Finn Houghton's Living Latin in Rome

My Experience

My Wilson Language Grant, Living Latin in Rome, experience was an incredible and unique opportunity where I was able to learn about Latin through original monuments and scriptures. I was also able to share this experience with existing friends from MBA, Roy and Zach, and many new friends that I made throughout my time in Rome.

Arrival

Upon arriving at Fiumicino International Airport after a close call with boarding our flight, we were greeted by a group of students and two teachers. We quickly boarded a bus that took us to St. Stephens school where we would be staying for the next two and a half weeks. St. Stephens school was located near the Circus Maximus and had an incredible atrium in the middle of the campus. However, I was not able to admire the beauty of the campus for long as we got our rooming arrangements and prepared to explore the city with a scavenger hunt. During this scavenger hunt, I witnessed many incredible monuments that we would later explore comprehensively such as the Pantheon. Witnessing all these famous places and buildings combined with a lack of sleep and intense heat made this first day seem very surreal.

(Scavenger hunt on the first day)

Typical Days

Our typical day began with breakfast at 8:15 A.M. and class at around 9:00 A.M. to prepare us for that days tour. I realized how amazing this opportunity was by the first official day when we visited the Capitoline Hill and Museum which was exciting to see in person having discussed it in class. Through an activity with the busts of the emperors inside of the Capitoline Museum, I quickly realized that I was going to be able to learn from teachers who were extremely knowledgeable on Latin culture and language.

(Roy, Zach, and I looking a statue in the Capitoline Museum)

One of the more surprising day trips occurred on day three when we visited Monte Testaccio which I did not know existed before this trip, but this site turned out to be one of my favorite sites on the whole trip. This site is so unique and interesting because the hill is built on ancient Roman pottery fragments. As we climbed up the hill, I was shocked by how carelessly we stepped on ancient pottery and picked it up. We were able to experience many sites, such as Monte Testaccio and a Vatican Museum, that were not accessible to the public because of the Paideia institute's reputation. We were also fortunate enough to tour the Domus Aurea which had been closed off for many prior years. Inside of the Domus Aurea, we used VR headsets for one part of the tour to imagine what the building would have been. 

(Our group preparing to enter the Domus Aurea)

We also made a trip to Tivoli which was also breathtaking as we got to see Villa D'este which was absolutely beautiful.

Beach Days

We also took two day trips to beaches in Sperlonga and Cerveteri where we not only learned about different cultures within Italy such as the Etruscans but also got to spend time at beautiful beaches. During our first beach trip to Cerveteri, we visited Etruscan tombs and were even able to enter the tombs. These tombs were especially interesting because I had not studied Etruscan culture a lot which meant almost all the information was knew to me. 

(Our whole group in an Etruscan tomb)

Our second beach trip to Sperlonga was equally nice as we visited the beach and Tiberius' Villa which was interesting to see how an emperor lived. At the beach in Sperlonga, we competed against other groups to build the best Roman Villa out of sand.

The Vatican

One of the more special days was when we visited the Vatican. We got to see many of the famous sites and art pieces that are associated with the Vatican as well as other less known yet just as beautiful. We saw the Sistine Chapel, the School of Athens by Rafael, and St. Peter's Basilica which were all breathtaking and truly a different experience to view in real life. 

(St. Peter's Basilica)

Borghese Gallery

While I was constantly reminded of how well the MBA Latin curriculum prepared me for this trip, this fact was especially true in the Borghese Gallery where we saw Bernini's Daphne and Apollo statue. During this past year of Latin class, we comprehensively studied the story of Daphne and Apollo and talked about how the statue was an example of baroque style. Because of my connection to this story and statue, it was truly incredible to see the statue in person.

(Bernini's Daphne and Apollo)

The Plays and Speaking Latin

Our major project throughout the program was a play which we performed in Latin. This project was tied into the major theme and goal of the program which was to become better speakers of Latin and start to understand Latin without actively translating the Latin to English. After the plays we had a very nice dinner that lasted until midnight.

(The Celebration Dinner)

Thank You

I was only able to have such an incredible experience because of the many people who helped throughout the process. I would like to thank Ms. Ellery for all her help and especially the Wilson Family for making this experience possible. I was only able to develop my Latin skills, gain a new perspective for Latin, and witness many incredible sights that I hear about in the classroom because of these people.