s no stop light. There’s no break in the traffic, either, so you can’t just run across.
What do you do?
[[Start walking into the street. The cars will stop for me!|into street]]
[[Wait for someone else to cross the street in either direction to copy how they do it.|follow]]
(set: $progress to 10)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]You walk out into the street with speeding cars heading your way. There’s no turning back now. You realize that you must continue at a constant speed — not too fast, not too slow — because if you hesitate or suddenly start to run, you’ll confuse the drivers.
(click: "confuse the drivers")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=647eccb4-1395-47c7-bc7a-af3a014ba5a3&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You continue forward down the wide boulevard, which is thick with cars, pedestrians, hotels, shops, and restaurants. Soon, you come to another roundabout with a church, an old wall fragment, a modern apartment building, and a broken medieval tower — so far, Rome seems to be a kind of mash-up of different time periods that can feel both interesting and confusing at the same time.]]
(click: "at the same time")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=ed72adfb-4901-4603-b422-af3a01513346&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You must be close to the Forum of Trajan, you think. You look up //mercati// on your Collins Italian-English dictionary app (which you love because it has so many examples of how to actually use the words you look up in different situations) and see that it means “markets.”
You text Lisa that you’re at the Mercati di Traiano. ]]
(click: "Traiano")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/057146a02cc4f118751073088ab21637/7a8a6e22879f1239-52/s1280x1920/f070987c57acfe72a0ee98c3b9c910557ed1c6dd.jpg" width="540" height="303">]
[[Go toward the staircase...|Go down staircase.]] ]]
(set: $progress to 11)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]You wait at the crosswalk and watch two people cross the street from the other direction to see how they do it. If they can do it... you can too. You realize that, like the other people, you need to walk at a constant speed so as not to confuse the drivers.
(click: "confuse the drivers")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=ae969a35-74bc-48e1-a698-af3a014babc1&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You continue forward down the wide boulevard, which is thick with cars, pedestrians, hotels, shops, and restaurants. Soon, you come to another roundabout with a church, an old wall fragment, a modern apartment building, and a broken medieval tower — so far, Rome seems to be a kind of mash-up of different time periods that can feel both interesting and confusing at the same time.]]
(click: "at the same time")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=ed72adfb-4901-4603-b422-af3a01513346&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You must be close to the Forum of Trajan, you think. You look up //mercati// on your Collins Italian-English dictionary app (which you love because it has so many examples of how to actually use the words you look up in different situations) and see that it means “markets.”
You text Lisa that you’re at the Mercati di Traiano. ]]
(click: "Traiano")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/057146a02cc4f118751073088ab21637/7a8a6e22879f1239-52/s1280x1920/f070987c57acfe72a0ee98c3b9c910557ed1c6dd.jpg" width="540" height="303">]
[[Go toward the staircase...|Go down staircase.]] ]]
(set: $progress to 11)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
A little bit down the street from the museum, you see a staircase that leads toward a very tall ancient column, standing proud and alone in the distance.
(click: "alone in the distance")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=c6666286-53c6-47f9-8963-af3a016d492d&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/cbee233622cb6023e58dbebe105a61e1/f5ccd51e86bfee0a-b7/s640x960/0dd9ecb768830271d2158bbb7c1468afdb618d95.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
Lisa sends you the excerpt]]
(click: "Lisa sends you the excerpt")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[//As soon as he (Emperor Constantius II) entered Rome, the home of empire and all perfection, he went to the Rostra and looked with amazement at the Roman Forum, that sublime momument of pristine power; wherever he turned he was dazzled by the concentration of wonderful sights. After addressing the nobility in the Senate House and the people from the Tribunal he entered the palace amid many demonstrations of good will, and tasted the happiness which he had promised himself. On several occasions, when he held races at the Circus Maximus, he was amused by the funny jokes of the people, who kept their traditional freedom of speech without any loss of respect, and he himself took care to observe the proper forms. He did not, for example, as he did in other cities, allow the length of the combats to depend on his own will, but followed the local custom and left them to finish in their various ways as events dictated.
When he surveyed the different regions of the city and its environs, lying along the slopes and on level ground within the circle of the seven hills, it seemed to him that whatever his eye first lit on took the palm. It might be the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, beside which all else is like earth compared to heaven, or the buildings of the baths as big as provinces, or the solid mass of stone from Tivoli that forms the amphitheater (the Colosseum), with its top almost beyond the reach of human sight, or the Pantheon spread like a self-contained district under its high and lovely dome, or the lofty columns with spiral stairs to platforms which support the statues of former emperors, or the Temple of Venus and Rome or the Forum of Peace, the Theater of Pompey or the Odeum or the Stadium, or any of the other sights of the Eternal City.
But when he came to the Forum of Trajan, a creation which in my view has no like under the cope of heaven and which even the gods themselves must agree to admire, he stood transfixed with astonishment, surveying the gigantic fabric around him; its grandeur defies description and can never again be approached by mortal men. So he abandoned all hope of attempting to build anything like it, and declared that he could only imitate Trajan’s horse, which stands in the middle of the court with the emperor on its back. Prince Hormisdas, the Persian defector I have previously mentioned, who was near Constantius, remarked with Eastern subtlety: “First, your majesty, you must have a similar stable built, if you can; the horse you propose to fashion should have as much space to range in as this which we see.” This same Hormisdas, being asked what he thought of Rome, replied that only one thing about it gave him pleasure, the discovery that there, too, men were mortal. Constantius then, after viewing many sights with awe and amazement, complained of the weakness or malice of common report, which tends to exaggerate everything, but is feeble in its description of the wonders of Rome. So after much deliberation, he determined to add to the beauties of the city by setting up an obelisk in the Circus Maximus...//
You look around, and although these ruins hint at the Forum of Trajan’s ancient glory, you have trouble getting a sense of what it looked like. You check, and your internet seems to be working — for now, anyway. You find an image of a reconstruction of the forum’s main courtyard: ]
(click: "an image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/8bdda447bdd85198f9b7f74bf8b7748f/4c29877f99670266-b3/s1280x1920/9b0aaf56777ff8184ed072d2c312703ec7757211.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You also find one showing a model of the different parts of Trajan’s Forum:
(click: "showing a model")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/9998b0bcef74eac1d98ed5036b9f8118/2a6f75af9043a6f5-b4/s500x750/05091c534e3d534b0ff1550a1f1c8393c1cf8ff5.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Shortly after looking at the images, you look back up at the column. You squint through the bright, scorching sunlight at the column in front of you, but it’s hard to make out what the sculptural relief depicts. After straining for a few more moments, you see you have another text from Lisa.]]]]
(click: "from Lisa")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e46a1776a9e0f4998f2ffa44654713e3/f5ccd51e86bfee0a-44/s640x960/e6c352549309b9766402ae09b4b037558567cb8f.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You click on the images to enlarge them.
(click: "on the images")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/a52451286dc406b63e8fddc909bd29c5/34be361743198c12-bf/s1280x1920/1e975fe2d4cb8e4fe9e3cf3953ed33288170a38f.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/827a07717b9f8c0d436b0b90bb0430ed/5a4c77963eda4603-89/s400x600/45ed82947306b0cfba6a95600f0d426df31a472a.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5a7930720f6258543b31e268be6d186b/f5ccd51e86bfee0a-fa/s640x960/13bb560e2b09233d9b6f59c8c5b7a5cabb125336.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You respond:
[[“Don’t mess with Rome: we will always be victorious.”|victorious]]
[[“Rome has the best artists, architects, engineers, and culture.”|artists]] ]]]]
(set: $progress to 12)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/688522fdf6e7b0de30b020382ca7b484/72efbd5998191562-70/s1280x1920/7af8c0e12f362e348c5a329866859b0eb8c91bcc.jpg" width="540" height="940">
Lisa’s answer comes slowly... you’re not sure if she’s thinking deeply about it or just making herself an espresso. Your eyes sweep the ruins of Trajan’s Forum as you wait.
(click: "as you wait")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/31c28e7fd0ae7724021b9bc48b1fffd6/e13fc63252a51258-47/s1280x1920/0afb7de334def94596a3eb5c09cc80c25223ce91.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/806abb3aeb4f33bfaa084860cdaeab94/72efbd5998191562-cf/s640x960/c68a7888e14b2574fabb372037727b08c994192e.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You click on the image to enlarge it.
(click: "on the image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/1dca6034bdb9d738cac719c431b647a5/6923a836a617fc09-2d/s1280x1920/0f1d957629bea1b1f22bcdbe328314c4f26e5937.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="500">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c5902c1ca9721e33adc70faba4e4982b/72efbd5998191562-8a/s640x960/fb53eddd370bcdfdcd2d137ae2c9cb092a1fe6da.jpg" width="540" height="940">
You click on the next image to enlarge it.
(click: "on the next image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/7999bee72d5cef50fbba3cd3c31eb161/584cd43cb8795357-cd/s1280x1920/d9b66cca1ed0b6f703e4fb74c763957f56fa7324.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You reflect on the statue’s body language and wonder: was the sculptor given a directive from an authority figure — perhaps Trajan himself — on how to depict the Dacian, or was the sculptor working from a real Dacian model and trying to truthfully capture the man’s essence? Or was it something in between? ]]]]]]
(click: "essence")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5951c3224ecb5b7b5636b9b2978fa8f0/6793c74ba78d39bf-3c/s640x960/a233d51539222efc20b47a78abf4f8f1f7a940d8.pnj" width="540" height="940">]
You look at the map that Lisa sent.
(click: "at the map")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d1fef5f5fe4a4eb1a89eecd150baba16/2697f576037b7f12-10/s1280x1920/dbc8532dc119777018d10e2f6e45969b8980ddcb.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="650">
The Forum of Trajan, which is connected to other fora, puts you basically in the center of the ancient city. You scan the map for the Circus Agonalis.
[[“It’s to the northwest, outside the Servian Wall, and just beyond the famous Pantheon.”|to agonalis]]
[[“It’s to the south, just beneath the Palatine Hill where the imperial palaces were.”|Circus Maximus]] ]]]]
(set: $progress to 13)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c311c8c29b140a8a7ce760fec59d9a7d/72efbd5998191562-7a/s1280x1920/b921f734653a9639eb87d7ed5e21457c4e7788c6.jpg" width="540" height="940">
Lisa’s answer comes slowly... you’re not sure if she’s thinking deeply about it or just making herself an espresso. Your eyes sweep the ruins of Trajan’s Forum as you wait.
(click: "as you wait")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/31c28e7fd0ae7724021b9bc48b1fffd6/e13fc63252a51258-47/s1280x1920/0afb7de334def94596a3eb5c09cc80c25223ce91.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/806abb3aeb4f33bfaa084860cdaeab94/72efbd5998191562-cf/s640x960/c68a7888e14b2574fabb372037727b08c994192e.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You click on the image to enlarge it.
