The Seventy-Seventh Day: Rome part 2: The Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Saint Peters Basilica, Spanish Steps

Friday, April 25: 

We explored the Vatican today. Boy is THAT an overwhelming thing to do. There's SO MUCH there. Check this place out:

We were there just a few days before the canonizations of Pope Joh XXIII and Pope John Paul II. Probably one of the busiest weeks in Vatican City OF ALL TIME.  It was a pretty big deal. 

While we were there, we stopped into a small traveling exhibit about how Christianity spread throughout the world. It was very interesting. The photo below is the entrance to that exhibit. 

Vatican City Policemen? Security Guards? Something official and important. 

Seriously, look at all these chairs they set up for the canonizations. SO MANY HUMANS.

While in Italy, every meal was the best pizza, pasta, or panini of my life. Always followed by plenty of gelato. 

We went inside the Vatican Museum of Art, which houses the Sistine Chapel. And LOADS of other really important works of Christian Art. An overwhelming amount of important works of Christian Art. Like, ALL the important works of Christian Art.

I can't get enough of these domed ceilings.

Okay, these ceilings?! SO CRAZY. I will never in my life be able to study all the pieces housed in this building. Ridiculous. 

One of my favourite pieces in the museum because I never  expected to see anything like it. 

They don't allow photos inside the Sistine Chapel, so I didn't take any. To be honest, I didn't even think about trying to sneak some because I was so overwhelmed. I may have gotten a little teary when we walked in. It's so beautiful. Definitely one of the highlights of Rome. 

Even more mesmerizing (for me) than the gorgeous ceiling is the mural of the Last Judgment that Michelangelo painted later in his life. I could stare at that thing all day. Interesting to be in a room with so many people, each having their own emotional reaction to such profound works of art. Beautiful. 

After leaving the museum, we went to St. Peter's Basilica, yet ANOTHER overwhelmingly beautiful place.

This giant statue of the Pope is in a sneaky side exit that led us from inside the museum RIGHT TO THE DOORSTEP of St. Peter's Basilica. We were supposed to take a different exit that would have forced us into a giant line. Just a little bit of rebellion in the Holy City!

This is the Holy Door. It's sealed from the inside so it can't be opened regularly. It's only opened on Jubilee years where pilgrims to the Holy City enter the Basilica for a plenary indulgence (which, as I understand it means they are permanently absolved from the temporal punishments that sinning would typically bring about.)

We stepped inside the Basilica, and beams of light were streaming in through the dome. Breathtaking.

Just look at those lovely beams!

The highlight of the Basilica, other than standing where one of the original 12 Apostles was martyred, was seeing Michelangelo's Pieta. This is the only piece the sculptor ever signed. 

They've placed it behind bulletproof glass, a reaction to an attack on the sculpture years ago. Very sad. 

Put a unicorn on it! 

This stained glass was so much more stunning in person. 

I'm a pro at asking random strangers to take photos of us. Chris hates it.

After seeing the Basilica, we went to the Spanish Steps. I didn't take photo of the actual steps, but here's the view from the top! :)

YOU GUYS. After the Steps, we were STARVING. We walked to the #1 rated restaurant on Urban Spoon. SO WORTH IT. He gave us this cheese and honey flan with prosciutto. Easily the best thing I've ever eaten, ever. EVER. I crave this all the time now. Stupid Rome and your delicious food. 

Just look at it. It doesn't look like much, but MAN. Delicious. 

The Seventy-Sixth Day: Rome part 1 - Colosseum, Altare della Patria, Trevi Fountain

Thursday, April 24: 

After going to the cemetery with Kate Baxter, I packed up all my stuff, and we went on a big European Tour!! Our first stop: Rome. 

I love this city. I love it so much. I thought stuff in England was old, which it is when you compare it to the States. Check out this stuff. This is literally ancient. And I love every last bit of it. 

The Colosseum is just mind boggling. It's ancient Rome's most enduring monument, and the biggest tourist attraction in the city, naturally. 

While we were touring the Colosseum, formally called The Flavian Amphitheater, we listened to an audio guide by Rick Steves. There was a lot of good information, and we learned quite a bit. He says. "Look around, from the same view the emperor's had. To our modern eyes, it's immediately obvious what this place was -- it's a sports stadium! Just like in modern stadiums, there's the playing surface in front of you, and that's surrounded by bleacher seats that slant up from the arena floor."

"If you're having trouble picturing the playing surface itself, that's because the original arena floor is missing. What we see today are the underground passages beneath the playing surface. Originally, the arena was covered with boards, then sprinkled with 9 inches of sand."

From the upper outside tier of the Colosseum, you can look around at all of the monuments nearby -- the Arch of Constantine, Palatine Hill, the Via Sacra, the Arch of Titus, and my personal favourite: The Temple of Venus and Rome.

"Rome's biggest temple once covered this entire hill. The size of a football field and 100 feet tall, the grand temple sat on this raised platform for all of Rome to see." See the alcove with the cross-hatched ceiling? That was the sacred chamber of the temple. "Underneath the arched ceiling once sat a monumental statue of Venus, the goddess of love. Worshippers - especially newlyweds - would climb the steps to the entrance to make a sacrifice and to ask Venus to bring them good luck!" 

