This week was quite beautiful. It hardly rained, and the sun came out a lot. For Neighborhoods class, we went to see Italian Liberty style architecture, a branch of the Art Nouveau movement. We went to a wealthy neighborhood because much of this style was so elaborate and beautifully crafted that it cost a lot of money. In the coming weeks, however, we will be visiting a sit where this style was adapted to social housing. I am particularly excited for this visit because it will show how a style can adapt to the needs of the people and become a symbol of social equality. The star of this week was an architect named Coppede. His work is breathtaking and very unique. Every single one of his buildings is characterized by ornate decorative details with fantastical designs of dolphins, octopi, monkeys, scorpions, unicorns, dogs, spiders, fairies, and more. It was like entering a fantasy novel. He would put chandeliers outside, turning exterior courtyards into intimate rooms, and although his style was quite distinct, no one house was the same.
Tuesday we had a very emotional lecture with Sean in Communications. We got on the topic of Machiavelli, Fascism, Mussolini, and eventually, the Holocaust. It was interesting to hear how politically unstable Italy is today. It's so easy to forget that the exploitation of immigrants is quite prevalent here, the mafia is beginning to gain power and spread from the south to the north, and there is a still a strong base of Mussolini supporters or "black shirts." As a tourist, one sees the beautiful sights, the old relics, the river, and one assumes that it would be wonderful to live in this place, but if you ask the residents, they are struggling and worried. The future is by no means secure, and Italy seems to be suffering. The movie we watched in internship class on Wednesday basically reinforced all that we had talked about with Sean. It was a documentary by a young gay couple trying to decide whether it was better to flea Italy, or to stay and fight for the country they loved. It was really eye-opening what they saw: factory workers working long days with no benefits and only three 10 minute breaks; towns crumbling because all the businesses are moving out of the country; families being threatened and abused by the mafia for money; cities literally piled with trash because the garbage facilities have shut down, young people fleeing because they can't get an education or a job. Nonetheless, the men decided that they were going to stay and fight for their country. Fleeing will do nothing to improve the conditions.
Tuesday night was Sarah's birthday, so a bunch of us went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was very good. I must say that as much as I love Italian food, it does get a little repetitive after a while, and the change was appreciated. I got tacos with three meats and guacamole. Everything was delicious.
Friday, we had a site visit with Sustainable Foods class to Testaccio Hill in Testaccio. I had already been to this area with Andrew, but we hadn't actually gone to the top of the hill. Just a brief background: the hill is made entirely out of shards or Teste from old Roman ceramic jugs called Amphori that were used mainly to hold oil. The shards were piled up on a methodical way to create a large hill with terraces on the side which happened to be perfect for vinyards. What they later discovered was that not only was the hill a clever way of reusing these shards, but it was the perfect temperature for storing food and wine because the gaps in the shards enabled a constant draft to run through the hill and keep the internal temperature constant. They had created a giant cellar! Nowadays, the area has a bustling nightlife and some really great restaurants known for their use of the "5th quarter" or sweetbreads. I am determined to go there some time and try it! The market in Testaccio is also wonderful. I was able to get my meat and cheeses for Valentine's day dinner there.
Saturday was Valentine's Day. Originally, we had all wanted to try and go to Venice for Carnival, but we are going there next week, and it was quite expensive to go there just for one day. Instead, I decided to make a nice, home-cooked Valentine's Day dinner for everyone in the group who was still in Rome. I hadn't realized how many people were actually staying. There ended up being thirteen of us to cook for, instead of 5 or 6. Unfortunately, our kitchen is extremely tiny, and even if there was enough space to make all that food, we definitely didn't have that many plates bowls, or silverware. Well, as it so happened, Lindsey and I had met some nice guys from the American Embassy the week before, and they invited us over to the Embassy for dinner. Eventually, I ended up cooking for 22, but the space was gorgeous, the kitchen was amazing, and it all turned out great.
Here was the menu:
Bruschetta
Stuffed bell peppers
Moroccan beef stew
Chocolate pudding
Everyone loved it, so I was really pleased with how it turned out. It may have been a bit stressful, but it was fun to cook for a large group again. I just love feeding people good food.
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