Barcelona!

Derivè

What we were assigned

"Derivè" a French word meaning to "drift" or "wander."

We were sent out to a specific site in Rome and we were asked to explore our way back to our studio, taking at least three hours to wander through the city and sketch anything we found interesting. We were asked to collect things along the way to help show our experience along the path we took. We now have to develop our own type of map that documents our experiences and findings along the way. It will not end up being an ordinary map, but more of a type of organization that explains the more experiential part of our journey, rather than just the streets we traveled.

Where we started

Our starting point was the Piazza di Spagna, however our adventure started long before we reached the spanish steps. We took a bus to get there, but in our eagerness got off too early and ended up walking around a bit until we found it. We arrived at the top of the steps (thankfully) instead of the bottom of them.

When we sketched

We stopped a couple of times along the way to sketch. After a few unsuccessful attempts, we finally came across La Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the only gothic church in Rome. I photoshoped this picture to highlight the roses, which were given to us by a man on the spanish steps.

 

Sketches from the day and the final drawing of the map to come.

First Week in Rome

Where we stay

 

 We live across the river, in Trastevere, a more residential part of Rome. Our complex is shared with other students from Penn State and elderly italians, like Adrianna who lives across the ally. We share a beautiful courtyard with all sorts of fruit trees, like oranges and limes.

The area of Trastevere is very nice and separate from the chaos and the traffic (somewhat) of the center of the city. We are also isolated from the touristy sections, which lets us practice our italian in most caffes we enter. There are so many narrow roads to explore around the area, and so many cute, small shops to discover.

When we study
 


This photo was taken out one of the windows in our studio building. There is a different view out of every window, whether its the italian rooftops, domes of churches, or Campo dei Fiori (the amazing fresh fruit and vegetables market directly outside our studio). Our studio is at least a 10 minute walk from the apartments, but it is well worth it because there are so many little places to explore along the way. 

How we study

On Friday we had a tour of the seven hills of Rome. Although we were all really tired from the night before, the views were well worth it. It was a nice reminder that there is still so much more to see and learn from while we're in Rome.

What we learn

When we first arrived in Rome we were told by our professor that Rome is made up of layers upon layers, which cannot be discovered all at once. One can visit Rome and see the Ruins, Colosseo and the Vatican, but this first week has only proved that one can not fully understand Rome in such a short amount of time. I am looking forward to discovering more and more of the city.