today

Today we visited a few very interesting sites. After looking at Etruscan sites last week, we have since moved on to Latin sites. The Latins were indigenous occupants of Italy who were eventually subjugated by the Romans. We visited three sites today, the first of which was a place called Lavinium. The archaeological site is somewhat unique and disastrously situated in its environment. To the right is an air force base, and to the north is a very important water buffalo herding area wherein some of the best water buffalo mozzarella cheese is produced (from what i could gather from our italian guide who knew very little english). To the south is a factory. In any case, we looked at a tomb that was rumord to be the tomb of Aeneas, the famous hero of Virgil's Aeneid. Probably a hoax invented in antiquity to attract pilgrims to the site, but interesting nevertheless. Aeneas, after all, is said to have landed amongst the Latins when he finally reached Italy. Then we hit Tusculum where we got a fantastic view of the Italian countryside and looked at the place where hotshot elite Romans constructed their villas for out-of-town use. They could just go to Tusculum to escape the craziness that is Rome and still be able to hang out with a few select friends. We checked out a museum with a bunch of remants of Latin culture, they liked to bury stones carved into all manner of things..pomegratines, penises, feet, and apparently a uterus (it just looked like a lump, might as well have been a banana). Some people in our group could not obey the rules and often stepped over the yellow boundary markers in the museum and set alarms off. VERY LOUD. Tomorrow we go to a museum in Rome, and then we have language classes. Should be relatively peaceful...and then another full day trip.

Sometimes I think I could use a Tusculum every once in a while :)