(click: "on the image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/1dca6034bdb9d738cac719c431b647a5/6923a836a617fc09-2d/s1280x1920/0f1d957629bea1b1f22bcdbe328314c4f26e5937.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="500">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c5902c1ca9721e33adc70faba4e4982b/72efbd5998191562-8a/s640x960/fb53eddd370bcdfdcd2d137ae2c9cb092a1fe6da.jpg" width="540" height="940">
You click on the next image to enlarge it.
(click: "on the next image")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/7999bee72d5cef50fbba3cd3c31eb161/584cd43cb8795357-cd/s1280x1920/d9b66cca1ed0b6f703e4fb74c763957f56fa7324.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You reflect on the statue’s body language and wonder: was the sculptor given a directive from an authority figure — perhaps Trajan himself — on how to depict the Dacian, or was the sculptor working from a real Dacian model and trying to truthfully capture the man’s essence? Or was it something in between? ]]]]]]
(click: "essence")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5951c3224ecb5b7b5636b9b2978fa8f0/6793c74ba78d39bf-3c/s640x960/a233d51539222efc20b47a78abf4f8f1f7a940d8.pnj" width="540" height="940">]
You look at the map that Lisa sent.
(click: "at the map")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d1fef5f5fe4a4eb1a89eecd150baba16/2697f576037b7f12-10/s1280x1920/dbc8532dc119777018d10e2f6e45969b8980ddcb.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="650">
The Forum of Trajan, which is connected to other fora, puts you basically in the center of the ancient city. You scan the map for the Circus Agonalis.
[[“It’s to the northwest, outside the Servian Wall, and just beyond the famous Pantheon.”|to agonalis]]
[[“It’s to the south, just beneath the Palatine Hill where the imperial palaces were.”|Circus Maximus]] ]]]]
(set: $progress to 13)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/28d237922128e658d23fe3b05cd64cbb/54c6901b01fab2b3-32/s1280x1920/72c8b16f4d6879afa5325ee1879d2e98add91a14.pnj" width="540" height="354">
You walk around Trajan’s Column, making your way toward a huge structure with giant, shining white marble columns off in the distance. That should be where Piazza Venezia is, you think — according to the picture of the map, anyway.
(click: "walk around Trajan’s Column")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=0824f376-fef8-44d3-a4b5-af3a016d5c75&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You look up at the large white building. It was clearly influenced by ancient Roman architecture, but it looks much newer. ]
(click: "looks much newer")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5d95a3b113b6e18d8cfe41f7b9db5e01/67cb391276fd09e2-f8/s1280x1920/fda5f193c183387c2b1e887802007577fb45d228.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Your internet is still spotty, so you text Lisa to ask her about it. ]
(click: "text")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e5a568765629e1d4338bfd894513fe19/54c6901b01fab2b3-92/s1280x1920/e53650c64964fec1aeba5269716c8ed44afc577f.pnj" width="540" height="620">]
You turn away from the wedding cake monument and make your way through the traffic and pedestrians crowding Piazza Venezia. ]]
(click: "crowding Piazza Venezia")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=7871a17d-ef15-4bcd-a805-af3a016d6fb7&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You're on Via del Corso, window shopping as you walk. After a few minutes, Lisa tells you to turn left, saying that any number of the small winding streets, or //vicoli//, should get you to the old Circus Agonalis, as long as you’re basically going west. You sigh. This doesn’t sound encouraging, but you decide to trust her and your map.
You [[turn left on a little street marked Via Lata.|lata]] ]
(set: $progress to 14)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/a1fe86311af63ab2741cd1551f366ca1/3034a7b6a904fe89-4b/s1280x1920/aa402cfea74e5be251cbb93634e466c1d014f290.pnj" width="540" height="940">
You click on the images to enlarge.
(click: "the images")+(t8n:'dissolve')[
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/297e14847906a3f62b6d9f0a4f539427/62a3da67d080aafc-a2/s540x810/cd5f9e8be53d82f55fad183f26551aca21f7950d.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/f2b9709c39ae043119168a1c7b0d6ea0/1e4dbb3f0e7776be-32/s1280x1920/be010b5120fe0342a83d6c86e83f1c8c908d768f.jpg" width="540" height="940">]
You look at the map... ]
(click: "the map")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d1fef5f5fe4a4eb1a89eecd150baba16/2697f576037b7f12-10/s1280x1920/dbc8532dc119777018d10e2f6e45969b8980ddcb.jpg" class="responsive" width="900" height="650">
You see that the Circus Agonalis is to the [[northwest, near the famous Pantheon.|to agonalis]]]
(set: $progress to 14)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=0a2c8635-ef7a-4077-aa7a-af3a016d6734&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="900" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
As you walk down the little street, you begin to wonder if you might be going in the wrong direction... But then the alley you’re on widens and opens out into [[a large piazza.|piazza.]]
(set: $progress to 15)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=e39c6fbb-316e-457d-97d5-af3a0180fa3d&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
//This must be the famous Pantheon//, you think. You’d heard it was impressive, but seeing it in person is another thing altogether. You consider going inside, but you’re tired, so you decide to save the great Pantheon for a little later. You consult the picture of the map — you have to be close to the Circus Agonalis!
(click: "the map")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/1ff07c6e1a7d4337cfaf670dae173dab/390e219d251f4aeb-e8/s1280x1920/9fe85381ca334a9b3fa301c35624937137ba8519.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
As you’re intently looking at the map, a group of young women passes you. One of them stops and asks, with a strong Italian accent: “You need help to — to find something?”
“Yes, please,” you say politely. “I’m looking for the Circus Agonalis.”
She looks confused. “Circus Agonalis?” ]]
(click: "Agonalis?")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You show her your phone, with the picture of the map on screen. After staring at it for a moment, she crinkles her nose. Then she yells in the direction of her group of friends, “Aaooo, Fede! Federica!” A young woman with short dark hair and an aquiline nose turns and, with eyebrows raised, approaches you. The woman at your side says to you, “That is Fede, she is student at the university — La Sapienza. She study //Roma antica//.” And to Fede, now close, she says, “La ragazza qui,” pointing to you, “lei cerca Circus Agonalis.”
“Ah, sì sì,” says Fede. “È Piazza Navona. È molto vicino.” ]]
(click: "vicino")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“What?” you say.
“Eh, you are from England?” she asks.
“No,” you say. “I live in California.”
“I have been once to San Francisco,” she says with a smile and a light accent. “Where in California do you live?”
“Santa Barbara,” you reply.
“Bella,” she says, with another smile. “But why are you looking for Circus Agonalis? It is not there, not for two thousand years.”
[[“The woman I’m staying with has a strange sense of humor.”|humor]]
[[“I’m a grad student learning about ancient Rome.”|grad student]] ]]
(set: $progress to 16)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“I’m staying with a woman who has a strange sense of humor. She’s giving me directions to her house using ancient monuments.”
Fede tilts her head. “She is a professor? Or a tour guide?”
“She was my advisor’s dig director.”
“Un archeologa!” Fede says excitedly. “Archaeologists — we are all a little crazy. Come,” she says, pointing to the alleyway her group of friends just went into. “Come have a coffee with us, the best in Rome. Then I take you to Circus Agonalis.”
(click: "coffee")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Sounds good,” you say genuinely. “A coffee should help with this crushing case of jet lag I have.”
You follow her up the street and through a door with a sign above it marked //Caffè Tazza d’Oro//. ]]
(click: "follow her up the street")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a10b66a1-1c91-4d3a-96eb-af3b00d94c14&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="900" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Once inside, you start walking toward the bar where coffees are being served, but Fede shakes her head, saying, “We must pay first at the //cassa//.” ]]
(click: "cassa")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Okay,” you say, getting behind her in the line leading up to the register. Then you watch as the people in front of you make their orders and pay. A few ask simply for “un caffè,” while another asks for “una granita di caffè.”
When it’s your turn, the man behind the register says, “Buongiorno. Cosa prendi?”
“Buongiorno,” you reply, digging into your memory for any scraps of Italian that might remain from your earlier studies. You continue by saying:
[[“Vorrei un caffè, per favore.”|caffe]]
[[“Vorrei un cappuccino, per favore.”|cappuccino]]
[[“Vorrei una granita di caffè, per favore.”|granita]] ]]
(set: $progress to 17)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“I’m a grad student learning about ancient Rome. The woman I’m staying with is giving me directions to her house using ancient monuments.”
Fede tilts her head. “She is a professor? Or a tour guide?”
“She was my advisor’s dig director.”
“Un archeologa!” Fede says excitedly. “Archaeologists — we are all a litle crazy. Come,” she says, pointing to the alleyway her group of friends just went into. “Come have a coffee with us, the best in Rome. Then I take you to Circus Agonalis.”
(click: "coffee")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Sounds good,” you say genuinely. “A coffee should help with this crushing case of jet lag I have.”
You follow her up the street and through a door with a sign above it marked //Caffè Tazza d’Oro//. ]]
(click: "follow her up the street")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a10b66a1-1c91-4d3a-96eb-af3b00d94c14&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="900" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Once inside, you start walking toward the bar where coffees are being served, but Fede shakes her head, saying, “We must pay first at the //cassa//.” ]]
(click: "cassa")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Okay,” you say, getting behind her in the line leading up to the register. Then you watch as the people in front of you make their orders and pay. A few ask simply for “un caffè,” while another asks for “una granita di caffè.”
When it’s your turn, the man behind the register says, “Buongiorno. Cosa prendi?”
“Buongiorno,” you reply, digging into your memory for any scraps of Italian that might remain from your earlier studies. You continue by saying:
[[“Vorrei un caffè, per favore.”|caffe]]
[[“Vorrei un cappuccino, per favore.”|cappuccino]]
[[“Vorrei una granita di caffè, per favore.”|granita]] ]]
(set: $progress to 17)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“Vorrei un caffè, per favore,” you say. The man nods, pressing a few buttons on the register. “Novanta centesimi,” he says.
//Centesimi//, you think, must be the equivalent of cents, but for the euro. You hand the man your credit card to pay, but he won’t take it, rattling off something in Italian. His speech is too fast for you to understand fully, but you catch something about “almeno cinque euro.”
Fede, standing with her friends a few feet ahead of you, leans back and says, “You must spend at least five euro here to use the credit card.”
(click: "credit card.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You wince. You intentionally avoided the “change” booth at the airport because the rates are exorbitant, but now you wish you’d stopped at one of the ATMs you saw along the Via Nazionale when you were walking to Trajan’s Forum.
“I don’t have any cash,” you say. “In order to make five euro, I guess I can buy some food, and maybe two coffees — they’re small, aren’t they?”
