Well my semester abroad has come to an end. The last four and a half months have been eventful that is for sure. I have savored Roman life, seen all the sites, learned to navigate the often confusing city, and have truly made Rome my home away from home. Besides the Eternal City, I have seen a lot of the rest of Italy, from scaling il Duomo in Florence, to masquerading in Venice, to relaxing on the beaches of the Amalfi coast, every place I have gone to has been amazing in its own way. Outside Italy, I have had the chance to see Paris and London, and had a sweet taste of the Rhineland. Europe has been all I could have asked for, yet I have probably seen about 1%. I will have to return very soon.

My experience in Rome has also exceeded cultural encounters and tourist attractions. Rome has gone through some historic events in 2005 all of which I had the opportunity to witness firsthand. The kidnapping of Giuliana Sgrena, the tragic death of hostage negotiator Calipari, the passing of Pope John Paul II, the subsequent conclave, and the election of Benedict XVI, and the decline of the majority Berlusconi government; all of this has occurred since January. I have been exposed to history in a way that I never could have imagined, but that is just the way things are in Rome. You can’t escape it. Around every corner whispers the heroes, legends, villains, triumphs, and tragedies of the past. Some were cemented in time thousands of years ago, others just last week.

The current events in Rome are simply examples of the times we live. Things change today at amazing speeds. As information exchanges quicker than the blink of an eye and transportation becomes more affordable, the world is transforming itself, in many places, faster than ever. From global markets, global networks, global alliances, and a global war on terror, single events shape the entire planet like never before. A global perspective is very necessary to understand these changes. So my final suggestion to my readers is to go out and get this worldly view, even if it’s only one other country and fraction of a continent like I have been able to do. The world is an amazing place. See as much of it as you can firsthand.

Ciao da Roma, la citta belissima,

DON FILIPPO

It’s finals week; I am busy studying and handing in term papers. There are so many things going on all at once. Last week was a blur with my brother, sister-in-law and her parents here. Thursday night was especially fun as Paola, the lady that owns the apartment they rented, cooked for us. She brought her friend Laura, her son Federigo and his fiancé Amara with her to help. They made delicious fritto misto, gnocchi, pasta amartriciana, carciofi, and pollo patate al forno. We washed it all down with three bottles of their homemade wine. I was the most stuffed I had ever been in my life. I couldn’t even sleep on my stomach that night. In addition to eating so well, we all had a great time talking in our broken Italian and broken English. I wish I would have met them sooner.

On Friday we all took the train to Florence and enjoyed the art and history of the Renaissance and the food and wine of Tuscany. We were all pretty exhausted on the ride home, but I was happy to hear my brother say it was one of the best vacations of his life. Saturday they flew back home and I got back to school work.

Important events continue to occur in Italy. I am stunned at all that has happened since I got here. Right now the Berlusconi government seems to be falling apart. There are even calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation. Meanwhile 115 Cardinals are busy deciding who will be the new Pope. Conclave began yesterday and the first signs of smoke are starting to billow from the Sistine Chapel. I’ll keep you posted on developments in both.

I am looking forward to getting my finals done. My last few days here will be great without the burden of school work. This Friday I hope to fly to Palermo and spend some time gazing at the Mediterranean from a Sicilian Beach. I need some time to contemplate this amazing study abroad experience as its end quickly approaches.

It is 6 pm and I think a new Pope has been elected. White smoke is coming from the Sistine Chapel. More on this later, I have to go to St. Peter’s.

The sun is back out in Rome and I have been showing my family around the city. I hoped to share with them all the best things about Rome like Gelati at Giolitti near Piazza Colonna, the Trevi Fountain at night and the view from Villa Borghese over Piazza del Popolo. I think I have been successful so far. Tomorrow we are doing a day trip to Florence.

