Saw and did something today I had not done before. I visited the Etruscan necropolis at Cervetere. Necropolis is litterally city of the dead, and that it is exactly what it is. It was a long day. It is not that the viewing was so hard. It was the getting there. Cervetere is about 30 miles north of Rome proper--in the heart of the old Etruscan cities. Thirty  miles is good because it is reachable by local transportation. It is bad because most of the distance is through city traffic. Took over an hour and a half by city bus, subway, and then regional motor coach, COTRAL, with lots of on and off stops along the way.

COTRAL was convenient because it deposited me right in front of the museum. Without a car, this is the best way to find the museum. There is also a local bus from the museum to the necropolis, but it runs only every two hours, and I was too anxious to wait. So I walked the kilometer or so to the necropolis. The tombs open to the public--there are three massive cemeteries around Cevetere--are situated on a ridge across a gorge and along a pleasant shaded path to the site. The road goes up a slight grade, so returninng was mostly down hill, a saving grace after two or more hours on the huge site. I only walked about half of the site. A good deal of it is repetitous. A significant number of the tombs have been excavated, but there are still hundreds as yet unexploared. Because it is a huge task to maintain such a large area, tha tombs are overgrown, damp--some are filled with water--and hard to access. While there was a nice breeze from off the nearby f ields and olive groves, in the maze of tombs and tangle of vines it was hot, muggy and still. I would not want to be there when the mosquitoes hatch.

The site is not labeled well. That is at least consistent with the museum. From what I could determine there must be centuries of burials in the necropolis, which seems to have begun in rather helter skelter fashion with large tombs built irregularly above ground in huge round tumuli fashion with smaller ones carved out of the local tufa stone. In time, probably because of space needs, a regular city like planning took over with tombs arranged in appartment complexes. It is an amazing site, but I wish that I had known about the shuttle to the site before I went. It would have allowed me a great deal more time in the museum, which is an excellent local museum. The Villa Guilia still has the best Etruscan collection, but the objects in Cervetere offer a grander perspective on Etruscan life.

Piazza della Santa Maria in Trastevere at Night

Piazza della Santa Maria in Trastevere at night.

Fresh Fish & Potatoes

Well, I know at least 3 members of the class are listening. Makes it easier for me to hear them as well. I left off yesterday before I went to eat. That was a grand experience.

One always hears about the food in Italy as if it were something so spectacular that restaurant patrons go into orgasm like in the Tom Hanks movie "When Harry Met Sally." That sets up the novice Italian traveler for something of a disappointment. The thing is that it is not that the taste of the food is orgasmic, but that it is a total experience. It is the freshness of the food and its flavor, but it is also how it is all delivered and experienced, even if a bit pricey, that is so unique. On arriving in Rome this year, I needed a good meal. I was tired, stiff, and generally out of sorts--one might say grumpy--from the plane trip. So I visited a place I know from past trips, La Torre, my friend David Hulm's favorite place to dine. He has written poems about it: about the food and especially about how the experience is enhanced by a favorite waiter and the friendly service. It didn't fail this time either.

I chose a simple meal, a caprese salad of buffala, tomatoes and fresh basil along with spigola and fried potatoes. With just a dash of salt and pepper on the tomatoes, the caprese was grand. In Italy, slices of "fresh" tomatoes are laid across 1/4 inch slices of buffala mozarella. The buffala is chesse made from the milk of water buffalo. Italian farmers maintain herds of the African beasts on the pastures of the South. It is a rather plain cheese--no distinctive flavor--but when paired with vine ripe tomatoes, juicy and firm and sweet, something unavailable in American super market tomatoes, and layered with leaves of fresh basil, I would walk a mile just to start a great meal with it.

The caprese complimented the spigola--sea bass--and patate well. Here is where the service made the meal an experience. I was given my choice of a whole, fresh, not frozen fish, which one was large enough and fresh-looking enough for my taste. It was grilled, not fried, until the skin was a crisp golden brown--head tail and all. The waiter brought it to the table covered in slices of fresh, sliced potatoes grilled with soft, hot centers and crisp brown edges. Then came the display. Right at my table the waiter expertly pealed back the crunchy skin, removed the head and tail, then with spoon and fork slid the juicy white flesh from the bone and placed it all on a bed of potatoes. Piece by piece he gently coaxed the meat onto his fork and situated it on the potatoes. His work was deliberate and the arangement was mouth watering. The presentation slimply built the flavor. Flakey and moist the white flesh muted the sweet taste of the soft potatoe centers with their crisp, almost chip-like edges. Bravissimo! With a mild red wine--an excellent house vintage--fish and potatoes were the refuge I needed from the day. At 36 euros, the price was high. I won't eat this way every night, but the experience was definitely something to write home about. I am truly back in Italy.

First Day 2012

These Blogs give me trouble, and more so from Italy. I wanted to post something to make contact with the student group and to set an example for posting. Rome has been here for almost 3000 years, so it is not strange that it has not changed in a year. It is still the noisy, rushing, busy place it was last year and the year before. Although I was exhausted, the ride into town was as exciting as my first ride on the train to Statione Trastevere was 13 years ago. I was excited to be back in Rome and anxious that I had to take a new place to stay, one I had not used before. However, while it is small, the bedroom at the Bed and Breakfast Miti is clean and the family is friendly. They give me all sorts of opportunities to practice my Italian.

It has been raining all day, so the city sparkles somewhat. The buildings and trees are dripping. The sidewalks and streets all puddled, and waiting for the light to change is an adventure if not a bath. Rain brings out the smells in the city. Rome especially for me. The air and the interior of buildings have a faint musty odor, not something one finds in the dust of El Paso. The air is also pungent with the fragrance of jasmine and flowers that dangle from window baskets or hide behind walled gardens. And there are the muted odors of automobile exhaust and stale smells of men and animals along the streets and the sidewalk dividers. Romans aren't much better about cleaining up after their animals.

Now I am off to a small place in Trastevere for some food. The first meal in Rome each year is special. Since it is raining there is no chance of eating out of doors, a distinctively Italian pleasure, but it is cool and the shelter of the building will be great.

What's New for Me in 2012

Jaime asked the question this week about what each of us will experience for the first time on this Rome trip. Rome, of course, isn't new for me, but every year there is a new group of students. I must admit, that I am always anxious about each group before the trip begins. There is always the excitement of sharing what I know about Rome with students but there is the anguish of wondering if the group will really respond. This Blog, for example, is new to the course. I worry that members of the group don't think it adds anything to the experience. Like the Blog, the quality of the experience always depends upon student reaction. Dealing with disappointed or non cooperative students always takes away from the experience--for the whole group. So far, I am encouraged by the group. I look forward to getting to know everyone better.

Meeting April 18

Spread the word. Meeting on April 18 is at 5:00 PM in Kelly 103.

How would you describe the Perfect Plate of Pasta?

Every student should give this a try. In at least 50 words: How would you describe the perfect plate of pasta?