Fede hands the man a euro coin and takes the receipt.
“No, no,” you protest. “You don’t have to do that—”
Fede smiles. “It is my pleasure,” she says, handing you the receipt.
“Grazie mille,” you say. ]]
(click: "Grazie mille")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Prego,” Fede replies. Then you follow her up to the bar and squeeze in so you’re standing next to her.
She puts her receipt down on the counter and says, “Un caffè, per favore,” to the barista. You put your receipt down next to hers and try to catch the barista’s eye. He eventually looks at you, and you say, “Un caffè, per favore.” He nods, then works the espresso machine.
A minute later, he sets your caffè down in front of you. ]]
(click: "in front of you")+(t8n:'dissolve')[(t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-time: 5s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/9c8f05f25e76397f8de5018fcaa3e573/1c2c99f12668c6ed-11/s1280x1920/5295b1c21af7921106a44e5e78fa6828cbf7d6c3.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">]
(text-colour:#875822)[(text-style: "buoy")+(text-style:"smear")[(text-colour:white)[You stir your coffee, inhaling the rich aroma. Then you take a sip and savor the quite strong, bitter but smooth and nutty flavor.
“Che crema!” Fede says, stirring the luxuriously frothy top layer of her coffee. She turns to you and says, “We joke that some magic from the old gods living still in the Pantheon touches the coffee here.”
“I understand why,” you say, taking (text-style:"underline")[another sip.]]]] ]
(click: "another sip.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Your coffee is finished too soon, and you resolve to get //un caffè doppio//, or double espresso, next time instead of just a single.
The others in your group finish their coffees quickly too, and you wonder if this is why Italians rarely sit down at cafes, and instead prefer to stand at the bar.
As you file out of Tazza d’Oro, the Pantheon comes into view. “Would you like to see inside?” Fede asks.
You say:
[[“I’m a little anxious to get to Circus Agonalis.”|Domitian]]
[[“A quick look inside sounds good.”|Pantheon 1]] ]]
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
The man gives you a (text-style:"emboss","fidget")[(text-colour:#ff8787)[strange look.]]
(t8n:"blur")+(t8n-time:5s)[Fede turns to you and says in a low voice, “We Italians... are a little superstitious. Many think it is bad for the digestion to have so much milk close to lunch. Un cappuccino va bene alla mattina — it’s good in the morning, but we have just a (text-style:"buoy")[(text-colour:#875822)[(text-style:"emboss")[''caffè, a coffee, or a macchiato'']]] with a little milk, if it is later. Macchiato, it means stained... the coffee stained with milk. But of course you should order what you like.”
You look at your phone and see that it’s past 11 AM, although it feels much earlier to you. You wonder if you should go by the old saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
You turn to the man at the register and say, [[“Vorrei un macchiato, per favore.”|macchiato]]
Or if you want a cappuccino and don’t much care what anyone thinks about it, you can stick with your original order: [[“Un cappuccino, per favore.”|cappuccino due]] ]
(set: $progress to 17)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“Vorrei una granita di caffè, per favore,” you say. The man nods, pressing a few buttons on the register. “//Due euro e cinquanta centesimi//,” he says.
//Centesimi//, you think, must be the equivalent of cents, but for the euro. You hand the man your credit card to pay, but he won’t take it, rattling off something in Italian. His speech is too fast for you to understand fully, but you catch something about “almeno cinque euro.”
Fede, standing with her friends a few feet ahead of you, leans back and says, “You must spend at least five euro here to use the credit card.”
(click: "credit card.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You wince. You intentionally avoided the “change” booth at the airport because the rates are exorbitant, but now you wish you’d stopped at one of the ATMs you saw along the Via Nazionale when you were walking to Trajan’s Forum.
“I don’t have any cash,” you say. “In order to make five euro, I guess I could... buy two?”
Fede hands the man a couple of coins and takes the receipt.
“No, no,” you protest. “You don’t have to do that—”
Fede smiles. “It’s just a coffee, and I invited you,” she says, handing you the receipt.
“Grazie mille,” you say. ]]
(click: "Grazie mille")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Prego,” Fede replies. Then you follow her up to the bar and squeeze in so you’re standing next to her.
She puts her receipt down on the counter and says, “Un caffè, per favore,” to the barista. You put your receipt down next to hers and try to catch the barista’s eye. He eventually looks at you, and you say, “Una granita di caffè, per favore.”
He works the espresso machine, mixing the espresso with what looks like shaved ice topped with //panna//, or whipped cream, then places it on the bar for you.]]
(click: "bar for you")+(t8n:'dissolve')[(t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-time: 5s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/57a940cd33165ecd6b2d2ae55d379757/589292396889886b-bb/s500x750/b948cfbf73a74a52eb477aca9c280199cf3708b0.jpg" style=style="width:100%;max-width:896px">]
(text-colour:#875822)[(text-style: "buoy")+(text-style:"smear")[(text-colour:white) [You stir your coffee drink, inhaling the rich aroma. Then you take a sip and savor the different flavors: first, the softness of the only slightly (text-style:"smear")+(text-colour:#d6d6d6)[//sweet panna//] envelops your tongue, followed by the sharp bitterness of the strong, nutty espresso...which is quickly overcome by the sweet, icy texture that makes up the core of the drink.
“Che crema!” Fede says, stirring the luxuriously frothy top layer of her coffee. She turns to you and says, “We joke that some magic from the old gods living still in the Pantheon touches the coffee here.”
“I understand why,” you say, taking (text-style:"underline")[another sip] of your sweet, icy drink, which cools you down nicely.]]]]
(click: "another sip")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Your drink is finished too soon, and the others in your group finish their coffees quickly as well. As you file out of Tazza d’Oro, the Pantheon comes into view. “Would you like to see inside?” Fede asks.
You say:
[[“I’m a little anxious to get to Circus Agonalis.”|Domitian]]
[[“A quick look inside sounds good.”|Pantheon 1]] ]]
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“Vorrei un macchiato, per favore,” you say.
The man nods, pressing a few buttons on the register. “Novanta centesimi,” he says.
//Centesimi//, you think, must be the equivalent of cents, but for the euro. You hand the man your credit card to pay, but he won’t take it, rattling off something in Italian. His speech is too fast for you to understand fully, but you catch something about “almeno cinque euro.”
Fede, standing with her friends a few feet ahead of you, leans back and says, “You must spend at least five euro here to use the credit card.”
(click: "credit card.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You wince. You intentionally avoided the “change” booth at the airport because the rates are exorbitant, but now you wish you’d stopped at one of the ATMs you saw along the Via Nazionale when you were walking to Trajan’s Forum.
“I don’t have any cash,” you say. “In order to make five euro, I guess I can buy some food, and maybe two coffees — they’re small, aren’t they?”
Fede hands the man a euro coin and takes the receipt.
“No, no,” you protest. “You don’t have to do that—”
Fede smiles. “It’s just a coffee, and I invited you,” she says, handing you the receipt.
“Grazie mille,” you say. ]]
(click: "Grazie mille")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Prego,” Fede replies. Then you follow her up to the bar and squeeze in so you’re standing next to her.
She puts her receipt down on the counter and says, “Un caffè, per favore,” to the barista. You put your receipt down next to hers and try to catch the barista’s eye. He eventually looks at you, and you say, “Un macchiato, per favore.” He nods and works the espresso machine.
A minute later, he sets your macchiato down in front of you. ]]
(click: "front of you")+(t8n:'dissolve')[(t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-time: 4s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/8575a1ca43aeaf582525a41750f9691e/090008a776e8605a-bc/s1280x1920/c0c854a5f60803b3c1874ef6c99ca80fc8ec3092.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:540px">]
(text-colour:#875822)[(text-style: "buoy")+(text-style:"smear")[(text-colour:white)[You stir your coffee, inhaling the rich aroma. Then you take a sip and savor the bitter but deliciously smooth, nutty flavor. You’re happy with your choice: the(text-style:"smear")+(text-colour:#d6d6d6)[ “stain”] of milk seems to be just enough to soften the sharpness of the espresso, which is quite strong.
On the other hand, you notice that Fede seems very satisfied with her choice of an espresso without milk.
“Che crema!” Fede says, stirring the luxuriously frothy top layer of her coffee. She turns to you and says, “We joke that some magic from the old gods living still in the Pantheon touches the coffee here.”
“I understand why,” you say, taking (text-style:"underline")[another sip]. ]]]]
(click: "another sip")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Your coffee is finished too soon, and you think that next time, maybe you should get //un macchiato doppio//, or double macchiato, instead of just a single.
The others in your group finish their coffees quickly too, and you wonder if this is why Italians usually stand at the bar in cafes rather than sitting down.
As you file out of Tazza d’Oro, the Pantheon comes into view. “Would you like to see inside?” Fede asks.
You say:
[[“I’m a little anxious to get to Circus Agonalis.”|Domitian]]
[[“A quick look inside sounds good.”|Pantheon 1]] ]]
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“Vorrei un cappuccino, //veramente//,” you say with emphasis. The man shrugs, pressing a few buttons on the register. “Un euro e venti centesimi,” he says.
//Centesimi//, you think, must be the equivalent of cents, but for the euro. You hand the man your credit card to pay, but he won’t take it, rattling off something in Italian. His speech is too fast for you to understand fully, but you catch something about “almeno cinque euro.”
Fede, standing with her friends a few feet ahead of you, leans back and says, “You must spend at least five euro here to use the credit card.”
(click: "credit card.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You wince. You intentionally avoided the “change” booth at the airport because the rates are exorbitant, but now you wish you’d stopped at one of the ATMs you saw along the Via Nazionale when you were walking to Trajan’s Forum.
“I don’t have any cash,” you say. “In order to make five euro, I guess I can buy some food, and maybe two coffees — they’re small, aren’t they?”
Fede hands the man a couple of coins and takes the receipt.
“No, no,” you protest. “You don’t have to do that—”
Fede smiles. “It’s just a coffee, and I invited you,” she says, handing you the receipt.
“Grazie mille,” you say. ]]
(click: "Grazie mille")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Prego,” Fede replies. Then you follow her up to the bar and squeeze in so you’re standing next to her.
She puts her receipt down on the counter and says, “Un caffè, per favore,” to the barista. You put your receipt down next to hers and try to catch the barista’s eye. He eventually looks at you, and you say, “Un cappuccino, per favore.” He nods with a hint of reluctance, then works the espresso machine.
