The Romance of CC:265

     Some people romanticize Paris.  I’ve always romanticized Rome.  Even before I visited Rome for the first time, it had taken hold of my imagination in a way I find hard to explain.  I’ve always loved mythology and stories of classical Rome.  Then I read lots of historical novels that take place in renaissance Italy.  When I finally got to see Rome, it was love at first sight.  I was there only for one day, as part of a student trip, and I hated being dragged away from a city that I really wanted to explore.

     I registered for CC:265 because I was already plotting my return to Rome.  I even took Italian 101 this semester so I would have a little head start in understanding Italian conversations.  Reading and Writing Rome was not exactly what I expected, but it turned out to be even better.  We went through the entire fascinating history of Rome, even including the Risorgimento, which for some reason interests me; maybe it is because Garibaldi and Mazzini planned the uprising in Staten Island.  

I can't begin to quantify how much I learned about Ancient Rome.  I think that I will be able to recognize every ancient monument we come across, and I will certainly be able to trace my steps, as long as we stay on the ancient roads.   I’m sure I will be lost in the little modern alley ways.  And can I say that RomeReborn is one cool website.  I just read a biography of Cleopatra, and thanks to this class, I knew every place that was mentioned in the book. 

I kind of wish we had spent more time on Renaissance and Baroque Rome, because I don’t feel as familiar with that Rome as I do with classical Rome.  But honestly, there is just so much history in Rome that it is impossible to cover everything.  One thing is sure: I will absolutely recognize the Urbis Romae from Curley’s extreme excitement when we arrive. 

On my father’s side, we are Sephardic Jews who left Spain in 1492.  Legend has it that our ancestors stopped for a while in Italy, on their way to Greece.  I have no way of knowing if they stayed in Rome, but if they did, it would have been in the Jewish Ghetto.  Visiting the Jewish Ghetto is going to be very interesting for me.  Besides, I have to report back to my grandmother.