tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18429487187852320942024-02-02T02:28:23.426-08:00Econ315 in Italy 2014!Investigating Environmental and Economic Change in Italy--
Pacific Lutheran University Karen Travishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03767577612525757942noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-33423739851986412652014-02-03T10:24:00.001-08:002014-02-03T10:28:01.357-08:00Fueling the Roman Empire
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Roman Empire, like any other super power, needed a
reliable source of energy to fuel day-to-day activities and industry that were
vital to the success of the Romans. Without fuel wood the Romans would not have
been able to cook, heat their bath houses, fire ceramics and bricks, or make
the lime that literally held the Roman infrastructure together. Hayden and my
last article examines how this essential resource was managed so that fuel wood
could supply the needs of the massive population. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fuel wood powered the industries that made metal, ceramics,
glass, and lime. Metal was used for weapons, tools, pipes, and even locks and
keys. Ceramics included amphorae (the vessels used to transport wine and olive
oil), roof tiles, and bricks, and was essential for trade and iconic Roman
infrastructure like the aqueducts, the Roman forum, and the Colosseum. Glass
was used for windows but was produced only in small quantities and served
mostly as a status symbol. Lime, like I said above, was the cement that held
everything together, like the mortar between bricks today. Based on each
product’s uses and fuel wood required, the author presents this hierarchy for
fuel wood consumption by industry during the Roman empire: (1) Metal, (2)
ceramics, (3) lime and, (4) glass. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With such an important, complex industry, we might assume
today that government intervention was required but extant documents show that
government only intervened in the case of fuel wood for bathhouses but
otherwise didn’t pay attention to fuel wood management. This means that the
resource was managed only by small-scale in production to handle this important
resource. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The following small scale adjustments were made: (1)
locating industry near where the required resources was available and abundant,
(2) cycling production seasonally to allow for regrowth of the resource and,
(3) clustering of similar industries to allow for more effective distribution
of a resource which includes the relocation of an industry if the resource required
becomes to scarce. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The question of fuel-use has obvious implications for resource depletion
and environmental issues but without more information about the regenerative
ability of woodlands and the ecosystem-wide affects of fuel-wood use, we’re basically
left with a blank. What we can say about Roman fuel-wood use is that a decline
in fuel wood availability (if it existed) had nothing to do with the fall of
the Roman Empire. Romans used fuel wood resources for over 600 years without a
collapse in the resource. We cannot say if the resource would have lasted
longer but regardless, the collapse of the empire was the ultimate mitigation
of the resource by significantly reducing, if not eliminating in some areas,
the need for fuel wood. </span><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-82586835152097912372014-02-03T08:16:00.001-08:002014-02-03T08:19:35.500-08:00Luxury in Ancient Rome: Scope, Timing and Enforcement of Sumptuary Laws<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last article that Eric and I reviewed was “Luxury in Ancient Rome: Scope, Timing and Enforcement of Sumptuary Laws.” One of the main things that this article focused on was how there were laws that limited the consumption on many different luxury goods. These laws were aimed at moralizing roman society, protecting family patrimonies, or restricting the political influence of the equestrian class. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some other examples of sumptuary laws could also be related to how there would be limits on gifts during certain festivals, regulating women's jewelry, and clothing that is worn and the use of chariots in the capital. These laws were explained by either religious activities, political campaigns, and demeanor of women. Other laws that were there to limit luxury are the restrictions of guests which are restricting the amount of people who can visit per day, restricting the acceptance of invitations from an individuals of low social standings. These restrictions were in place to stop newcomers from expanding their social political networks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also there were restrictions on expenses for banquets, festivals, and certain types of food. For banquets the reason for why this rule was in place was to stop people from blowing all of their money that they have inherited. Then for foods this rule was only in place so that the wealth could limit the consumption of certain types of foods. This is explained through the government setting a price ceiling which caused a shortage of that certain type of food such as smoked meats. This made it so that it was unprofitable for traders to import such exotic goods. We saw many examples of luxuries in Rome such as the Colosseum which is a one of a kind good that boasts luxury. Another place that our group visited was Vatican, which was covered in gold and marble showing the wealth of the Vatican state.</span><br />
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<br />Zach Blakesleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01200546460993287551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-68418506234337748882014-01-31T20:16:00.003-08:002014-01-31T20:16:58.416-08:00Exploring Roman Churches from an Economic Perspective<div style="text-align: left;">
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Since day one of the trip I was anxiously awaiting our arrival to our final destination: Rome. I was excited to experience the bustle of a true European city, and to see landmarks I'd previously only seen in magazines and movies: like the Colosseum, and the Trevi Fountain, and the Vatican. My experience was in no way a disappointment. We were blessed with sun on our second day in Rome and were able to check off many bucket list items in one swoop on a walk together through the historical district. </div>
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The article Matt and I were assigned for Rome analyzed the Medieval Catholic Church from an economic perspective, looking at the powerful beast that was the Catholic Church from the year 1000 - 1500 as a monopoly instead of just a religious institution. It described the ways the church saught rent from its constituents, the most common being tithing and offerings, payment for sin forgiveness, and through the church's role in banning usury. <br />
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With this in mind, I spent my time wandering through the Vatican looking for ways that rent seeking exists in the church today that maybe were not accessible back then. Walking through the Vatican Museum, these were not hard to spot. The church, like any business, was taking full advantage of its ability to pull revenue from places other than its members. There was an entrance fee to the museum, and around every corner was a booth or full fledged souvenir shop. The Sistine Chapel (very underwhelming, by the way) was packed with guards waiting to pounce on any tourists brave enough to lift a phone or camera. It was obvious that Michelangelo's work was an asset they were unwilling to share freely. Whether you believe the church is in the business of collecting souls or cash, they are no stranger to collecting either. <br />
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This time in Italy has been a whirlwind experience I will never forget. I came into this trip apprehensive and unsure of what this month would hold, and left with new friends, an expanded worldview, and a plethora of great stories. I cannot wait to come back and explore more of this captivating country.<br />
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Arrivederci, Italy!
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Mortared Rubble Construction (aka
concrete) can be seen as one of the greatest technical achievements of ancient
Rome. The Roman concrete that was used back in early B.C did not consist of the
same material that current day concrete is made of. It was made of local
volcanic sand and pure high quality lime. Without this unique material, one
could argue that these massively beautiful structures that we’ve seen
throughout Italy, would not have existed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Roman concrete was an economical
substitute for ashlar masonry because the concrete was much cheaper and less
dependent on highly skilled labor. The article that I read went into the small
details of what it took to build these concrete stone walls and how that
affected the economics of ancient Rome. These issues and topics were: the cost
differences between different types of concrete, the relative cost of ashlar
vs. concrete, and how the buildings were built and at what rate you could build
them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Pompeii</div>
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Examples of where this concrete brick
was used are places like the ruins of Pompeii (especially the way the theater
was built) and Ostia’s large baths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
interesting to see that the Roman concrete was such a prominent economic factor
back then. Because even in it’s fragile state today, these structures still
have a huge impact on the economy of Italy. Tourists from all over the world
come and pay to see these massive and outstanding structures to better
understand our world’s history. Because of the high tourist traffic, some
cities rely on tourists in order to stay afloat.</div>
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But, that’s not the only factor that
effects the economy of Italy when it comes to these structures. The upkeep of
maintaining the historical landmarks is also very taxing on the economy. When
we went through Naples, we saw that there wasn’t enough funding to continue the
restoration of the city that was below Naples. Who would have thought that
these concrete structures from early B.C would still be impacting the economy
of Italy in 2014? I know that this trip has opened my eyes to a lot of the
economic issues that Italy undergoes on a yearly basis. –Amy Wooten<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ostia</div>
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Amy Wootenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01359090785670702375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-34695732398910363682014-01-30T18:15:00.003-08:002014-01-30T18:15:20.730-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Roman Grain Trade</b></div>
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For my final blog post, the article I read was about the
organization of the grain trade in the early Roman Empire. The article begins
by addressing the massive shortage of grain needed to feed the vast population
of the Roman Empire. The population was predicted to be right around one
million people and they estimate an average of 300 kg of wheat consumed per
year per individual. Using these numbers we learn that not only could Rome not
produce enough wheat for themselves, but if the entire country produced only
wheat it still wouldn’t have been enough to feed Rome alone. The conclusion we
draw from this is that Rome must have imported massive amounts to account for
the deficit almost entirely by sea. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The main idea of this article is to discuss how they were
able to overcome the severe informational issues relating to problems of
adverse selection and moral hazard. Given the time period and the technology associated
with it, merchants would have no idea if their shipments were successful or not
until two to three weeks after either the accident or robbery occurred. The
roman government succeeded in clearing pirates from the Mediterranean,
essentially eliminating robbery from someone other than the agent, which leaves
the bulk of the problem within trust between merchant and agent. This entails
the problems associated with moral hazard in that the agent could just steal
the load and never return. One interesting thing to note about the market
system with the grain trade is that it was merchants. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The article then begins to get into the use of institutions
and formal vs informal intervention. There were certain formal institutions in
place such as the legal court system, which used fines and blacklisting as
punishments. The formal institutions are rather self-explanatory as opposed to
the informal institutions which are much more interesting. The article talks
about a reputation based informal system where these merchants would for the
most part converse with each other and discuss agents. Along the same lines, it
was also a convenient way of using these networks to get word out if your agent
stole your shipment and let other people look out for it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The interesting thing about Rome is that they were one of the
only civilizations to utilize this combination of both formal and informal
institutions to regulate these informational problems. By blending the informal
reputation based system with the formal legal based system, they were able to
capture much more than those who relied only on one.</div>
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-Hayden <o:p></o:p></div>
mccarthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05554819111298884782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-38988583271722520632014-01-30T00:26:00.001-08:002014-01-30T00:26:31.587-08:00Veni Vidi Vici<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9pc9KcPkQcQkwr_leKgtBQfrYSpP2hn1A_to2ys0VMwesXfGLQxISsVYvuWjrL0fq-fNxI5RAAHaQ_XmDPpFNoTg6_j_oH5_CSJhIRg9GERizxsTFMqeCmi3p0-DWeUlGRr11hqVz_BU/s640/blogger-image--148779296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9pc9KcPkQcQkwr_leKgtBQfrYSpP2hn1A_to2ys0VMwesXfGLQxISsVYvuWjrL0fq-fNxI5RAAHaQ_XmDPpFNoTg6_j_oH5_CSJhIRg9GERizxsTFMqeCmi3p0-DWeUlGRr11hqVz_BU/s640/blogger-image--148779296.jpg"></font></a></div></div></div></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Days two and three in Rome added a great deal of contrast to the first. Visiting the Forum and Colosseum in stunning weather rapidly shifted the groups perspective on the city. The immense size of the Colosseum was breathtaking. Ordered by emperor Nero, the amount of manpower needed to build this construct was unbelievable, and although Nero did not live to see it to completion, the 75,000 person capacity structure will forever be a legacy.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNtPu_i4WjgbXU2lozW0j0eQ0JdgGa5JESAILZLM0MDp1s2VufzHJKCQ0yYpNcVy197CHdhVj49UTKE-LKsKEqSk53glooRby4EQj5D0m2-mcG43dQd58UsbjOLDlPIkMLU04C4c9Krsn/s640/blogger-image-1471543308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNtPu_i4WjgbXU2lozW0j0eQ0JdgGa5JESAILZLM0MDp1s2VufzHJKCQ0yYpNcVy197CHdhVj49UTKE-LKsKEqSk53glooRby4EQj5D0m2-mcG43dQd58UsbjOLDlPIkMLU04C4c9Krsn/s640/blogger-image-1471543308.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The public structures produced by the Romans have all been quite impressive, and funds from the government stimulated the economy much like they do today. Many workers were brought into employment throughout these massive builds, from manual labor to artists, which helped to distribute wealth.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-QwMxXvATjAuXgjMakzwVqHstK9K9dTMJs4gJoL4HpxiarDFoBKboAp1UVI-ubVsr1CXpo1_pxKpRHvuwAUeVGF04B7AtTWnwBs9jS2xojRj5ONXwPUASZNUxmWfiGmGosKjbr226hG_/s640/blogger-image--223821004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-QwMxXvATjAuXgjMakzwVqHstK9K9dTMJs4gJoL4HpxiarDFoBKboAp1UVI-ubVsr1CXpo1_pxKpRHvuwAUeVGF04B7AtTWnwBs9jS2xojRj5ONXwPUASZNUxmWfiGmGosKjbr226hG_/s640/blogger-image--223821004.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h2heDYq1g7UlBL44loSxQD0utbVAOtk9rwP-labxkD8NmLTOApLc-R-Yr8MImnaSZ_xT6sjFxxRJ0lGABuzeuNAdITM2R708tg0DSbgMyoTBubskrfEi9w4zsZr9P8Uxy7M8LZ1Gh08U/s640/blogger-image--2116995406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1h2heDYq1g7UlBL44loSxQD0utbVAOtk9rwP-labxkD8NmLTOApLc-R-Yr8MImnaSZ_xT6sjFxxRJ0lGABuzeuNAdITM2R708tg0DSbgMyoTBubskrfEi9w4zsZr9P8Uxy7M8LZ1Gh08U/s640/blogger-image--2116995406.jpg"></font></a></div></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">That night the group adventured into the Roman nightlife, and two girls from our group even found themselves plunging into a fountain and checking one item off of their bucket list. After sleeping in the next morning, we found ourselves with a free day, and enjoyed the slow unstructured pace. We did some shopping for gifts and foodstuffs, visited the Spanish Stairs, and enjoyed a final group supper in Rome.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiVa0Un06j6VMJRc4CsUTD00wCefpZpkj6syr8oeAnvUqVMYNEcUWuYGNrh_MFdhxvbFZ8Utw51aMN7AeWpYfs3mHLnRqYhhoMky6QB0AakbNz29z56QJBkyGtLVFHXei3p7YDei_i2Rg/s640/blogger-image--1487374985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiVa0Un06j6VMJRc4CsUTD00wCefpZpkj6syr8oeAnvUqVMYNEcUWuYGNrh_MFdhxvbFZ8Utw51aMN7AeWpYfs3mHLnRqYhhoMky6QB0AakbNz29z56QJBkyGtLVFHXei3p7YDei_i2Rg/s640/blogger-image--1487374985.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I now find myself on an unexpected adventure at the airport- after parting ways with the group who left on an earlier flight, I made my way with two others to my terminal where I discovered my flight had been canceled (Who would have thought snow in Atlanta). What was first surprise and slight distress turned to a great deal of enjoyment; my flight was reimbursed and through some convincing I was rebooked on a different airline. As a result, I will be arriving in Seattle 30 minutes earlier than expected, and can enjoy some relaxation in the meantime. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">For the last time from Europe,</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Arrivederci </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtmvV0Y03Y-5350hn68h0OytDAfo9kf5Eqnizj8OJ-h8u_QLDCK_2pudTy6If3dZjy3SsvNUqSjGkcQ7FJcX76WmPELGsp-2Jh7cLFMTFlNrzsI6V8yeE90_unv3dzcCsIg2-TsKLB4uC/s640/blogger-image--41159157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtmvV0Y03Y-5350hn68h0OytDAfo9kf5Eqnizj8OJ-h8u_QLDCK_2pudTy6If3dZjy3SsvNUqSjGkcQ7FJcX76WmPELGsp-2Jh7cLFMTFlNrzsI6V8yeE90_unv3dzcCsIg2-TsKLB4uC/s640/blogger-image--41159157.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFVYZbT5zMfS1Rq0zhSaFTbSIduc60qr5QUiunBkwup_MLkTR0K74It7k3S07DPizdwvr4yqZ-7uvyYihOHUdleysBxesLALtMkJXahZVuQ6xE6SJhN4ytbefwvzSVcrMC6qb2Uz9PXVt/s640/blogger-image-1841597708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFVYZbT5zMfS1Rq0zhSaFTbSIduc60qr5QUiunBkwup_MLkTR0K74It7k3S07DPizdwvr4yqZ-7uvyYihOHUdleysBxesLALtMkJXahZVuQ6xE6SJhN4ytbefwvzSVcrMC6qb2Uz9PXVt/s640/blogger-image-1841597708.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWMjoTka8_LdiMBvdmmPuHyAmf7C2-C65ynu9RPUteXMcq0v9Y3QHFQOnUyp7M22ZW4UOrwIh53qGH4NB_HOuktSbp0qaIvo11lurG3g_eWf7K1r5AqVRit26YA2adWryukPkjrw6LiNi/s640/blogger-image-1366840328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWMjoTka8_LdiMBvdmmPuHyAmf7C2-C65ynu9RPUteXMcq0v9Y3QHFQOnUyp7M22ZW4UOrwIh53qGH4NB_HOuktSbp0qaIvo11lurG3g_eWf7K1r5AqVRit26YA2adWryukPkjrw6LiNi/s640/blogger-image-1366840328.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><br></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336216811219056637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-44667479203626357412014-01-29T04:18:00.001-08:002014-01-29T04:18:38.363-08:00Salvation from the Sea: Roman Amphorae<div>Today we visited Monte Testaccio. At first glance, this appears to be nothing more than a grassy hill, except that there are broken fragments of clay pottery scattered upon it. Our guide revealed that this hill was once the equivalent of a land fill, where Romans deposited the fragments of old Amphorae, which were used to transport oil and wine. The fragments were carefully stacked until they formed this hill. Since then, soil has deposited and grass has grown on the hill, nearly disguising its intriguing past. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RneFpeTdMns/Uujxb0PHKrI/AAAAAAAAAH8/QiC0mreyScE/s640/blogger-image--2082102185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RneFpeTdMns/Uujxb0PHKrI/AAAAAAAAAH8/QiC0mreyScE/s640/blogger-image--2082102185.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>Our article discusses the ancient amphorae in some detail, and analyzes trade patterns based on evidence from the amphorae. Ship wrecks were particularly useful in finding fragments of amphorae for analyzation. They indicated that Italy was dominant in the trade of goods with amphorae, particularly wine, in the middle of the second century BC to the end of the 1st century BC. The amphorae were shipped to both France and Britain, along the Rhone valley and across the Rhine. After the 1st century, Italian dominance in the markets began to diminish, which was marked by Italy's increased importation. Northern Italy differed from other regions as it was open to Greek imports from the Adriatic. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ekMaKjAvMs8/Uujxm5yYSvI/AAAAAAAAAIM/Wc777h1gwOA/s640/blogger-image--725004250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ekMaKjAvMs8/Uujxm5yYSvI/AAAAAAAAAIM/Wc777h1gwOA/s640/blogger-image--725004250.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Another interesting aspect of this article was its focus on the stamps found on the Amphorae. These stamps were often names or abbreviations, and some corresponded with Roman politicians at the time. Some believe this indicated a heavy involvement by these senators in the commerce of Amphorae. The article concludes, however, that these stamps more likely indicated the owners of the production equipment and land rather than the actual producers of the amphorae. The article notes that exploitation of the lower class amphorae producers, by the wealthier land owners was common place at the time and supported by the legal system. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aPbKFpLVCt4/UujxiMgsaRI/AAAAAAAAAIE/m54zy-Hrvp8/s640/blogger-image-742046114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aPbKFpLVCt4/UujxiMgsaRI/AAAAAAAAAIE/m54zy-Hrvp8/s640/blogger-image-742046114.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>We compared the seemingly misleading labeling practice of the amphorae in which the land owners, rather than the producers, were marked on the pots with labeling practices today. We noted that misleading labeling is still commonplace, but often takes a different form. In the article, the wealthier more recognizable names were used on the amphorae, potentially as a marketing technique, whereas today bigger companies often hide their relationship with certain products by labeling them under the names of smaller companies they own. One example that was brought up was Fanta. Apparently, Fanta was started by Coca Cola to be marketed in Germany during World War II without any backlash. Bigger companies also hide their involvement with smaller companies in order to capture niche markets that are resistant to more mainstream penetration. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ug_9i9TLnwc/UujxVXWT4oI/AAAAAAAAAH0/NCUNA6bSqlc/s640/blogger-image-1118352724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ug_9i9TLnwc/UujxVXWT4oI/AAAAAAAAAH0/NCUNA6bSqlc/s640/blogger-image-1118352724.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13353634384348017261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-38594985742504342132014-01-29T01:51:00.001-08:002014-01-29T01:51:39.925-08:00Local Farmers and Fairness<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Our second to last destination brought us to a small farm near the city of Sorento. Compared to the nearby city of Naples, the farm was a quieter and more picturesque destination. While we were there, we stayed in multi-person rooms on the property. Although we had many issues with cold rooms and the water heaters, the space ended up being great. Also, the ride up may have made some queazy, but the views were specacular. </span></div><div><br></div><div>One of the great features of the farm we stayed at, was the fact that it produced local products. It grew lemons, oranges, grapes and olives. We always got to have a bit of the local tastes for breakfast or dinner. Never have I tasted such fresh foods. The idea of local farmers fits in nicely with the article Zach and I had to read. Our article was titled Fairness, Farmers Markets, and Local Production. Basically the article brought up the idea of organic, local, and non-GMO farming. Fitting in very closely to our stay at the farm. </div><div><br></div><div>With the article, it basically looks into whether people think inequality is considered when shopping for local products either at a farmers market or at a grocery store. The authors state that people are adverse to advantageous inequality and disadvantageous inequality. Basically the idea that we like to avoid inequality of wealth positive or negative. </div><div><br></div><div>The study was performed in an Oklahoma town. Basically the participants had to bid over four tickets. The tickets represented tickets to local farmers and non-local farmers and also advantageous and disadvantageous inequality. The experiment facilitators then created a secret price. The secret price determined whether the participants won the bid. This encouraged the participants to bid the highest to more accurately determine what they would actually bid. </div><div><br></div><div>The results for this experiment were actually quite interesting. Most of the people surveyed had shopped at a farmers market. For those who shopped at farmers markets, they did so mostly for food quality and to support the local community. one of the more interesting facts dealt with inequality. From the results, the authors find that "people shopping at farmers markets were no more or less concerned about inequality of local farmers than were people shopping at a traditional grocery store." That fact was actually quite surprising to me. I'm guessing that the community that the experiment took place in was agriculturally focused. With that being said, I bet the participants knew a local farmer or were interested in their sucess. My guess is if you asked a person in a New York City grocery store about their concern for local farmers, they would have less concern than that of a person shopping at a farmers market. I think It all depends where the question is asked. Overall it was a very interesting study. </div>olsonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17974947850000296575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-37812130606383056052014-01-28T18:20:00.001-08:002014-01-29T04:59:23.667-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZorfijXMvHBdgsICEhH5QtfcyEJ_Yry1IzVqqBGLOtZKgA0t4oQYsVTssNZ1ISIyUyRrQQ_P_XNVSBSZrsqWcycxhvEqtn9ciBveWsbsjyVbmaTybyBl57HEGQ45diMkmxz2K43kZg0N/s1600/P1060944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZorfijXMvHBdgsICEhH5QtfcyEJ_Yry1IzVqqBGLOtZKgA0t4oQYsVTssNZ1ISIyUyRrQQ_P_XNVSBSZrsqWcycxhvEqtn9ciBveWsbsjyVbmaTybyBl57HEGQ45diMkmxz2K43kZg0N/s1600/P1060944.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>On our way from Orvieto to <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> this afternoon, we stopped to explore the ancient
ruins of the roman city Ostia, just 30 minutes or so out of <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>. Our article for today was an
examination of the various options for accommodation in the city of <st1:city w:st="on">Ostia</st1:city> throughout 3rd century B.C, a time when a large majority of the population lived in rented
apartments. Unlike most housing markets that we are accustomed to today, the
rental market was left to run its course without any significant governmental
interference or regulation. Often today we see things such as rental price
ceilings in large cities, subsidies for housing mortgage markets, or government
owned housing, however this was not the case in Ostia. Instead, the
government felt very little need to interfere in the housing market and only
provided public housing in the case of extreme catastrophe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
There were essentially two options
available, <i>Cenacula</i>, or apartment
suites, and <i>Deversoria</i> which were
essentially just rooms available for rent. The apartment suites were much like
an apartment complex as we know it today. Landlords leased out each individual
apartment within their suite and leasers were legally allowed to sublease rooms
from their apartments to subletters. While walking around the ruins of the city,
we were able to see lots of areas where such large apartment buildings existed.