A minute later, he sets your cappuccino down in front of you. ]]
(click: "front of you")+(t8n:'dissolve')[(t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-time: 5s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/2266f537aa7f1b0946caad77beba09e4/29aa2ef52166aacc-9d/s1280x1920/b43a62f293262aa1c5bdabcaaa081d597de49368.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">]
(text-colour:#875822)[(text-style: "buoy")+(text-style:"smear")[(text-colour:white)[You stir your coffee, inhaling the rich aroma. Then you take a sip and savor the bitter but deliciously smooth, nutty flavor of the strong espresso, which comes through clearly despite the large amount of (text-style:"smear")+(text-colour:#d6d6d6)[steamed milk] mixed in.
“Che crema!” Fede says, stirring the luxuriously frothy top layer of her coffee. She turns to you and says, “We joke that some magic from the old gods living still in the Pantheon touches the coffee here.”
“I understand why,” you say, taking (text-style:"underline")[another sip.] ]]]]
(click: "another sip.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Your coffee is finished too soon, and you think that next time, maybe you should get //un cappuccino doppio//, or double cappuccino, instead of just a single.
The others in your group finish their coffees quickly too, and you wonder if this is why Italians usually stand at the bar in cafes rather than sitting down.
As you file out of Tazza d’Oro, the Pantheon comes into view. “Would you like to see inside?” Fede asks.
You say:
[[“I’m a little anxious to get to Circus Agonalis.”|Domitian]]
[[“A quick look inside sounds good.”|Pantheon 1]] ]]
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]From the Pantheon, you follow Fede through winding narrow streets and then onto a broad boulevard.
(click: "winding narrow streets")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=ddaf5ee6-796d-4c9a-be75-af3b00d94c2b&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You stop in a piazza and Fede points to some ruins across the street that are incorporated — sort of, anyway — into a building. ]
(click: "into a building")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=f1a6d9b6-a9c1-42fd-8d03-af3b00d94c51&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="900" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
The floor level of the ancient ruins must be about 30 feet below you!]
(click: "below")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“This arch was one way to enter the Circus Agonalis,” Fede says.
“It’s so far down!” you say. “Why is the street level of the ancient city so far below us?”
“Eh, the //Tevere// — the river Tiber, as you say in English — this is one reason the city is higher than during the ancient days. Before the large concrete river embankments were constructed to hold back the water, the river... it was flooding all the time, covering the ground, the streets, and the floors of the houses and shops with mud and things.”
She pulls out her phone and starts scrolling through it. “I will show you a photo of a //grande// flood from, mmmm... perhaps 150 years ago, I think, before the embankments stopped all the floods. Yes... here is the photo,” she says with a sigh. “It makes me very sad to see our beautiful Pantheon full of water, like a sunken ship.” ]]
(click: "the photo")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/67005a9b0c33bb726c8e6ef68302c47e/5823912637551023-1e/s1280x1920/3194ac58b561641e3a7617ea9b105f970cf14ba3.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“But it was not only these floods which caused the city to rise,” Fede says. “There were many fires, and earthquakes as well. These left much broken stone and other, eh... debris. The Romans, they thought, ‘Why must we carry all this material away?’ It was faster to build on the top of this. The years passed, building on the top of the mud and the old broken stones and such... and the street level becomes higher. What was before a room on the old street, it becomes the basement of a new house on a higher street. You see?” ]]
(click: "becomes higher")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“I understand,” you say. “But... when we saw the Pantheon, that was at our street level now; we didn’t have to go down far below the street to go to the bronze doors leading into the temple. Why not?”
“Mmm, yes,” Fede says. “In ancient times, the Pantheon was higher than the ancient street, because it was built on a high podium, as many other temples were. If you were an ancient person, you would climb many stairs before coming to the entrance.”
“So you were looking up at this massive temple above you,” you say. “The slow approach, climbing up all the stairs must have filled the ancients with awe and anticipation. I guess we miss out on some of that now, right?”
“Yes, this is correct,” Fede says.
“But the Circus Agonalis wasn’t built on anything that raised it up, and so now it’s far below us.” ]]
(click: "raised it")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Sì,” Fede says, taking out her phone again. “But although the Circus Agonalis was not raised up, it still was something wonderful to see, I think. I can show you how it appeared in 86 CE — when this horrible man, the emperor Domitian, paid the money for it to be made. This was only a short time after the Colosseum was finished and opened... there was much building happening in //Roma// during this period.”
“What kind of games did they have here in the Circus Agonalis?” you ask. “Bloody ones, like at the Colosseum?”
“Foot races,” Fede says, “what you call... eh... track and field, and some chariot races, I believe. There are also stories of the stadium being filled with water to, eh... reproduce the historical sea battles with small boats.”
“Really?”
“Perhaps the stories are true,” Fede says, crinkling her nose, “but there is no archaeological evidence in support of them. Of course we learn new things each day, and so, //chi sa//?”
Fede then scrolls to a new picture. “Here is another photo I like. This one,” she says, pointing to the image on the left, “is the modern city with, eh... an imagination of the stadium as it was in ancient times. But on the right side, here, you can see how the buildings are now, built over the stadium, with the same shape.” ]]
(click: "new picture")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/ce1b372dc1df54f7f61c8d5a8ea0f2cc/e8f6699a4e993f83-df/s640x960/38ebc3f690adc143607d527ddd8d91e65164ec7c.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“This open place,” Fede says, “is now a //piazza// — a public square. It is quite famous — some think it is the most beautiful piazza in //Roma//.”
“Maybe I’ve heard of it,” you say. “What’s it called?”
“Piazza Navona,” Fede answers. “The name comes from... eh... when the ancient people went //in// to watch the //agones//, or games. Some people, they say //in agones// changed to //in avone// and then to //navona//.”
She points to a little street, just to your left. “We can enter Piazza Navona [[this way]].” ]]
(set: $progress to 19)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“Sure,” you say. “Let’s take a look. Although I probably shouldn’t spend too long in there. I’m a little anxious about —”
“The Circus Agonalis?” Fede finishes your sentence for you.
You look down at your suitcase. “I’m dying to drop off this luggage, and the Circus will get me one step closer — hopefully the last step.”
“And you mustn’t keep the (text-style:"fidget")[crazy archaeologist] waiting,” says Fede with a twinkle in her eye.
(click: "twinkle")[(char-style: (t8n:"slide-up")+(t8n-time:5s))[You approach the entrance of the fabled Pantheon, its huge columns looming over you. You wonder what the architect wanted you to think, or simply feel, as you get close to entering the sacred space.
(t8n:"slide-up")+(t8n-time:5s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/b639815442a84807730384817635e947/d61d0ac5b6125f96-c1/s1280x1920/5353ad1d2fdea783078689af52a687c2870fabf3.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">]
You pass through the outside columns into the roofed, open-air “portico” or “porch” of the Pantheon. You’re about to enter the building through the large bronze doors when a guard approaches you.
“Scusi,” he says, pointing disapprovingly at your suitcase. “No entry with the baggages. This is a church.”
[[You curse him in your best Italian, frustrated by this silly rule.|curse off]]
[[You nod respectfully and turn away... but resolve to come back soon.| come back]] ]]
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
You take one last look at the ancient archway, and you walk with Fede into Piazza Navona.
(click: "walk with Fede")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=0159eaca-4460-4f0d-85f2-af3b00d94c13&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
“Not much left here of the stadium that I can see,” you say. “Just the shape, I guess, right?”
“Yes,” Fede says, “but there are beautiful new things.”
“New in Rome time, you mean?”
Fede smiles and points at the fountain in the center of the Circus Agonalis’s old racetrack which you are standing in front of. “This fountain,” she says, “made by the great sculptor and architect Bernini, is new in ‘Rome time,’ as you say. Only 400 years old.” ]
(click: "400 years")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You snort a little laugh and walk up to Bernini’s huge obelisk-topped fountain. It’s scorching hot out, but the fountain’s rushing waters have an immediate cooling effect on you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/90d11418f24b9027019c5ae836981ecd/416bbdb07b93a1fa-84/s1280x1920/a7aee22ee2933ce3c4d11136fdf76f0729e4f849.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“In my work, I study the ancient artwork and buildings,” Fede says. “But even though his period — in the 1600s — is long after ancient Rome, everyone in the city, we know Bernini. His work lives in many places in Rome, and is very beautiful, I think.” ]]
(click: "I think.")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[She holds her hands out in front of her, imitating the sculpted figures in the fountain. “Bernini, he went to see ancient sculptures that were here in the city... and he studied and studied them... but I think he changed, and made a new style building on the ancient way. The forms he made here in the fountain, is all drama, movement, and fast energy. No rest... no peace for poor Bernini’s stone people here!”
She puts down her hands and shrugs. “But I don’t know. This is not my expertise. What do you think?”
You look back at the fountain.
[[“I like the sea monster. He doesn’t look real exactly, or peaceful, but he’s full of life.”|life]]
[[“I see what you mean. Bernini’s sculptures are restless. Maybe he was impatient or frustrated, and that came out in his art.”|restless]] ]]
(set: $progress to 20)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]Fede nods. “Yes, there is... //exploding// life.” She looks suddenly embarrassed. “Sorry, my English — sometimes I don’t know the right word.”
[[“What are you talking about? You’re doing great,” you say. “I wish I spoke Italian half as well as you speak English.” |great]]
[[“I have trouble finding the right words too sometimes.”|right words]]
(set: $progress to 21)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]Fede nods. “Perhaps he was unhappy when he created this. There seems to be fear in the sculpted people; these two men, they push away, they protect themselves. There is a, eh... //big// emotion, I think.” She looks suddenly embarrassed. “Sorry, my English — sometimes I search, but I don’t know the right word.”
[[“What are you talking about? You’re doing great,” you say. “I wish I spoke Italian half as well as you speak English.” |great]]
[[“I have trouble finding the right words too sometimes.”|right words]]
(set: $progress to 21)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“You are kind. But I must practice my English more. It’s good for me to walk with you and talk.”
“It’s good for me too,” you say. “Otherwise, I’d be lost.”
You realize you haven’t checked in with Lisa in a little while, so you pull out your phone and text her
(click: "text her")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/bce752766deeab3b8165dd5c9e3ec6fe/813b59714b428eda-b4/s640x960/0abd00cf7bbfa8f1824d302ede6dda9a66e35dbd.pnj" width="540" height="940">]
She follows this with her address, which you show to Fede. “You don’t have to come with me,” you say. “But if you could make sure I’m walking in the right direction, that would help.” You point in the opposite direction from which you entered the piazza. “This way is south, right?”
“Yes,” Fede says. “I’m going this way too. I have, eh... errands in the //Campo//. Lunch for my father.”
You walk with Fede out of the piazza and back out into the winding Roman streets. ]]
(click: "winding Roman streets")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=d85cda7d-c35a-4eca-a473-af3b00dbf90a&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
After a few minutes, Fede asks if it would be all right to make a quick stop on the way to the Campo. You agree, and soon you’re approaching the door of a local trattoria. ]
(click: "trattoria")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=9bb66c5e-a026-4f17-8695-af3b00e13703&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
As you enter the restaurant, you see two servers setting tables for the coming lunch rush, and a cook — her arms loaded down with supplies — walking briskly toward the kitchen.
