Rome

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I took a train from Florence to Rome, and arrived in Rome in the afternoon. The hostel was very close to the train station, so I didn’t get a whole lot to see before checking in. Once checked in, my first order of business was to watch Spain and Germany in the World Cup semifinals match. I had already planned to be in Barcelona on the 11th of July, which was the date of the World Cup final. If Spain won, they would lock their place in the final match, and they did!

The next day I took some tours to familiarize myself with the city. They all started from the Spanish Square, under the Villa Medici. A long staircase led from the Trinita del Monti down the hill to the Spanish Square. A fountain in the middle of the Square lay near the base of this marble staircase. From there we walked through a shopping district to the Mausoleo Augusto, or Tomb of Augusto. This was hard to see through a crowd of trees, but it had been robbed of its statue long ago. We walked along the Tevere River past a bridge across from the Parliament Building. This building was large and white, with detailed decoration and adorned by statues. We passed this bridge and crossed the Ponte Sant’ Angelo. This bridge had statues of angels at every post, about 10 total, and led to the Castel Sant’ Angelo. The Castel looked more like a fortress, but functioned as both a tomb and a prison. As we rounded toward the west side of the Castel, we could see the pathway to the basilica and St. Peter’s Square. The street leading to the Square was lined with pillars. The Square had a large obelisk in the center, flanked by two statues, and encircled by a tall, covered walkway. The walkway consisted of large marble pillars holding up a marble roof. The walkway did not completely surround the square, and two ends bulged in a style reminiscent of the front a courthouse. The basilica featured a large baby-blue dome, which could be seen from afar. This square marked the entrance to the Vatican City, not just another city, but, technically, another country. A large fortress wall wrapped around the rest of the “country”, and around the corner from the square was the entrance to the Vatican Museum. However, this was where the tour ended, and I would have to visit the museum the following day. After the tour I joined Steph, who also took the tour, for lunch just above the Piazza del Popolo.

The next tour took us from the Spanish Square to the Piazza Venezia. This Piazza was dedicated to Venice. A sculpture of a white lion, which represented San Marco, the patron Saint of Venice, could be seen on building walls. From the Piazza I could see the first bit of Coliseum peeking through. On the south end was the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II. This was a large and very lavishly decorated monument. Statues and obelisks stood in front while a fountain ran in the middle. Behind the fountain stood a very tall wall that looked like a building face. Two statues of Nike, complete with chariot drawn by four horses, stood on top of the wall on either side. An ancient monastery was removed to make room for this monument. However, many people disliked the monument because of this and for its oversize. Behind the monument some remains could be seen of the ancient monastery including a well-preserved fresco. From there we came to an overlook where most of the forum could be seen underneath. My first impression was that imagination is key when looking at the forum, because “ruins” is really the best word to describe its current condition. On the other side of the forum was the great Coliseum. Formerly known as the Flavian Amphitheater, the Coliseum held 40-70,000 people in its prime, which rivals most stadiums today, and is almost 2,000 years old. The outermost wall is decorated in three different architectural styles: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, which are evidenced by the pillar tops. Around the Coliseum stands the Arco di Constantino, the largest of 3 arcs in the forum. The forum and the Coliseum also went on my list of things to see the next day.

The final tour led us through the center of Rome. The first stop was at the Fontana di Trevi. This is a very large and very well decorated fountain. Many statues adorn the front of the fountain while more statues are set in the back wall which rises about 3 stories high. Many people were gathered around this most popular fountain in Rome. From this fountain, we worked our way over to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was a very old Pagan church converted to a Christian church. I know from watching engineering shows that it is covered by one of the only concrete domes without rebar. Incredibly, it has stood for nearly 2,000 years. Upon entering, I noticed the bright spot on the wall where the sun shone through the hole at the top of the dome. The Pantheon was filled with paintings and statues depicting Christians and scenes from the bible. It serves as the final resting place for, among others, Raphael. The final stop on this tour was the Piazza Navona. On our way there the tour guide pointed out a man walking away from a building as the President of the Senate. I think he was telling the truth too, because he was flanked by at least 4 men, and police officers nearby were holding Uzis. This was a long and narrow piazza with three fountains. The center fountain featured 4 sculptures of men by Michelangelo. The 4 men represented the 4 major rivers during his time: the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, and the Rio de la Plata. During this tour I actually ran into another person from Kansas City. Angela was also from the Missouri side nonetheless. She said she was part Sicilian and was planning on visiting the island to get in touch with her roots. We talked briefly about Italian-run Kansas City (about 40 years ago), and exchanged high schools. It was really interesting to meet someone so close to home. Until then, I had not met anyone from Kansas City, and only one other person from Missouri.