Some of the biggest news in Italy is the wave of soccer violence. Italians are wild about their “calcio.” As play has begun for the Serie A championship, the last few matches have shown the extremes of their obsession. Sometimes the game gets applied to much broader issues. At a recent game here in Rome, between Lazio and Livorno, the opposing fans clashed. You would have thought it was something from 1920s Italy. Some Livorno fans carried hammer and sickle signs and chanted communist slogans while the Lazio fans were displaying neo-nazi signs and swastikas. The regions that each team hails from have traditionally been on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Both sides hurled objects at each other and taunted the police. I also read reports that Livorno fans trashed the San Pietro train station. There was violence in other places besides Rome. Matches in Palermo, Udine, Cava dei Tirreni and Perugia all reported conflict between the opposing sides. More recently, a flare was hurled at a goal keeper in a game between Inter-Milan and AC Milan. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said that something must be done.

The violence has really increased all of a sudden. Perhaps it is the intensity of the championship season. An even more troubling reason may be the results of the regional elections held the first week of April. The parties of the center-left coalition “massacred” the center-right coalition which is currently in power. These are the words of Francesco Storace, the right-wing candidate for Governor of Lazio. He predicted before the election that if he lost, which he did, the right would lose their majority come the national parliamentary elections. Right wing supporters must feel threatened by this possibility. The competition for power between the extreme right and extreme left has been very violent in Italy in the past. Hopefully these soccer matches do not foreshadow the future.

Rome has been rainy, cold, and crowded for the last few days. I am feeling a little run down just at the time I need the most energy for finals and term papers. My study abroad is quickly coming to an end. I feel pressured to continue to try to get all I can out of Europe while making sure my GPA escapes unscathed.

Friday was the funeral of Pope John Paul II. We were warned to stay away from St. Peter’s because of the heightened security and gigantic crowd; but people wished to view the funeral in mass so large TVs were set up in numerous Piazzas. We walked to Santa Maria Maggiore first where people packed the square glued to the screen. We then boarded the metro to get to the Circus Maximus where the largest crowd besides that at St. Peter’s had developed. We were not surprised to see what resembled a colorful military encampment in the basin. Flags from all over the world were waved in representation of the global turn out. I wondered how many people in the US had woken up at 4 am eastern to see the funeral. We took a seat on one of the hills where we could see the screen. The service was moving. I had never seen anything like it before. The enormous crowd was fixed on the simple casket that sat in front of St. Peter’s as clergy performed the funerary rituals. A wind blew, flapping the flags in the wind. It eerily turned the pages of the gospels that had been placed on the casket. As the funeral came to an end clouds had covered the city. By 6pm rain had begun to fall and it has continued ever since.

Guests arrived this weekend too, my brother Anthony, his wife, and her parents and later two friends/fellow study abroad students who live in Sevilla in Spain. I was extremely excited to see my brother and other familiar faces. You never realize how much you love your family and being around them until they are far away. I was also enthusiastic about showing off Rome. Being a tour guide can be a lot of fun. Despite the storms, we visited some well-known sites and I helped them figure out the frustrating Roman public transportation. We had great dinners in Trastevere two of the evenings. By last night I was exhausted and now I have a full week ahead of me. All I really know is that Rome needs the sun to come out again.

Rome really feels like the center of the planet this week. With 2 million people expected including 200 dignitaries/heads of state and news services from all over the world already here, it seems like everyone has this city on their mind. It is impossible to avoid the excitement and crowds. Even in the far east of Rome where I live, the Termini train station near my apartment is open all night emptying people into the city.

The true immensity of the amount of mourners is only evident near the Vatican though. On Tuesday evening around 11pm I joined the line to pay final respects to Pope John Paul II. The beginning of the line was at the Tiber River near Castel San Angelo. I had no idea what the next twelve hours would have in store for me. Packed body to body, weaving down the streets of the Vatican, tens (hundreds????) of thousands of people stood in the line. I felt like a herd of cattle in some massive, slow moving cattle drive. Between 11 and 2 we moved although slowly down Borgo Pio. Then the line came to a grinding halt.

