Tonight's picture was taken on August 3, of 2008. Hard to believe this was five years ago today. Even harder to believe that Mattie is no longer in our lives. Mattie was pictured with our resident Jack Russell Terrier, JJ. JJ and Mattie practically grew up together. Mattie loved walking JJ and always wanted a dog of his own. Fortunately our neighbor allowed Mattie a lot of JJ time over the years. After Mattie died, JJ would come and sit on our doorstep in hopes of finding his buddy. Though JJ is a dog, he showed all the same emotional signs as humans do over the loss of Mattie.... loss of appetite, sadness, and depression.
Fun Facts of the Day: (1) With nearly 3,000 years of rich history, Rome is often called the “Eternal City.” Though Rome dates back to possibly 625 B.C. (2) The Romans were the first civilization to use concrete and the arch with any notable skill. (3) It is estimated that Italians eat about 60 pounds of pasta per person per year. (4) There are over 1000 Vatican Museums, making the complex in Vatican City the largest museum complex, not only in Italy, but in the world as well.
Peter and I were up at 5:15am to get ready for an early all-day
tour of Rome. The ship docked in Civitavecchia, the port town of Rome before
7am. Civitavecchia is not unlike Livorno (the port town of Florence). They are
both very industrial port towns! When we woke up this morning this was the
first sight we saw. Keep in mind the sun sets LATE here and therefore it rises
later in the day! At 7am, it was still somewhat dark out. We were greeted by
Mattie Moon in Italy today. A moon which seemed to be smiling at us.
We visited Rome or as it is known in Italy, Roma. Guess
what? Roma spelled backwards is AMOR, or in other words, love. Rome is
considered the city of love. Personally Rome reminds me of New York City in the
sense that it is a very BUSY, bustling, and lively city that is filled with
culture. But Rome, unlike the other places we visited on our trip so far has a
gritty side to it as well, a more urban side, which includes trash along the
streets and a ton of graffiti. I visited Rome as a child and even a teenager (YES
I know years ago!!!) and I have to say I do not remember Rome looking this way.
So it saddens me to see a beautiful city PACKED with thousands of years of
history having such a used urban look. Putting this aspect aside though, Rome
is very much worth visiting and exploring. You know the saying… Rome wasn’t
built in a day. Well the same can be said about touring Rome. It really can’t
be done in one day! Our tour was 11 hours long and by the end of the day we
must have walked six of more miles in 99 degree temperatures! No easy feat, but
we definitely got around town!
The Vatican or St. Peter’s Basilica (a part of the beautiful Rome skyline), can hold 60,000
visitors at a time. The Vatican is a sovereign state! It has its own postal
code, police, etc. It is the center of the Catholic faith, where millions flock
for healing a year. Vatican City is completely surrounded by Rome, it takes up
just 110 acres and is home to 800 residents, the most famous, being the Pope.
Vatican City is also home to the Vatican Museum, one of the most lavish
displays of wealth and art in one place.
St. Peter is one of the patron saints of Rome and the
grandeur of this Basilica acknowledges his spiritual presence in Italy and the
world. St. Peter’s is considered one of the largest churches in the world! St.
Peter’s is part of Vatican City and in order to enter into the Basilica, one
has to walk through St. Peter’s Square. When you look at the Vatican (St. Peter’s
Basilica) from the outside, it has been said that it looks like a person. The
dome of the Vatican is said to look like the head of a body and the buildings
that arc out from the Vatican are said to look like a person’s arm. Or in other
words, the Vatican almost looks like a “big embrace” from the outside. As if
you, the visitor, are getting a hug, or are symbolically being embraced into
this faith.
Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter’s as “an ornament of
the earth ….. the sublime of the beautiful.” The balcony above the doors of the
Basilica is also famous. This is where the Pope addresses his visitors in St.
Peter’s Square.
