Rome - the Eternal City

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Dear Max and Dominic,

Did you know that people have been living in Rome for so long that each new lot of people had to build on top of the old stuff, especially after it had fallen down a bit. That means when you dig under any building you find layers of all the previous stuff - like time travel by digging. You have seen pictures of the Colosseum before. It's where the Ancient Romans used to hold their entertainment shows, of a rather gory kind. Lots of blood and guts. Well, the Colosseum was falling down too, especially after an earthquake in the year 847. Luckily the Bishops of Rome about 300 years ago were interested in old buildings and restored it. Amazing.

My favourite old building in Rome is called the Pantheon. It's an old temple with a huge perfectly round roof. Don't worry - that hole is meant to be there, but every time it has rained for the last two thousand years the floor inside has got wet. Luckily, those Ancient Romans were also good at designing drains and there's one right in the middle of the floor. It was raining yesterday so we went back to have another look and make sure the drain still works. It does - I reckon that's better than some of our drains in Christchurch.

One of the most important buildings in Rome is the church of St Peter. Can you see its huge dome peeking up above the buildings at the end of the street we were living on? No one is allowed to build a new building in Rome taller than the top of this dome. St Peter's church is the biggest one in all the world and I think our old Cathedral in Christchurch could easily fit inside the front porch. Then you could use our cathedral to give people cups of tea in and shake the Pope's hand after the service. Look at how grand the entrance path to St Peter's is - the photo shows just one small part of one side of the fence on the side of the main path. See how there are statues looking down at you while you walk up to the front door, just to make you think twice before you walk in: Have I tucked my shirt in? Have I been nice to my brother today? God and the statues are watching you!

Actually, there are statues and fountains and paintings and beautiful buildings everywhere in this crowded city. Art, art art. We have taken some photos of three of our favourites. I like the cheeky fountain faces here - they made me smile. This fountain is right outside the Pantheon. The statue of Laocoön didn't make me smile though; it made me shiver. The story goes that he annoyed some Greek Gods, but only by doing the right thing (some of those Gods were a bit nasty), and they sent a couple of sea serpents to kill him and his kids. You can see one of the snakes about to bite him and you can also see how scared and desperate Laocoön is. When you walk up to this life-sized sculpture it almost looks as if the characters and the snakes might come to life. Amazing to think it was carved out of stone by a master carver who has been dead and buried for more than 2000 years. Actually, the sculpture was also buried - someone dug it up by accident on their farm about 400 years ago! Imagine how surprised they must have been.

The last sculpture I wanted to show you is Theresa. She had a bit of trouble because she kept fainting with joy when she had visions about how much God loved her. Apparently it got a bit embarrassing if it happened when she went out. But look how the sculptor, a modern one this time (only 300 years or so ago), has made her heavy marble clothes look as if they are blowing in the wind. The expression on her face is also extraordinary.

Seeing allo this art is a bit exhausting. Luckily Rome is also famour for gelato - Italian ice cream in dozens of flavours. I had an extra big one just for you.

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