"When in Rome, do as the Romans do"...the proverb, yes - Wiktionary lists it as a proverb, was first attributed to St. Ambrose. It means "behave as those around do". And I did...sort of. I did
not wear a toga or wreath of laurel on my head, nor did I decide if a gladiator should live or die by the turn of my thumb before a blood thirsty crowd. But I made an attempt to take part in the hedonism of Rome, which is alive and well. I feasted on gelato, pasta, meats, cheeses (and some of the worst boiled eggs I have ever had). I sat in the sun at cafes and drank cappuccino, I walked endlessly, I took cuts in line at the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. I packed as much into each day as I could.
NOTE: I'm not sure why taking cuts in line is equated with hedonism but at the moment it seemed that way.
I enjoyed Rome immensely (and I wasn't expecting to, it didn't really interest me that much when I was planning my trip). There was just something about that city that really appealed to me. I liked it right away - it felt good there. Sure it's a big city and it's old but it has a soul, a pulse, it seems human, like an entity itself. Rome, and all of Italy for that matter but Rome especially, is
everything all at once and in your face. It's beautiful, iconic, historic, ethereal, wondrous, ancient, in a state of elegant decay, loud, noisy, crowded, rude, friendly, stylish: It is
intense.
My hotel was just a few blocks from some of the main attractions. It was almost dusk by the time I arrived and got settled but I went for a walk anyway. Let's take a look at what I saw, shall we?
Trajan's Column, shown in the photograph below, is an example of a "continuous narrative". Carved into the column are over 2,500 figures, scrolled around the 140 foot high structure, telling the story of Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars (circa A.D. 103, where modern day Romania is located). The assembling army is at the base and the scenes of victory and military exploits are at the top. For a better image and more information click on the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan's_Column
Trajan's Column sits in what is known as Trajan's Market. It was
probably a combination of a shopping mall for the wealthy, warehouses and government offices. Although most of the market is still an archaeological site, you can see down into the area from street level.
There are many standing columns within Trajan's Market. Seen here is a Corinthian style column.
As I continued walking, I saw the Victor Emmanuel Monument across the street. This over sized monument to Italy's first king was built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's unification in 1870. The scale of the monument is over-the-top and the extreme white marble absorbs the pollution easily but it sure is pretty when the sunlight reflects off the surface.
As I continued walking and the sun dipped lower in the sky, I saw the Colosseum just down the street.
Not bad sightseeing for my first few hours in Rome!
The Colosseum is 2,000 years old and a classic example of Roman engineering. It was once topped with canvas to provide shade for the spectators - the first domed stadium. This structure could hold 50,000 people and was designed with many entrance/exits so it would only take about 20 minutes for crowds to enter or exit. In this huge structure guess how many toilets (holes in the ground) there were?! 6; 3 for men and 3 for women. If you are in Rome or anywhere in Italy for that matter, never pass up a toilet - a real toilet. When you do need to "go" the best option is to step into a cafe, order a pastry or espresso, and use their toilet.
The next day I headed for Trevi Fountain. This was the size of the crowd on a Monday afternoon at 2pm. Crowds don't usually bother me and I can easily muscle my way through, mostly because I'm so low to the ground that people don't expect someone to be pushing their way through from that level, but I have to admit this was a bit much for me. As you can see the square around the fountain is a bit small and all the streets leading to the square were just as crowded.
The Pantheon is one of antiquity's best preserved structures. Because the Pantheon became a church dedicated to the martyr's just after the fall of Rome, the barbarians let it stand and the locals didn't use it as a quarry: as they were known to do sometimes. The dome, 142 feet high AND wide, was Europe's biggest until the Renaissance.
The construction of the dome mystified architects through the ages and Brunelleschi was given permission to cut into the dome to analyze the material: see the small square hole shown in the picture below.
The National Museum's main branch houses the greatest collection of ancient Roman art anywhere. My favorite exhibit were the collections of frescoes and mosaics that once decorated the walls and floors of Roman villas. The buried villas were found accidentally during construction along the Tiber river. The river was flooding and without a way to hold back the water, they were forced to remove as much of the site as possible. Normally they prefer to leave things intact. What they removed were entire rooms, including these mosaics, of several homes in the village.
Below is the Villa Di Livia frescoes of gardens, birds and olive trees. This room had a special lighting system. Within the span of 3 minutes the lighting system mimics "dawn to dusk" so you could see how the walls looked at different times of the day.