The Sistine Chapel is the best known chapel in the Vatican
complex. It is literally right next to St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the official
residence of the Pope. As we know Pope Francis was recently chosen to replace
Pope Benedict. From this new election, we are quite familiar with the fact that
cardinals from around the world are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel until a
new Pope is elected. When a new pope is elected, the smoke stack above the
Sistine Chapel puffs out white smoke to signal a decision has been reached. To
enter into this amazing Chapel, you have to have your shoulders covered as well
as your knees! They take this dress code very seriously and you will be stopped
at the door if neither condition is met. Once inside the Sistine Chapel, no
talking is allowed. There is complete silence out of respect for the sacred
nature of the space. Though NO photographs were allowed inside the Sistine
Chapel our guide brought along this photo. The Sistine Chapel was named after
Pope Sixtus IV. The photo captures Michelangelo’s staggering “Last Judgment.” In
fact, it took Michelangelo four years to paint the ceiling of the Chapel which
portrays the story of the creation of Adam and Eve as well as the story of Noah
and the great flood. In addition, it took Michelangelo another four years to
paint the blue background wall you see in this photo. This wall illustrates the
“Last Judgment” with heaven being on top, purgatory in the middle, and hell at
the bottom. The funny part about this fresco is that in the lower right hand
corner of it, you may see a man in flames. This was supposed to be Pope Julius
II, who commissioned Michelangelo to create these paintings. Apparently legend
has it that the Pope gave Michelangelo a VERY hard time and was trying to
micromanage him while he worked. So Michelangelo captured his sentiments toward
this Pope artistically for all of us to know throughout the ages. This fresco
is considered Michelangelo’s crowning achievement. Which is ironic since
Michelangelo really did not want to take on this project to begin with, he
considered himself a sculptor, not a painter. The photo doesn’t capture how
impressive and what a sheer engineering feat this entire room was because the
ceiling is incredibly high and Michelangelo painted the ceiling on his back
while on scaffolding.
As we walked from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s
Basilica, we traversed through the Hall of Maps. What an absolutely amazing
room. You just don’t know what to look at first, each and every turn is filled
with something visually appealing and stimulating. It is no wonder why Vatican
City is considered to house some of the best pieces of art in the world. In the
Hall of Maps there are featured paintings from locations all over Italy. The
location is painted in a map format, which is a fascinating concept in and of
itself since planes and helicopters weren’t even discovered when these
paintings were created. So how these painters understood the nature of geography
is beyond me. Corresponding with each map, on the ceiling is a painted miracle.
The miracle is said to have occurred within the city depicted on the map! Needless
to say the ceiling itself looked like a colorful miracle!
As we left the Sistine Chapel and walked to St. Peter’s
Basilica, we entered the Square of the Pinecone. It is called the Square of the
Pinecone because there literally is a huge metal pinecone sculpture that
highlights this area. However, instead of showing you the pinecone, I decided
it would be better to show you this magical golden colored sphere. This sphere sculpture
represents the world and the sculpture actually revolves mechanically. In this
photo, if you look closely at the top of the dome of St. Peter’s you will see a
golden sphere just like the modern sculpture in these gardens! This is
intentional. The artist of this metal sculpture made a replica of what can be
seen on top of the dome. This is just one of many examples of how the old world
blends with the new world in Vatican City.
The entire interior of St. Peter’s is lavishly decorated
with marble, reliefs, architectural sculptures and gilding. The Basilica
contains a large number of tombs of popes, many of which are considered works
of art.
Due to the inconsistent air temperature, lighting, and even
the number of people that flow through St. Peter’s in a given day, there are no
paintings within the Basilica. Instead all the pieces that appear to look like
paintings within the Basilica are actually mosaics. It is hard to believe this
until you look at these pieces up close. Keep in mind that 25,000 or more people
visit the Basilica daily. Through this photo you may be able to see that we
were surrounded by wall to wall people while touring.
The canopy over the alter is like NO other! It was designed by
Bernini and the bronze came from the Pantheon in Rome. Under this alter, the remains of St. Peter can
be found. The beautiful dome in the roof above the alter was painted by
Michelangelo. One hears about the amazing works of Michelangelo in the United
States but actually seeing these pieces in person is quite another story. St.
Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel contain some of Michelangelo’s greatest
works of art and though I have seen these masterpieces years ago, I was just
too young to appreciate them. I will not forget the brilliant colors, the depth
and dimensions of these painting, or Michelangelo’s understanding and
depictions of the Roman Catholic religion any time soon.
Within St. Peter’s Basilica, the tomb of Pope John Paul can
be found. John Paul was the Pope who I grew up with, the Pope before Benedict. Our
guide told us that John Paul will soon be consecrated a saint. In order to
become a saint some sort of miracle needs to be performed. Legend has it that a
woman prayed to John Paul daily and because she believed in him and his
connection to God, this woman was cured of her Parkinson’s disease.
