36 Hours in Volterra: An (E)t(r)uscan Experience
Over the weekend, my friend and I took two trains and multiple buses to reach the somewhat remote town of Volterra, which is located 3.5 hours outside of Rome in…
The Strange and Beautiful Contents of Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
On my first real weekend in Rome, I met up with an old family friend who had lived here briefly several decades ago. As we made our way through the…
A Papal Funeral
The shock that the world experienced upon hearing that Pope Francis had died on Pasquetta (Easter Monday) was acutely felt in Rome, even for someone like me, who is not…
The Holy Rosary of Pope Francis: Perspectives of a Carleton Student
On the morning of April 21, the world learned about the death of Pope Francis. While we are more familiar with the funeral of the pope and the subsequent conclave,…
Easter in the Emilia-Romagna
Over the program’s extended Easter weekend, I went with my roommate to the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. This was my first major trip in Italy outside of Rome, and it…
Roma ATAC: The Public Transit Learning Curve
When travelling to a new place one of the first things I think about is: how am I going to get around? It is always easy to find the places…
Narratives of the Dead: Rethinking the Roman Catacombs
They say that dead men tell no tales. Yet here we were, meandering through the cold, dark corridors of the Roman catacombs, which consisted of several miles of underground tunnels,…
A Day in Tivoli
Only an hour’s train ride outside of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river, lies a breathtaking and historic town called Tivoli. After some hasty planning, three of my…
Naples and I: A Complicated Love Story
As my train pulled into Naples, I realized I had never visited a city where so many people had such strong opinions on whether I ought to visit. My mom,…
36 Hours (of Food) in Rome
The Jubilee is occurring for all of 2025, and Rome has it together. Yes, there still is the occasional garbage overflow outside apartment buildings, but the streets are alive with…