Though of course they were only partially there, it was cool to see their
prevalence and strategic placement throughout the city. The <i>Cenacula</i> option was marketed more towards
wealthier individuals or families because the lease agreements tended to be
long, rent was expensive and payments were expected after periods of six
months, instead of at the beginning as we now see today. This system relied
heavily on the relationship between the landlord and his tenant as there was a
fair amount of both risk and trust involved for the landlord with the contract.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZss86TYl8jGW08DQ4UX3Lc7qEbCErkMQ91lVcUBv24gUjtMrsGv5msKgJ7_1amhdWHhbTnVrG24TyFau-lOqNXDzzJZJJcyaLcskWTiwsJ2VwpKsz6IFKQuZ8ZPmaJMUw61RNAR60DpN/s1600/P1060956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZss86TYl8jGW08DQ4UX3Lc7qEbCErkMQ91lVcUBv24gUjtMrsGv5msKgJ7_1amhdWHhbTnVrG24TyFau-lOqNXDzzJZJJcyaLcskWTiwsJ2VwpKsz6IFKQuZ8ZPmaJMUw61RNAR60DpN/s1600/P1060956.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a> The
second type of housing, <i>Deversoria</i>, housed
more poor and lower class people and referred more generally to accommodations
such as mezzanines, one or two bedroom flats, or the backrooms of the ground-floor
shops in which people worked. The contract terms are less known, however
because poorer people were less likely to be able to hold long leases and pay
large lump sums of rent every six months, their contracts were probably much
shorter. Further, often the landlord marketed his large building to an array of
people, sometimes offering temporary rooms for travelers (like hotel rooms) or
cheap, run down areas for more long term use. Rent was generally paid on a per
night basis and for those who chose more decent quarters experienced a large
increase in rent. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As
you can imagine, this system led to an extremely inefficient rental market in
Ostia. The rich paid more than they should have to compensate for the risk
resulting from the longevity of their contracts, while ironically the poor also
paid more because of the shortness of their contracts and the increased
uncertainty and risk involved with renting to them. We found this to be
interesting because often times, when governments do step in and begin to
regulate or interfere in the market, it leads to inefficiencies as well.
Particularly in the housing market, we can see shortages in the market as well
as some “black market” activities in regards to rental properties. This forced
us to wonder if there really is a right answer when inefficiency arises both
with and without government intervention.</div>
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Nellie Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06205024288350966671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-62463115772024055182014-01-28T16:14:00.005-08:002014-01-28T16:14:51.315-08:00Marriage: A Loveless Look at Dowries<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While touring Tuscany and enjoying the rich culture found
there we have had many opportunities to examine the culture of today and how it
relates to the culture of the 14<sup>th</sup> and 15<sup>th</sup> century. I
was quite surprised to find out that dowries were common place until only a few
decades ago. I was selected to present the ideas of an article examining
dowries and the various ideas surrounding them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Dowries are sums of wealth transferred
from the family of a bride to the family of the groom upon marriage. These transactions
play a very substantial role in 15<sup>th</sup> century Italy, as they
represent significant (nearly nine times the average annual salary) movement of
economic power between families often to a family of a lower class than the
bride. In the 15<sup>th</sup> century every single woman was expected to have
dowry. Examples were given that there were public funds generated by wealthy
persons leaving a portion of wealth to be used as dowries for orphans. A family
would even be expected to have a dowry set aside for women who entered convents
to become nuns. Dowries are interesting also because while the transfer of
wealth is from one family to another at the time of marriage the bride retains
ownership of the dowry even if her father in law is expected to manage it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This paper looked at dowries in two different but related
ways. The first from a net value perspective. The second is from an altruistic perspective.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From a net value standpoint the entire marriage arrangement was
based on the value of a woman as compared to her expected benefit to the
married household during her expected lifetime which essentially broke down to
the older she is the less productive she will be. Thus the older a woman the
larger her dowry would have to be to compensate for lost productivity in the
marriage household. This creates a very strong pressure to marry young because the
longer she lives with the parents the more she costs the parents (both in
living expenses and a larger dowry) and the harder it is for her to find a “suitable”
husband<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This pressure in addition to a general shortage of women and
a very small percentage of the population holding a large percentage of the
country’s wealth leads women to often “marry down” selecting a man who would
not necessarily be of the same social, political or financial status. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the altruistic model the parents of the bride, caring
about the future of their daughter, would provide a larger dowry proportional to
how far she “married down” in order to ensure that the newly married couple
would be able to get established and enjoy the same standard of living that the
woman was used to but may be impossible for a lower class husband to provide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now there were many problems with this study the largest of
which is that it had a relatively small sample size consisting primarily of the
upper class. The data collected by this study was from census data and compared
against often illegible marriage contracts. The author expressed a desire to
examine the archives in Florence where a larger more complete collection of
census data exists in order to gain a better understanding of the role that dowries
played in early Italian economics </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04543763342704616310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-62115260651544924342014-01-28T10:34:00.003-08:002014-01-28T10:34:50.101-08:00An Economic Analysis of the Protestant Reformation<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
The 8<sup>th</sup> and final article that Sydney and I presented on is
titled “An Economic Analysis of the Protestant Reformation.” It talked about a
lot of things, but the first half mainly dealt with the sale of indulgences.
The Medieval Roman Church modified doctrine to permit the monetary sale of
forgiveness of sins, which was key for spiritual redemption. This was what the
members were really purchasing from the church. It was very interesting to walk
through the Vatican and see where a lot of that money went. There was a lot of
incredible artwork and sculptures that w<span style="text-align: center;">ould not have been cheap, and I would
not have thought about where that money came from without the article. We were really
able to see the immense wealth that church gained during this time, in large
part due to the sale of indulgences.</span></div>
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It discussed the use of price discrimination, and how stable wealth
dispersion and tight knit communities would help them set the indulgences
prices. When cultures were pretty rural and family based, the church would know
how much a person makes, and therefore how much they could charge for their
product. They also used the idea of purgatory to convince members to buy indulgences
for relatives that had passed, which would result in less time in “limbo” between
earth and heaven. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It then started its main test, which was trying to create a link between
the countries stance on primogeniture and the probability of converting to
Protestantism during the reformation. Primogeniture is the act of leaving
everything you own (most of the time land) to your first born son when you die.
This is unfortunate if you do not have a son or if you are the second born son.