The name of this sculpture of Mary with Jesus is called The
Pieta, and it may be one of Michelangelo’s most famous sculptures. What is
intriguing about this sculpture is that Mary is depicted as a teenager and yet
she is Jesus’ mom and is holding a boy about her age. People have speculated
why Mary is so young here and the guide informed us that Michelangelo himself
lost his mother when he was a child. So perhaps in his mind, a mother figure is
always symbolized as young and vital. Or it is possible that Mary was cradling
the body of her dead son (who came from the cross) like a baby, because in
essence no matter Jesus’ age or that of his mother, Jesus will always be Mary’s
baby. The sculpture in essence maybe a symbolic representation of the sacrifice
one makes for giving up one’s only child. A sacrifice I more than understand.
It was 99 degrees outside today and the heat was intense. Like
walking into an oven. We walked for at least six miles through Rome. At lunch
time, as a tour group we took a break and journeyed to the Hotel Flora on the
Via Veneto (a famous street). My mom tells me that when I was a child, I stayed
at the Hotel Flora. I of course do not remember it, but I am sure it was
meaningful and nostalgic for my mom to return to this hotel. We had a rooftop
lunch in air conditioning. I usually hate air conditioning but it was SO
welcomed by that point in the day. Our group lunch included local Chianti wine
(which Rome is famous for), and a three course lunch consisting of pasta,
chicken, and tiramisu.
After lunch we made our way to the famous Trevi Fountain.
This fountain is famous and perhaps one of the largest in the world. The 1954
movie, “Three coins in the fountain” put this site on the map. Legend has it that
throwing a coin over your left shoulder with your right hand brings good luck
and a return to Rome. Apparently every night, workers collect almost 3000 in
euros and dollars from the Fountain, and the money is donated to charity.
Needless to say, Peter caught my mom and me in action throwing a penny into the
Fountain. The Fountain got its name from the simple fact that three (“tre”)
roads at one time converged onto this space. The two main centered women marble
figures on each side of the water god represent bounty (on the left) and health
(on the right). This means that water is crucial in our lives for good health
and development.
As we were walking through the streets near Trevi Fountain,
these adorable chair umbrellas caught my attention. People were eating outside
in the heat and yet were given some shade through these lace cuties. I never
saw this before and I just thought it was clever. You may not be able to tell,
but the streets of Rome are packed with people!
I loved the shape of these umbrella trees! I learned today
that the pinecones from these trees produce pine nuts (which are used often in
salads, baking, and to make pesto sauce). The guide let us know that it is VERY
hard to extract the nuts from these pine cones which may explain why pine nuts
are so costly.
Our last stop on our tour was the Colosseum. This is a very
unique structure that was completed in only eight years (in 80AD). An
engineering feat! It literally was created at a time in Rome in which the
emperor wanted to look good in the eyes of his supporters and he felt the way
to achieve this was to create a forum to entertain people. To keep people happy
and distracted! The form of entertainment is quite different than anything we
would find remotely interesting or socially acceptable today. The entertainment
involved gladiator fights, to the death. On the opening day of the Colosseum,
9000 animals were killed and it is estimated that over the years more than 1
million animals and a half-million humans were slaughtered in the games. The
Colosseum could hold more than 50,000 people and yet it took only three minutes
for everyone to exit due to its big arched openings!
Due to the fact that so many people and animals were
sacrificed at the Colosseum as a form of entertainment, the Pope had a cross erected
at the site. This cross acknowledges the suffering and mass causalities that
occurred here and thereby signifies that this is sacred ground.
In 80AD, there was no admission fee to attend the games.
Only wealthy people paid to recruit and train the gladiators to fight. Where
you sat in this forum depended upon your status, gender, and social
circumstances. The wealthy sat closer to the action, with the emperor of Rome
getting a special seat under a canopy and women being relegated to the very top
of the amphitheater. In the center of the Colosseum was a wooden stage. It no
longer exists, but you have to picture a wooden platform on top of the stones
you see in the center now. It was on this stage that gladiators fought each
other as well as fought very large animals such as bulls, lions, and tigers.
The animals were stored in vestibules below the stage.
There is SO SO much to cover regarding Rome. It is my hope
that I was able to highlight my day adequately enough to illustrate the plethora
of history available at one’s fingertips. After 11 hours of touring, I am
exhausted and I am not even sure at this point that I am coherent and making
sense. So I am signing off for now and will share our next journey with you
tomorrow.
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