Between 2 and 5 am we moved 10 feet. The night had also begun to get colder and legs started to cramp. Groups tried to sit down but there was no room. Trash and empty bottles sometimes ankle deep littered the ground and the port-a-potties were awful. People in line began to fall and medics had to push through the crowd to get to them. In the homes lining the streets people opened their window crossing themselves and saying “Madre Mia” as the size of the crowd staggered them. Some people began to sing, others to chant “Giovanni Paolo.” Thunderous applause would sound every time we took a step forward. At one point, we passed a RAI building where they had set up TVs to let us see the inside of the Basilica. This thrilled us as it reminded us there was an end to this line.

I tried to bond with the people around me. They were from all different countries but Italy and Poland were most highly represented. School groups, families, friends, nuns, and priests, we all stood together trying to persevere and keep our heads up through the night. Our pilgrimage had become a test of endurance.

At 5 am the line began to move forward ever so slightly. About once every 5 minutes we took 5 steps forward. As the sun began to rise we had made our way down Via Corridori and were prepared to turn onto Via Concilazione when we were met with a wall of police officers. They had their arms stretched out and were yelling “piana, piana” “calm down.” They were only letting a small portion of the crowd through every 10 minutes. When it was our time we moved quickly turning onto Concilazione, thrilled to be able to actually move again but we were greeted with another massive line spanning all the way to the mist enshrouded St. Peters. The Basilica became like a heavenly object for us, our paradise at the end of our ordeal.

The line to St. Peters moved slowly. We reached the center of the Piazza at around 9:00 am as the mist cleared around the Basilica. In this open area we were able to grasp how massive the crowd was, how the line stretched beyond our field of vision. We weaved our way from the obelisk, which was covered in memorial objects for the Pope, to the steps, then walked up through the center doors of the Basilica. I had made it. The walk through the Basilica was very solemn. John Paul II lay in state peacefully, surrounded by archbishops, cardinals, and Swiss guards.

Why had so many stood so long in difficult conditions to see one man? The most common answer was that they believed John Paul II would do it for them. He had traveled all over the world often sick and in pain. During each of his 150 visits to 116 countries he shared his belief that every individual on the planet has enormous value and that he genuinely cared about every human being. He did not seal himself up in the Vatican, he came to the world and now the world had to come to him.

More than any other contemporary, the Pope showed what it means to be a leader. His leadership was not displayed through aggressive statements or acts but through peaceful addresses and inspiration. In a world where the ability to influence is often based on how many people could be killed by a nation’s weapons of mass destruction, the Pope’s ability to influence came through how many people he could inspire.

Besides the doctrine he taught are the universal virtues that he stressed. When people think of John Paul II, the characteristics of compassion, courage, forgiveness, peace, and hope should come to mind, characteristics that should be far more evident in the world today. As a wave of religious and political turmoil has gripped many nations these are the characteristics that should be encouraged. Throughout his life the Pope stood unwaveringly for them in society. While living by them, he undertook the most impressive of humanitarian missions and showed that humanitarian motives are things that people should hold in the highest regard. Most importantly Pope John Paul II helped people have faith that love truly has the greatest power in the world. With love, no obstacle is insurmountable, no problem is impossible. For these reasons Karol Jozef Wojtyla, John Paul II, can truly be called The Great.

Last Thursday, around 6:00, Rome was hit by a terrific rainstorm. The sky darkened and a deluge engulfed the city that lasted for over an hour. The day had been beautiful and the rain really seemed to come out of nowhere. I worked on some class work at school while waiting for the storm to stop. Thursdays are the end of the school week for me and I was in a hurry to get my weekend started. After the rain ended I made my way to the school residence on the opposite side of the Tiber from where I live to participate in a poker tournament some other students had arranged. I got in the game and was doing pretty well for myself. We had narrowed the field from 16 to 4 when someone came into the room to say that CNN was reporting that Pope John Paul II was receiving his last rites. We all knew that il Papa, as the Romans call him, was very sick but this announcement came as a shock. We put on the TV to see broadcasts from St. Peter’s square just up the road and decided to go to the Piazza to see what was going on in person. A crowd was forming as we arrived, but police had blocked off the Piazza. Several news agencies, speaking numerous languages were interviewing people concerning the breaking story. It did not look good. Septic shock from a urinary track infection had given the Pope a high fever and caused his blood pressure to decline. He asked not to be transported to the hospital and to remain in the Papal Apartment. We held vigil with the others who had come to show their support. Many people began to pray. We gazed up at the lights that illuminated the windows of the Pope’s quarters knowing he was suffering greatly. We wondered if this was truly the end of one of the greatest papacies in history.

