Sidetracked by snow

I know...this post is supposed to be about the Pantheon.  However, we woke up to this today!  First snow of the season!

YEA!

St Peter's Basilica

Hands down, the Catholics do know how to decorate a church.  We saw this repeatedly during our tours in Rome and other locations.  St. Peter's Basilica is beautiful.

 Front entrance

St Peter's Square Obelisk

St Peter's Square fountain

The doors were massive and looked heavy.

The Jubilee or Holy Year door.  Only the Pope is allowed to open it and he uses a hammer as it is brick and mortar on the inside.  Last opening  was December, 1999 for the year 2000.  Next scheduled opening is for the year 2025.  However, the Pope can declare a special holy year and open it sooner if he chooses.

One of the statues on the side of St. Peter's walking to it from the Vatican Museum.

Inside...

The dome over the altar.

St. Peter's main altar.  The candles are huge and I have no doubt, heavy.

The canopy over the altar

Stairs under the altar going to the catacombs.

 Several niches exist and each one has a massive sculpture and usually a sarcophagus.

Michelangelo's Pieta.  In 1972(?), someone defaced it with a geologists hammer and chipped off several pieces before guards could get him stopped.  Sadly, people in the church took pieces for souvenirs.  The Pope requested the pieces be returned anonymously and without consequences so artists could repair it.  Most pieces were returned but part of Mary's nose never came back and the restoration for her current one is from a piece of marble in her back.  Thus the glass covering protecting the sculpture (and screwing up photos).

As we left the Vatican area, we saw a pharmacy on site.  Our guide told us anyone could use it if they needed to.   The only issues is you have to take your passport because it is a seperate country! 

Tomorrow the Pantheon!

The Pope's Digs...

The Vatican is amazing!  The crowds at the Vatican are phenomenal.  We visited the museum, the Sistine Chapel, Raphael's rooms and St. Peter's Basilica.  We could take pictures everywhere (no flash) with the exception of the Sistine Chapel.  Believe it or not, Nippon owns the copyrights to photos in the Chapel and pictures are not allowed. At least that is what our guide told us.  We did see staff strolling through the crowds and if caught taking pictures, they watched you delete them and maybe even confiscate your camera. 

The Sistine Chapel, while beautiful, was not what I expected.  I had imagined the entire ceiling covered with the Michelangelo painting of the God giving life to Adam.  Of course, that panel is there but there are also eight other panels with various scenes from the bible.  The panels are surrounded by other paintings of people and family. It is amazing but overwhelming.  Then there are the crowds.  One could barely move through the chapel let alone enjoy the art.  Interestingly, in one corner, the restorers did not clean a small area of the fresco.  The comparison is night and day.  The area not restored is black and the fresco can not be discerned.  I appreciate the work that was done to bring it back to life.

We didn't have enough time at the museum.  The works in the public rooms go on forever.  And who can imagine what is on display in the private areas.  Regardless, here is a taste.

 The entrance...a little commercialized.

Lacoon and his sons - we saw this sculpture in multiple locations around the Mediterranean.  This is the one all of the other copies are made from.

The colors are so vibrant.  But parts of the Vatican are in constant restoration...maybe because they don't agree with whats on the walls/ceiling and just never finish!

One of the courtyards.

Modern art...a Dali.

Of course there are many tapestries.  In this one, the Christ has eyes that will follow you as you move through the room.  From memory...I believe it is from the 1500s.

Raphael's rooms were stunning.  The discussions about who was in the paintings was interesting.  There was some jealousy between the artists of the time and sometimes one artist would include a rival or himself as a sideline character...

Of course we had to have a picture of the Swiss Guards in uniform.

Tomorrow...St. Peter's Basilica. 

Roman Forum and Flavian Palace

Just down the road from the Colosseum is the Roman Forum, Senate and Flavian Palace on Palatine Hill.  The Roman people did nothing on a small scale.  The structures are incredible and it is amazing to be walking among them. 

Moving from the Colosseum to the Forum, we passed the Constantine Arch.  During this tour, we walked on mostly original Roman cobblestone roads.  Think how many others over the centuries have walked the same path...

Entering the Forum area.  As with many, many of the locations we visited, it is still an active dig.  Modern day construction must always build time in the schedule for archaeology digs...sometimes months...sometimes decades.

