On the fourth day we moved class outside to go see Pope Francis give a speech in The Vatican Square. I found the event rather interesting because it wasn’t exactly what I expected. He did act a lot like a state leader/president but he also seemed like a celebrity in my opinion.

To me it seemed like Pope Francis is as much of a franchise as he is a religious leader. When walking around both Italy and The Vatican you tend to see a ton of clothing products, refrigerator magnets, and other merchandise. I find this very interesting because it is a very good move on the side of The Catholic Church. By introducing a new popular leader they will most likely gain more converts and money from them. Pope Francis is also somewhat radical compared to those before him. He rides through parades and crowds without a glass shield, he isn’t materialistic, and he has done some crazy things like excommunicating The Mafia.

The Pope is considered the most influential religious leader there is because he is basically the leader of Christianity (excluding protestant denominations) which is the most popular religion in the world. However, even me as a protestant enjoyed hearing him speak. The Pope is celebrated as a leader because Popes are considered to be the next Peter, who was a very important figure in the Bible. In the Bible, Jesus gives Peter the keys to the gate of Heaven and Peter passed them on. Eventually this passing on of the keys turned into the inauguration of a new Pope.

Later in the day we went to the US Embassy. Embassies are small parts of land given to foreign countries and used by their diplomats to conduct international relations. Once you step on to the grounds of an embassy you are considered to be on that country’s soil. The US emissaries present at the embassy we went to told us a lot about their job but the most interesting part was hearing about how Pope Francis has been working with other countries to reach out to those in need. This is really important because he is such an influential person and he could do more than just about any other man could. It is likely that he will do some great things involving IR in the future.

On day two we went and toured both The Coliseum an The Forum. Both were fairly impressive and demonstrated how advanced and powerful the Romans were for their time. Most of Rome’s architecture depicted ancient battles and important events which is also very interesting because it has become one of our best sources of the history of ancient Rome.

First thing in the morning we got up and went to Pontifica University for our first day of class. Pontifica is The Holy See’s college and is primarily a school for missionaries. The atmosphere was a lot different than any school I have ever been in. It seemed very quiet and professional but at the same time it was not very organized like most things in Rome. The school itself ties in with religion because of it’s nature as a missionary school. The Forum was also of large importance to religion because it is were most of the temples of the Roman gods were placed, making it the center of ancient Rome’s religion.

After seeing The Forum we walked to the Coliseum which was fascinating in the sense that someone could build such a thing in that time period. The Forum and The Coliseum also share a bit in common with IR. They can both help us understand what politics and international relations looked like back then. By looking at where leaders once stood and the depictions of certain wars you can actually learn a lot about Rome while also being able to connect it to modern politics/international relations. Things like high stages for speaking and depicting wars isn’t new. We just happen to do it with paintings and news stories instead of column and archway carvings.

The first day in Italy for us was somewhat extreme. After getting off an 8 hour flight we rushed out of the airport to get to the hotel and eat dinner. Once finished we walked to The Vatican and toured St.Peters Basilica, attending mass and walking to the very top floor. Then we came back to hotel area to eat some fine Italian cuisine.

For World Religions class the significance of the Basilica is obvious. It Is basically Catholic headquarters and one of the most important buildings in the world. It also demonstrates the power that Christina had, as well as the scale of their influence. It is important not only as a monument but as political entity.

As I just said The Vatican is a political entity. It’s government is called The Holy Sea and Pope Francis is currently considered it’s leader. This is a big deal bacause The Holy Sea has a huge sphere of influence (especially on Catholics) and can change the tide of international affairs. It is also ironic that the smallest state in the world holds one of the world’s most influential leaders. So that pretty much sums up why The Vatican is important to IR but there was lots of other things I saw that where interesting when it comes to International Relations. We saw things like flexible borders between Italy and The Vatican, and a security contract between the Swiss and The Holy Sea that is ancctually ancient.

On the third day we went to go see both The Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon, two of the most important landmarks in Rome. Both signify the power, advancement, and wealth of the Roman Empire.

One of the interesting things about The Pantheon is that it is currently a Christian church even though it originally housed the Pagan Roman Gods. The Catholics often modified old Roman structures to use as places of worship because it was convenient and it’s tradition in Roman culture to renovate and modify old structures as well as building on top of them.

The Trevi Fountain was also amazing because of its size, structure, and other qualities. Even though it was shut down for maintenance it was still very impressive. It actually pains me a bit that I didn’t get to see it working and not half covered in scaffolding. It is also important to religion because it has some religious symbolism to it.

Later in the day we went to go see the Italy-Uruguay world cup game in Piazza De Popolo. This was a great example of international relations because it is a championship game that brings people from all over the world to compete on a national level. This effects many things such as attitudes of one country towards another but ultimately bring people together in a non violent arena. This creates a distraction from many of the other problems going on between states. It also has a large effect on the world economic systems. Soccer/Futbol is a franchise on an international scale with its own merchandise. It is also a gathering place for other people’s merchandise such as various beverages, TV’s, or anything else related to the sport. There are probably a million and one things that happen in The World Cup that can tie in with International Relations.