This Weekend

I was thinking of visiting Pompeii but I decided to stay in Rome this weekend. I asked my RA where the closest dead bodies were and she told me to go the Capuchin Crypts. I've really been meaning to examine dead bodies. This was the PLACE. There were 5 rooms devoted to bones and mummified bodies of 4,000 friars since 1528 until the 1870's. The soil in the crypt was taken from Jerusalem. Monks were buried in this soil and decomposed there for about 30 years until their bones were used to decorate these underground chapels. There were 5 rooms, each utilizing specific body parts, such as skulls and pelves. The ceilings were covered in sacra, vertebrae, mandibles and basically anything you can imagine. There were femurs stacked on top of each other everywhere. It was awesome. We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I bought a couple of postcards... (They are now hanging next to my pillow so I can wake up to them every morning).

Here you can see the room of mummified bodies and skulls

In the last crypt hung this skeleton of a child on the ceiling. There were also 3 other children's skeletons  in the back of the crypt. They were the children of a Pope.

In this last crypt we were also left with a heartwarming message:

"What you are now, we used to be. What we are now you will be."

Thanks for stating the obvious.

It was pretty amazing though because it seemed to solidify the fact that there is nothing after death, even for the religious. For this reason, it was surprising to me that this sort of thing would be underneath a church.

Then we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. We really wanted American food. My friends actually spent 12 Euro on hamburgers (about $16). I've never eaten so American in my life, actually. I got a plate of fries to myself (haven't done that in about 10 years) and a Caesar Salad (it was covered in cheddar, cranberries and bacon, which confused the hell out of me but I ate it). I enjoyed every bite which was a pleasant surprise!

A beautiful evening at the Roman Forum. I was able to draw a bit in my new sketchbook.

I did a self portrait on this rainy day in studio in china marker. It's a very strange drawing and we'll leave it at that. I've got to keep practicing. It's also cut off at the bottom because the scanner wasn't big enough. (Those are scissors on the bottom right).