Rome - 2006 (Europe Continued)

Rome, Italy was the one place left on our checklist of cities to visit that we never managed to get to.... so when I had to make a returned trip to Amsterdam, I took the weekend to steal a trip to this most famous city. I wanted to see the Colosseum, my wife wanted me to see the Sistine Chapel.

I did get my chance to see the Colosseum, but will never forget my visit to the Vatican and the most beautiful interior I've ever seen. If you know me, you know I am not a religious person, but my lack of faith was challenged after spending just a few hours looking at some of the most beautiful works of art ever created.

My short weekend was a bit busy, starting with the first day's visit to the Sistine Chapel, a walk around the Vatican, a hike to and through the Pantheon, a brief nap, a short hike around the Colosseum and then dining on the best pizza the world has ever known. Yum!

Day two started early with a return visit to the Vatican and a humbling walk through the most beautiful church I've ever seen -- St. Peter's Basilica. From there, a quick train trip down to the Colosseum for a guided tour, then a stroll through the Roman Forum, Palentine Hill and Capitol Museum before heading back to the Pizzeria to cap off the day with the best pizza ever made by human hands... except, not on Sundays apparently.

I'll cover each of my adventures individually, but I think it is important that I start by sharing some things I learned in my brief trip through Rome:

1) You are rarely on the road you think you are on;
2) The few signs indicating which road you are on are always placed on the corner you cannot see and never for the road you are on, unless you are looking for the cross street;
3) When you need them, trash cans are always on the other side of the street;
4) Signs for important things like the Sistene Chapel are usually written like 'Museo de Vatico' to confuse those of us looking for the Sistene Chapel and not the Museum of the Vatican;
5) Lines for major sites increase at the same pace as a moving object picks up speed as it falls from the sky;
6) If you are next in line to be served than you are likely to have an Italian cut in front of you;
7) The speed at which an entire Japanese tour groups will pass you is directly proportional to the size of the larger crowd,as well as indirectly proportional to the space available. So if you are alone in a very large space with a single Japanese tour group you'll should be fine, but expect to be overtaken in in under 3 minutes on a busy day as you twist and turn through narrow staircases. The size of the tour group, however, is not relevant;
8) Smokers in line will always be upwind;
9) Try to enjoy walking on large uneven rocks on an incline as much as you can, you'll enjoy Rome more that way.

The Vatican
I cannot stress how much I was blown away by the beauty of every corner of every room here. I only got to visit the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica, but I can say that another day or two walking through here would not be enough to actually see everything and appreciate the art in all of its forms. I started by hurring past rooms of amazing art work in order to get to the Sistine Chapel, and once there, spent the better part of an hour sitting and staring ... I was surprised at just how busy that ceiling is. Michelangeo did the center piece, and other famous artists added to it over the years, but it required some patience to really appreciate since a quick glance might look more like a bit of a crowded scene. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but a steady hand and a little out of the way corner allowed me to grab a few shots to help remember the visit.

Since I basically skipped every other room on my way to the famous chapel, I took a little more time to appreciate the art in some of the other rooms you pass on your way through the Vatican. I was absolutely amazed at how much art was on every inch of every wall, ceiling and floor. As an example... this hallway was just one of many that you'd find on your walk to and from the Sistine Chapel.

I could have spent a week trying to appreciate all of the images here, but alas, had to move on to bigger and better things... well, bigger at least. This meant heading East towards the Pantheon.


The Pantheon
Designed in AD 118-125, this structure was apparently a Pagan temple later used by the Christian church and now houses Raphael's Tomb. The interior is all marble with a beautiful dome with a huge hole in the top. Light was streaming down from the center onto one of the side walls, that made for a really neat view.

I only spent about 20 minutes here, probably because I had just come from the Sistine Chapel and not much was going to really impress me right now. I stumbled out and headed towards one of the many Plazas looking for a bite to eat. Along the way I passed a few really beautiful fountains, but rather than show you that, I thought a picture of the fashion of the day would be more in order.

These two girls were facing away from a really lovely statue, but it allowed me to snap a picture in hopes that one might appreciate the statement made by a simple few well placed articles of clothing. Mom's don't let your daughters go out like this! Please... (click picture to enlarge) (which one is actually worse?)

I had a good lunch, a nice nap, a lovely walk around the Colleseum and then the most amazing Pizza ever created. The place was called Pizzeria da Ricci at the end of via Genova (off via Nazionale) and I would highly recommend this to anyone who needs food in Rome.

On Day 2, I decided to head back to the Vatican to get a peek at what my "Top 10 Rome" book suggested was the number 1 best place (Along with the Sistine Chapel) -- St. Peter's Basilica. Let me be frank: I have never been in a church as beautiful as this one. No picture I took could capture the sheer size of this place or the amount of amazing pieces of artwork. As you enter, it is near impossible not to drop your jaw at the size of the building... the ceiling seemed to be 100 feet high. Luckily, I wasn't distracted so long as to miss a Michelangelo carving right at the entrance. He carved Pieta (left) in 1499 and I could have stared at it for a week.

There were plenty of other really impressive pieces here, but what I thought was most impressive was a simple design. As I walked around, I noticed that the floor had what looked like large metal emblem in key places. As it turns out these were little grates that allowed air/sound to pass from the floor below. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I understood why--there was a choir group singing in the floor below the main level and you could hear the soft sound as you walked around. It was a really simple concept, that was very lovely.

Colosseum
After my Vatican visit was over, I headed back through the Rome subway system to the Colosseum for my 9:45am guided tour. For an extra 3.50 euro each, me and a dozen or so people were given a quick 40 minute tour of this old structure -- including some interesting information about the structure, who sat where (women and slaves had to sit in the top tier) and how the flooring system worked. Our archeologist even argued that there is no evidence that Christians were ever really fed to the lions here. The shot below shows the interior of the Colosseum and the maze of walls under what would have been the main floor--which has been reconstructed for demonstration.


Rome was a really great trip (aside from the oppressive heat) and I would glady return again with a lot more time to enjoy the parts I had to experience so quickly. As an example, what really is scattered among all of those paintings and statues? I got some of the stories, but others just leave me scratching my head. If you click on this image, do you know what that lady is doing with the hammer in the bottom right hand corner? How about why the lady in the image in the upper right is carrying a sword and that other thing?

I really don't know a lot more than I thought I didn't know.