On Thursday, we visited the site of the original Collegio Romano, the school founded by the early Jesuits in the late 16th century. It became one of the intellectual hubs of Rome, and "my" Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher, created a museum there that was famed across Europe. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to visit the place. It's now home to the national institute for meteorological and geophysical research, and their chief scientist was kind enough to devote more than 2 hours to showing us around. It was very, very cool. We climbed to the top of the tower where Galileo demonstrated his telescope to the Jesuits in 1611, and our guide -- who knew an astonishing amount of history -- filled in all the details. The views of the city were fantastic. We were also treated to a daily ritual, in which the sun pours through a small hole in the ceiling and onto a marble and bronze line on the floor: the line of the meridian. Over the course of the year the sun strikes the line at a different place each day, moving from the summer solstice at one end to the winter solstice at the other. We watched this while surrounded by sophisticated meteorological equipment, a strange blending of ancient and modern science. I loved it.
On Friday, I decamped and headed to Venice. I first visited there a little over 2 years ago and fell in love with the city -- it's a beautiful place. This time, I stayed in a B&B in a secluded neighborhood, so got a taste of real Venetian life first-hand. I spent most of my time wandering next to canals, or sipping prosecco next to them, which was perfect. Venice is so wonderfully quiet -- there are no cars or Vespas, only the occasional motorboat on the canals -- so it made for a much-needed break from the endless bustle and traffic of Rome. I returned today to scorching temperatures -- 91 degrees today, and it's going to be the same tomorrow and Tuesday. Yikes. We're visiting the Vatican on Tuesday, where shorts are a no-no and the ladies have to have their shoulders covered, so we'll be sweating like nobody's business. Fun.
This week will be our last in Rome; we wrap things up on Friday. Hard to believe the end is in sight!
Now for some photos.
The original site of La Sapienza, one of the earliest universities in Rome.
Piazza Navona, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers in the middle (with the obelisk on top)
Bernini's fountain with Palazzo Pamphili in the background (former home to an ancient Roman family which survives to this day, and which is still a source of scandalous gossip)
On top of the Collegio Romano. That's the tower we later climbed.
The church of Sant'Ignazio, just next door.
A view from the tower with the Altare della Patria visible to the left.
The walls of the Colosseum in the distance.
The dome of the Pantheon, with St. Peter's visible beyond it.
The sun striking the meridian line on June 14, 2012!
And now we have some photos from Venice -- nothing particularly noteworthy, just things that caught my eye:
The view from the courtyard of the house where I stayed.
The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal
More to come! Ciao a tutti!
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