Buongiorno! This morning consisted of another breakfast of croissants and sfogliatelle, and then we headed out for the next stop on our grand tour: Rome. After saying goodbye to Naples, we all piled into the bus that would be our home for the next few hours, and we were off.
After about an hour and a half of chilling in our new Benz (Mercedes Benz makes busses, who knew?), we pulled over at a truck stop called Autogrill. This place was pretty nice, complete with deli sandwiches, giant stuffed animals, and il duce sized candy and snacks.
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| I think Haley’s face says it all |
After 30 minutes of exploring we were back on the road with some new treats. Sadly not this one though.
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| Crying because it won’t fit in my suitcase |
All of sudden we can see a cityscape in the distance, and we know where we are: Roma. We drove in to one of the
outlying areas of Rome known as EUR to begin our journey for today. EUR (pronounced Ay-your) was an area created by the fascists in Italy in the 1920s and 30s. The area was meant to be the site of the world expo in 1942, which didn’t end up taking place due to the war going on at the time. Walking around EUR, one can’t help but feel small.
Predominantly the space is constructed with elements of neoclassical architecture, meaning a lot of columns, white marble, and clean, crisp edges. The whole feeling from EUR was that this was a place of prominence, that this was a place of control and power, which is exactly what the fascists wanted. Mussolini wanted to be able to show off his fascist dictatorship to the rest of the world during the expo, but it didn’t quite work out for him that way. Now, what’s left of EUR are some pretty incredible buildings reminiscent of the golden periods of Rome, as a way to connect the fascist period to that greatness.
outlying areas of Rome known as EUR to begin our journey for today. EUR (pronounced Ay-your) was an area created by the fascists in Italy in the 1920s and 30s. The area was meant to be the site of the world expo in 1942, which didn’t end up taking place due to the war going on at the time. Walking around EUR, one can’t help but feel small.
Predominantly the space is constructed with elements of neoclassical architecture, meaning a lot of columns, white marble, and clean, crisp edges. The whole feeling from EUR was that this was a place of prominence, that this was a place of control and power, which is exactly what the fascists wanted. Mussolini wanted to be able to show off his fascist dictatorship to the rest of the world during the expo, but it didn’t quite work out for him that way. Now, what’s left of EUR are some pretty incredible buildings reminiscent of the golden periods of Rome, as a way to connect the fascist period to that greatness.
Our main event in EUR consisted of visiting the Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari. This museum was built in EUR with the direction of Mussolini, and puts various
folklore genres from different regions of Italy on display. Now why would a fascist regime set on highlighting its prominence and superiority also create a museum that
tells the traditions of the common people? Fascism is built on an idea of ethnographic and uniform identity, meaning that this conservative movement tries to unite the people
through commonalities, such as Roman Catholicism, instead of focusing on regional differences that would tie identities something other than the state. The state is very important to fascists, which means invoking a sense of nationalism
among the people would be a key tactic to establishing control and spreading their power.
through commonalities, such as Roman Catholicism, instead of focusing on regional differences that would tie identities something other than the state. The state is very important to fascists, which means invoking a sense of nationalism
among the people would be a key tactic to establishing control and spreading their power.
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| Tom looking forlorn towards the folklore |
Inside the museum we saw a lot of collections from various regions in Italy. These objects consisted of anything from traditional ceremonial wear, weapons, baskets, puppets,
and tools. Although a lot of variety was represented, the south was the most prevalent by a landslide. This brings attention to the area of the agricultural poor as a way of Mussolini saying “you’re a fascist too even though you aren’t rich and cool like us.” Or at least I thought thats what Tom said.
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| Add Frescoes depicting scenes of people working together and sharing common values (cough cough Fascist propaganda |
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| Row, row, row your boat into the Fascist museum. Upon leaving the museum, we all hopped back in the Benz and were on our way to the hotel. After checking in, we were quick to crash on our beds, but we only had a couple minutes to settle in before we’re off again. This afternoon we spent in Roma was full of walking. First, we went to the Trevi Fountain, where a couple of us tossed in coins for the hopes that we may return to Rome one day. The fountain itself was beautiful and very crowded, but we did manage to get a good selfie in. |
Our next stop was the Spanish Steps. On the way there, Mike pointed out a fountain on a street corner that
was designed by the same person that created the Trevi Fountain, but he thought no one cared and I just wanted to say that I cared.
was designed by the same person that created the Trevi Fountain, but he thought no one cared and I just wanted to say that I cared.
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| Cool fountain, thanks Mike! |
When we got to the Spanish Steps a couple of us proceeded to take cute Instagram pictures (as you do) and catch our breath after walking quite aways. On our way back we stopped at the McDonalds nearby to boo at it for intentionally wafting the smell of their fries over the Steps.
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| Our faces may say no, but our stomachs say ye |
We arrived back at the hotel tired and worn out from a full day, but grateful to be in the city where the Lizzy McGuire movie takes place.
Wait, Rome is famous for something else?
Ciao for now!
Shannon Rogers
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