The next day I woke up early to get to the Vatican before the line was too long. However, I of course ran about an hour behind, and the line was already pretty long. I ended up buying a guided tour pretty much just to skip the line, but it turned out to be pretty informative. We started out in the main courtyard of the Vatican where a shiny golden sphere sat in the middle. The sphere had a large break in it which revealed another sphere in its core. This was the artist’s interpretation of the earth within the universe. Because the Sistine Chapel is a quiet room, the tour guide stopped here to explain the ceiling. The ceiling depicts the major events from the bible, most of them during the creation. One of the walls depicts the final judgment. Michelangelo painted the entire ceiling himself over 4 years. The final judgment wall took another 3 years. The final judgment was renovated, however, by another artist whose only task was to cover the private parts of the originally completely naked people. This was ordered by a pope, and probably the same pope who ordered the removal of genitalia from every statue in the Vatican. I noticed this was true upon leaving the courtyard and seeing a room full of statues. Some had leaves covering the damage, while others simply had saw marks remaining. I found this much more disturbing than anything that could have possibly been there before. We walked through more rooms of statues of Roman Gods and Goddesses. This seemed peculiar to me at first, but the tour guide said the Vatican Museum was about the transition from Paganism to Christianity. We walked down a long hallway, the ceiling painted with optical illusions of sculptures. Tapestries lined the walls depicting biblical scenes, including a famous scene of the resurrection. I remember Belle, whom I met in Paris, introducing me to a replica of this tapestry in the Louvre. The next room was filled with maps. Each map detailing an area of the Roman Empire. The ceiling in this room was similar to the tapestry room, except that the images were actually 3-dimensional. From here we went through a cluster of rooms completely painted in murals. Even the ceilings were painted while the floors where intricate mosaics. One room was done entirely by Raphael. Finally, we entered the long awaited Sistine Chapel. This is the room where the conclave takes place, and the new pope is chosen. The ceiling is very high, making it hard to make out the details of the images. Quiet was, ironically, not a word I would use to describe the scene. Many guards ran around saying, “Shhhh” and “No photos”, to no avail, because everyone seemed to be blatantly taking pictures and conversing. These people were apparently unfamiliar with the saying, “When in Rome…” I took some time to gaze upon the work and soak in the intensity of the surrounding frescoes. This was the end of the tour, but the guide led us to the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica. Before I entered I thought to myself, this is probably not going to be as interesting as Notre Dame, but I was wrong. Inside, large marble statues and paintings were the feature of every wall and column. Marble decoration accented every corner and crevice. Every bit of ceiling had some curvature, but this didn’t prevent the addition of frescoes to any of it. Many domes rose out from the ceiling, each holding more frescoes. The alter was complete with a very tall wooden canopy held by 4 thick pillars. The backdrop of the altar featured a large golden sculpture with a single radial stained glass work symbolic of the sun. Down one of the hallways was a tablet displaying each Pope starting with St. Peter. Upon leaving the basilica, I noticed a temporary stage and chairs. Apparently St. Peter’s Square also hosts concerts.

From here I walked through a park and towards the forum. I entered the forum through the Palatine entrance. The Palatine was built on top of a hill at the south end of the forum. A long and narrow stadium was dug out of the hill. On one side was a temple and on the other stood a house. In the southwest corner were the remains of the House of Octavian Augusto. Many things in the forum were the result of excavation, and so the house looked as if it were built into the ground. I saw stone walls with dirt floors and doorways without doors between the walls. Just north of the house was a garden. The vegetation included orange trees, which I found particularly interesting. When I first saw oranges on the ground I thought people had dropped them, but looked up to find many more clinging to the centers of the trees. Walking down the hill led me to the main strip of the forum. This is where imagination was particularly useful. It was pretty baron save for some columns and arcs. A building to the northwest showed features of an old building as a tribute, but only stubs of pillars of the old building remained. I had planned on exploring the Coliseum that same day, but after spending so much time between the Vatican, and the forum, I decided to save the Coliseum for my last day.