Roman Senate building on the right.  Note it is still in tact.  The ancient buildings you can still go into that have truly withstood the test of time were re-purposed along the centuries.  Since they were actively being used, they weren't scavenged for materials and were actively maintained.

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina.  Another example of a building being continually used over the centuries.  As with many ancient temples, it became a church.

The Arch of Septimius Severus.  The carvings (below) were amazing as with all of the buildings.  They could work in stone!

The Flavian Palace from the Forum.  Flavius had a lovely view of the city from the top of the hill.

A small hippodrome in the palace for private races, games and working out.

And back to construction...this is a marble nail that hasn't been re-purposed.  An example of what they used to hold things together.

Next stop...Vatican!

Colosseum, Forum and Flavian Palace

Our first tour was of the Colosseum, Forum and Flavius' palace on Palantine Hill.  Our guide was spectacular.  Very energetic and excited about the history of her city.  It was easy to get engaged.  (By the way, here is my disclaimer on statements below.  I am doing this from memory only.  I am not a historian and may have some things confused.  Please, don't quote me on it!!)  :)

We had a stunning morning to visit the Colosseum.  Just a tad on the warm side...

As mentioned previously, much of the ancient buildings are in a state of restoration or they are still being excavated (boggles the mind).  This is the west side where an earthquake brought some of the walls down and concrete is now used for support. 

Since the Colosseum would hold thousands of people, just like today's arenas, the gates were numbered and people were assigned sections to sit in and associated gates to get to and from their seats.

And speaking of seats, they had to be uncomfortable.  The games/entertainment at the Colosseum were all day events and the seats were marble.  Below is a restoration to show an example of them.

Inside the Colosseum showing the Gate of Death.  As the Emperor watched the Gladiators fight, he had the power to save them if he chose to.  Across the arena from the Emperor's box were the Vestal Virgins.  The Emperor would look to them and if he received a thumbs up, the combatants would go through the Gate of Life. 

 Thumbs down they went through the Gate of Death

 Below is the Emperor's box on the North side.  If you squint, in the center of the picture on the stage level, there is cross.  If I remember correctly, the Pope still comes at Easter to perform the Stations of the Cross. 

 

 If nothing else, the Romans were recycle-ers.  The original finish on the Colosseum was a marble white color.  Not the brick and mortar of today.  Once the Colosseum was no longer used, they came through and took out all of the materials which could be uses for other temples, palaces, etc.  They even took the metal supports out of the columns.  This is what give the Colosseum and many other ancient buildings a "Swiss cheese" look.  Amazing any of it is still standing!

Rome in four days!

Rome, as with all of the ancient places we visited, was amazing.  As we traveled through the city there were ancient buildings next to modern day.  There was also a lot of graffiti along the streets.  In fact, several of the mainland cities had a lot of graffiti.  However, it seems the graffiti was only on the newer buildings.  Do the ancient works garner more respect? Or maybe they were cleaned more often...


We used public transportation to get around to the various sights.  It was actually very easy.  Our hotel was away from the main tourist locations but we had buses that went directly to every one of them.

And then there was the food.  Oh My Gosh.  It was wonderful.  We had pasta, pizza, seafood and of course tomato and mozzarella whenever we had the chance.  :D

Below are some of the photos taken while we were on our own. 

There are water fountains, gorgeous by the way, everywhere.  No Roman will be without water.  

 

We never did figure out what this is.  

 Back of the Pantheon

 Just an example of the buildings you see everywhere.  They are normally 4 stories tall and the streets very narrow.  It is hard to get around without a map as well as a little bit of Italian to be able to ask directions.  It is difficult to see very far to get a bearing on what direction you are going or find a landmark for reference. The people were very nice and helped us whenever we were lost.

 This is the way to do street signs.

Elephant base of an obelisk.  There is actually a tour to see all of the church obelisks. We happened by this one while walking to the Pantheon.

 

Here is the foot of the Goddess Isis.  If I remember right, the rest of her is in the British Museum.  Not sure though.

 Of course, the Trevi Fountain.  I was very disappointed it is still being restored.  So much of Rome is.  But it is still beautiful.

Next to the Colosseum!