Return to Roma

As promised we return to finish our trip to Rome.

One afternoon we took the subway, then boarded a bus which we rode to the end of the line. Twice. Because we didnt recognize the end of the line which brought us to a small portion of the original Appian Way. Here you can see the original paving stones of a road that was called the Queen of Roads. The Romans spent a lot of time preparing the road beds of their famous highways, layers and layers of different types of rock, sand and stones and then they finished off the road with rather roughly hewn rocks. That is a mystery to me. Somewhat hard to walk on and I wonder at the kidney-jarring ride one would have in a chariot, wagon or carriage.





It was a beautiful day and the Appian Way is outside Rome in the countryside. We walked along the road for a bit.











My sister, Tricia, especially wanted to see the area where all the slaves were crucified after the Spartacan rebellion failed. It is hard to imagine the work to erect all those crosses, the miles and miles of groaning and suffering men, and then the stench of their corpses as they rotted in the sun.

The ancient Romans did this along the main avenue entering their city. It says a lot about them, I think.





The Appian Way used to be lined with the mausoleums of the rich and famous. Now all that remains is this one, the resting place, sort of, for the wife of a general who served under Julius Caesar. All the rest are gone. This building is huge! It is several stories high and could easily have housed a couple of families. And this for a woman, a minor player in the politics and society of ancient Rome.

Even more extraordinary is the fact that the Romans cremated their dead. This edifice was not actually built to bury the woman's dead body, but as an elaborate and expensive ossuary. A place to keep bones.




Back in Rome we went to the Pantheon. One of my favorite places in the city. From the outside it is fairly unremarkable. In fact when looking for it originally I didnt see it. We approached it from the back and it looks like an old brick building. It wasnt until we were sitting at a McDonald's in the piazza (plaza) (yes, a McDonald's) getting a cool drink and resting our tired tootsies that we noticed that this was the Pantheon. The portico is still the original marble and granite - for the most part - the bas relief frieze above the inscription was removed when this ancient temple, dedicated to all the gods, was rededicated as a church. It has its original bronze doors, but the bronze which lined the ceiling of the portico is gone. I'll show you what happened to that ancient ceiling later in the blog.




What I love about the Pantheon is the inside!

All this extraordinary marble!

All this lush and vivid color!

I never knew the Romans used colored marble. I guess I always figured it was only white everywhere. That seems to be how it is portrayed in renderings.

There was a lot of pattern, but it didnt overwhelm. The colors had nice contrast, but somehow were also harmonious.

I loved every inch of it.






Modern times have intruded upon it. There is an Italian dignitary of some sort buried here and the pagan gods have been replaced with statues and paintings of a Christian nature.













What is extraordinary is the dome. It was the largest open, unsupported space under a roof for more than a millennium. It combines wonderful function and incredible design. The coffered ceilings which are beautiful are, in a way, a happenstance to the construction process.

The dome is made of concrete and to lighten the load, they made the coffers, which in essence take some of the concrete out.

The opening, or oculus (eye) is open to the sky and it rains inside the Pantheon.


On our last full day in Rome we finally got to see the Coliseum. Not called that in its day, but named for the Colossus statue of Nero that once stood in the plaze next to it. Only one Christian is known to have been slain here. Contrary to polular belief, this is not where the Christians were fed to lions and in other ways martyred. That actually happened at the Circus Maximus.

There are holes riddling the coliseum where people have mined it for the metal pieces that held the stones together. Somehow it continues to stand. Part of it collapsed, during an earthquake, but if you want to know what happened to the beautiful marble it was clad in, you will have to wait a little longer in the blog.


The Baths of Caracalla were one of several public baths built in Rome. Some very wealthy people had their own baths in their homes, but most people used the public baths which were free. The bath was not just for cleansing, but was a place of exercise, gossip and business. You could get a nice massage too. This particular one was huge covering 27 acres of land and had ceilings several stories high.







It is now a huge ruin and there are gardens growing around it. It was very beautiful. I enjoyed the time here.








This is the famous Trevi fountain which is a huge wall of a fountain. It, however, resides in a teeny tiny plaza so it is packed with people at all hours.

We ate at a pasta place nearby. I must say Italian food is highly over-rated. Perhaps I am the only person to lose weight while visiting Italy, but it was considerable. I also discovered that the ideal Italian pasta is cooked el dente which apparently means "having a crunchy center" since the pasta was uncooked in the middle. I thought it was just underdone at the first pasta place, but when the second one cooked it the same way I lost all doubt.


Now for the answer to the questions of the missing materials! Drum roll please!

The marble from the Coliseum now resides in St. Peter's Basilica. We can thank our friend, Michaelangelo for that.









This bronze monstrosity which is a canopy for the pope to sit under while saying mass was cast from the bronze of the ceiling of the Pantheon.

There is no way to describe how huge this thing is. From the side here you cant even see the pope who is sitting under it.









They were preparing for some ceremony so we saw Swiss guards in their ceremonial uniforms. They each have 154 pieces to them. This uniform is a simplified upgrade from the uniforms designed by Michaelangelo. They were modified in 1910.

Seems like they should have modified them a little more. It is hard to take guards seriously who look like circus tents. It does them a disservice because they are highly trained and dedicated professionals.







This is one of the hallways within the Vatican museum. The Vatican museum houses a treasure trove of ancient Roman statues, mosaics and busts.










I especially enjoyed the busts of the Roman women, I would love to have gotten a better view of their hair which came in all sorts of incredibly elaborate designs. Strangely, most of their faces looked like they were having a bad hair day.

Maybe some of their hair hurt. It looked like it would!