October 29, 2013
Rome Day 1:
Southern Italy welcomed us with warm
sunny weather; especially wonderful for the month of November. We
are staying at a campsite that offers a convenient shuttle to the
metro station that will take us to Rome. Today we just allowed
ourselves to get lost,we wanted to rome around Rome! The only thing
on our agenda was finding the hop on hop off bus tour so we could get
a layout of the city.
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| Entrance to the Piazza del Popolo |
Disembarking the metro we were greeted
by a giant arch representing the entrance to the walkable part of the
city. Inside the arch is a huge plaza, the Piazza del Popolo. There
are no shops just a monument and a fountain surrounded by open space.
This wide open space is taken over by street performers and “looky
looky” men trying to hustle tourists.
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| Inside the Piazza del Popolo |
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| Odd way to make a living! |
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| Michelangelo's Stairs |
The rest of the day we stumbled upon a
few notable destinations in Rome. For example the Piazza del
Campidoglo where Michelangelo's famous stairs are located. He built
them in 1534 and today the stairs are used as the entrance to the
Santa Maria Aracoeli; which was built in 1885 to honor the King of
Italy.
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| Santa Maria Aracoeli |
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| Teatro Di Marcello |
While waiting for our bus to come we
saw an intriguing archaeological site open to the public. As we
wandered through the site we learned we were looking at the Teatro Di
Marcello, the only ancient theater left in Rome. This theater was
built in 13 BC by Augustus Caesar; the architectural style inspired
the construction of the famous Roman Colosseum.
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| Some of last original architecture left from the great fire of 64 A.D that destroyed Rome |
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| View from double decker bus |
The bus tour was a real treat, on top
of saving our feet it offered us a different perspective of the city.
After learning to ignore the graffiti and the trash that blankets
the city we enjoyed the breeze and the view on the open air bus.
There are over 900 churches in Rome; so
we couldn't help but notice them on every corner. They illustrate
the history of the city from growth to destruction over the ages. A
religious presence is felt even in the streets of Rome; clergy
dressed in their religious pageantry are seen in the pizzeria's and
the coffee shops. Ross and I were almost ran over by a Priest in a
Prius.
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| The Roman Colosseum |
We rode the tour bus for almost an hour
before hopping off at the Roman Colosseum. Standing tall, the largest
open air amphitheater in the world is well cared for. Unfortunately
for us 75% of the structure was covered with scaffolding for
restoration work. Regardless of the limited view, the history of
this structure though time captured our attention. This amphitheater
once held 50,000 to 80,000 people, who gathered together to watch
gladiators, mythological dramas, re-enactments of sea battles, and
much more. It stands as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.
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| Restoration work on the Roman Colosseum |
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| Arco de Constantine |
Next to the Colosseum is the Arco de
Constantine, which was built in 312 AD as a victory arch. Its design
was copied by the French when building the Arc de Triomphe.
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| Trevi Fountain |
For the evening we got back on the bus
for a view of the city at night. We wound up at the Trevi Fountain
with hundreds of people admiring the almost mythological looking
pool. The baroque style fountain is located in a trendy
restaurant/shopping district so we enjoyed at delicious meal before
making the trek back to the camp ground.
October 31, 2013
Rome Day 2:
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| Vatican City & Saint Peter's Basilica |
Today's tour of Rome was a little more
structured because we had set an appointment for our tour of the
Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Our tour was scheduled for
12:30 pm, so we had a few hours to see the Pantheon and Piazza Navona
before.
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| The Pantheon |
The Pantheon was originally built in 27
BC as a temple to worship all gods. Pagan beliefs were practiced
here until 609 AD. The first construction of this structure was
burned down as well as the second Pantheon in the first century. The
current building has been standing since 125 AD; therefore it
represents the pagan and christian beliefs. The ceiling is the
largest un-reinforced cement dome in the world. Today the Pantheon is
the best preserved ancient Roman building in Rome.
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| Altar inside the Pantheon |
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| Dome of the Pantheon |
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| Piazza Navona |
On our way to Vatican City we found
Piazza Navona; which was built in the first century AD. This square
once held the city market each Saturday and Sunday. Then in the 1800s
it began being used for performances, and today it is visited by
millions of tourist who come to see the baroque style fountains and
architecture. Our favorite fountain in this square is the Fountain
del Moro; the basin is decorated with four Triton's, standing tall
over them is a Moor wrestling a dolphin.
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| Fountain del Moro |
At this point in our journey we try to
avoid the typical tourist sights because of crowds and over done
souvenir shops. Not to mention the advances in technology creating
virtual tours of places like the Sistine Chapel at a fraction of the
cost. We went against our gut feelings and booked online tickets for
the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. The perk of booking in
advanced online was not to wait in line but when thousands of people
are booking online you cannot avoid a crowd.
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| Hallway in the Vatican Museum |
The museum was quiet
overwhelming because there is not a single surface without art.
Religious images are painted, carved, or sewn on everything. The
hallways are long and elaborately decorated. Bright vibrant colors
surrounded us as we walked through detailed paintings of the stories
in the bible. We moved like a herd of cattle from one room to another
as we made our way toward the Sistine Chapel.
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| Ceilings of the Vatican Museum |
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| Altar and Fresco's |
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| Wood Carved Shutters |
Inside the Chapel photography is frowned upon, (we took some politely) you are not suppose to talk, and you must
keep moving because there are so many people waiting to enter the
space. Ironically inside the religious space where silence is
demanded out of respect, there is a conveniently located gift shop.
The beauty of Michelangelo's work was worth all the hassle, although
it was upsetting to see profiteering in such an inappropriate place.
When it comes to rating different
cities Rome is our second favorite, with Paris as number one. The
city is rich with history, everywhere you look the transition through
time is evident. The way this city blends the old and the new
together is remarkable, defiantly a must see.
On August 24, 79 AD Mount Vesuvius
erupted killing around 3,000 of the 20,000 inhabitants of the
Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, is located only 5 miles away from
the volcano, and other cities nearby were completely buried in 6-7
meters of ash and soot after the eruption. Pompeii is the most famous
because it was the first discovered; although other locations like
Herculaneum were preserved better. Excavation of the site began in
1748 but it was not identified as Pompeii at that time. Progress
moved slowly until 1924-1961 when the majority of the walkable city
was unearthed. Since the 60's excavation has slowed due to limited
resources and inability maintain upkeep of the areas already on
display to tourists.
Waste and sewage flowed down the
streets of Pompeii; therefore the roads are made of flat stones, the
sidewalks are elevated for pedestrians, and larger stones were placed
at crosswalks to prevent people from walking in the river of filth.
