Day 19: MON: Catacombs

I woke up early Monday morning to go on a tour of the Roman catacombs. We met and the Pyramide and took a bus from there along the Appian Way. The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian are some of the oldest in the world. Burying people started as a Christian tradition because before, the Romans would simply cremate people. Throughout history the tombs were sacked and so most of the marble plates and goods are gone. The catacombs weren’t officially discovered until the 1920s when they excavated under the church. The emperor Constantine? actually built the church over the tombs. It was a fun tour- I had to duck most of the time, but it was really interesting. I couldn’t imagine having to walk through there with just a torch. Afterwards we walked to the Domus Snc Di Massimo Magnanimi E Figli. It used to be a monument to an emporer’s death, but was turned into a fort in the middle ages. We walked back down the Appian Way and in towards town a bit. We visited the Fosas Ardeatinas- a monument to a group of Italians who were shot by the Nazis and then buried. They turned it into a museum and monument. It makes you realize just how old Italy is when you see some of the oldest and newest (by their standards) monuments in one day. BC-1940s is a long time. After the trip we went back to school and got our partners for studio. I am with Blake which I think will work out well. We have been in the same studio three times and sat by each other twice. Either way- we’re familiar and have similar interests which hopefully should help considering this is a team project (which we haven’t done before). We are also in the studio by the Piazza Navona which is a great location. More pics from studio soon!