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Published: January 19th 2011
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Rome, one of the oldest cities known to mankind was next on our cruise; however, due to Rome not having a port to pull into our boat docked in chiteveccha. After a fairly early morning we boarded our motor coach, which would make the one hour bus ride to Rome. Our first stop of the day would be the roman coliseum, which was used to house gladiator fights. The coliseum was extremely important to Rome, it helped stable the roman economy and keep the people happy. Thousands of people would come watch gladiators battle each other for freedom. Presently the coliseum is being reconstructed; the Italian government is attempting to restore it to its former glory. The coliseum has numerous amounts of holes in it, which makes it look like a block of cheese. Also, there are parts missing, for example arch ways from it, which need to be restored. I have been to the coliseum three times already in my life and every time I see it, it takes my breath away. To think something that old could have survived so long is truly amazing.
Anyway we got back on the bus and then proceed to be dropped off
somewhere near the Trevi fountain. After walking for about 5 to 10 min I could finally hear the sounds of the water coming out of the fountain. The fountain is almost as old as the coliseum; it has bought water from the mountains to the city of Rome due to the many aqueducts, which are built here. I could have sat at the fountain for hours while eating gelato or having a cup of coffee with a croissant and gazing at the people of Rome who would tread through the plaza without even a look to the fountain they owe there life too.
Our next stop was the famous pantheon of Rome, which was used as a clock. The building is under serve reconstruction from the last time I was here which was in the summer. The pantheon is round with a domed top, at the top is a round hole, the hole acts like a sort of sundial, and you can tell what time of day depending on where the sun shines in the building. Inside the pantheon the floors, walls, and ceilings are all made of marble, which are the colored white, green, red, and blue.
After the pantheon we started walking to the restaurant where we would have an Italian style four-course lunch. We then proceeded to walk to the meeting point where we would once again pick up our bus. The next stop on our adventure was Saint Peters Church, which was right by the Vatican. After walking a few minutes we finally reached the square where the church is housed. The square was circler; in the middle was a Christmas tree still up for the holidays. To the left was the church and the Vatican museum, while to the right was a long street, which housed dozens of shops, restaurants, and cafes. Also along the circle was another circle of white columns which held on top of them a long horizontal block of white marble. On the top of the white marble block were statues, which looked directly down on Saint Peters square. The statues looked like they were gazing into the very heart of your soul. Eventually we made our way into the church.
I have never been one for religion, especially the Roman Catholic Church; I feel these institutions are way too hypocritical and false. For example, the catholic church
if one of the richest foundations in the world, however, just outside the Vatican doors are starving people who are begging the thousands of tourist who flood into Vatican city to see this marvelous church. They have enough money to build a seven million dollar church right by my house, but they do not have enough to help the people who are begging right outside their door. Though I do not care about religion in any way, shape, or form I do love going into them and the seeing the hard work, dedication, and artistic skill which was used to construct them. Saint peters church is beautiful; it could probably house all the people who live in America, which is how tremendous it is. The outside of the church is all white with beautiful crafted sculptures all along the out sidewall. Inside it is dark, but what one sees is breath taking. The floors, walls, and ceilings are all made of marble similar to the Pantheon. Along all the walls are white sculptures all depicting different things, also there are glass coffins similar to the one snow white is buried in when she dies, however, unlike Snow White these people
will never wake up. At the back end of the church is a wooden canopy, the craftsmanship, which went into it is amazing. Something I never knew about the paintings in the church, which was bought to my attention from an American family on holiday, is that the paintings are actually mosaics, and the only way you can tell is if you stare up at the painting close enough. Finally one last interesting bit about the Vatican was that on the left wall was a nativity scene, which kind of looked like something out of a small world from Disney. Eventually we left the church and started heading back to our bus, which was then going to take us to our cruise ship. We would depart late for the city of Genoa in northern Italy, which would be our final stop before returning to Barcelona.
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