Module 'CLAH263 The Roman Experience: History, Archaeology and Heritage' is a second-year module that provides undergraduate students with first-hand knowledge of key sites and monuments in and around Rome. This year, 48 students went to Rome from 24 February to 1 March 2025. This is the first of three student blogs about their experiences in Rome. Cristina Vinereanu writes about her experience below.
Tuesday 25 February – day one
The day started with some minor trouble. The 9am rush in Termini resulted in Colin (Professor Colin Adams) and a couple of students not being able to board the metro. So once we got off at Spagna we split up, Matthew (Professor Matthew Fitzjohn) stayed behind to wait, and the rest of us started our walk to the Ara Pacis Museum. It was a great exhibition and truly highlighted the sheer scale of the altar. After the Ara Pacis was a tour of some of the monuments in Rome and first up was the column of Marcus Aurelius which was followed by lunch near the Trevi Fountain. Then we saw the temple of the Divine Hadrian, the Pantheon (from the outside as it was very busy) and then the Largo di Torre Argentina, where we saw the colony of cats living there!
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After seeing the cats (and the temples, I suppose), we walked to the Palazzo Altemps Museum, which I think was my favourite part of the whole trip. The building featured an internal courtyard which looked simply magical with its arches and balconies:
Now, to be totally honest, museums are not always the most interesting; after a whole day of seeing monuments and reading and learning about them, it can start to drag a little. Luckily, Matthew came up with a great idea to keep us engaged – he gave us a list of 12 items/exhibitions to locate and document, which felt like a treasure hunt, and I loved it. I tend to be a completionist so it resulted in me doing several laps of the museum to find everything, making sure I had searched every room I could.
One of the best exhibitions was the collection of children’s toys:
They had rattlers and dice, but the most impressive to me were the dolls with posable arms and legs. Ancient Barbies was probably the most unexpected thing I learnt about while in Rome, but I loved it. Seeing that they had much of the same toys as we did as kids, I felt closer to antiquity than I ever had before.
Out of all of them, my favourite had to be the Ludovisi Gaul:
The Ludovisi Gaul, also known as the Galatian Suicide, is a Roman marble copy of a lost Hellenistic bronze original. It is part of a group of sculptures called the Dying Gaul group, the other two sculptures are the Dying Gaul at the Capitoline Museums, which I was lucky enough to see on my free day in Rome and the other is only potentially related fragments, which are housed in the Louvre in Paris.
This sculpture might be my favourite of all of the sculptures I have encountered while studying ancient history. Its rich and dramatic composition is dynamic and emotional, depicting the enemies with dignity and noble suffering rather than as barbaric. The Gaul has killed his wife, and is now plunging his sword into his chest to ensure his own death. He is in pain but prefers it over becoming slaves for his enemies. It is a gorgeous piece that I am really glad I got the chance to see in person.
After the museum, students were given two choices: either they could go off on their own, into Rome or back to the hotel, or we could follow Matthew and Andy (Professor Fox) for a further walk to see more sites all lit up in the dark. Obviously, I chose the walk.
We started with the Theatre of Marcellus and the Portico of Octavia, which were absolutely stunning:
Next, we walked past the Temple of Portunus and the Temple of the Victorious Hercules before we climbed up to the Capitoline Hill & Tabularium from which we saw the Roman Forum and the Arch of Septimius Severus, illuminated by spotlights:
Finally, at around 6pm, we called it quits as we had a long week ahead of us and needed the rest. So we walked back to the Colosseo metro station, where we had a great view of the Colosseum in the dark. It was probably the most iconic view of Rome possible, and I am so glad I had the chance to see it:
By the time we had made it back to the hotel, I had racked up 26,000 steps (nearly 18 kilometres) and was exhausted but it was probably my favourite day. And none of it would have been possible without Matthew, and especially without any of the funding that was graciously provided, as most of us would not have been able to afford it. I believe the future cohorts are going to adore this trip just as much as I did.