Vergilian Society Summer Study Programs: 2012
"In the Footsteps of Poets and Painters, Proletarians and Princes:
Rediscovering the Bay of Naples in Greek and Roman Times"
July 2 (Mon.) through July 14 (Sat.) 2012
Directors Ann Koloski-Ostrow, Brandeis University; Steven Ostrow, M.I.T.
Residents of Naples Bay hailed from slave and freedman circles, from the ranks of the
free-born poor, from middling traders, artisans and municipal worthies, and ranged upward to
top aristocrats, and not a few Emperors themselves. We shall meet many of these souls at home,
at work, and at Campanian play. Sites include Sperlonga, Terracina, Cumae, Lake Avernus, Solfatara,
Pompeii, Naples, Paestum/Poseidonia, Puteoli/Pozzuoli, Beneventum, Saepinum, Herculaneum, Oplontis (Torre Annunziata),
Capri, Baiae, Bacoli, Misenum.
Day-by-day Itinerary
July 2012
2 Monday: 9:00 a.m.: assemble at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (19 Via Algardi) (in the "Monteverde Vecchio" neighborhood, atop Rome's Gianicolo hill)
immediate departure for Villa Vergiliana; visit Terracina ("Jupiter Anxur" Temple) & Sperlonga (Villa & Grotto of Tiberius, Museum)
3 Tuesday: a.m.: acropolis of Cumae (with its temples and the "Sibyl's Grotto") -- Greeks arrive in Italy, their religion intact; Vergil's words, Augustan hopes
p.m.: Pozzuoli I (Puteoli) (with initial overview of Lake Avernus): Macellum, Harbor -- Roman town implanted among the Greeks; Solfatara (the living geology of the "Phlegraean Fields");
4 Wed.: Pompeii: the public town (Forum, theaters, baths, religion), & domestic life (sampling of houses, great & small)
5 Thurs.: a.m.: Naples Archaeological Museum: spoils of the great "Treasure Hunt"
p.m.: walking tour of central Naples
6 Friday: Paestum (site and museum) -- "Poseidon's City" born Greek, Italianized, then Romanized
7 Sat.: a.m.: Pozzuoli II (Puteoli: Amphitheater)
Capua (Museum, Amphitheater, Mithraeum)
p.m.: Reggia (Royal Palace) at Caserta (an Italian "Versailles")
8 Sunday: Beneventum -- Roman Imperial flavor stamped upon Italy; Saepinum -- the Samnites and Romanization
9 Monday: a.m.: Herculaneum -- mansions for the rich, tenements for the poor; bathing; "frat house" for wealthy ex-slaves
p.m.: ascent of Mount Vesuvius (by bus and foot)
10 Tuesday: a.m.: Villa at Oplontis (Torre Annunziata): Housing for an Empress?
p.m.: travel to island of Capri
11: Wed.: a.m.: Capri --"Villa Iovis": Housing for the Emperor (Tiberius' ultimate retreat)
p.m.: optional excursions (Villa San Michele, Monte Solaro chairlift...)
12 Thurs.: at leisure on Capri; late p.m. return to Villa Vergiliana, Cumae
13 Friday: The Western Edge of Naples Bay: Baiae, Bacoli, Misenum -- Imperial Baths, Piscina Mirabile, Vergilian echoes -- water needs of the Roman ruling class, the Roman poor, the Roman sailor
14 Sat.: a.m.: Naples: National Art Gallery of Capodimonte
p.m.: departures
Cost: $2595
Applications:
Mail in Application
Application via the Internet
Pay with a credit card
Scholarship application
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