You follow Fede toward old, classical-looking archways toward the back of the restaurant. Along the way, you notice what appear to be ancient Roman amphorae, or vases, displayed along the walls.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/862c2004de557460f35775f53421b1ae/e5d2f09cc79ef912-60/s640x960/f76b178cedc8cf579dd12c8ed3b11052e735c376.png" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Fede stops at an office and pushes the half-open door. As the door swings, you get a widening view into the room — it’s large but cluttered with wine boxes, extra silverware, stacks of freshly laundered linen napkins. There is what seems to be an ancient wooden portrait of a Roman child hung on the wall as decoration: ]
(click: "portrait of a Roman child")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/43fa61750cd6292da43d942dfb911e69/39b333f815f72960-bd/s1280x1920/f5443bf6745d5c3f93def525952fe19bb479e323.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
In the center of the room is a wide glass desk with two ancient-looking, broken columns for legs. There’s a man sitting at the desk, with slicked-back, graying hair and an expensive, glossy shirt. He looks up from his computer and says, “Ciao, //cara//,” which you remember means “dear.” A quick conversation in Italian ensues, but he and Fede speak so quickly that you barely pick up a word. ]
(click: "dear")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Then the man gets up, and Fede introduces you to him — she says his name is Claudio. “Nice to meet you,” Claudio says with a strong Italian accent. “You will stay for lunch?”
“Grazie,” Fede says. “But not today — my father is waiting.”
“Ah, sì sì,” Claudio responds, standing up.
“Interesting portrait,” you say, gesturing to the painting on the wall.
“My daughter, she don’t like it. So I bring it here.”
“Claudio told her it was funeral art,” Fede says, shaking her head.
“Funeral art?” you ask. ]]
(click: "funeral")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Fede nods. “The portrait was probably commissioned by the parents... a portrait of their dead child.”
“But it is a, eh... a happy face,” Claudio says. “The mamma and papà, they are wise to paint this child alive and happy, not empty in the grave. One day, my daughter... she understands this, and I bring the picture home.”
“How old is the picture — is it ancient?” you ask.
“No, no, eh... six, seven years,” Claudio answers. “It is, eh... //riproduzione//. A fake. Not old.”
You look around and see a large bronze statue below the desk. ]]
(click: "bronze")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c8801725634af831aa5bdee324aa2f0f/0966161cdbd99fde-4d/s1280x1920/66237de59d83da18a524be9248a65cdd7360bb8f.jpg" width="540" height="427">
“I’m so jet-lagged,” you say, “that I wish I was sleeping like that right now.”
“That statue type is known as the Sleeping Eros,” Fede says. “He was a common garden statue in the Greek and Roman world. There is great detail in the emotions, musculature, and movement of the statue. See how his rolls of fat slump down over the rock, and his curly hair is so intricate. Sleeping statues, or statues of children, were often found in the gardens of rich people.”
“But, eh, we are... not rich,” Claudio says with a smile, pointing to the portrait of the Roman child. “It is also, eh... //riproduzione//,” he says, moving out of the office and locking the door. Claudio walks briskly through the restaurant, with you and Fede following behind. “Fede, which pasta your papà has today?”
“//L’ultima volta... ha mangiato la carbonara,//” Fede says as she and you follow Claudio on his way toward the kitchen. Then, switching to English (for your benefit, you assume), she adds, “But this time, I don’t know.”
“Okay,” Claudio says, “no carbonara!” Then he looks over his shoulder at you. “Which pasta, you think, for the papà?” ]]
(click: "pasta,")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“What are my choices?” you ask as you all enter the restaurant’s kitchen.
“The papà, he is... //tradizionale//. There are, eh, three kind of pasta //tradizionale// here in //Roma//. First we have... the carbonara. The second is the amatriciana,” he says, picking up a small, deep-red tomato. “Amatriciana have sweet tomato... must be sweet or you can’t have amatriciana. No! You also have //guanciale//.” He grabs his jowl and shakes it theatrically. “No pancetta. Must be guanciale, okay? The cheek of the pork. Is very, eh, soft... is tender. //Poi//, you have the... //piccante//...” He looks at Fede for help.
“Chili pepper flakes,” she says.
“Yes, pepper flake,” Claudio repeats. “Then with the pecorino cheese, //e un po’ di parmigiano//,” he says, grabbing two large, triangular pieces of hard white cheese from the counter, “//e basta!// You are finish.”
“What’s the last one?” you ask.
“Ah! For the last is the most simple, but—” he says, raising a finger, “is not so simple to make. //Cacio e pepe//. Is only cheese and the black pepper with the pasta. Must have the good sheep cheese, the //pecorino// — must be old, old cheese!”
“Aged, he means,” Fede interjects.
Claudio raises an eyebrow. “Is the same thing, no?”
“No,” Fede says. “‘Old’ does not sound tasty.”
“Old, age-ed, is the same. Old is good,” Claudio says. “Old cheese, old wine, old art — old is best. You use the best black pepper, the homemade pasta, the old cheese” — he smirks at Fede — “and you cook slow — then you have the real cacio e pepe.” He looks at you. “Allora,” he says. “Which pasta for the sick papà of Fede?”
[[Amatriciana]]
[[Cacio e pepe]] ]]
(set: $progress to 22)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“I guess we are all frustrated sometimes,” Fede says.
“That’s right,” you say. “Me, you, Bernini — everyone.”
Fede laughs. “But I must practice my English more. It is good for me to walk with you and to speak.”
“It’s good for me too,” you say. “Otherwise, I’d be lost.”
You realize you haven’t checked in with Lisa in a little while, so you pull out your phone and text her.
(click: "text her")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/bce752766deeab3b8165dd5c9e3ec6fe/813b59714b428eda-b4/s640x960/0abd00cf7bbfa8f1824d302ede6dda9a66e35dbd.pnj" width="540" height="940">]
She follows this with her address, which you show to Fede. “You don’t have to come with me,” you say. “But if you could make sure I’m walking in the right direction, that would help.” You point in the opposite direction from which you entered the piazza. “This way is south, right?”
“Yes,” Fede says. “I’m going this way too. I have, eh... errands in the //Campo//. Lunch for my father.”
You walk with Fede out of the piazza and back out into the winding Roman streets. ]]
(click: "winding Roman streets")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=d85cda7d-c35a-4eca-a473-af3b00dbf90a&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
After a few minutes, Fede asks if it would be all right to make a quick stop on the way to the Campo. You agree, and soon you’re approaching the door of a local trattoria. ]
(click: "trattoria")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=9bb66c5e-a026-4f17-8695-af3b00e13703&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
As you enter the restaurant, you see two servers setting tables for the coming lunch rush, and a cook — her arms loaded down with supplies — walking briskly toward the kitchen.
You follow Fede toward old, classical-looking archways toward the back of the restaurant. Along the way, you notice what appear to be ancient Roman amphorae, or vases, displayed along the walls.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/862c2004de557460f35775f53421b1ae/e5d2f09cc79ef912-60/s640x960/f76b178cedc8cf579dd12c8ed3b11052e735c376.png" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Fede stops at an office and pushes the half-open door. As the door swings, you get a widening view into the room — it’s large but cluttered with wine boxes, extra silverware, stacks of freshly laundered linen napkins. There is what seems to be an ancient wooden portrait of a Roman child hung on the wall as decoration: ]
(click: "portrait of a Roman child")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/43fa61750cd6292da43d942dfb911e69/39b333f815f72960-bd/s1280x1920/f5443bf6745d5c3f93def525952fe19bb479e323.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
In the center of the room is a wide glass desk with two ancient-looking, broken columns for legs. There’s a man sitting at the desk, with slicked-back, graying hair and an expensive, glossy shirt. He looks up from his computer and says, “Ciao, //cara//,” which you remember means “dear.” A quick conversation in Italian ensues, but he and Fede speak so quickly that you barely pick up a word. ]
(click: "dear")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Then the man gets up, and Fede introduces you to him — she says his name is Claudio. “Nice to meet you,” Claudio says with a strong Italian accent. “You will stay for lunch?”
“Grazie,” Fede says. “But not today — my father is waiting.”
“Ah, sì sì,” Claudio responds, standing up.
“Interesting portrait,” you say, gesturing to the painting on the wall.
“My daughter, she don’t like it. So I bring it here.”
“Claudio told her it was funeral art,” Fede says, shaking her head.
“Funeral art?” you ask. ]]
(click: "funeral")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Fede nods. “The portrait was probably commissioned by the parents... a portrait of their dead child.”
“But it is a, eh... a happy face,” Claudio says. “The mamma and papà, they are wise to paint this child alive and happy, not empty in the grave. One day, my daughter... she understands this, and I bring the picture home.”
“How old is the picture — is it ancient?” you ask.
“No, no, eh... six, seven years,” Claudio answers. “It is, eh... //riproduzione//. A fake. Not old.”
You look around and see a large bronze statue below the desk. ]]
(click: "bronze")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c8801725634af831aa5bdee324aa2f0f/0966161cdbd99fde-4d/s1280x1920/66237de59d83da18a524be9248a65cdd7360bb8f.jpg" width="540" height="427">
“I’m so jet-lagged,” you say, “that I wish I was sleeping like that right now.”
“That statue type is known as the Sleeping Eros,” Fede says. “He was a common garden statue in the Greek and Roman world. There is great detail in the emotions, musculature, and movement of the statue. See how his rolls of fat slump down over the rock, and his curly hair is so intricate. Sleeping statues, or statues of children, were often found in the gardens of rich people.”
“But, eh, we are... not rich,” Claudio says with a smile, pointing to the portrait of the Roman child. “It is also, eh... //riproduzione//,” he says, moving out of the office and locking the door. Claudio walks briskly through the restaurant, with you and Fede following behind. “Fede, which pasta your papà has today?”
“//L’ultima volta... ha mangiato la carbonara,//” Fede says as she and you follow Claudio on his way toward the kitchen. Then, switching to English (for your benefit, you assume), she adds, “But this time, I don’t know.”
“Okay,” Claudio says, “no carbonara!” Then he looks over his shoulder at you. “Which pasta, you think, for the papà?” ]]
(click: "pasta,")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“What are my choices?” you ask as you all enter the restaurant’s kitchen.
