CUArchRome2012: Week 4: Trip South (Naples)

When traveling abroad, flexibility is a necessity. This week challenged our ability to deal with conditions out of our control. The beginning of the week began with our first jury in Rome. After a month long study of analyzing important urban spaces, we presented our findings with our analytical compositions.

Group 1 (Christine, Claudia, Dylan, Nick)

Group 2 (Katie, Josh, Chris, Liana)

Group 3 (Sean, Patrick, Lauren, Daniela)

Group 4 ( John, Janell, Jamie, Tom)

Group 5 (Elena, Alex, Chris, Kara)

Prior to departing on our first group trip to Southern Italy, Marina took us through Auditorium Parco della Musica by Renzo Piano. She explained the flexibility commonly needed in architecture; in Renzo Piano’s original design the concert halls had to change due to the discovery of a Roman Villa underneath the site.

Renzo Piano's - Auditorium Parco della Musica

We began our trip to Southern Italy with a cancelled train. After Marina’s excellent negotiation skills we were on a train to Napoli in no time. Once we arrived in Napoli we were greeted with cold weather and a lot of rain. With the plans changing due to weather, Eric and Marina took us to one of the most beautiful views of Napoli and Mount Vesuvius: Castel Sant’Elmo. After the spectacular views we went to Napoli’s Archeological Museum, one of the finest in the world. There, we sketched anything that stood out to us, such as the mosaic detailing on many of the ancient ruin columns.

Sunrise From Hotel

View of Mediterranean Sea from Castel Sant'Elmo

Sketch From Archaeological Museum

With plans changing once again, we were unable to take the bus to Herculaneum and Pompeii, but instead we were escorted to these ancient ruins by personal taxis, a highlight for many. With Herculaneum buried under thirty meters of lava the city was well preserved: it was astounding to see how intact the infrastructure still was after the eruption. The visit to Pompeii was short lived but Eric made sure to show us the best view, a collective view of past and present. Regardless of the weather, we were able to experience the ruins from a different perspective than normally seen with nicer weather and tourists.

Herculaneum

Lady Frozen from Ashes when Mt. Vesuvius Erupted

Excavated/Non excavated Areas of Pompeii

Mt. Vesuvius Through Forum Temple at Pompeii

One of Many Dogs at Pompeii

Ancient Pompeii Statues

Theater at Pompeii

Because of the heavy wind and rain our day trip to Capri was canceled. Taking shelter from the rain we visited three churches, each with its own unique style of architecture. Each church further enhanced our ability to understand spaces. Avoiding the rain further, we visited the underground city. This city has be adapted to suit many needs throughout Napoli’s history; from a refugee camp, to a garbage field and most recently to water cisterns. By way of candlelight we made our way around this historic site, and experienced a part of world history.

Gesu Nuovo Church

Naples Underground, Candle Light

Naples Underground, Old Theater

Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ - Sansevero Chapel

Due to the alterations in our schedule, the fourth day was given as an individual day in which we could experience Napoli at our own pace. Of the things done, students went to Capri, others spent the day walking the coastline, and others visited the castles around the city.

Boat To Capri

Belvedere Punta, Highest Point in Capri

Castel Nuovo

Night Shot Near Waterfront

We ended our trip with the same way it started; our train was cancelled because of a “monumental” snowstorm in Rome, which in turn, prevented us from seeing all of the sites we planned to see, but we still enjoyed the day. The ability to be flexible got us through a trip that could have been frustrating at times but because of flexibility we learned to overcome obstacles and have a successful trip.