Latin in Italy

     The Romans had a big influence all over the European continents. Today, everywhere a person goes in Europe, they would see something influenced by the Romans. In Italy, Roman influence is all over. When I went to Italy in April of 2011, I was amazed on how much Latin is all over the place. It seemed like in every corner I looked, there was Latin (and Italian) written on signs and on stone.

The amphitheater

     On my first day, my group went to Capua and saw a amphitheater where Spartacus had fled from. Walking up to the theater, I immediately saw Latin carved into pieces of art that would have decorated the inside of it. 

Latin on a piece of slate

    

Greek temple in Paestum

      My second day was a bit more interesting. We went to Paestum, where I saw Greek influenced temples and Latin inscriptions. I also rode along the Amalfi Coast and saw a statue in the center with Latin written on it in reference to a saint. Then as the night started to fall, my group was able to meet a group of Italian students and I was able to finally meet my Italian pen pal, Leo, for the first time face to face.
 As we had dinner, we were able to show each other the differences in our Latin textbooks. I have to say that I commend any student to study the text similar to what the Italians study. We spoke of Latin that entire night.

Statue in Amalfi

Leo

Mt. Vesuvius, taken in Sorrento

     On my third day, my group went to Pompeii, and we climbed up the side of Mt. Vesuvius. Afterwards, we visited the ruins of Pompeii, and that is where I saw the most legible scripts of Latin.

The view from the top of Mt. Vesuvius

Cave Canem mosaic
(Beware of the dog)

**Next week I will continue the rest of my adventure in Italy and continue telling about the Latin I saw written.