“The papà, he is... //tradizionale//. There are, eh, three kind of pasta //tradizionale// here in //Roma//. First we have... the carbonara. The second is the amatriciana,” he says, picking up a small, deep-red tomato. “Amatriciana have sweet tomato... must be sweet or you can’t have amatriciana. No! You also have //guanciale//.” He grabs his jowl and shakes it theatrically. “No pancetta. Must be guanciale, okay? The cheek of the pork. Is very, eh, soft... is tender. //Poi//, you have the... //piccante//...” He looks at Fede for help.
“Chili pepper flakes,” she says.
“Yes, pepper flake,” Claudio repeats. “Then with the pecorino cheese, //e un po’ di parmigiano//,” he says, grabbing two large, triangular pieces of hard white cheese from the counter, “//e basta!// You are finish.”
“What’s the last one?” you ask.
“Ah! For the last is the most simple, but—” he says, raising a finger, “is not so simple to make. //Cacio e pepe//. Is only cheese and the black pepper with the pasta. Must have the good sheep cheese, the //pecorino// — must be old, old cheese!”
“Aged, he means,” Fede interjects.
Claudio raises an eyebrow. “Is the same thing, no?”
“No,” Fede says. “‘Old’ does not sound tasty.”
“Old, age-ed, is the same. Old is good,” Claudio says. “Old cheese, old wine, old art — old is best. You use the best black pepper, the homemade pasta, the old cheese” — he smirks at Fede — “and you cook slow — then you have the real cacio e pepe.” He looks at you. “Allora,” he says. “Which pasta for the sick papà of Fede?”
[[Amatriciana]]
[[Cacio e pepe]] ]]
(set: $progress to 22)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
“I always like a little spice when I’m not feeling well,” you say. “Let’s go with amatriciana.”
Fede nods, and Claudio says, “Va bene. I make myself. Cinque minuti — five minutes, I bring to you.”
As Claudio starts to grate pecorino, Fede beckons, and the two of you leave the kitchen. “I want to show you the downstairs dining room,” she says. “It’s interesting.”
You descend a narrow, winding staircase and emerge into the basement room.
(click: "descend")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/75a39b2da5517a9bebd0282fee16b8c1/80e8a71b47da71f1-1f/s1280x1920/cfe07a9021fbfb65ab313f3d31ab5f3a443fa25d.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“This room was part of a very large complex with the first permanent theater here in our city. It was built in 55 BCE, by Pompey Magnus — Magnus, this means ‘the Great.’ Pompey was a general like Julius Caesar. They began as friends, but became terrible enemies to each other… they had a big civil war, fighting each other, and Julius Caesar won. But before this, when Pompey was still a powerful man, he built this complex. There were shops, gardens, a temple to the goddess Venus, and a theater, of course, which was very grand. It was hosting — eh, no, could host 20,000 people. I think my English is beginning to return a little. It was… it has been a long time since I spoke English.
“Yes, I think it’s sounding better,” you say. “I have a question, too, about the theater. You said this was the first theater in Rome? There were no plays being put on, or other kinds of theatrical productions before that in Rome?”]]
(click: "productions")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Oh yes, I see the confusion,” Fede replies. “Before Pompey’s Theater, there were, eh… temporary theaters made of wood or other materials, but this was the first permanent one. It was made partly of concrete, a material that makes for archways like the ones over our heads here. The temple-theater combination, this was new for the period, which, eh… we call the Late Republic period. The temple to Venus Victrix — this means Venus the Victorious—was on top of the seats of the theater. Here…”
Fede shows you two pictures on her phone.]]
(click: "phone")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5fb2b725c47f6588ac9bf9bcc79ad494/db97c66b659a6bd9-ee/s1280x1920/ea443784d551c229a5e2e36a561cd98f329753de.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/59e39887d552b2263803b35419bf8e73/3e751e9988a1b694-20/s400x600/58cdd458a9d9ae97a84ade99b00a25af0af74ed1.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“By having the theater together with a temple, Pompey Magnus, he was mixing religion with theater. It was also, eh… propaganda, for politics. The temple he made for Venus Victrix was like Pompey saying, ‘I am close with Venus the Victorious, and she supports me!’ But he is also making a huge theater for the people, and changing the city in a grand way that stays even until now.” ]]
(click: "until now")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You look around the room. “Which part of the complex are we in now?” you ask.
“Claudio’s grandfather had some archaeologists dig here, mmm, I believe in the 1940s. They thought this room was behind the, eh… the stage of the theater. They believed this was where costumes and things for the theater plays were kept.”
“You mean that the actors might have changed their costumes right here?”
Fede nods. “Roman actors were sometimes be prostitutes, so perhaps other people changed their clothes here too.”
She takes out her phone again. “Let me show you what the theater was like.”]]
(click: "what the theater")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=cfd9fb8e-2974-4801-b726-ac4600e6cac2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&start=0&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
“I thought this looked familiar,” you say. “The theater is in one of the Assassin’s Creed games. As I remember, you go through rooms and gardens that are part of the theater complex—”
“Yes!” Fede says. “I know this game. There were gardens and fountains with artworks that Pompey stole during his many wars.” ]]
(click: "artworks")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“What kind of artworks?” you ask. “Were there sculptures here in Pompey’s Theater?”
“There were many sculptures here,” Fede says. “Some in the temple, and some in the gardens. He also had statues that, eh… represented fourteen countries that he conquered. And there is a story that there was a very big sculpture of Pompey Magnus in the curia — the senate meeting room. It was this room where Julius Caesar was murdered.”
“Caesar was killed right here in the theater complex?”
“The curia was on the other side of the theater complex, but yes, here in Pompey’s Theater, you could say.” ]]
(click: "complex,")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“They actually let you do that in the Assassin’s Creed game,” you say. “Do you remember? You can be the first person to stab Julius Caesar. It’s a little gruesome, but, well, I felt I was learning about history, about architecture, and other things.”
“I enjoyed this game, and believe I learned from it, too.” Fede says, tapping on her phone, which she then shows to you. “This is from the part where you must ‘reach the curia’ — it is an image of the theater gardens as the, eh… game creators have made them. It is fairly accurate, I believe.”]]
(click: "fairly accurate")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/eaa3ba933377d4f88d3c75a06499cfc2/5dc4e7651e8956a6-7b/s1280x1920/f0dcea084681678536b84b8cd427c8563c5de421.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“And then,” Fede says, “here is one of the curia itself, where, as you say, in the game you can attack Caesar.”
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/3a9ca8bcbd57c18fb1dac45bb03b3e6b/dd1b2608e4568584-3c/s1280x1920/ec79b26af09da749f4d1f75009292b511af1e303.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“After you stab Caesar,” you say, “I remember all the senators rushing in to finish him off. I read somewhere that many of the common Romans loved Caesar, but that a lot of senators really hated him.” ]]
(click: "really hated")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Julius Caesar, he took all power,” Fede says. “He was a dictator, almost a king. The senators, I believe, wanted to bring back the Republic.”
“But,” you say, “weren’t there emperors after Caesar? Now I’m confused again.”
Fede laughs. “The history of Rome is long and… it is complicated. Caesar, as you say, he was popular among the people, and the senators who killed him left Rome out of fear. They died later in a battle against Julius Caesar’s adopted son, who became the first emperor. This man, Julius Caesar’s adopted son, was named Augustus.”
“Fede, Fede!” you suddenly hear from behind you. You turn and see Claudio emerging from the stairwell, holding a bag.
“Ecco la pasta per papà,” he says with a grin.
A few minutes later, you and Fede are walking through the doors of the restaurant, [[back out into the street.|exiting restaurant]] ]]
(set: $progress to 23)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
“I always like simple things when I’m not feeling well,” you say. “Let’s go with the cacio e pepe.”
Fede nods approvingly, and Claudio says, “Va bene. I make myself. Cinque minuti — five minutes, I bring to you.”
As Claudio starts to grate pecorino, Fede beckons, and the two of you leave the kitchen. “I want to show you the downstairs dining room,” she says. “It’s interesting.”
You descend a narrow, winding staircase and emerge into the basement room.
(click: "descend")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/75a39b2da5517a9bebd0282fee16b8c1/80e8a71b47da71f1-1f/s1280x1920/cfe07a9021fbfb65ab313f3d31ab5f3a443fa25d.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“This room was part of a very large complex with the first permanent theater here in our city. It was built in 55 BCE, by Pompey Magnus — Magnus, this means ‘the Great.’ Pompey was a general like Julius Caesar. They began as friends, but became terrible enemies to each other… they had a big civil war, fighting each other, and Julius Caesar won. But before this, when Pompey was still a powerful man, he built this complex. There were shops, gardens, a temple to the goddess Venus, and a theater, of course, which was very grand. It was hosting — eh, no, could host 20,000 people. I think my English is beginning to return a little. It was… it has been a long time since I spoke English.
“Yes, I think it’s sounding better,” you say. “I have a question, too, about the theater. You said this was the first theater in Rome? There were no plays being put on, or other kinds of theatrical productions before that in Rome?”]]
(click: "productions")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Oh yes, I see the confusion,” Fede replies. “Before Pompey’s Theater, there were, eh… temporary theaters made of wood or other materials, but this was the first permanent one. It was made partly of concrete, a material that makes for archways like the ones over our heads here. The temple-theater combination, this was new for the period, which, eh… we call the Late Republic period. The temple to Venus Victrix — this means Venus the Victorious—was on top of the seats of the theater. Here…”
Fede shows you two pictures on her phone.]]
(click: "phone")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5fb2b725c47f6588ac9bf9bcc79ad494/db97c66b659a6bd9-ee/s1280x1920/ea443784d551c229a5e2e36a561cd98f329753de.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/59e39887d552b2263803b35419bf8e73/3e751e9988a1b694-20/s400x600/58cdd458a9d9ae97a84ade99b00a25af0af74ed1.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“By having the theater together with a temple, Pompey Magnus, he was mixing religion with theater. It was also, eh… propaganda, for politics. The temple he made for Venus Victrix was like Pompey saying, ‘I am close with Venus the Victorious, and she supports me!’ But he is also making a huge theater for the people, and changing the city in a grand way that stays even until now.” ]]
(click: "until now")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[You look around the room. “Which part of the complex are we in now?” you ask.
“Claudio’s grandfather had some archaeologists dig here, mmm, I believe in the 1940s. They thought this room was behind the, eh… the stage of the theater. They believed this was where costumes and things for the theater plays were kept.”
“You mean that the actors might have changed their costumes right here?”
Fede nods. “Roman actors were sometimes be prostitutes, so perhaps other people changed their clothes here too.”
She takes out her phone again. “Let me show you what the theater was like.”]]
(click: "what the theater")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=cfd9fb8e-2974-4801-b726-ac4600e6cac2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&start=0&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
“I thought this looked familiar,” you say. “The theater is in one of the Assassin’s Creed games. As I remember, you go through rooms and gardens that are part of the theater complex—”
“Yes!” Fede says. “I know this game. There were gardens and fountains with artworks that Pompey stole during his many wars.” ]]
(click: "artworks")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“What kind of artworks?” you ask. “Were there sculptures here in Pompey’s Theater?”