The basis of this link was that people would be willing to pay a high price for
indulgences if they could assure all of their children’s futures (ex. they
could work in the church), but if your country did not practice primogeniture,
you could already practice the freedom of dispersing your wealth as you pleased
when you passed, so you would not be willing to pay a high price for
indulgences, because there was a cheaper and very similar product
(Protestantism).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Their second test tried to create an inverse link between the growing
urban societies and the practice of primogeniture. They tried to do this
because it would create a link between urban societies and conversion to
Protestantism. They argued that a son’s inherited wealth was no longer measured
by land, because there were more industries to work in and less land per
person, primogeniture was less likely to occur, and therefore conversion would
be more common. They also argued that in those societies, there was less
reliance on the church to help them in legal areas, and more reliance on the community
as a whole. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4J-06tbwXaPiQHhYF_ITEovA4UK9J2j8xhVPONWr3eNNAGuimFTannnZiSlc_5sYDeQZrws5MENxlzcWBIZwRUir2xV-DBV3xROnfotmJHbL_x1GoHncDlLb-E_MIxqJzsGQY3A21wA/s1600/IMG_2903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4J-06tbwXaPiQHhYF_ITEovA4UK9J2j8xhVPONWr3eNNAGuimFTannnZiSlc_5sYDeQZrws5MENxlzcWBIZwRUir2xV-DBV3xROnfotmJHbL_x1GoHncDlLb-E_MIxqJzsGQY3A21wA/s1600/IMG_2903.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJ2_AFnL2Mg-kuHy1LdWv16Kls-g33XCcH7Rc7y8SXMoF-m3r34hAy3cYJKwvhU7JSfNIRLlO5-4JNMTX-B7mYyutN6jR6EcMaenfVZ1FYHQrhs4CVJMg8tr_HABL6lLhQcrLKMA05ic/s1600/IMG_2892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJ2_AFnL2Mg-kuHy1LdWv16Kls-g33XCcH7Rc7y8SXMoF-m3r34hAy3cYJKwvhU7JSfNIRLlO5-4JNMTX-B7mYyutN6jR6EcMaenfVZ1FYHQrhs4CVJMg8tr_HABL6lLhQcrLKMA05ic/s1600/IMG_2892.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>It is really interesting to walk around Rome and see all of the old (many
of them Catholic) buildings. It is strange to think about where the money to
build those came from, and how the immoral actions of the Catholic Church helped
fund some of the best known religious buildings and art we have today. It is
also really interesting to think about how much they still make from those
buildings, with a line of hundreds of people to get into the Vatican museum during
January to see that great art, and at least 7 gift shops throughout the tour.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16779428113193452151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-63817916832032906922014-01-28T09:21:00.000-08:002014-01-28T09:21:00.484-08:00Olive Oil Production Throughout Italy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Olive oil has always been a very prominent aspect of Italian culture. Olive oil production can’t just be done anywhere. The climate is a huge factor that can make or break a batch of olives. Italy has an ideal climate that is made for making olives and olive oil. Italy ranks 2<sup>nd</sup> in the world for olive oil production (behind Spain) and in the last 4 years Italy has produced an outstanding 550,000 tons of olive oil. While they may be producing massive quantities, Italy is the worlds top consumer of olive oil so they are still importing these goods from other countries as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are three different production areas in Italy: Southern/Insular, Central Southern, and Central Northern. Southern Insular is the largest production area because it has the optimal climate conditions to obtain high yields of oil. This area includes Sicily to give you an idea of where this extraction occurs. Southern areas can produce the highest quality of olive oil, whereas Northern areas have an environment that changes so frequently that it is not ideal for olive oil extraction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We had the opportunity to see an old oil press and learned a little about how olive oil was produced centuries ago. You can find the photo below of what this press looked like. It was run with donkeys that circled around the machine in order to get the press working. As of late, olive oil production has started to become more technologically savvy. This is extremely vital to keeping up with our ever changing environment. You won’t see olive presses like this one anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6gE78GZZMH7IKqMYSgDEaQu8SbZ2BrTtyV0X2Dh5NHxv6uNl4lb4b7xncUzu7WeVFLzmE1iIV7zEUaWC5PzWpGnRIAE_jwdmOa8rwxGzrXTWyviU4o0TL50iDelJ9JF3YnmWU1BetCE/s1600/IMG_1268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6gE78GZZMH7IKqMYSgDEaQu8SbZ2BrTtyV0X2Dh5NHxv6uNl4lb4b7xncUzu7WeVFLzmE1iIV7zEUaWC5PzWpGnRIAE_jwdmOa8rwxGzrXTWyviU4o0TL50iDelJ9JF3YnmWU1BetCE/s1600/IMG_1268.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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As we toured a farm in Sorrento we were also able to see how newer technology is changing the olive industry. Below you'll see a photo of the nets that this farm used to "catch/pick" their olives. Olive oil is almost like wine here. We did a taste-test of olive oil as well and learned how there are a wide variety of oil tastes. The tasting has helped me understand and appreciate olive oil production a lot more. <span id="goog_1254421149"></span><span id="goog_1254421150"></span><br />
-Amy Wooten<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkyCSklndX92CUl1igemr6onBdwmeXgXu01j6j5EHWhq8S11YFhQ9ByQHnNl69Rxs0vDYlo2H7XlHpGWbxl80jWyzNlsdhJtlxeFDM10WadGejsQC_-MmJylWvDUsyz0IglfzbVjOlK8/s1600/IMG_1707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkyCSklndX92CUl1igemr6onBdwmeXgXu01j6j5EHWhq8S11YFhQ9ByQHnNl69Rxs0vDYlo2H7XlHpGWbxl80jWyzNlsdhJtlxeFDM10WadGejsQC_-MmJylWvDUsyz0IglfzbVjOlK8/s1600/IMG_1707.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
Amy Wootenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01359090785670702375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-16501521924244946142014-01-27T15:03:00.001-08:002014-01-27T15:03:44.366-08:00Economics of Religion- The Vatican<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiCvbYQh3LRTzBcrc1EX_5iy1c2Rz_h48Suh9IZD7hSCO-WUXczafYoofzvkmhD1PyxEuEtFaYMUNBoCTseLkXaRfGFMAPsRZmCuOeJR29rXA_5OkPvRMWOyZodQ3JTcvO2yGtdxwqghK/s640/blogger-image-943252830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiCvbYQh3LRTzBcrc1EX_5iy1c2Rz_h48Suh9IZD7hSCO-WUXczafYoofzvkmhD1PyxEuEtFaYMUNBoCTseLkXaRfGFMAPsRZmCuOeJR29rXA_5OkPvRMWOyZodQ3JTcvO2yGtdxwqghK/s640/blogger-image-943252830.jpg"></font></a></div></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After a long day adventuring through the Vatican, enjoying a change in pace of meals with some Asian cooking, and some interesting historical insight provided by Professor Wurm, a game of cards over drinks with friends before a night of excitement and music was certainly called for. Monday night in Rome during the middle of winter might not be the most exciting time, but when you're nearing the end of a long trip abroad with a group of newly founds friends there isn't nearly enough time in the world.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0nPjedX05sj7qHIMYaOgNvl4NA9Z6J2-jrulfXba56gwXivL7KGDjZjB2nFEb7f7bMhoswWWMnuKbOPjLZJ-SJHRAgTkyTIGkGE6af8hVMZ9SHb4PyPEStUwDEAB_tCQJ8KqkkDrTfNsc/s640/blogger-image-242950176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0nPjedX05sj7qHIMYaOgNvl4NA9Z6J2-jrulfXba56gwXivL7KGDjZjB2nFEb7f7bMhoswWWMnuKbOPjLZJ-SJHRAgTkyTIGkGE6af8hVMZ9SHb4PyPEStUwDEAB_tCQJ8KqkkDrTfNsc/s640/blogger-image-242950176.jpg"></font></a></div></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Though there was an absurdly beautiful level of detail at the Vatican, I was taken off guard by some of my assumptions going into the city. The museum was much more of a traditional museum than I had anticipated, and although everything was either owned in the Pope's collection or was a part of the Vatican itself, I wasn't expecting the outing to be as much of tourist trap as it was. The Sistine Chapel was underwhelming, though I believe this was because of the lack of lighting. Where I had expected a large dome fresco of God reaching to Adam I found a naturally lit chamber filled with tourists and security that ranted the gospel of 'No Photos'. Economically this makes sense, as if I was unable to take photos then I would be more likely to purchase a keepsake photo of the painting. However, that rule has yet to stop me, and many photos were captured. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFoPm6z0KY6L3uHHV34uDYFj2x8kQYSVtUC2pyo7CeblgoWNV9EjvZrdCXy8tifJRCkg-D3yYYuA8A9kLkUmN_gQI_g4ri69Hhhq4YV5cGkTiM57VG4fEmfH8uMyBApdbKofB7xMr-npo/s640/blogger-image-990457327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFoPm6z0KY6L3uHHV34uDYFj2x8kQYSVtUC2pyo7CeblgoWNV9EjvZrdCXy8tifJRCkg-D3yYYuA8A9kLkUmN_gQI_g4ri69Hhhq4YV5cGkTiM57VG4fEmfH8uMyBApdbKofB7xMr-npo/s640/blogger-image-990457327.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To quickly rescue from some of the group's unimpressed sentiment, we arrived at the Church of St. Peter. Entering the building that required on tickets was refreshing, and with such immense size and history many jaws dropped. Though I do believe that the rest of the Vatican City that is closed off to the public would remedy some of the feeling of disappointment, the cathedral certainly was the cure.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fx2kiGqZSl4kIsf2x9UFqkjZI13XaHbndbbduL0b0FflmoZN5GwQ1poGWADL6eAaRYsY6LexXPj0SASTtWdrJnf_vNwY03dlrN_0FevtXgn6Pjv52briRt68nSN0B7M1aTDTAhwYN2Hh/s640/blogger-image-2043281888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fx2kiGqZSl4kIsf2x9UFqkjZI13XaHbndbbduL0b0FflmoZN5GwQ1poGWADL6eAaRYsY6LexXPj0SASTtWdrJnf_vNwY03dlrN_0FevtXgn6Pjv52briRt68nSN0B7M1aTDTAhwYN2Hh/s640/blogger-image-2043281888.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4GGcQ7PhV5EvMd6STPqbVYlhktHZ78FEFKKXZasPA7iZfZ0bJDTl55ioNmBPpwN1GmsDph7AdCb8Sq_RuyPiYmeQd_5Y5zahIqcCvLkBViEI1MaaDDskLJlhwZ1L-TfB4K86xcoXsW7Ug/s640/blogger-image--1660518677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4GGcQ7PhV5EvMd6STPqbVYlhktHZ78FEFKKXZasPA7iZfZ0bJDTl55ioNmBPpwN1GmsDph7AdCb8Sq_RuyPiYmeQd_5Y5zahIqcCvLkBViEI1MaaDDskLJlhwZ1L-TfB4K86xcoXsW7Ug/s640/blogger-image--1660518677.jpg"></font></a></div></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tomorrow we wake early again and attend a site of more brutal Roman history- The Colosseum. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cWl-sIGueHyV4MS1IpZ_P8MdpktRVLXQDp0dFZk5Rg7I9ikw3j82UrEZVbaxPRvDLvdcDO_FbygGg7Af6GXeUxNzogmINfLt0AC7bQ6OBUJZaQEK0Ype6SijQrmZXOzzjnEvAPEpDbxt/s640/blogger-image-1281624628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5cWl-sIGueHyV4MS1IpZ_P8MdpktRVLXQDp0dFZk5Rg7I9ikw3j82UrEZVbaxPRvDLvdcDO_FbygGg7Af6GXeUxNzogmINfLt0AC7bQ6OBUJZaQEK0Ype6SijQrmZXOzzjnEvAPEpDbxt/s640/blogger-image-1281624628.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqscNXVDPQxCE0wYfI3yOck_zdM6Ah4AjqL_PMpk7pLMob-3HWKg9WjqoRFv8fMyddmdrHp-CYZkJaBcdAp-W48plZsqjbGHRkfT697ocnoZW98JUmOZY05kqjbWsLnkyIvF5Loq3hMb4/s640/blogger-image-490329523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqscNXVDPQxCE0wYfI3yOck_zdM6Ah4AjqL_PMpk7pLMob-3HWKg9WjqoRFv8fMyddmdrHp-CYZkJaBcdAp-W48plZsqjbGHRkfT697ocnoZW98JUmOZY05kqjbWsLnkyIvF5Loq3hMb4/s640/blogger-image-490329523.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85esM2aUDuEf6OYlTtpikBcDPZ4Q0pLY4TqTdoUo7mD9-CotkCnoI8R5vGzQ7VYwokAy69Jvrw35ZSao1WXjHIjKi0EsP42NNsbtCR356mT5e7du_ZS0kCJN8UcqzzHBDvlyAY2X-IS4A/s640/blogger-image--73106702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85esM2aUDuEf6OYlTtpikBcDPZ4Q0pLY4TqTdoUo7mD9-CotkCnoI8R5vGzQ7VYwokAy69Jvrw35ZSao1WXjHIjKi0EsP42NNsbtCR356mT5e7du_ZS0kCJN8UcqzzHBDvlyAY2X-IS4A/s640/blogger-image--73106702.jpg"></font></a></div></div><br></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336216811219056637noreply@blogger.com0Residenza Zanardelli Via Giuseppe Zanardelli, 7, Rome41.901143 12.472225tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-20316191526376706742014-01-27T11:10:00.000-08:002014-01-27T11:10:10.669-08:00Patterns in Medieval Trade:The Commerce of Amalfi Before the CrusadesThe Amalfi coast was a commercial powerhouse and major center for global trade during the eighth to 11th century, before the Norman conquest. The article that Amy and I read, called "Patterns in Medieval Trade:The Commerce of Amalfi Before the Crusades" by Armand Citarella, focused on the trade between the Amalfitan merchants and the Arabs in the markets of North Africa during this time period.<br />
