Septimius Severus Snape.

Okay, everyone on this trip has an obsession with Harry Potter. So of course when we started the Severan dynasty with the emperor Septimius Severus, he inherited the nickname "Septimius Severus Snape." Anyways, other than that, class was kind of boring yesterday. I'm a huge fan of early antiquity, as in the Julio-Claudian and Flavian dynasties, but not late antiquity. 

The Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum.

It depicts battle scenes, rather than triumphal processional scenes like the Arch of Titus does. There are also personifications of the places that Severus conquered during his campaigns.

Arch of the Money-Changers/Silversmiths/Bankers -- the Latin word "Argentariorum" has a lot of meanings. It was completed in 204 AD, and in the 7th century it was incorporated into the side of the Church of San Giorgio de Velabro.

The Church of San Giorgio de Velabro.

On the night of July 27th, 1993, a car bomb destroyed the facade of the church. It was intended to be somewhere else, but the person had set the timer wrong. They quickly rebuilt the front exactly how it had been. Thank the Lord it was late at night and no one was around or injured -- unlike its original intention.

The Baths of Caracalla.

Caracalla was the son of Septimius Severus who built these baths as an imperial gift to the people. They are massive -- 20 to 24 football fields could fit into these baths! In the front part, they are setting up for the Rome Opera that is held every summer. I wish we could go to a performance, but they don't start until June 30th.

People restoring and fixing the floors of the baths.

I thought this was pretty cool. How awesome would it be to say that you restored something that had been built centuries ago?! ...oh no big deal.

More ruins of the baths.

The Tiber Festival!

Last night, a few of us went to explore the festivities by the river. It was by far one of the coolest things I've been to here. There are restaurants, shops, arcades, and couches lined down the Tiber. They hold it every summer and is a big deal in Rome. It would be a perfect date night spot, just saying.

I got to sleep in this morning and it was a grand feeling!! Nothing interesting happened today for the most part, other than studying for finals.. mehhh. We bought train tickets to Orvieto for tomorrow and I'm really excited to go there. I hear it's absolutely beautiful and the underground caves are really cool. I'm hoping to post pictures tomorrow night when we get back, if it's not too late. Because starting Tuesday, we have four more days of classes left. I cannot believe this trip has gone by this fast. But hey, time flies when you're having fun/the experience of a lifetime!