Blog by: Nick Logan ’24
The Roman Forum was the center of not only Rome the city, but Rome the Empire. Standing in the middle of the Via Sacra, the main road that runs through the Forum, and listening intently to Drs. Nelson, Hartnett, and Lamberton, it was hard to not feel overwhelmed by the history that surrounded us. Millenia passed and yet these imposing buildings and structures still stood. There is nothing like learning by example, and we had plenty of examples in the Forum. Not only learning the history of the buildings that once stood there, but also the significance behind many of them and their placement in the Forum was incredible. It’s one thing to learn about the Roman Empire, it is another to stand in the Roman Forum and learn in a way that is engaging, exciting, and entertaining.
On our last day we saw the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, or the Basilica of St Peter in Chains. The church has a wide variety of attraction aside from being a place of worship. One of these is a sculpture of Michelangelo, Moses. The sculpture depicts Moses with radiant beams, and horns, commonly associated with Old Testament values of being chosen by God. The Basilica also contains the chains used to bound St. Peter during his trial, and crucifixion. This is a relic and kept under the main altar of the Basilica where pilgrims can come see it. These chains are seen as miraculous, as they are joined together, fused 2 into 1, with no outside influence. The chains fused themselves according to legend, and thus, became a relic of St. Peter.
Our first full day, and one of our favorite parts of the trip was visiting Ostia Antica. This is because we were able to get a glimpse into a “port city” where many of the goods being shipped to Rome were sent first. These goods included grain, olive oil, wine, and even marble. The goods were then sent 3 miles down the river to Rome. We also got to see some of the common areas used by the people of Ostia. This included bathing areas, the amphitheater, the restrooms, and houses in Ostia. We discussed the differences between the lives of the rich and the poor and got to better understand the hierarchal structure of ancient Rome. It was extremely interesting to get a better sense of the livelihood of some of the people who lived in Ostia.
Another one of our favorite parts of the trip was visiting the Vatican. We went to the Vatican two different days during the week. On the first day, we were in St. Peter’s Basilica. This was one of the largest Basilicas that we visited in Rome. St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the most famous Basilicas in Rome because it is the Pope’s church. St. Peter’s is significant because it is the first church that Constantine built after declaring Rome to be Christian in 312 AD. We spent a good amount of our class this semester talking about Constantine and his influence over early Christianity.
The second day we went to the Vatican we were fortunate enough to visit underneath the Vatican. Here, the bones of the Apostle Peter are buried. This was a very moving experience being in such proximity to the remains of Peter. Along with seeing this, we were able to see the original foundation of the first St. Peter’s that was built by Constantine. Most of the past Pope’s are also buried here at the Vatican.