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Trade in Amalfi was based on a triangular pattern, according to Citarella. Wheat, timber, linen and agricultural goods from southern Italy were exported to North Africa in exchange for oil, wax and gold from Tunisia and oriental spices and gold from Egypt. Since the beginning of the ninth century, Amalfitans have had significant influence on the commerce in southern Italy, as well as global political power for maintaining strong relations with the Arabs and the Byzantine empire. Grain, timber, linen cloth and agricultural products such as fruits, nuts and wine were the main exports of Amalfi, which were produced in other areas of southern Italy and then shipped from the Amalfitan ports.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCSBqwDuwDQRyHjGAe8p-PT47bPmPuTyA9FSU8nr3uzgglUrFo1nW5Jay0tzTvO6hNa-RenhBtD2PWc8KNc5mM0iylT2aQSrLkI7ZAfpyWs4qiVgaIPVjpAnLwgbZCtlRyjd3VX_J-ZGg/s1600/image+(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCSBqwDuwDQRyHjGAe8p-PT47bPmPuTyA9FSU8nr3uzgglUrFo1nW5Jay0tzTvO6hNa-RenhBtD2PWc8KNc5mM0iylT2aQSrLkI7ZAfpyWs4qiVgaIPVjpAnLwgbZCtlRyjd3VX_J-ZGg/s1600/image+(1).jpeg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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The reason that the Amalfitans were so successful in trading with the Arabs was that there were consistent markets in North Africa for the products of southern Italy. Grain was of high importance to the Arabs due to the famine conditions in North Africa and the inability to grow crops consistently. Timber was another major export from Amalfi because the Arabs did not have access to a reliable supply of timber: the dry, arid climate did not lend itself to timber production well. High quality linen and cloth materials from Naples and Cava were also highly valued in the markets of North Africa, to the extent that the city of Naples was referred to as "the city of linen cloth." The last major export from Amalfi that the author mentions are agricultural products; specifically wines, seasonal fruits, and nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts and chestnuts. These products were in high enough demand in the North African markets that the agricultural industry was revived in the cities of Naples, Capua, Benevento, Caserta and Salerno.<br />
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Since the Amalfitans traded so heavily with the Arabs, it makes sense that they would adopt certain cultural elements from the Arabs. Citarella alludes to the adoption of Arabian currency in Amalfi during the peak of this trade empire. This seems quite sensible since the Amalfitans were doing a large amount of their business transactions in Arabian currency and thus had considerable local circulation of that currency.<br />
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In addition to the adoption of Arabian currency, the influence of Arabian architecture is also apparent in Amalfi still today. On our hike along the Amalfi coast, called "The Gods' Footpath," I noticed that the buildings that freckled the steep hillsides looked slightly different than some of the other coastal towns we have visited. The materials used for roofing and the stucco on the facades of some buildings were atypical of other towns, and the architecture in general was slightly less uniform, suggesting that external influences had affected the construction of the town.<br />
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Unfortunately, in 1343, Amalfi faced a tragic storm that destroyed much of the harbor and its ports. The strong trade industry that the region had built was never able to recover, and thus had to resort to other industries to keep the economy afloat. Similar to many other towns in Italy, tourism has become the main industry dominating Amalfi.<br />
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Even though much of the historical trade industry has disappeared from Italy, traces of the historic culture can still be found and appreciated. This is the case in many of the tourist towns of Italy, and it is difficult to maintain cultural heritage as well as inform tourists of said heritage. However, learning about the cultural and historical significance of a location can make for a much richer experience as a tourist. I am incredibly thankful that I have been able to learn so much about not only the economy in Italy, but also the rich and varied history of the country and will look back on this trip with very fond memories.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10645110250789867258noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-2719833262801779442014-01-27T11:06:00.000-08:002014-02-03T08:17:31.098-08:00Romans On The Bay Of NaplesToday our class visited the underground ancient Greek “Macellum” ruins and<br />
Naples National Archaeological Museum which contained archaeological finds from many of the luxury villas in Pompeii. The artifacts on display included mosaic tiles which were used to create elaborate pictures. There was a display of a sterling silver dinner set which had delicate artistic designs allover which showed their wealth. There were also huge marble statues that were made out of a single piece of marble which is simply amazing.<br />
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In “Romans on The Bay of Naples” Erik and I examined how luxury villas in the imperial age played a role in the local economy. You would think that the presence of these extravagant villas on the coast would play a large economic role, but it’s actually the opposite. At the initial stage there was a boost to the economy due to construction, decorations, and improved roads for communication. But once the villa was completed the boost to the economy ended. There were a few villas that were exceptions, such as productive estates engaged in agriculture.<br />
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Normally these luxury villas were nonproductive, which means that they were just villas where the elite would build an extra home. One reason why these villas did not contribute to the local economy was because the owners would only live in them for a short period of time and the rest of the time there might only be a couple servants/slaves that actually live there year round. When the owners did visit they brought their own fleet of slaves and stockpiles of food which hurt the local economy because everything was imported. Most of the economic strength in that region was due to the port and the amount of trade that went through it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkWZyJAvFPW5ztMlkvFAj0M_07BJ94Qc1YMerwTWitna91oMP2XKxCy7fXYRdOPEceN3JuCoiVKNyppWw5lUB_rx9dh90fy5T_vT_zLE21FOP-prDzoPOl5aCtrsf6kCQTqinHY6sv6_g/s1600/DSCN7729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkWZyJAvFPW5ztMlkvFAj0M_07BJ94Qc1YMerwTWitna91oMP2XKxCy7fXYRdOPEceN3JuCoiVKNyppWw5lUB_rx9dh90fy5T_vT_zLE21FOP-prDzoPOl5aCtrsf6kCQTqinHY6sv6_g/s1600/DSCN7729.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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A picture from our visit to underground ancient Greek “Macellum” ruins</div>
Zach Blakesleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01200546460993287551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-25694757397710641212014-01-27T10:37:00.001-08:002014-01-27T10:37:31.378-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrj_-RXb3NzoY8oynRmKfMs5O0_5hCF-gnTahMezTDV-ihINocbw1X5SoaGykbhZL8Xg2QLJ-0VCnJjTtxE91yoku7gpQUZAlAxKtd00oF2p0uh3XVPJYiN2VOngxPwdidIGk41jrbndN/s1600/P1060654-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrj_-RXb3NzoY8oynRmKfMs5O0_5hCF-gnTahMezTDV-ihINocbw1X5SoaGykbhZL8Xg2QLJ-0VCnJjTtxE91yoku7gpQUZAlAxKtd00oF2p0uh3XVPJYiN2VOngxPwdidIGk41jrbndN/s1600/P1060654-001.JPG" height="200" width="190" /></a>Today was a great day in <st1:state w:st="on">Tuscany</st1:state>! We spent the
first half of the day exploring a small Italian town called Pitigliano, a town
of about 4,000 inhabitants that sits a top a cliff overlooking a vast and green
countryside. The most interesting part of our time in the small town was our
visit to the Jewish Ghetto. According to my article, Jewish families played a
very prominent role in many Italian communities throughout the 15th century.
They often supported the community and their neighbors in one of the most
fundamental ways, by giving loans. Because of Catholic doctrine and many
religious restrictions, Christian families were not allowed to lend money with
interest, making money lending very unfeasible for Christians. Jewish people
however, did not have to abide by these laws and were not only allowed, but
often encouraged, to lend money to people throughout the community as well as
the communal government.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmLJgzgmA4eEO4kCyt-Kwa3Fa5-0yszk_V4g7Grfa-bN5dSGrf_g_MC07aAwLcKhopjVq5B1WXtJYrH1OA0FYHLf8P1WHV5yeVKNumkQZyALvF9_5FHVOqptEvyqdX1-GB8QjBRSjf-sq/s1600/P1060642-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmLJgzgmA4eEO4kCyt-Kwa3Fa5-0yszk_V4g7Grfa-bN5dSGrf_g_MC07aAwLcKhopjVq5B1WXtJYrH1OA0FYHLf8P1WHV5yeVKNumkQZyALvF9_5FHVOqptEvyqdX1-GB8QjBRSjf-sq/s1600/P1060642-001.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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The
Jewish Ghetto that we visited was established by the Medici Family in 1622
about 25 years after the Synagogue of Pitigliano was erected. Because nearly
one fourth of the community was Jewish, the town soon became known was “Little
Jerusalem.” The remnants of the ghetto that we were able to explore consisted
of various rooms and chambers used in everyday life by the Jewish community.
They had a ritual bath used to baptize new converts, a kosher cellar and
butcher to handle food, a bakery for unleavened bread, and a special room for
dyeing textiles. Next to these remains was a Synagogue that is still used
today. Such ghettos, or Jewish quarters, were very common throughout many
Italian villages in the countryside. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5Ii5DBz5PxFx7g0S7l-caCLvdPuZvmx5rxBQcEQlEtOt6LFanffDqCn6C51NzwmHnf3vsvnvZSxbkcCYfQZfkknkUxP66uLEeOOzXhlpT1tnQQbf9qodvGvDSId7UbRJZQNx4PqudY3m/s1600/P1060662-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5Ii5DBz5PxFx7g0S7l-caCLvdPuZvmx5rxBQcEQlEtOt6LFanffDqCn6C51NzwmHnf3vsvnvZSxbkcCYfQZfkknkUxP66uLEeOOzXhlpT1tnQQbf9qodvGvDSId7UbRJZQNx4PqudY3m/s1600/P1060662-001.JPG" height="200" width="166" /></a> During
this time, over two-thirds of citizens in any given town had some form of a
loan, and Jewish loans accounted for 20-30 percent of the local credit market.
Jewish lenders had two distinct competitive advantages that allowed them to
secure roughly 10 percent of the total debt of all households. The first was
that their wealth was often very liquid, meaning they had large amounts of cash
or easy to sell items. Their second advantage was that they had strong economic
and social ties among themselves throughout the community and surrounding
towns allowing them to share the risk of lending with numerous individuals. </div>
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Jewish
lending helped households to smooth consumptions, buy working capital, and
provide dowries for daughters. They also often helped finance large, expensive
governmental projects. In order to secure such public finance, city governments
often required Jewish lenders to agree to lend favorably to governmental
institutions and projects before they were granted a charter. Further, governments
allowed Jewish lenders to charge high interest rates and then taxed them on
their earnings, placing an indirect burden on the citizens who were borrowing
money. This system provided steady revenue for governments without having to
upset the general public by directly taxing them. </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4RM0EjvHDWR_G3AyoyGW_53uKkZQzrJfQfMsIt1BzlSGz9KQuQDr15UWW3zHaj4yMwXo2L5aspqFaBQTGEbmL03GSx5UXZYUQbQFCPRXc8k-ZqW4bpQHx8ZoUcNU5Msv1Fst3qCU9EoM/s1600/P1060655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4RM0EjvHDWR_G3AyoyGW_53uKkZQzrJfQfMsIt1BzlSGz9KQuQDr15UWW3zHaj4yMwXo2L5aspqFaBQTGEbmL03GSx5UXZYUQbQFCPRXc8k-ZqW4bpQHx8ZoUcNU5Msv1Fst3qCU9EoM/s1600/P1060655.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> It
was really interesting to experience the community Jewish families inhabited,
keeping in mind the integral role they played in their communes despite not
being fully integrated into the community. It’s also important to note that
indirect tax schemes, like those used by the Italian government through Jewish
lending, still exist today. Our class discussed modern day examples of indirect
taxes such as the alcohol tax or requiring people to get new license plates
every seven years, as examples of how our government still tries to generate
revenue from its citizens without directly collecting taxes from them. </span>Nellie Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06205024288350966671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-22479914381620723402014-01-27T08:55:00.000-08:002014-01-27T08:56:28.645-08:00Economic Change in Pompeii<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On January 23<sup>rd</sup> we visited the excavated ruins of
Pompeii, a flourishing port town destroyed and buried by the eruption of nearby
Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Hayden and I presented a blog post from an
archeological dig in Pompeii depicting the change in the use of space over
time. The neighborhood of sorts was originally excavated centuries ago and any
artifacts, like tools of machinery, removed. Archeologists today have to rely
on structural remains left behind to determine the purpose of a space and the
change in use of that space over time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One excavated room showed the remains of multiple small
tanks lined with a waterproof plaster, indicating some sort of wet industry,
though the tanks were not large enough for typical wet industries such as tanning.
