I could really use a wish right now...

Today was our last Friday in Rome, so we made the most of it. In the morning, our class took an unexpected detour to the Trevi Fountain. We all gathered our coins and tossed it behind our backs, making sure that it landed in the fountain's basin. (Many of us wished to return to Rome.)  A very popular tourist site, the Trevi Fountain collects approximately 3,000 euros every day from people who make their wishes and donates this money to charity. The fountain itself is a junction of three roads (from the French, tre vie) and is the terminal point for the Aqua Virgo, an ancient aqueduct. As such, it has known to be the source of the purest water in all of Rome.

In front of Trevi Fountain

We then proceeded with class presentations at Palazo Barberini, where we learned more about the history of the family and Pope Urban VIII. This pope took nepotism to a whole new level, as he gave all of his nephews powerful positions within the papacy and state. A self-proclaimed poet, Pope Urban VIII had an affinity for bees, which were a symbol for divine wisdom.  We toured through his very huge palace, free of charge, and saw those bees as decorative elements for the palace's stairs, ceilings, etc. Because the building was going through restoration, we were only able to see about twenty percent of the artwork. Though the displayed works of Caravaggio, et al were amazing, our class wasn't able to see "Divine Providence," a favorite piece of our art history instructor. Hopefully our wishes of returning to Rome one day comes true and we can finally see this painting in all of its restored glory.