Friday came and Pope John Paul’s condition continued to worsen. Piazza San Pietro had been opened and an enormous crowd had gathered. I was supposed to attend political rallies for the up coming regional elections, but these were all canceled out of respect. At school or at my apartment I followed the reports from the Vatican. The streets of Rome seemed somber. The city it seemed had already begun to mourn the charismatic and beloved Papa, a man the Romans are sure cannot be equaled by his successor. Pope John Paul was always reaching out to people especially the youth regardless of where they came from. And although considerably weakened on Saturday night he was able to comment on the predominately young crowd that he was told was outside his residence. He said about the crowd to the people at his bedside: “I have searched for you. Now you have come and I thank you.”

By Saturday the Pope’s fever was rising, his blood pressure continued to decline, and he began to slip in and out of consciousness. Members of the College of Cardinals began to come to Rome to pay their final respects. I walked home after doing some work at school and noticed that the city had become colder than it had been in weeks. I reached my apartment and turned on the TV which interspersed live reports with footage of Pope John Paul, young and energetic, exhibiting the qualities that had made his Papacy so great. Piazza San Pietro was at capacity with people patient and praying. Around 9:30 Pope John Paul II passed away. After the announcement the city of Rome filled with bells ringing. Rome and the World had lost an incredible person.

It was just Holy Week in Rome and the city welcomed numerous pilgrims. Rome is really the place to be for this time of year. The weather was really good and the recent influx of tourists was obvious. Also all over the city were advertisements for una Buona Pasqua or Happy Easter. Some stores such as the Castroni up the street from my school even had a display with Easter eggs and other candy.

The busiest part of the city for the week was by far the Vatican where the line to get into St. Peter’s seemed forever lengthening. Even more people than usual from all over the world were there to celebrate the holy time for Christians. Heading toward the weekend events really picked up. A Stations of the Cross began at the Coliseum on Good Friday. Of course on Easter Sunday, the Pope was present for mass at St. Peter’s where numerous flowers decorated the Basilica steps and even more people crowded the square for a glimpse of the Pontiff.

Other than Easter, things have really begun to slow down as far as seeing sites and interesting happenings. This is probably because I do not have much time. I am busy with classes and school work. I am learning a lot in my classes but I can’t help but wish sometimes that the “study” had been left out of my study abroad.

One interesting little trip last week was with my history class and Professor Argentieri. We visited the National Liberation Museum fittingly on Good Friday. The museum is located in a Palazzo that served as the German Army’s interrogation center/torture chamber during the occupation of Rome by the Nazi’s in 1943/1944. This was perhaps Rome’s darkest hour in the 20th century. After Italy signed the armistice with the Allies in 1943, the Nazi’s were ruthless in their persecution of any Italians they deemed to be a threat. They even issued a guarantee that for every single German soldier killed by the resistance in Rome, 10 Italians would be executed. The evidence of their ruthlessness comes to life in the items and empty cells in the museum. From blood stained shirts to the messages scrawled in the walls by people awaiting torture and execution, the building is quite a chilling place. Many of the messages left behind by the prisoners end with the dates of their incarceration. The ever present exit date is March 24, 1944.

This is the date where the Nazi guarantee came into full effect. Following a resistance bomb that killed 33 on Via Roselli, the Nazi’s rounded up 335 prisoners. Transported them to the Ardeantine Caves and executed them. They beat their promise of 10 to 1 by 5.

One question I couldn’t help but ask myself during my visit to the Museum of Liberation is how human beings could treat each other this way? Wasn’t there any way to stop the senselessness? Even worse how can these types of things continue today? Just a few years ago war crimes were being committed in Kosovo. Middle Eastern regimes continue to brutalize their people. Africa continues to be home to a side-show of bloodthirsty dictators, warlords, and murder. In Darfour in the Sudan massacres continue as I write this. The questions remain, how can humans do this to one another and can these atrocities be prevented? I am left with more questions than answers in this paragraph it seems. Reply with any thoughts.

