So, I went to Rome

Part of the Olympic Stadium built by Mussolini. He was all about physical fitness.

The Palazzo of the EUR. It and buildings of a similar style were built for an exhibition that Mussolini was planning in Rome in 1942. However, the exhibition didn't happen because of a little thing called World War II.

Anyway, this trip to Rome was not about hitting the Colosseo or sitting on the Spanish Steps (although, I did actually go and sit on the Spanish Steps...). Instead, we were focusing on studying the little remnants of fascism in Rome, AND we got to see Cinecitta' which is the Italian equivalent of Hollywood. It was built in 1937 after Mussolini commissioned Luigi Freddi to study the Hollywood studio system. All the greats filmed there: Rossellini, Fellini, even Martin Scorsese! He chose to film Gangs of New York in Cinecitta'. Parts of his set are still up! Turns out Italian Cinema has been in crisis since about 1976 and Cinecitta' isn't a real booming place with shots being filmed on every corner. The fact that the Gangs of New York sets are still up is a testament to this. (There was also a bunch of really cool sets from an old HBO series called, Rome, that was filmed at Cinecitta', and a mock-up of the city Assisi for something being shot.) But I don't have any pictures of this stuff because Prof. Zagarrio said via email "Don't act like tourist and don't take picture."

It was quite the field trip because Prof. Zagarrio is a master of off-color comments. It keeps things interesting, and surreal. I really can't remember many specific things he said...and some I probably wouldn't repeat, but I kept thinking, "Is he really saying these things?"