“There were many sculptures here,” Fede says. “Some in the temple, and some in the gardens. He also had statues that, eh… represented fourteen countries that he conquered. And there is a story that there was a very big sculpture of Pompey Magnus in the curia — the senate meeting room. It was this room where Julius Caesar was murdered.”
“Caesar was killed right here in the theater complex?”
“The curia was on the other side of the theater complex, but yes, here in Pompey’s Theater, you could say.” ]]
(click: "complex,")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“They actually let you do that in the Assassin’s Creed game,” you say. “Do you remember? You can be the first person to stab Julius Caesar. It’s a little gruesome, but, well, I felt I was learning about history, about architecture, and other things.”
“I enjoyed this game, and believe I learned from it, too.” Fede says, tapping on her phone, which she then shows to you. “This is from the part where you must ‘reach the curia’ — it is an image of the theater gardens as the, eh… game creators have made them. It is fairly accurate, I believe.”]]
(click: "fairly accurate")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/eaa3ba933377d4f88d3c75a06499cfc2/5dc4e7651e8956a6-7b/s1280x1920/f0dcea084681678536b84b8cd427c8563c5de421.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“And then,” Fede says, “here is one of the curia itself, where, as you say, in the game you can attack Caesar.”
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/3a9ca8bcbd57c18fb1dac45bb03b3e6b/dd1b2608e4568584-3c/s1280x1920/ec79b26af09da749f4d1f75009292b511af1e303.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“After you stab Caesar,” you say, “I remember all the senators rushing in to finish him off. I read somewhere that many of the common Romans loved Caesar, but that a lot of senators really hated him.” ]]
(click: "really hated")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Julius Caesar, he took all power,” Fede says. “He was a dictator, almost a king. The senators, I believe, wanted to bring back the Republic.”
“But,” you say, “weren’t there emperors after Caesar? Now I’m confused again.”
Fede laughs. “The history of Rome is long and… it is complicated. Caesar, as you say, he was popular among the people, and the senators who killed him left Rome out of fear. They died later in a battle against Julius Caesar’s adopted son, who became the first emperor. This man, Julius Caesar’s adopted son, was named Augustus.”
“Fede, Fede!” you suddenly hear from behind you. You turn and see Claudio emerging from the stairwell, holding a bag.
“Ecco la pasta per papà,” he says with a grin.
A few minutes later, you and Fede are walking through the doors of the restaurant, [[back out into the street.|exiting restaurant]] ]]
(set: $progress to 23)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]Once outside the restaurant, you take an immediate right, heading toward a tunnel of sorts in the tall old building in front of you.
(click: "front of you")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=e3300b15-68d7-4542-a4c5-af3b00f2b259&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You notice the curved building in front of you.
“Weird how it curves like that,” you comment.
“It is built on the, eh… the bones… the old structure of the ancient theater,” Fede says. “That apartment building is where the theater seating once was. And you can see the plan here,” she continues, calling up another image on her phone, “where the ancient theater sits in relation to the modern buildings, which are represented in gray.” ]
(click: "represented in gray")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/f36c7d4c01ff84ba33f547d49720e01f/d984ec4395094758-92/s400x600/b18623909329364f9d3fa6d0fd3cd01b1ab550f4.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Yes, I see,” you say. “But what happened to everything? The seats, the stage, the curia, the temple — did it all just... disappear? Or is it all underground now?”
“I will show you,” Fede says.
You and Fede walk through winding streets with names like //via dei Giubbonari//, which Fede tells you means “street of the tailors,” //via dei Chiavari// (“street of the key makers”), and //via dei Balestrari// (“street of the crossbow makers”). ]
(click: "through winding streets")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=15abe6f5-6d39-4025-84de-af3b00f2b260&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="900" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You ask Fede to translate the writing that’s engraved above the old via dei Balestrari street sign. ]
(click: "translate")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“It is Latin, written in the year… eh… 1483 — when the city was coming alive again,” she says. “After the western Roman empire fell in the, eh… the 400s, the city was attacked, and some of it burned. It went from being quite full of people — the eh, the population was perhaps two million when the empire was strong, down to only 20,000 people in the medieval period. The city was in ruins. It was not until a thousand years later — during the Renaissance period — that the popes start to change what had become a poor and dangerous city, with few people, and make it prosperous again.”
She points up at the street sign’s inscription. “It begins with //O land of Mars//,” she says, “because this part of Rome we call the Campus Martius — the field of the god Mars. The inscription, it says, eh… //Until recently you were wet and smelly with filthy mud and full of… neglect. Now, under the Pope Sixtus the fourth, you have freed yourself of this, eh… bad aspect and everything appears good now in the elegant place. Worthy thanks are due to Sixtus (IV), the health giver. Rome is thankful to the high shepherd. Via Florea. Battista Arcioni and Ludovico Margani Street Masters in the Year of Grace, 1483.//”
“Sounds like the Middle Ages were hard for Rome,” you remark as you continue walking through the narrow streets. ]]
(click: "narrow streets")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Very different from the time of Julius Caesar and the emperors who came after him, yes,” Fede says. “But some say the Middle Ages, they have much value, but have been… neglected. Others, they say Rome died in the Middle Ages and was reborn in the Renaissance.”
You keep walking. Fede suddenly stops and points to an enormous building in front of you.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/ad72ac33741ac6ff8e368fa33feb1ddf/396a01e72b57dd31-6b/s1280x1920/bb1dad3eee6489114c1a1074019b43c66aecfca7.jpg" class="responsive" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“The travertine — this is the white stone you see, it looks almost like marble — it was taken from the Theater of Pompey to make this building.”
“They stole the stone from the ancient theater?”
“They took many things,” she says as you walk toward [[the building|a courtyard]]. ]]
(set: $progress to 24)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=b403b39e-8d0a-4a81-bfa6-af3b00f2b260&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
“They took these red and gray columns you see from Pompey’s Theater,” she says.
“Where in the theater were they?” you ask.
“Before they were built into this Renaissance courtyard,” Fede says, “these columns were on the top level... the covered seating in Pompey’s Theater.” She types into her phone and lifts it for you to see. “Do you see the covered seats in the eh… the upper left part of this picture?”
(click: "upper left part of this picture")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/7baea95b629a8bb3bfc0ba8a7fcb7d36/98b86a7c50461a19-67/s1280x1920/93f1b9d6f8c4bbf81f1c50f3b1c1c72f0a272ce6.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Yes, I see,” you say. Then you look away from the phone and up at the actual courtyard around you. “The ancient columns look pretty here, the way they were incorporated into the courtyard.” ]]
(click: "incorporated")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“I suppose,” Fede says. “But for me, the columns are too thin for the purpose they have been given. When I look at them, it feels as though the solid top level is too heavy for these, eh… skinny columns.”
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/23a05c64e6ea3350a97e7a325e181b5a/395bc2795f857c23-2a/s1280x1920/1bea23c3a51bfef637acadcd023a8feb0b7a0ac2.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Now that you say it, I see what you mean,” you say. “It feels a little like the place could come crashing down on us.”
“Yes,” Fede says. “A little… unsettling. But, although it is not perfect, it is still a very beautiful courtyard.”
“But they destroyed the beauty of Pompey’s Theater to do it!” you protest. “That feels so wrong, like a crime.” ]]
(click: "crime")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Using //spolia// was very common here in the Late Antique Period and Renaissance. I doubt many people thought of it as a crime.”
“What’s spolia?” you ask.
“It is a Latin word,” Fede says. “It means ‘spoils.’ Old building materials that are reused for new purposes.”
“Well, I think they should have left the columns, travertine, and all the other objects right where they were originally.”
“We should not judge them,” Fede says. “This building we are in, it is called the Palazzo della Cancelleria; it was made during the same period as the inscription above the street sign we saw.”
“The 1400s, right?” you say. “I know... it was a difficult time.”
“Very difficult. They were trying to rise out of the mud and ruins. These were people who were as real as we, and they struggled in ways we can only imagine. They took from the past these things we see here from ruined buildings, for their use, for their era, for people who were alive and in need. The ancients were dead and buried for centuries — they did not need their theater any longer.” ]]
(click: "any longer")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“But they stole the history, the architecture. It should have been preserved,” you say.
“The art, too, yes!” Fede cries. “But what about the living? They struggled in the medieval period and the Renaissance, and we struggle now as well. Italy, our Italy, my Italy, has been in crisis for many years. There are no jobs for the young people. For my friends. For me. Preserving the past, yes, it is important. But it is not the only concern. They knew this, the medieval and Renaissance builders. And so they reuse the spolia.”
“But I thought they //loved// the past. I thought Bernini studied the ancient sculptors and—”
“Yes, Bernini… he loved the ancient artists, and the architect of this palazzo. Bramante was his name, he also made much of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. I think Bramante, he loved ancient architecture and was copying it. But, also, he //changed// it. He moved the old material from Pompey’s decayed theater to make a new building for his new time. We must not allow the past to trap us. He knew this. We feel this way in Rome sometimes. The past is heavy...”
[[“I never thought of it that way,” you say.|that way]]
[[“I still think it’s important to preserve the past,” you say, “and not destroy it.”|not destroy]] ]]
(set: $progress to 25)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=c99ef86f-182b-4b11-a2db-af3b00f2b286&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
You and Fede have found the right house — it’s got a secluded, old look to it, and you wonder about its history. You exchange numbers with Fede, then thank her as she waves goodbye and disappears through the passageway leading back into the street.
You walk up to the door — shooing away a couple mosquitoes as you go — and just before you knock, a black cat comes down a set of stairs on the outside of the house and comes up to you, purring.
[[Pet the cat.]]
[[Knock on the door.]]
(set: $progress to 27)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]You lean down and start petting the cat, who rolls for you and licks your hand.
You hear a clanking sound coming from the passageway, and you look up to see a woman with wild white hair come roaring into the courtyard on a rusty old bike with a basket full of groceries. The bike makes a horrible groaning noise as the woman slams on the brakes, stopping just before she runs into you.
“You made it!” she says as she hops off the bike, grabbing the groceries with one hand and scooping up the black cat with the other. “This is Spike,” she says.
“And you must be Lisa,” you say.
She nods and unlocks the door. “Come on in,” she says. “I’ll make us some lunch. You must be tired and hungry after your journey.”
“[[Yes, please|lunch]],” you say.
“I’m not hungry,” you say, “but [[I wouldn’t mind a rest|rest]].”