In the 1800’s the room earned the name of “The soap factory,” though little
evidence exists to support the name. Underneath the floor of the soap factory
are the remains of several walls that once divided the large room into multiple
smaller rooms. While we cannot say what the use of the multiple small rooms may
have been their presence indicates a change in the use of the space.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many other building in the area show a movement away from
production-based industries, like soap making, towards traveler services, like
inns and bars. One building determined to be an inn at the time of the 79 A.D.
eruption, was shown to have been a blacksmith at some earlier time. As the
floor of the inn was excavated round, blackened patches were found. These areas
were swept with a magnet, revealing metals rich in iron and indicating the
location of the blacksmith’s anvil. Another building in the same neighborhood
showed the transition from wet-industry (as indicated by plaster-lined pits) to
a bar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The transition from industry to tourism occurred in Pompeii just as it
has in many other locations in modern-day Italy. Preceding the 79 A.D. eruption
of Vesuvius, Pompeii transitioned from industry to bars and inns and today we
see places like the Cinque Terre moving away from traditional industries
(agriculture, in the case of the Cinque Terre) towards catering to tourists.
While little or no written record of this change exists, we can interpret
economic change from thousands-of-years-old ruins and see a pattern we
recognize even today.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4NI80rf2isHY14NaXdPpF3-iSLoxjfJCcNkELIDknAVP1pLbWdBmhQJ4vTTcSODNygWM5CL1ra59JW3tbBRP7qvJ6_0r_GmON-V4Xucs8SHOk3knPMOPcrbwo-Kc41_eFYNL0RTe7rA/s1600/P1000485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4NI80rf2isHY14NaXdPpF3-iSLoxjfJCcNkELIDknAVP1pLbWdBmhQJ4vTTcSODNygWM5CL1ra59JW3tbBRP7qvJ6_0r_GmON-V4Xucs8SHOk3knPMOPcrbwo-Kc41_eFYNL0RTe7rA/s1600/P1000485.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A once-bustling street of Pompeii</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-51908753608925375162014-01-27T08:52:00.002-08:002014-01-27T08:52:15.530-08:00Sorrento - Paper Making and the Amalfi Coast<div class="MsoNormal">
January 24<sup>th</sup>, 2014</div>
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<br /></div>
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Today we woke up early – too early in my opinion. The class,
half-asleep, drug themselves on to Francesco’s tour bus and left the Le Tore
vineyard at 8 am sharp. The night before, a serious rainfall caused a landslide
that blocked our intended route to the paper museum that we had been planning
to visit. After some debate about what we should do, our bus driver took us on
a scenic route to the paper museum. </div>
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Inside the museum a rather lively guide stood waiting for
our arrival. At first, I wasn’t too thrilled to be visiting a paper museum but
as soon as the guide took us underground, I began to gain interest. He
explained how the old paper factory worked and how each machine ran by
hydropower (he even demonstrated). Next, he brought us to a large basin filled
with a liquid substance he said was used to make paper. One by one he let us
dip a metal screen into the opaque liquid and pull it out, revealing what
looked like a liquid sheet of paper. We then transferred the paper on a felt
sheet for the paper to dry. After this, we squeezed the excess water out of the
paper using a large manual crank made entirely of wood. Our guide explained to
us after that the residence of the Amalfi coast learned this paper making
process from their close trading partners, the Arabs. The process was nothing
like I had ever seen.</div>
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Sam and I read an article earlier today relating to the
unusual relationship between the Amalfi and Arabs. During the first half of the
9<sup>th</sup> century, Arab raiders ransacked much of what is today the
Italian coast, but leaving the Amalfi coast unharmed. The Amafli and the Arabs
created an intricate trading web that benefited both communities quite well.
Because of this, the Arab pirates did not attack the Amalfi community in
exchange for the use of Amalfi ports. This relationship was strange because
much like the rest of the mainland, the Amalfi was predominately Christian,
while the Arabs were Muslim. This trading relationship was so strong that even
when Pope John VIII summoned the Amalfi to help defend against the Arab
pirates, the Amalfi declined. The Amalfi’s commercial interest with the Arabs
was of more importance than the fear and political motives of the pope. </div>
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If it had not been for this close relationship between the
Amalfi and the Arabs, the early history of the Italian people would have been
very different. One can only imagine how different their lives would have been
if this essential skill had not been learned due to trade. </div>
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cramerzjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05432737095592090730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-44417326133784412232014-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:002014-01-27T08:25:32.027-08:00Orvieto - Heritage and Mass Tourism <div class="MsoNormal">
January 19, 2014</div>
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Today our class arrived in the city of Orvieto, a small
well-preserved city because of its rich history. Once the class arrived in the
city, we were immediately escorted to our home for the next three nights. We
were staying in what was once an ancient convent, which was later converted
into a catholic college of some sort. Today, the building acts as what would be
best described as a modern day bed and breakfast, which is still run by
catholic nuns. </div>
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After in the evening Sam and I gave a presentation on the
effects of mass tourism on heritage sites. Recently tourism has seen an
increase in demand for cultural destinations which has in turn raised
discussion about the conservation and management techniques for these pieces of
heritage. In our presentation we explained that if resources (money, capital)
are expended on heritage to justify tourist activity and the benefits from the
tourists are enjoyed by the surrounding community, the residents’ quality of
life are protected (revenue, employment). With this being said, well organized
tourism leads to positive effects on the regional economy. On the other hand, poorly
managed tourism does not create a positive development factor for the
surrounding community. Fortunately there are economic tools, such as charges
and fees, which can be used to control tourist flows.</div>
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Following our presentation I had the opportunity to wonder
off by myself and visit the Duomo di Orvieto. The Duomo, or cathedral, was
built and blessed by Pope Nicholas IV in 1290. The immaculate black and white striped
marble cathedral offered beautiful reliefs, bronze sculptures, bronze doors, 14<sup>th</sup>
century mosaics, and gorgeous left and right wings that were covered in
detailed frescos. When I got to the door of the Duomo, I did not realize that I
had to pay to get in to see these works of art. I was angered at first that
this church was charging tourists to enter and observe the inside of the
cathedral. I felt like I was being scammed. Then I realized that this fee was
necessary to preserve the precious heritage that was the 13<sup>th</sup>
century cathedral. Once I came to this understanding I was much more willing to
play the tourist fee in order to walk around. </div>
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It is important to give back to the community in which you
are visiting. If tourists came by the flock day in and day out to visit
priceless pieces of heritage without paying fees , there would be no
restoration process and these works of art would one day become destroyed. I
was glad I was given the opportunity to see this beautiful cathedral today, as
well as give back to the community. </div>
cramerzjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05432737095592090730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-63533988065733312952014-01-27T07:19:00.001-08:002014-01-27T07:19:48.549-08:00The Rental Market in Early Imperial Rome<div>Today we visited the ancient ruins of Pompeii! It is incredible how well preserved the whole place is. It's unimaginable how much we know about a civilization that existed so long ago. I was particularly enthralled by the clay casts of the people of the time. It was amazing to see their facial expressions frozen in time. Another incredibly interesting thing I learned during our visit to the ruins of Pompeii was about the rigidly standardized nature of Roman architecture. When our guide explained how every house was built with essentially the same floor plan only varying by size, I was very surprised. It seems so contradictory to the value we place on uniqueness today. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-q4QrpLTB1bw/UuZ5EDS79gI/AAAAAAAAAHk/a0fmk7O4I4o/s640/blogger-image--916515562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-q4QrpLTB1bw/UuZ5EDS79gI/AAAAAAAAAHk/a0fmk7O4I4o/s640/blogger-image--916515562.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>Our article described one particular excavation in Pompeii-that of a Vineyard. This excavation was geared toward gaining a better understanding of the planting pattern of vineyards in pompeii at the time. Before the excavation there had been disagreement between the people of the areas and the fruit scholars at the University of Naples over how the grape vines were planted. The locals claimed that the ancient people of pompeii staked their grapes just as they do today, whereas the fruit scholars claimed it is more likely that they pruned the vines low and left them without stakes. The excavation revealed that the people of Pompeii had in fact been using stakes as the locals suggested. The other thing the article stressed was how how uniformly distributed the root cavities of the plants were. Each was four Roman feet apart from the next one. This pattern, like that of the architecture seen at the ruins, again suggests a great desire for uniformity and consistency. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QF0AjTJlgl4/UuZ5AwT1SsI/AAAAAAAAAHc/ZB2b5NFZ4UQ/s640/blogger-image-629108911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QF0AjTJlgl4/UuZ5AwT1SsI/AAAAAAAAAHc/ZB2b5NFZ4UQ/s640/blogger-image-629108911.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>I found this sense of rigid order and repetition to be interesting, and found myself comparing this with our attitude today. While I think that in a lot of ways, we still value a sense of order, when it comes to many products, we place individuality over set designs. For example, when it comes to home design, no one would want the same floor plan that everyone else has. In fact, people often have their homes custom designed for them. On the other hand, I imagine farm layout and design is done just as meticulously today as at the time. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5_uo4A9zHVk/UuZ47lBK-0I/AAAAAAAAAHU/PN2He9bY9rU/s640/blogger-image-2092530690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5_uo4A9zHVk/UuZ47lBK-0I/AAAAAAAAAHU/PN2He9bY9rU/s640/blogger-image-2092530690.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13353634384348017261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-11028058072433561822014-01-26T22:52:00.001-08:002014-01-26T22:52:09.323-08:00Reputations and Coalitions in Medieval Trade: Evidence on the Maghribi Traders<div class="MsoNormal">
Today we got the chance to visit the beautiful Amalfi Coast.
