Back to Rome

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Rome 28th of June

My birthday! We had nothing planned for today. So we went to an old monk monastery. The church (known as the Immaculate Conception) was home to some 4000 monks over the years. When the monks had no more grave space to bury the dead, they dug up the old ones, and used their bones as decorations! It is quite creepy to walk under an archway, and here is a skull with scapula behind it to make it look like wings. All the light chandeliers were made of vertebrae, and the fences were made with femurs. Place of nightmares actually. The entire roof, walls doors lights were all decorated in bones. When digging up the monks, some were mummified, so instead of disassembling then they put them up as complete skeletons, with their robes still on, arms crossed in front of them, and skin pulled tight over their mandibles or finger tips. Scary stuff.
We then headed back to the pantheon for another look and I got in trouble for taking a photo of a little old nun. When she asked where I live (to which I replied Australia) she told me God would strike me down for telling lies…lucky I was telling the truth! We saw the tomb of Rafaello here. We then headed back to the Trevi Fountain for another look, and then to the colloseum for a sunset dinner.

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