(set: $progress to 28)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]
You’re about to knock on the door when you hear a clanking sound coming from the passageway. You turn around and see a woman with wild white hair come roaring into the courtyard on a rusty old bike with a basket full of groceries. The bike makes a horrible groaning noise as the woman slams on the brakes, stopping just before she runs into you.
“You made it!” she says as she hops off the bike, grabbing the groceries with one hand and scooping up the black cat with the other. “This is Spike,” she says.
“And you must be Lisa,” you say.
She nods and unlocks the door. “Come on in,” she says. “I’ll make us some lunch. You must be tired and hungry after your journey.”
“[[Yes, please|lunch]],” you say.
“I’m not hungry,” you say, “but [[I wouldn’t mind a rest|rest]].”
(set: $progress to 28)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]Lisa whips up some ravioli and salad — she moves fast, talks fast, and finishes her food long before you do. The ravioli tastes good, although the kitchen is hot, despite the ceiling fan whirling above you.
After you’ve finished, Lisa takes you up a creaking staircase and shows you to a room on the third floor. It’s even hotter upstairs, but there’s a fan, which Lisa turns on for you.
You settle your suitcase in the corner of the room and look up at the high ceiling, which has exposed beams that look extremely old.
“How old is this house?” you ask.
“Fifteenth century,” she says. “The bottom floor was used as a stable, we think, for the Palazzo della Cancelleria.”
“What about the upper floors, like this one?”
“Brothel,” she says.
(click: "Brothel")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Really?” you say. “I mean, how do you know for sure?”
“We have a copy of a guidebook from the 1700s that mentions the houses in the courtyard here, which used to be connected. It was called the Casa della Sorpresa — the house of surprise — because they had a new courtesan every week. That’s what the guidebook says, anyway.”
“I hope this isn’t the original mattress,” you say as you sit down on the bed.
“That one’s new — for Rome, that is.”
“Only a hundred years old?”
Lisa winks and gives you a smile. “I’ll be up in the study if you need anything. Just give me a holler.”
You open your computer to the sound of Lisa’s footsteps as she goes up the old staircase. Luckily, there’s a note on the nightstand with the wifi code, so you’re able to get online. Leaning back against the pillow, you decide to trace the route you took from Termini to Lisa’s house. After a little work, you come up with:
(click: "you come up with:")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e572748b9ec723cec09566c4933bedef/aa44d44d36a99e71-20/s1280x1920/12770b8dd0ce57fd3d70e256915ebfeade53274e.jpg" class="responsive" width="1000" height="800">
After you finish the map, you scroll through your email and see that your advisor has emailed you: ]]]
(click: "email ")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/65a6b869a849bfc9b828f67c0a47790b/00eb60da9c2766e9-ad/s1280x1920/6dae7b4d391c7cfcd5fa637135c71d5234635073.pnj" style="width:100%;max-width:1024px">]
//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
''Arrival Assignment''
Ciao!
As you’re reading this, you must have already arrived safely in Rome and have probably met Lisa by now. Please say hello to her for me.
I’ve attached a link to the first episode of HBO’s Rome, which I think you will enjoy; it will also give you a sense of what the ancient city was like during the time of Julius Caesar.
I’ve also attached a short doc — it’s the introduction to a book called The Ancient Roman City by John Stambaugh (pages 1-4).
Best,
Valeria
P.S. Try not to take a nap on the first day! Stay up, if you can. It’ll help you get past the jet lag faster.
P.P.S. Don’t let Lisa scare you with talk of ghosts in the house. It’s an old house and it creaks at night. That doesn’t mean it’s haunted, but even if it is, the spirits are kindly.]
NOTE: Scroll down beyond the video of HBO’s //Rome// and the Stambaugh PDF to download Writing Assignment #2.
HBO’s //Rome// Season 1, Episode 1: “The Stolen Eagle” (52 min.)
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=67f8b75f-3cb7-44b9-8467-ac4600f1cf38&autoplay=false&offerviewer=true&showtitle=true&showbrand=false&start=0&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EN-uhXcce-gZ8_qtrZcxKGMT4qmGmklC/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
To download the writing assignment for Chapter 2, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V_1c8GsUjtke8ydCfTcEM9mj9Y_aRqhw/preview"style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px" allow="autoplay"></iframe>]]
(set: $progress to 29)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]Lisa takes you up a creaking staircase and shows you to a room on the third floor. It’s hot upstairs, but there's a fan, which Lisa turns on for you. That at least helps circulate the stagnant air.
You settle your suitcase in the corner of the room and look up at the high ceiling, which has exposed beams that look extremely old.
“How old is this house?” you ask.
“Fifteenth century,” she says. “The bottom floor was used as a stable, we think, for the Palazzo della Cancelleria.”
“What about the upper floors, like this one?”
“Brothel,” she says.
(click: "Brothel")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[“Really?” you say. “I mean, how do you know for sure?”
“We have a copy of a guidebook from the 1700s that mentions the houses in the courtyard here, which used to be connected. It was called the Casa della Sorpresa — the house of surprise — because they had a new courtesan every week. That’s what the guidebook says, anyway.”
“I hope this isn’t the original mattress,” you say as you sit down on the bed.
“That one’s new — for Rome, that is.”
“Only a hundred years old?”
Lisa winks and gives you a smile. “I’ll be up in the study if you need anything. Just give me a holler.”
You open your computer to the sound of Lisa’s footsteps as she goes up the old staircase. Luckily, there’s a note on the nightstand with the wifi code, so you’re able to get online. Leaning back against the pillow, you decide to trace the route you took from Termini to Lisa’s house. After a little work, you come up with:
(click: "you come up with:")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/e572748b9ec723cec09566c4933bedef/aa44d44d36a99e71-20/s1280x1920/12770b8dd0ce57fd3d70e256915ebfeade53274e.jpg" class="responsive" width="1000" height="800">
After you finish the map, you scroll through your email and see that your advisor has emailed you: ]]]
(click: "email ")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/65a6b869a849bfc9b828f67c0a47790b/00eb60da9c2766e9-ad/s1280x1920/6dae7b4d391c7cfcd5fa637135c71d5234635073.pnj" style="width:100%;max-width:1024px">]
//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
''Arrival Assignment''
Ciao!
As you’re reading this, you must have already arrived safely in Rome and have probably met Lisa by now. Please say hello to her for me.
I’ve attached a link to the first episode of HBO’s Rome, which I think you will enjoy; it will also give you a sense of what the ancient city was like during the time of Julius Caesar.
I’ve also attached a short doc — it’s the introduction to a book called The Ancient Roman City by John Stambaugh (pages 1-4).
Best,
Valeria
P.S. Try not to take a nap on the first day! Stay up, if you can. It’ll help you get past the jet lag faster.
P.P.S. Don’t let Lisa scare you with talk of ghosts in the house. It’s an old house and it creaks at night. That doesn’t mean it’s haunted, but even if it is, the spirits are kindly.]
NOTE: Scroll down beyond the video of HBO’s //Rome// and the Stambaugh PDF to download Writing Assignment #2.
HBO’s //Rome// Season 1, Episode 1: “The Stolen Eagle” (52 min.)
<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=67f8b75f-3cb7-44b9-8467-ac4600f1cf38&autoplay=false&offerviewer=true&showtitle=true&showbrand=false&start=0&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
//To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.//
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EN-uhXcce-gZ8_qtrZcxKGMT4qmGmklC/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
To download the writing assignment for Chapter 2, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V_1c8GsUjtke8ydCfTcEM9mj9Y_aRqhw/preview"style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px" allow="autoplay"></iframe>]]
(set: $progress to 29)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“I never thought of it that way,” you say. “The house I grew up in was built in the 1960s, and that was old for my town.”
Fede looks down. “Forgive me. I did not mean to sound so forceful before. My father is… he has been very sick, ever since my mother died, and I... I talk too much sometimes. I should bring him his lunch.”
“I’m sorry about your father,” you say.
Fede smiles. “Thank you. And now I will take you to the house of the crazy archaeologist, which is ‘around the corner,’ as you say.”
“Good,” you say. “I could use a rest.”
The two of you walk back [[out of the courtyard.|cortile]]
(set: $progress to 26)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“I still think the past should be preserved, and not destroyed,” you say.
“Perhaps there is a… a balance that must be maintained,” Fede says. “We must preserve the past, but also we must be able to change it, and use it, when necessary.”
“I suppose so,” you say.
Fede sighs. “Forgive me. I did not mean to sound so forceful before. My father has been very sick, ever since my mother died, and I... well, I talk too much, I think sometimes. I should bring him his lunch.”
“I’m sorry about your father,” you say.
Fede smiles. “Thank you. And now I will take you to the house of the crazy archaeologist, which is ‘around the corner,’ as you say.”
“Good,” you say. “I could use a rest.”
The two of you walk back [[out of the courtyard.|cortile]]
(set: $progress to 26)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“(text-colour:#c92a2a)[//''Vaffanculo''//,]” you shout angrily. The guard looks somewhat shocked for a moment, then frowns. He doesn’t budge.
You notice that Fede has drifted off to the side, clearly not wanting to get involved. Seeing this, you decide to turn around instead of continuing to antagonize the guard. After all, you have several more weeks in Rome, so you can certainly return another time.
[[“I’m looking forward to coming back,” you say, looking at Fede|Domitian]].
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]“I wish I’d been able to drop these bags off right away,” you say to Fede. “Oh well. I’m glad we tried at least... [[I’ll have to come back soon.”|Domitian]]
(set: $progress to 18)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]You land at Rome-Fiumicino airport at about 9:30 AM local time. It takes you a while to pick up your checked bag and get through passport control, after which you follow signs that take you to the Leonardo Express. You buy a //biglietto// (ticket) for the train at the machine using your credit card, since you don’t have any euros yet.
(click: "(ticket)")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[Then you walk toward the train, making sure to validate your ticket by putting it into the slot of the little oblong green validation box, which gives it a stamp.
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/7ea8e288f99c589bdf2b0f45bc3ead37/1b2a757fdff8e38d-80/s1280x1920/312c9058df293f9096028e4032ad6e8cf9ce1e1e.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You board the train, and half an hour later, you arrive at Termini, Rome’s biggest train station. Dragging your luggage, you navigate your way through the enormous station.]]
(click: "enormous station")[(char-style: (t8n:'dissolve'))[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=57e572ae-8de4-4f6a-8c07-af3a0130ccb5&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=all" height="504" width="896" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Before going outside, you check your phone to see if you have any messages from the person you’re going to be staying with — a woman named Lisa Polidori, who was your advisor’s dig director when she was in grad school. Lisa was supposed to email you directions to her house. You hope she didn’t forget.
You scroll through your email and see a message from Lisa. You open it up, hoping to see [[directions.]]]]
(set: $progress to 1)
(float-box:"x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="29"></progress>')]