Laura and I enjoyed the last two days around Sorrento shopping on Corso Italia, eating at nice restaurants, and enjoying the beautiful weather. We had great seafood at La Fenice and amazing service at a little side street trattoria near Piazza Tasso. I loved relaxing with a café at Café Ercolano while we waited for the bus or sitting near the marina and watching the sea. Everywhere Laura got to indulge herself in tiramisu. It was real sweet living: great food, good weather, and shopping for Laura, not really for me.

By the time Sunday came we were ready to head north again. We decided to stop at Pompeii then catch the train from Naples to Rome. We loaded all our stuff which had increased quite a bit thanks to 5 bottles of wine Laura had bought and put it on our backs. Needless to say, it was nice to get a seat on the train to Pompeii. We passed around Vesuvius through multiple small towns like Castellammare di Stabbia where my mom’s father’s family came from nearly 100 years ago. We reached Pompeii station and made our way to the ruins which are expansive. There is really a whole city to walk through complete with homes, theaters, courthouses, markets, and of course the infamous brothel, whose street happened to be closed while we were there. Sorry no ancient vice for us. I liked imagining what the city was like before the eruption and how the people must have felt when they saw Vesuvius ready to blow. The campaign slogans you see written in red paint on many of the walls give testament to an election that perhaps never occurred. The theater echoes with performances that unfortunately could not continue. The houses still contain belongings left frozen in time.

From Pompeii we got back on the Circumvesuviana line to Naples. We went on an unfruitful mission to find the so called best pizza in Naples at Da Michele and had to settle for McDonalds. After our fast food dinner and unfortunately no tiramisu for dessert, we bordered our train to Rome.

Laura and I spent our last night together in Rome over Pasta Lenticchi and red wine. I was the chef. We went to bed early as we had to catch an early train to Fiumicino so she could catch her flight. I waited so long for her to come and now she was going back. It was not a nice feeling.

We said goodbye at security at Fiumicino and for the first time in a while I felt like I couldn’t wait to get back home. I just told myself I had to let that feeling pass. I wasn’t going to spend the next month in a hurry to get home. I was still in a nice position here in Europe, even though back in that position alone.

We had trouble finding our hotel in Sorrento, Casale Antonietta, probably because of the traffic and the dark. We drove past the street it was on maybe five times before calling the hotel owner to ask if he could meet us somewhere we both knew and lead us from there. Luckily he was happy to do so. He led us up the elusive street we had just recently passed. It was so narrow that Rob almost couldn’t help but have the passenger side mirror scrape a wall. Don’t worry. We got the rental insurance. We finally pulled into the driveway and were greeted by a big German shepherd, our guard dog for our stay. My room with Laura was a little stand-alone bungalow called Eolo. By this time it was late and time to rest up for the day ahead.

We woke up fairly early to see what our bed and breakfast yard looked like in the daylight. We stepped out to see lemon trees all over and the first spring flowers beginning to bloom. We were also up very high, but trees obscured our view of the Bay of Naples except in a few spots. We walked around the property. The German shepherd lounged in the sun. He looked pretty nice but I wasn’t so sure about getting very close. I picked one of the lemons and tasted it. It was good but I don’t like eating lemons like oranges. I gave up on it after a few bites. Beside the shepherd, there were several other animals: smaller dogs, chickens, and a horse. I liked the place a lot. Laura had picked a good one from all the way in Pittsburgh.

After exploring the Casale Antonietta we hopped a bus into Sorrento and went to the marina. There we caught a ferry to the well-known island, Capri. The ferry over was beautiful as we looked at the cliff-lined coast along the way. Capri was also very nice but we felt like we were held back by the ferry schedule. We should have went earlier because there is a lot to see but if we tried to see it all we would be stuck on the island over night. We settled for enjoying a big lunch near Piazza Umberto, admiring the view from Marina Grande, and having a gelato. Someday we will go back for the Blue Grotto and Villa Jovis.