Don't forget, though, that this is the Temple of Venus AND Rome. It was actually a double temple. Home to TWO goddesses, seated back to back. "While Venus faced the Colosseum, another statue faced the Forum - the goddess named Roma Aeterna. Paired together, Venus (the legendary ancestor of Romulus) and Roma Aeterna (the personification of the city of Rome) symbolized the birth and eternal destiny of a race of people meant to endure forever. The goddesses' latin names were written back to back in the twin alcoves. On one side: "ROMA" and on the other "AMOR" The symmetry of their names reinforced that Rome and Love were meant to go together."

Awww.

Chris's favourite monument near the Colosseum is the Triumphal Arch of Constantine. This place marks one of the greatest religious turning points in history -- the military exploit that made Christianity mainstream. "In 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius in the crucial Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The night before, he'd seen a vision of a cross in the sky. Constantine, whose mother and sister were Christians, became sole emperor and legalized Christianity. With this one battle, a once-obscure Jewish sect with a handful of followers was not the state-sanctioned religion of the entire Western world. In 300 AD, you could be killed for being a Christian. By 400 AD, you could be killed for NOT being one."

The arch is being renovated, so... scaffolding. Boo. 

Chris standing next to a monument to our religion in the Ancient World. Pretty neat. 

We walked back into the Colosseum, and went to the arena floor. 

It was pretty interesting looking up at the stadium seating from arena level, and trying to imagine what it'd be like to be a gladiator. All those seats would have been filled with around 50,000 screaming people who all wanted to see you die. Terrifying. 

"The Colosseum was inaugurated in 80 A.D. with a 100-day festival in which 2, 000 men and 9,000 animals were killed. That's roughly one death every 5 minutes." [Every 5 minutes FOR ONE HUNDRED DAYS! That's some serious bloodshed.] "Colosseum employees sprayed perfumes to mask the stench of blood." Absolutely horrifying. 

Sometimes gladiators were pitted against each other. Sometimes they were to battle to the death with wild animals: lions, bears, crocodiles, tigers, elephants, rhinos, hippos... "The animals were kept in cages beneath the arena floor. Looking down, you can see the maze of passageways. This was like a "backstage" for the games. Here, workers prepared the animals, gladiators warmed up, and prisoners said their final prayers. It's also where stagehands readied the scenery, set pieces, weapons, and props for the elaborate spectacles."

"At just the right moment, workers down below would hoist an animal up in an elevator, through a trap door in the arena floor. The animal would pop out from behind a blind into the arena -- the hunter didn't know where, when, or by what he'd be attacked."  Yikes. 

Even though the Colosseum itself was the setting for many a horrific death, it was very interesting to see. Definitely one of the highlights of our entire European Tour. 

After the Colosseum, we walked over to the Arch of Titus, which commemorates many of Titus's victories, notably the Seige of Jerusalem in 70A.D.  The Arch of Titus has been the inspiration for many of the triumphal arches erected since the 16th century—most famously for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Afterward, we took a bus toward the Piazza Venezia, where we would pick up the tram to go to our hotel.  In the piazza, there are two lovely old churches -- The Santissimo Nome di Maria al Forno Traiano & The Santa Maria di Loreto. They both have similar domes, but the Santa Maria di Loreto is more colorful on the outside, where the other is just white. Still, remarkable old buildings from around the 16th century. Which, when compared to other structures in Rome, isn't that old at all.

Also in the piazza is the Altare della Patria, a government building/monument dedicated to Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. A bit controversial, its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill, including a Medieval neighborhood. The monument itself is often regarded by Romans as pompous and too large. Tourists love it, though. Viva Italia! 

I can't remember what these doorknobs were attached to, but check them out! Everything here is so detailed and intricate. 

We also peeked into a small church, and were stunned to see how elaborate the interior was. Every single church in Europe looks like this. They're all mindblowingly intricate. Every last one. 

That night, we ate dinner at a small restaurant we found on TripAdvisor, and were seated next to a couple from Southern California. We chatted with them a bit, and they gave us some recommendations on things to see the next day. Also, I ordered an amazing cheese pasta, I can't remember what it was called, but MAN, it was good. 

After dinner, we walked to the Trevi Fountain. "Legend has it that in 19 BC thirsty Roman soldiers were guided by a young girl to a source of pure water thirteen kilometers from the city of Rome. The discovery of the source led Augustus to commission the construction of a twenty-two kilometer aqueduct leading into the city, which was named Aqua Virgo, or Virgin Waters, in honor of the legendary young girl. The aqueduct served the hot Baths of Agrippa, and Rome, for over four hundred years." 

Traditionally, visitors to the fountain are meant to throw in a coin using your right hand over your left shoulder.  We didn't throw any money in, because it was PACKED! You couldn't get close enough to the fountain to do anything! Haha. 

Rome is such a fantastic city. Stay tuned for our visit to Vatican City!

Cheers, 

Kami & Chris, the Pseudo-Londoners