Rome – A Poem
Rome is a city atop city…Beneath the coblestone roads
lie undtold secrets of the Ancient Roman world.
Under open fields, down flights of stairs, rest the Catacombes.
One can only imagine the life of a Christian in the age of polytheism,
Being constantly in fear of persecution.
The dark history of the Catacombes cannot be forgotten,
and yet amongst the Ancient brickwork there is a sense of tranquility and a new beginning.On higher ground the Roman Forum is nestled amongst the busy streets.
Grand halls and temples would’ve towered high above the sky.
Even today the ruins of an old town tell the tale of a modern empire in it’s time.
At the end of our journey, through the forum,
We met the Colosseum.
As we walked into the ampitheatre the colossal size of the accuratelt named building was evident.
Even though entertainment in the Roman Era was much different to the entertainment today,
It is easy to see how a whole empire, the rich and the poor would come together to spectate what was on show.The Vatican was the next place we visited,
As soon as we stepped in St Peter’s eyes wandered.
Every wall and ceiling was decorated with vivid colours and gold and bronze.
Statues of Saints and Pope’s were so detailed.
The alter in the centre was alive with candelight.
As a Catholic, a strong sense of belonging was felt in the timeless grandeur of the basilica walls.
A church is a place where even the poor can feel rich in faith.Today, the history of Ancient Rome is still very prominent but a newer city has emerged.
Tourist’s flock to Rome’s gelateria’s, pizzeria’s and pasticceria’s,
While vespa’s buzz around the city and people of all different nationalities capture the cities treasures on their iPhone’s.Linda
Friday 25th September
Today was a very full day. Starting the day off with a guided tour we visited many historical sites such as the duomo. Intricate patterns laced the church ceilings as the ornamental gold shone bright in the sun. The church was full of colour and opulence, akin to a royal palace. The most mesmerising part of the duomo was seeing the old gregorian chant transcriptions displayed around a small room. Seeing this music gave us an insight of where chamber music all started and inspired us to keep striving to improve our sound and work on our choral skills.
We also had some more free time where we were able to revisit the alleyways and main square from yesterday. It was quite fun being given some independence to roam around, yet we were also reassured that there was no way of getting lost, as all streets lead back to the square.
After some down time it was time for a big night: a mass and a concert consecutively. S.Vigilio’s was a small church, not as grand as Saint Peter’s Basilica or Santa Sabina. However this was not necessarily a bad thing, it only meant that we got to experience singing in a quiet, acquaint church. Once again, it was quite beautiful being able to experience singing overseas in a sacred church and we look forward to more concerts and masses. To be honest the trip so far has been so exhilarating and in no way do I ever want it to end. Singing in Italy has been a memory that I will never forget.
Sabina
Thursday 24th September
Today we departed Assisi and made our way to Siena. We were all sad to leave such a beautiful city but excited to explore the next. With great anticipation we dropped of our bags at the hotel and got driven to the Siena city square. Here we got to choose a place to eat lunch and quickly browse through the shops.
The square was full of culture and people. Very grand, restaurants and small shops outlined the square, there were endless places to choose from. Each exit of the square led into small backstreets and ally ways where we could immerse ourselves in the culture and explore this town that seemed to be frozen in time.
The highlight of our day I have to say is visiting the church in which Saint Catherine of Siena’s head is on display. Although partly scary, it was so mesmerising to see the remnants of such a holy woman, an inspiration for all us dominican girls. We also found some cool veritas keychains and badges in the gist shop that we hope to showcase on out first day back at school.
Sabina
The next day we had plenty of free time to explore Assisi so a small group of girls and I decided to visit the Rocca Maggiore. The Rocca Maggiore (which is a Medieval Castle) looks over the entire town of Assisi with amazing views of Spoleto valley as well. The earliest records of the current castle dates back to 1147 and its dominant position is due to defensive tactic. I was able to experience this spectacular view which I thought was breathtaking. We climbed all the way to the very top of the castle and with the soft breeze and tranquil ambience we felt it was right to sing the Ave Maria by Gustav Holst which was lovely.
After the Rocca Maggiore and a quick stop for some gelato, we made our way to the hotel to prepare for the mass in San Francesco’s Basilica Inferiore. This church although very elaborate with graphic gothic style paintings was much smaller than the Upper Basilica (hence being called Basilica Inferiore). Our mass was a success and it was interesting again to here the mass in Italian and translating responses in English. By the end of the mass we were all exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep in time for the next leg of our journey through Italy.
Michelle
The minute we arrived in Assisi, we knew the next two days of our visit would be magical. Assisi is a beautiful town where many little houses are dotted into several hills creating streets, alleyways and even stairs leading into streets! There aren’t too many tourists and it is quiet which creates a very peaceful vibe. We were all quite excited to perform at San Francesco’s Upper Basilica for our concert. The Upper Basilica is breathtaking with its ceiling and walls covered in beautiful paintings of scenes from the Bible. The style of the church covers many typical characteristics of Italian gothic architecture. There was a great turnout at the concert and the audience was appreciative of our presence and the music we were able to so passionately perform for them.
Today everyone woke up excited in anticipation of entering Vatican City and spending the day at the Vatican. We firstly went through the Vatican Museum where we saw many old artifacts from historical periods from Ancient Rome through to Medieval and Renaissance times. It helped having expert Mr. Kurt Ison (our organist) walk us through the meaning of certain artifacts talk us through the stories behind them.
We then made our way through the Sistine Chapel. Personally I don’t know how to describe the feeling I felt walking through and praying in the Chapel amongst the beautiful art. Even though I had already been to the Chapel, I still felt a strong sense of faith and holy presence.
After lunch we went into the square in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica and started warming up to prepare for our performance in St. Peters. We attracted many fans, it was a true celebrity moment. Before actually performing we walked through the St. Peters and were all amazed by the enormity of it. It was very extravagant, beautiful and yet again I am left without words- the Basilica truly made me speechless.
The most fun part of the day by far was actually performing mass in St Peters. It was so surreal performing at the centre of the Catholic church. I was also excited performing with musical direction from Fabio Avolio, another experience I will always cherish. Although we couldn’t fully understand the Italian mass, we felt a holy presence and were fulfilled by the whole experience, again I am left speechless.
It was such a fun day and we are sad to leave Rome but excited to continue to Assisi tomorrow.
Sabina
Today we started the day at Santa Sabina Basilica. Wearing our concert attire, we were able to perform mass in the beautiful church. Although extremely hot, I believe we can all say it was a rewarding experience of performing our songs we have worked on all year. The view from the orange garden was amazing, we were able to see all of Rome. And if this wasn’t enough, we stumbled upon a singer shooting a ‘popera’ music video and we were able to stand in the background whilst filming.
Soon after we were absolutely privileged to have a masterclass workshop with none other than Fabio Avolio, organist and music director of the Vatican. I think I can speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we have never experienced anything like it. Although there was an obvious language barrier, we were able to understand everything he was telling us because music is the universal language. I felt so enriched after the master class and I am definitely able to bring back important lessons, for example to analyse the words of a piece and think about what should be emphasised in Palestrina music. A provoking quote I took out of the workshop and made me smile was ‘Life is music’- Fabio.
On top of this, we had an amazing walk after dinner where we found our way through the Rome backstreets, past the Pantheon and to the Trevi fountain. Although under construction, it was still amazing to see and look at. We all had a Lizzie McGuire moment as we through a coin over our backs and into the fountain (even if it didn’t have any water in it). Witnessing Rome at night was such a magical experience and a wonderful way to finish an amazing day.
Sabina
