Since being in Rome, I’ve noticed a few things about this beautiful city that they don’t mention to you in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. After having been here for about a month and a half, I had kind of begun to assume that I knew my way around and felt comfortable that I knew a decent amount about the city. This past weekend I was proved wrong when I went on a class field trip with my Italian Business class.
The day began relatively normally, albeit rather earlier than I would’ve preferred. I woke up, showered and left my apartment to walk the short distance to the 8-tram which carried me to the center of the city. My stop was Piazza Venezia, a well-known landmark to which many refer as “The Wedding Cake” and is very near to the Colosseum. I exited the tram and walked around to meet my classmates and begin our walking tour, which was meant to showcase the various political buildings in this area of Rome to us.
As my teacher began talking, I realized I had significantly overestimated my knowledge of Rome and the area in which we walked. As far as I knew, this was mostly a historical site where tourists would gather to view the Colosseum and imagine gladiators fighting to the death, or where one could visit the various museums in the vicinity which showcased things from the Mussolini era, or paintings from the hundreds of famous artists who came from any of the 20 regions of Italy.
Instead, my professor began explaining the history of the buildings which outlined Piazza Venezia; buildings to which I had never really given much thought. One of the bigger buildings was the previous headquarters for the Fascist regime that ruled Italy during the Second World War. He then continued to explain the historical significance that the Palazzo Venezia (commonly referred to as “The Big White Building” by my roommates and I) had, which was much more than just to be a landmark. In fact, it had been Mussolini’s headquarters during his fascist reign and he had made sure to preserve some of the monuments that were located within.
He continued to show us all around the area that suddenly interested me more than it ever had before. My professor brought our class to the Palace of the President of the Italian Republic as well as to the Senate building. We were also able to see the building where the Council of Ministers, a part of the executive branch of the Republic, met every Friday evening to discuss policies, which they would then present to the Parliament. Although we weren’t permitted inside any of these establishments, I was surprised to note that many were buildings at which I had marveled previously and never realized had such a significance in terms of politics.
We ended our tour at the museum near the Colosseum, which had an exhibit of Raffaelo, a famous Italian artist. Simply being in such a historical place and finally being able to understand and appreciate the significance of it was so incredible and it made me fall more in love with Rome. I have two more walking tours to do with this class, and I’ve also been given the opportunity to meet the Vice President of the Italian Republic and see the Senate in action. I can’t describe how excited I am to witness this and get a full cultural experience and truly be immersed in the political field of Rome and Italy as a whole.
Until next time, arrivederci!
Taylor
Rome has so much history, and it is exciting that the walking tour gave more meaning to the city’s landmarks. Since you have been studying there for a few months now, what is your favorite spot in Rome?