The next day we decided to see drive the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately we would have to take the bus as Rob and his friends had driven the coast the day before in the car. It’s quite a white-knuckle adventure driving the Amalfi Coast. The road snakes along the cliffs with amazing views of the sea. In many spots it’s difficult for two cars to pass with out slowing down a great deal let alone big buses. Also the bus drivers can’t see around corners so they simply beep to warn on coming traffic to slow down. By the time we had reached Positano we were both dazzled by the sun drenched, aquamarine, cliff-side view and a little carsick.

Positano is one of the most famous Amalfi Coast towns. It’s built right into the cliffs and thus has more steps than roads. Laura and I walked down tons of steps on the way to the beach past restaurants and trendy stores, all preparing for the coming high season. We stopped periodically to see the view and also at a deli to get some food for lunch. Finally we reached the shore. Although the beach at Positano is grey and rocky its location at the base of the cliffs framed by jagged peaks makes it picturesque and unique. We lay on the beach for a while and ate some of the deli food. The weather was cool and there was not a cloud in the sky. As I listened to the surf with Laura next to me I realized the magic of the ancient Amalfi Coast. We are just the most recent travelers who over millennia have been captivated by the Mediterranean at Positano. It is an atmosphere that makes many people never want to leave. I definitely didn’t want to leave, especially because the tons of steps we had recently walked down, we were going to have to walk back up!

The average American doesn’t get the chance to spend 5 months in Europe that often. I was not about to spend all my time in class so I took two weeks for spring break. Rob, his two friends Mike and Rob, and Laura and I rented a car and headed into the Mezzogiorno as Southern Italy is called. It was a little cramped having five people in a Nissan Micra but we managed. We sped down the Autostrada and before we knew it were exiting into Naples.

Naples is Italy’s gritty southern metropolis. Neapolitans are famous for both their backwardness and hospitality. We got to experience both. If driving in Rome is simply an adventure, driving in Naples is for real thrill seekers. The streets need to be repaved, everyone double parks, some lanes lead to nowhere, one-way streets are not marked, and the streets are so crowded you would think every citizen of the city has a car and a moped. To makes matters worse our map was not that great. We took a risk and turned onto a side street, which quickly narrowed to an impassable alley. In attempting to turn a corner we scraped a parked car whose driver promptly stepped out and began shaking his head and mumbling in Italian. Luckily his car was not damaged and he pulled up. We got around the corner and parked in the first spot we found. As we walked away from the car Rob was immediately approached by an old man who demanded 2 Euro to watch the car for us. We paid. Naples was not looking good so far.

We walked down the major street Corso Umberto I but unfortunately could not find anywhere to eat. Everywhere seemed to be closed until later in the evening. We couldn’t leave without getting some real Neapolitan pizza. Naples is Italy’s pizza capital. The city even has special regulations that pizzerias must comply with to get the stamp of approval as “real pizza”. We were beginning to give up hope and contemplating going to McDonalds when we saw a sign pointing us to Ristorante Re Ferdinando. We walked in and were met with a hostess who told us they too were closed. We walked out dejected only to be caught from behind by the same hostess who apparently had second thoughts. Naples is strange.

The food was great. We all had antipasta from the buffet and then I had a Pizza al Diavolo all to myself. The Devil pizza, as it translates, is topped with ham and pepperoncino. Beyond the great food, the staff was extremely friendly. The restaurant was obviously a family affair. The wife was the hostess and the husband the cook. Their daughter just hung out, a future waitress I am sure. An older lady probably the grandmother also wandered in at one point. The “famiglia ristoranta” asked us about where we were from and what we were doing in Naples.

After eating we got cappuccino and found our way back to the car. Luckily it was still there. I guess the old man had done his job. Naples is a great city despite its problems but Italian politicians and law enforcement really need to find a better way to improve the status quo. Chaos and corruption shouldn’t keep people away from the good things that Naples has just beneath the surface.