We started off the day by visiting the Paestum ruins, famous for their
well-preserved Greek temples. After a brief lunch we journeyed to an old paper
mill (now a museum), made our own paper, and of course, purchased from their
gift shop. The Amalfi region is famous for their paper making, which they
learned from the Arabs. They gained this knowledge through trade. The article
Connor and I presented looks at trade, specifically why a specific group called
the Maghribi traders, were so successful in trade in the 11<sup>th</sup>
century through the use of a coalition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAzsj1QvxnQCPYeF6Ce8PNafYTJVROFoFjmFc36ivOlER6NGSlajljJzb_FohaZvGoIMmonfrMlr8G8-GVzf63baGrlVfJEINEk1IG9zOV48qfm74O21QRwoOOGgXz9Zw4VPDtQ5iwHQ3/s1600/IMG_2540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAzsj1QvxnQCPYeF6Ce8PNafYTJVROFoFjmFc36ivOlER6NGSlajljJzb_FohaZvGoIMmonfrMlr8G8-GVzf63baGrlVfJEINEk1IG9zOV48qfm74O21QRwoOOGgXz9Zw4VPDtQ5iwHQ3/s1600/IMG_2540.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Alessio making paper</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
Our article discusses this economic institution of
coalitions. Medieval merchant-agent relationships were characterized by a lack
of contract structure that the courts were unable to attend to, leaving the
respective parties unsatisfied. Agents are those hired to actually travel and
execute the trade for merchant.The Maghribi traders were Jewish traders who
lived in Baghdad who had a distinct identity within the Jewish community. These
traders emigrated from that area and proceeded to only trade with other
Maghribi traders. The coalition’s power stems from their effective use of
information transmission. Because they would only trade amongst themselves,
they would have all the information regarding the honesty of the agents
involved. Nonmembers of the coalition (non-Malgribi traders) would not hire
members as agents because they did not have access to the information about who
they were hiring. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The coalition worked not because the traders necessarily
trusted each other, but because their reputations were on the line. If the
agent was found to have cheated a merchant (by running off with the capital for
example), the merchant would make it known to all other Malgribi traders that
the agent was dishonest, and that agent would never be hired by someone in the
coalition again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Paestrum, the ancient city we visited early in the day, was
situated on the Sele River and may very well be a river city that a Malgribi
trader immigrated to and set up shop, although it seems the city was more of a
defensive outpost. Standing on one end of the city, three grand Grecian temples
rose clearly in the distance, surrounded by the foundations of what used to be
homes. It was interesting that the organized pile of rocks we were looking at was
of such great importance in the past. Although that aspect was a little sad to
be honest, I had a great time being able to walk through history.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-n2KMR7j-ySisduXIGTyh_OrelVIyAIX7QFnOAszR8gohTjr3NNMIcLP4jzqK219l6q5LHlkF_jRkjCvdZLIFbs1UeDM-3OsHSXXTnyU0UvTvcxzFiyku635uxWImKKaAuxmTR3PhqsN/s1600/IMG_2428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-n2KMR7j-ySisduXIGTyh_OrelVIyAIX7QFnOAszR8gohTjr3NNMIcLP4jzqK219l6q5LHlkF_jRkjCvdZLIFbs1UeDM-3OsHSXXTnyU0UvTvcxzFiyku635uxWImKKaAuxmTR3PhqsN/s1600/IMG_2428.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Temple of Athena, Paestrum</i></div>
<span id="goog_1114996091"></span><span id="goog_1114996092"></span><br /></div>
sydney.freyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05799157491870358099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-69889231273865656522014-01-26T17:02:00.001-08:002014-01-26T17:04:15.584-08:00Thriving Viticulture in Southern Italy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5T9xGWbxmSqYUSIJ-_yEwnJi2m0Axoldyw-vaSXz6owzSa3yXr3ZQ8Sin8R0CV-wC3ZVE9mVQTcbOLPOVnQWgGn6v6PUruaVpQV5bFnQqYsHamVkphvq8kC1PuZkLTAspnLJPqWsHXYQ/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5T9xGWbxmSqYUSIJ-_yEwnJi2m0Axoldyw-vaSXz6owzSa3yXr3ZQ8Sin8R0CV-wC3ZVE9mVQTcbOLPOVnQWgGn6v6PUruaVpQV5bFnQqYsHamVkphvq8kC1PuZkLTAspnLJPqWsHXYQ/s320/photo+(2).JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
After the longest bus ride of the month we have finally found ourselves in breathtaking Southern Italy, home of Naples, our farmhouse/hotel in Sorrento and the ruins of Pompeii. One of the most surprising things about our time in Sorrento has been the lack of meat at meals. Up north every course was extremely meat heavy, but down here ham and steak have majorly been replaced with fresh fruits and vegetables. This isn’t too surprising when you see the vast amount fruitful farmland covering this area of the country. Unlike the farms I’m used to back home in Montana, these aren’t fields of monotonous wheat but a mix of citrus fruits, wine and olives.<br />
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The article Matt and I were assigned for this portion focused on the viticulture of ancient Italy. It was questioning why, despite the difficulty of growing grapes, Italian farmers continued to choose to use their land to grow them when it could at times be very unprofitable. An example of period scholars’ opinion on the farmers’ decisions is Cicero talking to Rullus in 63 B.C. saying “Sell of his woodlands and keep the vineyards – how about that for a prodigal son!” Due to the risk associated with growing grapes, it was deemed unwise to enter the market as a producer. However, the demand for Italian wine, both of poor and great quality and everything in between, made its production impossible to avoid. So it continued, and became a staple of the Italian economy despite its many obstacles.<br />
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After visiting Pompeii, it was obvious why it was one of the few areas of Italy where producers won more than they lost in the wine game. The volcanic soil was a great environment to grow everything under the sun, and the dense population made for an immediate market. It was a blast to roam through the ruins and imagine the bustling port town that once stood beneath Vesuvius, and the wine industry that thrived there.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06830068841909631749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-82850643733393783352014-01-26T13:34:00.001-08:002014-01-26T13:34:45.445-08:00From Ashes to Sorrento<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWlYsI4s5hdmZZGh030pyVpdVYYdTrR2WfunW1VBShgz4wBa_Kli68MtuurYS1JrbTA3LcIjaNgYIQjUuPtJ9Vv_GFuJyPrn0kaaz7ZsSpTv6QtXVhrvNEW4zJjdQjVM4po5vCHnoZVX9/s640/blogger-image-16948716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWlYsI4s5hdmZZGh030pyVpdVYYdTrR2WfunW1VBShgz4wBa_Kli68MtuurYS1JrbTA3LcIjaNgYIQjUuPtJ9Vv_GFuJyPrn0kaaz7ZsSpTv6QtXVhrvNEW4zJjdQjVM4po5vCHnoZVX9/s640/blogger-image-16948716.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Though the lack of wifi came as a surprise, a certain amount of utility was found by staying offline during our four-day stay at a small farm-inn on the Sorrento countryside. Defined by fresh organic meals and a friendly lab-mix named Tex, our stay at Le Tore felt like home and provided a wonderful base camp to return to each night.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pgRQm8xukimLmkRQJYngpylu4oF7kVzMeus-Q4fWV2tSHcj0RrOiVSSBFz9tRamJAZDRdHKa9UeVBDBYfj4oBYKlrQDOvyChAy3ThaRl0NuhkL-EGHIlQrwjfvOky04tHHXlgTP4Fcw6/s640/blogger-image--1199741215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pgRQm8xukimLmkRQJYngpylu4oF7kVzMeus-Q4fWV2tSHcj0RrOiVSSBFz9tRamJAZDRdHKa9UeVBDBYfj4oBYKlrQDOvyChAy3ThaRl0NuhkL-EGHIlQrwjfvOky04tHHXlgTP4Fcw6/s640/blogger-image--1199741215.jpg"></font></a></div></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our first full day was spent adventuring the ruined city of Pompeii. After Mt. Vesuvius blew its top, the city was flooded with ash, decimating the population and preserving the city. As the ruins were uncovered, many advanced techniques were used, including one plastering procedure that I was particularly impressed by: archeologists would drill small holes down into the earth and pour in plaster, filling crevices crated by organic matter decomposing over time. Through this method many items and individuals were able to be recreated in the position which they resided when the mountain erupted. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkiMhp2BzC6-CXSEtMq8miIdLikJcNbto31iByvP7MYyLtnWfeJOQEmj-PYLKiGvNFzbF21szAejg3e_l1F8FKEXYu8h6zZ14qmx2bvT_kKyqnDjUaEjcFJBEomSFAO6pfL4ruWZP0wuX/s640/blogger-image-1102526418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkiMhp2BzC6-CXSEtMq8miIdLikJcNbto31iByvP7MYyLtnWfeJOQEmj-PYLKiGvNFzbF21szAejg3e_l1F8FKEXYu8h6zZ14qmx2bvT_kKyqnDjUaEjcFJBEomSFAO6pfL4ruWZP0wuX/s640/blogger-image-1102526418.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqRq2yfM0rHUnd7-MsjXjGdW-7C90j1v7Vy6ed5I7ojeWnAaxtJGgFxpR2XkTmBKqBUWyFHldZeENmjDKE-BWrtXG-Oy7EeX2OpCJQSTAF1lhiIV47t7YtH2MFQZkbTJYiA4bd-yc1xAQ/s640/blogger-image-728323416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqRq2yfM0rHUnd7-MsjXjGdW-7C90j1v7Vy6ed5I7ojeWnAaxtJGgFxpR2XkTmBKqBUWyFHldZeENmjDKE-BWrtXG-Oy7EeX2OpCJQSTAF1lhiIV47t7YtH2MFQZkbTJYiA4bd-yc1xAQ/s640/blogger-image-728323416.jpg"></font></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhY4kXkd784pkTy6-CJJ-OuFpK-zzPoQFOwz0wUUjseSwt3wo28IEQb4UI9Qi7k7aTXaVOOtkrMtuAPmWi3cFmHKRQ22Ru7hBa7nHBequ8kyS1eO-LcLCpT6b852UUaG1WDHWbtI7R33q/s640/blogger-image-2020601616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhY4kXkd784pkTy6-CJJ-OuFpK-zzPoQFOwz0wUUjseSwt3wo28IEQb4UI9Qi7k7aTXaVOOtkrMtuAPmWi3cFmHKRQ22Ru7hBa7nHBequ8kyS1eO-LcLCpT6b852UUaG1WDHWbtI7R33q/s640/blogger-image-2020601616.jpg"></font></a></div></div></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After a great meal and a good nights sleep we were off to the Amalfi coast to see a traditional paper mill. Using hydropower and cloth fragments, paper was produced sheet by sheet that lasted for centuries; a method still implemented to generate paper by the Vatican. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwGWkW-4SMWJ5CqcVuDTWV3DpZXSkpyEyTTfzd22ZcPXEWGPkY6UU-Ww0Qv1zZbDLoQ1Sf0BRciyean1s6EHOvim4o3rJC22rCTqGeE-SkJvFKnZsV25D5OX5it3VWYPtPC0u7tpx7st_/s640/blogger-image--1181562576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwGWkW-4SMWJ5CqcVuDTWV3DpZXSkpyEyTTfzd22ZcPXEWGPkY6UU-Ww0Qv1zZbDLoQ1Sf0BRciyean1s6EHOvim4o3rJC22rCTqGeE-SkJvFKnZsV25D5OX5it3VWYPtPC0u7tpx7st_/s640/blogger-image--1181562576.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMqj_esG5qNS0JDHqsUcMmpMJVURc2ceev2VIX4lysrLlvsGbUjyQ6IdFWBczqf4Z99qIC5ynxdWPW0eFwUQ1zyPsQC5hXYwuknidF8v1gKjaN2UxeoXYSD2pK9NaShpYwwLW2hMbQ57E/s640/blogger-image-2412388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMqj_esG5qNS0JDHqsUcMmpMJVURc2ceev2VIX4lysrLlvsGbUjyQ6IdFWBczqf4Z99qIC5ynxdWPW0eFwUQ1zyPsQC5hXYwuknidF8v1gKjaN2UxeoXYSD2pK9NaShpYwwLW2hMbQ57E/s640/blogger-image-2412388.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Day three was highlighted by a three hour trek on the Footpath of The Gods. The views were astonishing, and although Zephyr blew her wrath, Apollo blessed us with warm rays and a clear sky.