I was fascinated with these villas - imagine discovering actual living spaces inhabited long ago, still intact. It is so amazing that they were able to get entire walls, floors and in some cases parts of ceilings excavated.
This is the Villa Farnese exhibit. The frescoes are yellow, blue and red on a black background. We weren't allowed to use a flash so these pictures don't depict the saturated colors.
Sandwiched between Trajan's Column & Market and the Colosseum are the Roman Forum, Capitol Hill and Palatine Hill. These three areas or hills, meld together and you can walk from one site to the other, even if you don't want to! Frankly, the whole area is one big royal Roman mess with unmarked walkways twisting upon each other like spaghetti noodles, unknown entrances and exits.
It's all very Italian. However, it is fascinating. Below are a collection of pictures from these 3 areas. Palatine Hill was where the emperors lived. We get the word "palace" from this hill. The Roman Forum was Rome's civic center and anything important happened here. Capitol Hill was the center of city government and the location of the Temple of Jupiter.
Piazza Navona is a large public area surrounded by colorfully painted buildings, cafes, shops and restaurants. The main area has 3 very large and famous fountains by Bernini. This piazza is full of artists, musicians and lovers walking arm in arm. I couldn't take my eyes off these fountains.
The number one thing, of all time, that I have always wanted to see is Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. I was so excited. Whenever I felt homesick, lonely or like I wanted to end the trip early, my mind returned to the image of the Sistine Chapel and its beauty. To see it in person was something I just had to do no matter what. In a way it was like a goal, motivating me to continue forward with my trip.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel
The chapel is adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica. The only entrance to the Sistine Chapel is via the Vatican Museum. Originally my plan was to breeze through the museum and head directly to the chapel. But
NO! Italy would never allow something to be that easy.
Reservations for the Vatican Museum are
imperative. I spoke to a young woman who had waited in line for 3 hours. I walked right in with my reservation confirmation. Rick Steves states that the distance from the beginning of the Vatican Museum to the entrance of the Sistine Chapel is 4 miles. And it is 4 miles but it
feels like 8. For most of the time you are walking shoulder to shoulder, or in my case shoulder to elbow, with the crowd. It is slow going to be sure.
The Vatican Museum..hmm. To say that the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basillica are enormous diminishes the meaning of enormous.The Vatican Museum contains everything from ancient Egyptian artifacts, sculpture, Christian frescoes and modern day paintings. It is so immense that it can be overwhelming and exhausting. The opulence and grandeur is beyond anything most of us have ever seen. And it is beautiful. I'm really glad I saw it and although I may not remember every single thing I saw in detail, I will never forget the experience. There were several things I do remember specifically and I could never describe them to you. It just wouldn't work. Sorry.
Here are some examples of the floor tiles, ceiling carvings and a few artifacts.
A view of the interior square of the Vatican Museum and let me tell you, even with a map and Rick Steves' instructions it is easy as heck to get lost. We asked 4 guards before we found an answer - a real answer - to the question "How do we get to the Egyptian room to start the tour?"
When we finally got to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel my feet hurt, my head ached, I was tired of being pushed, shoved and breathed on. I was getting hungry. I was tired. I was "art-ed-out" from the Vatican Museum but here I was...in the Sistine Chapel...in Italy. I took a deep breath, exhaled and put all of that aside. As I stepped into the chapel I was astounded. It was well beyond my expectations. Now, if you don't like crowds or have claustrophobia, you would not like the experience. We were crowded in like sardines but I ignored that aspect. I just kept my head tilted back, ignored everyone around me and focused on the ceiling. My art history teacher had covered the chapel in great detail so I knew what I was looking at and what it all meant.
St. Peter's Basillica is so large that on the floor they have marked the outlines of other large churches around the world that would fit inside! Seen below is the dome.
Let me tell you a little bit about my hotel. It was in the style of a B&B, which I didn't know in advance, so I had a free breakfast every day. Although the food served was an Italian version of breakfast most of it was good, fresh and plentiful. I was
so grateful. This is where I found out that I liked cappuccinos - Italian style, of course. My room was spacious and had a good bed. I made friends with a retired couple from Kansas and we toured around together and shared a few meals. It was a real joy to just be with other travelers and talk about our experiences. The staff here were delightful and it was a nice end to my long trip.
I liked Italy, a lot...most of the time. I liked the beauty of Italy and I'm so glad I went there and especially to Rome.
