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.