This is Paola - Loving Antiquities, Music and Cats.

Hi there. Todays is a holiday here in Rome (and it's also my name day), so I finally found the time to introduce myself. My name is Paola, and here I am :-)

My university background is in Classics – I am a Latin epigraphist, which means that I specialize in translating what was written in stone in ancient Rome…

For my thesis work I studied the standards of living of children in ancient Rome, as they emerge from ancient epigraphs. Later on, I studied the relationship between the Roman Senate and businesses.... kind of ancient mafia dealings!

In 1994, I spent a few months in Paris. It wasn´t easy as I was completely alone most of the time. I found Paris beautiful, but not hospitable as a city. I was living in a wonderful neighborhood, near Ile St. Louis, and spent most of my time at the Louvre, which I virtually learned by heart! If I wanted to talk to somebody, I had to go shopping and say things like “Bonne journée” “C’est combien, s’il vous plaît?”, “Merci bien, au revoir”.
It was a tough time, but I learned to look after myself.

Overall, I spent 10 years in the academic world. That was long enough to decide that it wasn't the right place for me…too many power games, politics, etc. On the contrary, the day I started my high-school teacher job, I felt free – I had nobody to thank.
I teach Latin and ancient Greek at “T. Tasso” grammar school in Rome.

It´s a well-known, very prestigious institution, attended by many famous people.
It´s also a demanding school, but former students agree that the tough training they got at “Tasso” helped them a lot in tackling university…
This is why I love my job: getting the message across, helping kids understand complex matters, and meeting those who after several years still take the time to come to say hello….

As a teacher, it´s rewarding to have good students who win contests, learn easily…However, they don't need us teachers as much as those who struggle, day by day. From the latter ones, we get a different reward, which is the feeling we can make a difference in their lives.

So, I feel privileged because I love my job. Still, at some point in my life I felt the need to see something new, so I attended a 2-year training as a Family Mediator. In a couple's lifecycle, you can come to the point when you realize that feelings have changed and the relationship is faltering. When this happens, most people are not capable of splitting as adult and mature persons, and children often pay the price of conflicts and tensions.
By taking a neutral, empathic stance, a family mediator can help a couple diffuse conflicts and communicate effectively for the sake of the children. I went myself through such a painful experience, so I would like to help other people go through such crises in a peaceful and productive manner.

Apart form my son, the great loves in my life are music and cats. I couldn't live without them, which is why I sing in a polyphonic choir @aramus.

Our uniform is not pretty, nonetheless our music is great! We rehearse weekly in the S. Lorenzo in Damaso church, in the heart of Rome, and we give concerts in Italy and abroad (last month we sang in Madrid, Spain).

We are group of very good friends who share a passion for classical music.
However, as you can see below, I like singing anywhere....

Last but not least, please meet my cats Teodora e Leccalecca:


So long guys and gals.... time to make dinner...!
I hope you liked my post. Kisses to everybody.