Daily Diary

Class this morning started at 10, which is a little later than usual. After a semi-laid back breakfast, we left the apartment for our daily stop at Cafe di Marzio in Trestevere. Many of us living in Trestevere go here each morning for a cappuccino and the occasional chocolate, fruit or cream filled croissant. Those that work at the cafe know our usual selections and we often converse in broken Italian and English about the latest World Cup update.

This morning was also special because we had a guest speaker, Amara Lakhous, talk to us about his book, Clash of Civilization Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio. For the class Migration, Markets and Minorities, taught by Professor Friedman, we have used this book as a way of attempting to understand the social and economic situations immigrants face when first arriving in Italy. Often, our analysis also explores the concept of Italian identity and how this is a product of Italy's history.

Piazza Vittorio is significant because it is a community that attracts the majority of the immigrants living in Italy. This piazza also houses the market that we visited on Wednesday. Amara Lakous lived in Piazza Vittorio for six years, so he as able to give us some additional insight as to challenges that arise in this area because of its incredible diversity.

Lakhous emigrated from Algiers in the early 1990s due to great political unrest, to include terrorist attacks, in Algeria. Today, he writes novels in both Arabic and Italian, and has earned degrees in philosophy and cultural anthropology, including Ph.D. Clash of Civilization Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio was also recently made into a movie.

Check out the trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi2405958169/

Although Lakhous seemed to understand much of the English we spoke while phrasing questions, we had an Italian interpret for us so that the questions could be answered clearly and directly. Themes from the novel, such as identity and coming together despite diverse backgrounds, formed much of the basis for our discussion. One interesting question that Lakhous dissected for us was: as an immigrant, is it beneficial to hold onto your past, or forget it completely and move forward with your life? Lakhous' response to this question was particularly perceptive and well supported. He called upon Freudian psychology to discuss the problems people face when holding onto the past. For example, physically they are in Rome, but mentally they are somewhere else. Lakhous used an example which he had encountered on his way to the UW Rome Center from the train station, specifically the scene of an Ethiopian immigrant and her child. The mother was talking to herself in her native language, as if totally wrapped up in past memories. The power of the brain, such that it can keep the mind and body separated was an example of a significant drawback immigrants face when they tightly hold on to their past. Lakhous suggested that perhaps the most effective way of assimilating into a new country was to find a balance between remembering your past and moving forward in a productive way, such as learning the local language. Overall, Lakhous brought very personal and astute observations to our continuing discussion on migration.

After Lakhous' talk we headed back to the apartment for a relaxing lunch composed of our staple Italian foods, namely bread, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. Most people caught up on blogging or reading and soon we were re-charged and ready for an afternoon of art history.

Our art history class and presentations took place at the Villa Borghese. First, we heard an introduction to the Borghese Family by Roman and Emily, and the Roman told us more about the history of the Villa Borghese as well as the major patron and collector of art, Scipione Borghese. I was particularly interested in the fact that Scipione Borghese was a big fan of Bernini and commissioned him to do many works of art. We learned that Bernini liked to combine his originality and artistic eye with poses and styles reckoning back to antiquity. For example, his piece entitled Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius (see photo below, left) is based on Michaelangelo's Risen Christ (see photo below, right), although Aeneas is carrying his father instead of the cross.



Inside the Museo di Villa Borghese, we also saw quite a few paintings by Caravaggio, a Boroque style painter. This portrait, David with the head of Goliath, was Roman's favorite Caravaggio piece inside the museum.











After a lot of walking (it took almost an hour to get to Villa Borghese from our apartment!), my apartment mates and I settled in to cook dinner and relax before meeting up with the group again to celebrate Molly's 20th birthday.

For Molly's birthday, we went out as a group to a great little gelato place called Gelateria del Teatro. They have a lot of original, alternative flavors, such as sage and raspberry.

Here's a picture of Molly enjoying her birthday gelatto!

We chose to celebrate a day early because the majority of the group is going to Florence for the weekend! Hopefully some of the great sights and adventures will make it into the blog!