The Matthew Online

Caesar triumphantly returns to Rome

By Erin Kuschner

ROME, Nov.30 – An international theater company has chosen Rome as its new center of operations, performing Julius Caesar last night as the first play in a series of Shakespeare dramas set in the Eternal City.

The ishakespearecompany has been performing Julius Caesar for three weeks, with a final performance scheduled for this evening.  The main focus of this play is the theme of sacrifice shown through simplicity, and last night’s interpretation was no exception.

JCU men's soccer team off to big start

By Alexandra Capriotti 

ROME, Nov. 27— The John Cabot men’s soccer team, The Gladiators, is going strong.  Last week, the team played two games and won them both boosting the season record to 4 wins and 2 losses.     

A night on the town? Consider these steps

A man approaches a girl in the bathroom and aggressively pushes her into a stall. There is nothing she can do. She tries to scream, but no one can hear her. Amid the panic, it seems as if she just has to give in. But in reality, there is something she can do to protect herself.

The Matthew Online correspondent Liza Himelstein-O’Reilly investigates some of the methods female college students can employ to protect themselves in these frightening situations.

 

 

In the shadows of Rome, risks abound

By Shira Strassman

ROME, Nov. 28 — It’s a study-abroad student’s worst nightmare.  You come to Rome to live in a foreign culture and experience a whirlwind of travel adventures, and for one semester at least, it feels like you are living a dream.  Then, out of nowhere, your fantasy bubble bursts when a sexual assault casts a dark shadow over it all.

When the president crosses town, cue confusion

Pilgrims have been converging on Saint Peter's Basilica for centuries to gaze in wonder at Michelangelo's dome and Bernini's colonnade. But what should happen when a head of state unexpectedly arrives for a meeting with the Pope?

As the Matthew Online's Christopher Buonincontri correspondent learned, it means long queues and some choice language.

In Bracciano, watching the watchers

European and American journalists swarmed into Bracciano Friday to prepare round-the-clock coverage of the celebrity wedding of the year. The Matthew Online sent correspondents too to join the throng, reporting on how the locals handled the biggest news story of the year happening in their sleepy town.

As Erica Smith tells us, reporters, packing tripods and notebooks, boldly stepped into a world of retired sailors and restaurant owners. 

It may be a while before life returns to normal in Bracciano (pictured).

Dinner with TomKat serves up stars

Rome is still abuzz over the TomKat wedding. For the past week, the Eternal City has been attracting a bevy of A-list celebs. And of course, wherever the stars go, the paparazzi and stargazers cannot be far behind.

The Matthew correspondent Charlotte Savino camped outside Nino's, just off the tony Piazza di Spagna, to report on the action outside the rehearsal dinner for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes nuptials. 

Bracciano braces for star treatment

By Valerie Cancellieri

BRACCIANO, Italy, Nov. 18 -  If there was any concern that residents of this sleepy, midieval town would be up in arms over the wedding here of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, it was well hidden in the hours before the celebrity event of the year.

Yesterday afternoon, vans and reporters had begun camping out in the town's Piazza del Castello, the scene of the nuptials. And  inside the town there was little fuss over the Hollywood-sized intrusion expected. Rather, locals posted  their best wishes (photo courtesy of Valerie Cancellieri) and some even spoke fondly of the big day.

By mid-afternoon Friday, the streets were quiet, deserted even. Of course, that was about to change.

 

Forget Bernini, all eyes on TomKat

By Tyler Pryor

ROME, Nov. 17 - The Hollywood wedding of the year swept into Rome this week, attracting the curious and star-crossed to some unlikely destinations in the Eternal City.

“I will gladly give up half my vacation to get a glimpse of baby Suri” said Laura Dern, a British school teacher who camped herself in front of  front of the plush Hassler Hotel Wednesday evening.

Good morning, we've been robbed

By Ainsley Woakes

ROME, Nov. 17 - Culture Shock? No.  Reality Check? Yes.

At 6:30 a.m. one Sunday morning last month, the phone rang. It was my roommate from Rome. “Ainsley, I’m sorry to call you so early but I have some bad news.  Our apartment was broken into,” she said.  It was not the phone call I was expecting on my final day vacationing in Sicily.