Sunday trip to Ostia Antica and the beach

Ostia Antica is a large archeological site, close to the modern suburb of Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 15 miles (25 kilometers) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" is a derivation of "os", the Latin word for "mouth". At the mouth of the River Tiber, Ostia was Rome's seaport, but due to silting the site now lies 2 miles from the sea. The site is noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent frescoes and impressive mosaics. The oldest archaeological remains so far discovered date back to only the 4th century BC. The most ancient buildings currently visible are from the 3rd century BC.


During Julius Caesar's time as Dictator, one of his improvements to the city was his establishment of better supervision of the supply of grain to Rome. Ostia grew to 50,000 inhabitants in the 2nd century, reaching a peak of some 100,000 inhabitants in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Today it is open to the public as a tourist attraction.

After visiting Ostia Antica we took the metro to the station by the sea and ate dinner at a seaside resort. It was a warm day and turned out to be very enjoyable. - Nancy

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore last stop on Saturday

Our last stop on Saturday was the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. I had been there with Mark and his family. The tour bus let us off right by the church. I think the interior of the church is more beautiful than St. Peter's Bascilica. It is agreed that the present church was built under Pope Sixtus III,  432–440 A.D.  - Nancy

Villa d’Este, Tivoli

Villa d’Este, with its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music, constitutes a much-copied model for European gardens in the baroque style. It was a beautiful beautiful garden that was terraced down a steep hillside. I wish our tour would have had more time there.

The Villa was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509–1572). After the First World War, the villa was acquired by the Italian State, which began a major restoration in 1922. the most impressive art work in the Villa is on the ceilings. The centerpiece of the courtyard is the Fountain of Venus, the only fountain in the Villa which retains its original appearance and decoration. The fountain, designed by Raffaelo Sangallo in 1568-69, is framed by two doric columns, and crowned by a 4th-century marble bust of the Emperor Constatine. The central element of the fountain is a Roman statue of a sleeping Venus, made in the 4th or 5th centuries A.D. - Nancy

Fountain of Venus

Detail of the wooden ceiling

Fresco in the Villa

Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana)

Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana) was designed to be a home for the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 117 A.D. Hadrian's Villa is a vast area of land with many pools, baths, fountains and classical Greek architecture set in what would have been a mixture of landscaped gardens. It is located near the town of Tivoli which is only 17 ad half miles from Rome. My two high school classmates from Union- Whitten and I took a half day tour to there and to Villa d'Este, masterpiece of the Italian Garden, that is an UNESCO world heritage site.     

 The site is large with many ruins. It is evident that Hadrian lived a very extravagant life style.
- Nancy

Holiday trip to Bracciano

Laura, Nancy, Donna

April 25 is a national Italian holiday commemorating the end of Nazi occupation of the Country during World War II and the victory of the Resistance. Two of my high school classmates, Donna Hellmich Winter and Laura Lewis Newby, from the Iowa came to Rome for a visit and are staying with me in my apartment.

On my day off we headed out of the city to explore a bit. I intended to take them to the town of Viterbo but due holiday train schedules we ended up going to Bracciano a small town 19 miles northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake (Lago di Bracciano or "Sabatino", the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle Castello Orsini-Odescalchi. We arrived early enough that we got into the Castle before the crowds arrived.

The castle was built in the 15th century, and combines the functions of a military defense structure and a civilian residence of the feudal lords of the period, the Orsini and Borgia, both papal families. As one of the largest and best-maintained castles in Italy, it also houses a museum; as a centre of cultural events, the Castello has hosted several high-profile weddings. - Nancy

It is spring in Italy - beautiful flowering trees.

