Rome pictures I
Here are my favorite Rome pictures...
This is near an old wall...before Villa Borghese...this big, beautiful park. I didn't realize what a rarity parks like this are....there are so many in Vancouver, but green spaces were kind of hard to find in Florence and in Rome, but here's one the main one in the latter...
The gardens of this reputedly awesome museam, the Museo e Galleria Borghese, but it was closed...
And this is Piazza del Popolo taken from the balcony of Pincio Hill.
And here's the inside of the Colossium. It's much smaller than I thought it would be, but apparently, this was not the biggest one. Circus Maximo, maybe? Anyway, it was pretty interesting, this thing used to be completely covered in marble, but all of that got pillaged, century after century, and the marble got reused in things like the Vatican. Gruesome things happened in here, and it still didn't stop it from becoming a like a duplex for the up-and-up. I so would not have wanted to live here.
The outside of the Coliseum again...
This is the Basilica and Catacombe di San Sabastino, which is on the Via Appia Antica---I think the latter is the coolest street in all of Rome. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great picture of it. It's got all these ancient ruins on it....and in its time (390BC) it was revolutionary, because it was almost perfectly straight. Apparently, that's a hard thing to do. Anyway, back to the Basilica and Catacombe. This was my favorite place in all of Rome. It was just so interesting, and the tour guide was great. We had all these questions, and he let us come into his office and talk to him for a good while after. Anyway, the story goes...Christians were being persecuted like crazy in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and they needed a place to be buried outside the city so their bones wouldn't get disturbed. There were a few pagan catacombs (still perfectly preserved, totally amazing) outside of town near a cave, and Christians dug their catacombs on top of that. There are miles and miles of tunnels underneath. Anyway, this particular place was the first place to get the name "kata" (under) "comb" (cavity/cave). All the bones were taken out, so people could tour the catacombs, but apparently, this catacomb has always been open in part because of the church on top. The other reason is because in the 3rd and 4th centuries, Christians under threat again by Vespasian, wanted to safeguard the bones of St. Peter and St. Paul, so they moved them here...and this site because this place where people came to pay homage to them. There are all these engravings and stuff....and since people were coming here already to worship and pray, they built a church on top to further facilitate that. The bones of Peter and Paul part aren't confirmed...I think they are under the Vatican? (Couldn't get tickets to that tour, text time)...but people did think they were here in this catacomb....
This is St. Peter's Square in the Vatican...and that domed structure, is indeed St. Peter's Basilica, the one that the indulgences (protested against by Martin Luther) helped pay for. If you double click on this photograph, pull it into Photoshop, and zoom in real close....you may get to see Pope Benedict. We went to the Papal Audience which the Pope has almost every Wednesday. Tons of people show up, and he basically speaks in like 5 different languages, acknowledging groups that have come from all over the world, and gives each group a particular blessing. It was cool, but it was also very hot that day.
This is the inside of the Vatican museam---which is like the posh-est museam I've ever been to, and I think I've been to most of the world's greatest museams. It felt like someone's private collection: everything was in super-mint condition, trophies from the world over and so, so, so, spectacular. I honestly am not sure how to feel about it. Anyway---this is the map room or the Galleria della Carte Geografiche which was my favorite. Basically, there were 40 big paintings of maps made between 1580-3 for Pope Gregory 8. Really facinating how they saw the world back then...and these maps are in spectacular condition.
This is the staircase that takes you out of the Vatican museams. Guggenhein-esque, but better. Notice that people are only walking down on certain rings of the staircase. On the off ring, people walk up...but you can't tell this is happening, unless you stare at it.
This is a detail of a relief on the door to St. Peter's Basilica. I liked it.
This is near an old wall...before Villa Borghese...this big, beautiful park. I didn't realize what a rarity parks like this are....there are so many in Vancouver, but green spaces were kind of hard to find in Florence and in Rome, but here's one the main one in the latter...
The gardens of this reputedly awesome museam, the Museo e Galleria Borghese, but it was closed...
And this is Piazza del Popolo taken from the balcony of Pincio Hill.
And here's the inside of the Colossium. It's much smaller than I thought it would be, but apparently, this was not the biggest one. Circus Maximo, maybe? Anyway, it was pretty interesting, this thing used to be completely covered in marble, but all of that got pillaged, century after century, and the marble got reused in things like the Vatican. Gruesome things happened in here, and it still didn't stop it from becoming a like a duplex for the up-and-up. I so would not have wanted to live here.
The outside of the Coliseum again...
This is the Basilica and Catacombe di San Sabastino, which is on the Via Appia Antica---I think the latter is the coolest street in all of Rome. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great picture of it. It's got all these ancient ruins on it....and in its time (390BC) it was revolutionary, because it was almost perfectly straight. Apparently, that's a hard thing to do. Anyway, back to the Basilica and Catacombe. This was my favorite place in all of Rome. It was just so interesting, and the tour guide was great. We had all these questions, and he let us come into his office and talk to him for a good while after. Anyway, the story goes...Christians were being persecuted like crazy in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and they needed a place to be buried outside the city so their bones wouldn't get disturbed. There were a few pagan catacombs (still perfectly preserved, totally amazing) outside of town near a cave, and Christians dug their catacombs on top of that. There are miles and miles of tunnels underneath. Anyway, this particular place was the first place to get the name "kata" (under) "comb" (cavity/cave). All the bones were taken out, so people could tour the catacombs, but apparently, this catacomb has always been open in part because of the church on top. The other reason is because in the 3rd and 4th centuries, Christians under threat again by Vespasian, wanted to safeguard the bones of St. Peter and St. Paul, so they moved them here...and this site because this place where people came to pay homage to them. There are all these engravings and stuff....and since people were coming here already to worship and pray, they built a church on top to further facilitate that. The bones of Peter and Paul part aren't confirmed...I think they are under the Vatican? (Couldn't get tickets to that tour, text time)...but people did think they were here in this catacomb....
This is St. Peter's Square in the Vatican...and that domed structure, is indeed St. Peter's Basilica, the one that the indulgences (protested against by Martin Luther) helped pay for. If you double click on this photograph, pull it into Photoshop, and zoom in real close....you may get to see Pope Benedict. We went to the Papal Audience which the Pope has almost every Wednesday. Tons of people show up, and he basically speaks in like 5 different languages, acknowledging groups that have come from all over the world, and gives each group a particular blessing. It was cool, but it was also very hot that day.
This is the inside of the Vatican museam---which is like the posh-est museam I've ever been to, and I think I've been to most of the world's greatest museams. It felt like someone's private collection: everything was in super-mint condition, trophies from the world over and so, so, so, spectacular. I honestly am not sure how to feel about it. Anyway---this is the map room or the Galleria della Carte Geografiche which was my favorite. Basically, there were 40 big paintings of maps made between 1580-3 for Pope Gregory 8. Really facinating how they saw the world back then...and these maps are in spectacular condition.
This is the staircase that takes you out of the Vatican museams. Guggenhein-esque, but better. Notice that people are only walking down on certain rings of the staircase. On the off ring, people walk up...but you can't tell this is happening, unless you stare at it.
This is a detail of a relief on the door to St. Peter's Basilica. I liked it.
posted by graceh at 1:34 PM
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