I awoke the next morning at a much more reasonable hour, checked out, and headed toward the Coliseum. The pass I bought for the forum was not only good for the Coliseum as well, but lasted two days. I passed a long ticket line and entered the Coliseum immediately. The Coliseum had been well-preserved from the outside, but the inside required quite a bit of imagination as well. The entirety was formerly coated in marble, as was the entire forum, but was systematically looted during the renaissance and used in the current buildings. As such, none of the former seating and only half of the outermost wall remains. Most of the stairways between levels were missing as well. Only a network of arches and outer walkways remained. The Coliseum is a 50m high oval with a minor axis of about 130m and a major axis of about 180m. The arena floor was wooden and covered in sand, which covered a system of halls underneath that served as the backstage. Here is where gladiators, prisoners, animals, and props were kept and prepared for show. A system of man-powered elevators were used to hoist them up to the arena level. The famous gladiator started as fights between slaves and prisoners. However, as it gained popularity, knights and noblemen fought as gladiators. Even one Emperor, Commodore, fought in the arena. During the match one gladiator might fall, unable to continue fighting. At this point the Emperor would ask the crowd for judgment. The people who felt the gladiator had fought hard would yell “Mitte”, meaning let him live, while the people who felt he had not would yell “Iugula”, meaning kill him. The Emperor would give the victor a thumbs up to let the gladiator live. Upon receiving a thumbs down, the victor would deliver the final blow. Many know this story, but I didn’t realize the arena was used for so many other things. Hunting shows where hunters would be put in the arena with wild animals were a hit as well. Criminals condemned to death would be punished by Damna et Bestia, or essentially fed to wild animals like lions. Other criminals were burned at the stake, their tunics doused in flammable liquid prior to ignition. Sometimes, this would be done at key times in the middle of theater, as part of the show. Among the theater performances were Passions of the Christ. The Vatican has endorsed the Coliseum because of this, and the Pope visits the Coliseum once a year. Acrobatic performances and tamed animal shows akin to present day circus were also shown at the Coliseum. Graffiti was carved into the walls of the Coliseum by patrons depicting their favorite gladiators. Food was served at the arena, and the patrons often gambled. The show was free, but seating was assigned based on class. The seats near the arena were occupied by the knights and noblemen, while the peasants occupied the nose-bleed section. The arena floor has been gone for some years now, exposing the hallways of the backstage. Grass is now growing in those hallways, but the beginning of a rebuilding of the arena floor can be seen on one side of the arena. The Coliseum was built on a site originally occupying Lake Nero. It was Nero who commissioned its building, but it wasn’t until the son of Titus was Emperor that the Coliseum delivered its first show, which was a 100 day festival showing tens of thousands of wild animals. I left the Coliseum and explored some more of the parks and monuments around Rome. Later that day I caught a train to Civitavecchia, where I would catch a ferry to Barcelona.

Rome is nothing short of spectacular. The amount of statues, monuments, cathedrals, squares, and gardens easily rivals that of Paris. I found the fountains to be among the most impressive features. There are, in fact, a lot of tourists in Rome, but it doesn’t have a very tourist feel to it. The city is very unique in that it expresses features from two very different times. There is the forum, the Coliseum, and the Pantheon from the ancient days of the Roman Empire. However, equally impressive, are the basilica, the fountains, and the monuments from the Renaissance period. Walking through this mash of history kept me on my toes trying to keep in mind which era the individual features were from. Most of it is obvious, but some things, like the Pantheon, are like a collision between eras. The Vatican also encompasses many features from both eras. I met a lot of people in the hostel who had apparently come to Rome to party, but I was much too busy exploring the city to stay out all night. My days were so full it was all I could do but fall asleep, and I still didn’t manage to see everything in the 3 days I spent there. Someday, I will have to return to finish the tour.

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Photos

Staircase
Down to the Spanish Square

St. Peter's Basilica
Looking down the road leading to the Square

Symbol of Rome
Mother wolf nursing young.

The Final Judgment
In the Sistine Chapel (you didn't see this)

Rome
View from hill top park