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBqUjiZXyge47kAfHhRrGbTWtEEZrU6YzQae3BRy2ldfKJ05wP4Rwlex3cDOzw7nPgnLrr7b-2tC8snHGMf7wa8kiNAQBOEO_qXwEdT6WLNisUmM4CaekhxIEkhNprXENCsk_E0zWptqH/s640/blogger-image--2044083574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBqUjiZXyge47kAfHhRrGbTWtEEZrU6YzQae3BRy2ldfKJ05wP4Rwlex3cDOzw7nPgnLrr7b-2tC8snHGMf7wa8kiNAQBOEO_qXwEdT6WLNisUmM4CaekhxIEkhNprXENCsk_E0zWptqH/s640/blogger-image--2044083574.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSpQPeSEmDUegcDbCW75l23fRTOc0xQiq_Q5cdD44a1LbE0fmnqVsqolRwkIgz7NWRjJUbK8t4UT-Qqm0KhQgazcPxtE7JuSs_EOQuNIPxyHxyL7Zj-3UH09FPs-z1RwnK83oy7KIE5oS/s640/blogger-image--1334565558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSpQPeSEmDUegcDbCW75l23fRTOc0xQiq_Q5cdD44a1LbE0fmnqVsqolRwkIgz7NWRjJUbK8t4UT-Qqm0KhQgazcPxtE7JuSs_EOQuNIPxyHxyL7Zj-3UH09FPs-z1RwnK83oy7KIE5oS/s640/blogger-image--1334565558.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiqfJpZONheoMyulX_jVoSimpZOORzSxNQc99RBUxh_0XsNsABc8YhQvgPpw8LodEUx_zRxju2xO-XKnhiPND30X7a4aTu7v4JI0bWAhIpvlP2mzw_W3jkOyna0MXNxJ_A1opNrcAos8O/s640/blogger-image-1157782891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDiqfJpZONheoMyulX_jVoSimpZOORzSxNQc99RBUxh_0XsNsABc8YhQvgPpw8LodEUx_zRxju2xO-XKnhiPND30X7a4aTu7v4JI0bWAhIpvlP2mzw_W3jkOyna0MXNxJ_A1opNrcAos8O/s640/blogger-image-1157782891.jpg"></font></a></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We've arrived in Rome and after a four course meal that might have been the best of the trip, I'm caught in a battle of wanting to experience the Rome nightlife and the calling of my bed. The tour of the Vatican will be bright and early tomorrow, and although our trip soon comes to a close, I look forward to reliving this satisfying adventure through these posts and pictures.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISgOEyq6H1yOSNcNZwroNUiL7B7jgQR0BsufAG1g-VWOybOwKqF8niTZNcLGjIDYfr54H05U1iEIM2iGnMqkALbLoQIfcwz7nOdwSpk92rH4v7Ls4B-SXnoAzVIzYM75kgA1J9yXueFiQ/s640/blogger-image-1752879200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISgOEyq6H1yOSNcNZwroNUiL7B7jgQR0BsufAG1g-VWOybOwKqF8niTZNcLGjIDYfr54H05U1iEIM2iGnMqkALbLoQIfcwz7nOdwSpk92rH4v7Ls4B-SXnoAzVIzYM75kgA1J9yXueFiQ/s640/blogger-image-1752879200.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYAkR-PlITkswrMwLkv40uXn7UU2dlCWFiCvrJUAeShjIdcfmIkADbobdNo8V5t_h8-ImQs1xZnB3QZIJflMF3EJwaiohFRssX8SdcbYgyZLS7AAnR6MroCEsXv5Jg1rl0dsOxO9-sFGr/s640/blogger-image--1588967473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYAkR-PlITkswrMwLkv40uXn7UU2dlCWFiCvrJUAeShjIdcfmIkADbobdNo8V5t_h8-ImQs1xZnB3QZIJflMF3EJwaiohFRssX8SdcbYgyZLS7AAnR6MroCEsXv5Jg1rl0dsOxO9-sFGr/s640/blogger-image--1588967473.jpg"></font></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGTdu-FCVwoiVkHBXPdnlSDe_m2ZBL2bL-F7_rjFm7k-roJcMHKHAZPsCKN2ehX8sP5zHvDkg5Ft49QJYPsZjRI-sJC_0Z9mHM0M9axjAcBjGHtT94_6AzU3iYDC4xl30Bx7swSIR5WTs/s640/blogger-image--963165852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGTdu-FCVwoiVkHBXPdnlSDe_m2ZBL2bL-F7_rjFm7k-roJcMHKHAZPsCKN2ehX8sP5zHvDkg5Ft49QJYPsZjRI-sJC_0Z9mHM0M9axjAcBjGHtT94_6AzU3iYDC4xl30Bx7swSIR5WTs/s640/blogger-image--963165852.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTrrgcxUbTp-xqrMchMN_lz8XUs8qAGAyoJqKZBkrj1DyfU2X0S-E1WTHPLn57aJQ27hREwZu1P1JC-qNZiqz8Zvugls1jhegB_8_DOo97uyfKI-9jJDxnihKOQq2LSc6-ZDbGjWVIHDH/s640/blogger-image-609529326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTrrgcxUbTp-xqrMchMN_lz8XUs8qAGAyoJqKZBkrj1DyfU2X0S-E1WTHPLn57aJQ27hREwZu1P1JC-qNZiqz8Zvugls1jhegB_8_DOo97uyfKI-9jJDxnihKOQq2LSc6-ZDbGjWVIHDH/s640/blogger-image-609529326.jpg"></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfY91fp55rwPYyG32X7FY9l1i-oYDTZg2NIg4KEeiq2WOKUnNVwWp1uM3zdMx6BHMayZixJCimB3VmXU-qG0eTAvl216QGYwuxqfowCTDKhwmWfGEzDjK16OInHeZ0gSGc10VCrRRl3gP/s640/blogger-image-1429385404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfY91fp55rwPYyG32X7FY9l1i-oYDTZg2NIg4KEeiq2WOKUnNVwWp1uM3zdMx6BHMayZixJCimB3VmXU-qG0eTAvl216QGYwuxqfowCTDKhwmWfGEzDjK16OInHeZ0gSGc10VCrRRl3gP/s640/blogger-image-1429385404.jpg"></font></a></div></div></div><br></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09336216811219056637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-81916802633160109892014-01-26T13:25:00.000-08:002014-01-26T13:25:12.118-08:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>St. Francis' Garden</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The next article that Kristiana and I presented on was about
the garden of St. Francis around the twelve and thirteen hundreds. In this time
it was common for these Christian saints, who usually escaped the world to live
secluded lives in the wilderness, to have small gardens along with their huts.
Unfortunately hardly any records of Francis exist but what we do have are
certain hagiographies, most notably from Thomas of Celano’s <i>Remembrance</i>. These hagiographies are
essentially a very accurate representation that allows us to interpret a clear
depiction of gender roles, legal practices, economic behavior, monastic
ideology, and local social customs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What we do know about St. Francis however is that he aspired
to be different than his fellow Christian saints. The typical monastic garden
was very tidy with clear perimeters and its contents only served the purpose of
medicine and food to survive. Francis’ garden however purposely had no nice
ditch, fence, or wall to enclose it, but rather he let the garden grow free
without restriction. He also made room in his garden for non-essential flowers
that he found aesthetically pleasing as well as letting weeds to enter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Thomas proposes possible explanations to Francis’ peculiar
layout as a stand against the current shift in the monastic gardens. Given the
religious nature of Francis, he believed that all of god’s creations were
beautiful and he believed in no such thing as “weeds”. The other factor for not
having a wall was that Francis was in fact taking a stand against the idea of
privatization. The author describes that these rural gardens that have been
common use around this time period, have now began changing towards
privatization of the land. There was a change in the role of the land from
self-sufficiency and happiness to profit maximization. Francis feared that this
would destroy the things that he loved the most and used his garden as a way to
shed light on this problem he saw.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In our time in Italy, I feel that we have encountered many
examples that fit into this pattern of transition from goals of survival and leisure
to profit. One especially being the many orange, lemon, and grape vineyards we
have visited. I think especially of an orange and lemon garden we visited in
Sorrento where what was once a plentiful and beautiful garden has shifted more
towards mass production of these fruits. The fact of the matter is that today
we live in a much different world than the world in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries where producing only what you need to get by on is no longer much of
an option. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-Hayden</div>
mccarthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05554819111298884782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842948718785232094.post-55647708759324067362014-01-26T11:53:00.002-08:002014-01-26T11:56:02.967-08:00Adulterated Olive Oil<div class="MsoNormal">
Our most recent expedition included us leaving Orvieto and
escaping to a small little farm in Sorento.
On the bus ride towards the farm, Zack and I read and presented an
article concerning the vast concern of the fraudulent olive oil business in
Italy. As it turns out, due to the
lucrative nature of the olive oil business, extra virgin olive oil is massively
fraudulent and often mixed with other oils such as hazelnut oil, sunflower seed
oil, and other types of non authentic olive oil (virgin oil or <i>lampante</i>). Due to the exceeding
increasing demand of extra virgin olive oil, people are willing to pay the same
amount for “authentic” Italian EVOO without fully knowing what real authentic
olive oil tastes like. This is the deciding
factor behind many producers willingness to forge extra virgin olive oil. Being able to charge the same price without
having the high costs of producing said authentic oil has historically made
many business men very rich. As the
article states, this has been a huge problem for the reputation and economy of
the Italian food market, because the government has provided subsidies to these
large olive oil producers because of the immense percentage of consumption that
Italy represents. Overall, Italy is the
second largest producer of olive oil, behind Spain, and is the leader in
consumption of olive oil worldwide. Due
to this statistic, Italy has to import a sizeable amount of olive oil from
other countries such as Spain and other European and South American
countries. This is what leaves room for
producers foreign and domestic the incentive to dilute their supply of real
olive oil in order to meet the supply of Italian consumers without breaking the
bank, or losing money.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However you put it, fraud is still fraud. However, as a class we got the chance to
taste and experience real, authentic extra virgin olive oil. As we stay at a small farm in the hills of
Sorento, we have gotten to see firsthand how authentic Italian extra virgin
olive oil tastes. It is hard to say if I
have ever tasted olive oil quite like that of this farm, which begs the
question if I have every even tasted real EVOO in my entire life… (and I have
bought my fair share of Italian olive oil in the states) Regardless, it is interesting to think about
and see the differences between two seemingly identical products. In terms of economics, these two products
should be in the same market, however, as more information is provided to us
consumers, there is a visible product segmentation beginning to take place
between that of authentic extra virgin olive oil and non-authentic extra virgin
olive oil.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Personally, this article has related not only to our travels
and experiences, but more so to the economic predicament that is present within
the coffee trade in Seattle. In my
experience, Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Dutch Bros, and many other of the
not so well known coffee brands are competing for the consumer’s taste buds
yet, many of them claim to be “the best coffee”. Although it is not quite the same, one can
see some similarities between how consumers value the information given to them
and what this information does to their perception of quality.</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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I must admit, personally, the olive oil we have in Sorento
is hands down the best I have ever tasted. Ever. </div>
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<br /></div>
S.Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909704374203732820noreply@blogger.com0