Visit to the Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano

Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano

Saturday afternoon my friend Martha called me and asked if I wanted to go visit a church she wanted to see. I said sure so we took a bus and then the metro to the Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano. It was a lovely day and the church seemed to be away from the tourist area. No pictures were allowed in the church. The history of the church is fascinating. It is dedicated to Pope Clement I. Archaeologically speaking, the structure is a three-tiered complex of buildings: (1) the present basilica built just before the year 1100 during the height of the Middle Ages; (2) beneath the present basilica is a 4th-century basilica that had been converted out of the home of a Roman nobleman, part of which had in the 1st century briefly served as an early church, and the basement of which had in the 2nd century briefly served as a mithraeum, a sanctuary of the cult of Mithras,; (3) the home of the Roman nobleman had been built on the foundations of republican era villa and warehouse that had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 64 AD. We just kept going deeper into the underground. There was a fresh spring that ran through the lowest level. 

When we walked out of the church we realized that we were very close to the Colosseum.  We decided to take the bus out to the Appian Way and explore a bit. It turned out to be a fun afternoon and evening topped off by eating a a small cafe in an area called Prati.- Nancy

Back to Work and Library Events

Library Open House

Right before spring break an book order of about 350 new books arrived. I had scheduled an open house for two days in the library for April 17 and 18. It was fun to get all of the books processed and ready for checkout. Students and teachers enjoyed browsing the new books and checking some out of the library.

Visiting author Nick Toczek

The elementary librarian and I organized a author visit which the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) funded. The author was Nick Toczek who did a good job presenting some of his poetry to our students. He also presented a writing workshop to all grade 4, 5, and 6 students at AOSR. - Nancy

Writing workshop with author Nick Toczek

Pisa - Final day with Mark, Marta, and boys

Sadly my spring break was on it's last day. We took the train from Florence to Pisa. It is hard to believe that it was my third trip to Pisa this year. I had gotten tickets for them to climb to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The good weather continued and we enjoyed our 25 min. walk from the train station to the tower. We had lots of time before our train back to Florence so we ate a leisurely lunch, walked around and then had gelato. When we got back to Florence they went to visit a church while I finished packing and then I was off to the train station to go back to Rome. Mark and family had one more night in Florence and then took the train to Venice the next morning. They continued on to Vienna to visit friends for 3 days and then headed back to Mekele, Ethiopia. When my vacation was over I told friends at work that it turned out to be a perfect vacation for me. I was in need of time with family and it was good to hike and be in the country side. The weather turned out to me great and all plans came off with no hitches. I am thankful. - Nancy

 he perspective of this is weird. Mark is standing on a stone fence post and it makes him look like a giant.

Street in front of our Airbnb in Florence

Cinque Terre - Highlight Day for me

Cinque Terre (five lands) is a place that I really wanted to go to while living in Italy. Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. In each of the 5 towns, colorful houses and vineyards cling to steep terraces and the harbors are filled with fishing boats. The five villages are Corniglia; Manarola; Monterosso al Mare; Riomaggiore; Vernazza. I booked a tour from Florence for the day. This was the one day that I really wanted good weather and I am so thankful that it was a perfect day. Our guides kept telling us that this was such a great day for this tour. The bus tour was interesting with explanations about Italy as we rode from Florence to the start of our tour. The tour started at the top of a mountain and we hiked down to the village of
Corniglia where we had lunch. then we took a train to Vernazza and worked our way to other villages by train or boat. There were plenty of tourists but it was still pleasant. It was so nice that someone made all of the arrangements for the day. We didn't get back to Florence until about 9 pm. -Nancy

Corniglia

Corniglia Train Station

Vernazza

Monterosso al Mare;

A Day in Florence

Arno River

I only scheduled one full day in Florence for Mark and Marta. I had reserved tickets for the family to see the Statue of David and to go to the Uffuzi Gallery. I paid to see David again but opted out of going to the Uffuzi a second time.  I really do think the Statue of David is awe inspiring. Florcnce was so much busier than when I was there in November with my brother and also in December when with Doug and his family. Our accommodation was very nice but a 25 minute walk from the train station. -Nancy

Statue of David by Michaelangelo

Wonderful day to be in Florence