Today, the group visited the ruins of the ancient Roman port town of Ostia. We took a bus, then a train to reach the site, a journey which in itself offered an opportunity to see some of the area surrounding Rome, some of which was quite beautiful, and other of which was (at least near the train-tracks) populated with somewhat ugly garbage dumps, wrecking yards, and decrepit, modern-era apartment complexes.

The ruins themselves were definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far for me personally. Unlike many of the more well-known sites, they were peaceful and quiet, free from crowds of gawking and jabbering tourists. They also provided a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Rome. Living in Rome has also necessitated an interesting adjustment to a more enclosed landscape, with tall buildings lining nearly every street. The low-lying, quite, and tree-filled ruins were a refreshing change of scene for me. A particular highlight was a beautiful mosaic of Neptune on the floors of what had once been a public bathhouse, which I found stunningly elegant despite (or indeed, due to) its being rendered in simple black-and-white.I also found that in general, the lack of tourist crowds offered one more mental space to contemplate the age and historical import of the site, imagining it as a bustling port town, and the people that once lived in the now ruined buildings. This was a unique benefit it offered over some of the more well-preserved or historically important sites within the city, which have almost all been overrun with tourists. It was a more reflective place for me.

Another thing that I found looking at this site was something that I first discovered yesterday. After seeing Michelangelo's Moses in the church of St. Peter in Chains (where they also have what are held to be the actual chains in which St. Peter was held, which are said to have miraculously refused into one piece upon their being reunited, after having been kept in two locations for many years), we visited the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, near to both our apartment and the Pantheon. Like the ruins at Ostia, I found that the fact that there was so little build-up to the site, in tandem with a relatively unnoticeable appearance from the outside, made the church's interior all the more breathtaking - it had an open feeling, and the ceiling was a gorgeous dark blue, with gold stars, some painted portraits, and colorful geometrical borders. At St. Peter in Chains, I was struck somehow by the portrayal of the Virgin in a small, circular portrait of Mary and Jesus - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:S._Pietro_in_Vincoli_017.JPG, pictured here. I found it difficult to describe quite what it was about the painting that I kept being drawn to, and I wish that the linked photograph offered a more detailed view. Due to a dead camera battery, I didn't photograph the painting myself, and I plan to look through the photographs of my classmates for a good one.

At any rate, today we visited a beach for 2 or 3 hours after our time in Ostia, and the overpriced salami sandwich and ice cream bar I bought in the museum's cafeteria there. The weather was lovely, and much time was passed simply lying in the sun on the crowed, sandy stretch of beach, which cost 3 eu. to access. As we were walking back from the bus stop, a steady rain began. I cooked two massive burgers for dinner in order to satisfy a craving for meat that has recurred a few times here, and they did the trick. Then went to watch the US-Ghana World Cup game in Magnolia, a bar across from the guys' apartment. We lost.